Ruger Security Six question

[omgb]

I have a M19. I had to quit using .357 loads years ago due to wear issues (thousands of rounds). However, the action, both DA and SA, is just beyond description. Smooth, light and just a joy to shoot. I tried a number of Ruger DAs back in the late 70s. They just weren't as slick or smooth. That is actually a plus for LE as you are less likely to get and accidental discharge. I will say this about the Rugers, they are built like a vault. You can feel it when you handle them. I would imagine you would really have to work at shooting one loose if that were your goal. I'm thinking with 11 grains of 2400 under a 150 grain lead Keith bullet, you could never shoot that gun loose, ever.

[Silvercreek Farmer]

Glad you got it working. Let’s see some targets!

[beemer]

I have several Six series Rugers. One I bought used in 1978, it had been shot very little. Had a steady diet of 7 grains of Unique and the Lee 140 SWC for over 40 years with untold rounds down the tube. The cylinder finally started rubbing the barrel, it had a rather tight gap anyway. I made a shim from a spring washer and fit it between the cylinder and crane. It fit up perfectly and has been shot some since without any trouble. Maybe not the best fix but it works and sure was cheap enough.

I like these pistols and haven't been without one, usually several, since I turned 21 in 1973. The one I always wanted that never turned up was a 2 3/4" barrel with adjustable sights.

One of my favorites is a 2 3/4' stainless Bi-Centennial Service Six that my Father bought new. It lay on his night stand from 1976 till shortly before he passed in 2013.

[Kosh75287]

I bought my Ruger Police Service Six 4" barrel revolver in 1982. Relying on a Lyman manual from 1971, I used 8.0/Unique/158 gr. LSWC for I dunno HOW many reloads, until someone showed me a newer reloading manual with somewhat reduced charge weights. Bowing to the authority of ALL reloading manuals, I backed off, but I never really noticed adverse results from the original loads. I experienced no sticky extraction, nor (overly) flattened primers, nor cratering, nor other signs.
I think it might be worth revisiting this load data in this revolver, to see exactly what kind of performance it might have developed out of a modest 4" barreled revolver. I'll get back to y'all.

[Rapier]

I do not recall one Security Six I did not have to completely rebuild to get them to perform well enough to leave my shop. The rebuild included replacing the barrels and the cylinder. I started with a first year production gun and bought or traded for a quite a few. Ruger had a run of bad barrels from their jobbers with egg shaped bores in the middle of the barrels. If you slug the barrel and you get to a spot where just finger pressure pushes the slug, there you are, that is the egg shape. Had one with no rifling in it at all in the middle, I quit fooling with making Cougars in my shop. The QC on the Security Six was just poor.
Best way to adjust the hammer to transfer bar contact so as to extend the firing pin is with a strip of 350 wet and dry on a flat square surface, hammer removed, held at 90 degrees to the surface, and only cut the face of the top front, of the the hammer, checking frequently for proper adjustment and that the cut is square and level to the frame stop recess. I use a cutting oil. If you use blue Dykem, it helps to see the cut as it is made. Pay attention to the angle of the factory grind marks and duplicate that angle. Masking tape the hammer areas not to be cut.
Hammers rust on the sides and if you want to dress them, use the same grit and the same angle for bring marks, first thing I look for on a refinish job, angles off, says the entire job was done wrong, no attention to details.

[Chill Wills]

Rapier, If I read your post correctly, one other fix for this light FP strike issue is to leave the spring as is, and slowly remove the top (stop) of the hammer so the part of the hammer that strikes the transfer bar can go farther forward and in turn drive the floating PF farther into the primer. Do I have that right?

That fix would leave a much better (lighter) double action pull.

[jrayborn]

Yup, sure will...

[Chill Wills]

Yup, sure will...

Right.
I read your post and looked at the good photo of the hammer. Thank you for taking the time to post it.

At that time, not knowing if I needed to return the revolver to the seller, I was not ready to make changes I could not restore.

I have committed to the sale and will be keeping the revolver. I may end up trying this. I am not ready to do this yet even though it may (in the end) be the best fix.

First was to get the revolver to work 100%. I will keep gong from here making changes slow and sure as I learn about this.

[Larry Gibson]

Suggest if you try that you just make sure the transfer bar is not stopping the full forward movement of the firing pin.

[Chill Wills]

Following up of the light FP strikes resulting in some mis-firing rounds at about 80% working - 20% failure to fire.


As a test, I put three thin washers under the spring it got 100% firing. The double action in this mod was very heavy! I took out two of the three washers and still got 100% firing.
Meanwhile ...
The Gun Broker seller ordered and had sent two Wolf spring to try. A 14 lb and a 17lb marked reduced and heavy. Both Wolf springs were longer (relaxed) than the spring that came in the revolver. Here is a photo of the lighter 14lb spring next to the spring I removed and replace. Both Wolf springs were a good deal longer than the spring that came with the gun, shown on the left in the picture.

The winter weather has made getting out and testing hard as of late but I did fire 3-cylinders full (18 rounds) and all fired using the installed, lighter 14lb spring here at my house. The double action pull is heavy-er than I would like. I have not done any of the work on the nose of the hammer as described in above posts. I would guess a good revolver-smith could tale a little off the hammer nose and go back to the lighter spring, have a better double action pull and still get 100% reliability.

A tip of the hat to the seller for following up and addressing the problem the best he could from 2000 miles away.