S&W,Colt and Ruger

[HOME DEPOT GEORGE]

Has anyone ever done a side by side comparison on a 44mag or 357 with the maximum allowable pressure loads using revolvers from all 3 manufacturers to see which one will either wear out break or shoot itself out of time. As you can see from my sig I'm a ruger fan but have shot my neighbors smiths many times and like both, I don't care to debate the smoothness of the trigger or how pretty they are I just want to know if anyone has ever "torture" tested them with the ammo that they are advertised for and what the results were.
MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR.

[harmonic]

Which models? Revolvers? I've had all of them for years and have yet to have a problem.

The Colt's internals are pretty delicate and more can go wrong. (Pythons.) The Anacondas had timing problems and got a bad rep as a result.

I fired my 629-1 most of all in the 44 mag dept, but only used midrange loads. I noticed it started to "loosen" up after about 1000 rounds.

I've had two Redhawks and one Super Redhawk. You can't kill those guys. They'll take the heaviest loads you've got and beg for more. Same with my Super Blackhawks.

My guess? Under a strict "torture" test, the Colt Python would go first. A close second would be the Smith. The Ruger will probably fail around the time Mt Everest collapses.

[rcmodel]

+1

I agree completely.
Colt, S&W, Ruger, in that order.

Rugers are built like tanks.
Some would even say over-built for a carry gun that gets packed a lot more then shot.

But IMO, S&W's are way nicer, especially the older ones!
And Pythons are prettier!

http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j219/rcmodel/KTOG/1224.gif
rcmodel

[HOME DEPOT GEORGE]

Yeah I meant revolvers forgot to specify, as far as models since I dont really shoot anything but my rugers and my neighbors smith so I guess whichever would come closest to the gp100 for the 357 and the super redhawk/blackhawk for the 44. I would love to see a totally unbiased almost scientific like test that would document problems as they happened.

[spwenger]

...many years ago, when Ruger was still making the Security Six series, some branch of the federal government did a study and pronounced the Ruger to be the sturdiest .357 revolver. I believe it was that study that prompted the Border Patrol to switch to Rugers, albeit with a few modifications that they specified. (I also seem to recall that the main modification was a heavier barrel profile.)

[crankshop1000]

Gee... has anyone ever seen a broken Colt Trooper III? I highly doubt it.Probably the most reliable .357 revolver of all time.

[HOME DEPOT GEORGE]

I've never personally seen any of the 3 thats broken thats why I was wondering if anyone has done a test of the three side by side and put maybe 10,20 or even 30 thousand rounds through them to see which one is truly the toughest. My neighbor swears by his smiths and I like my rugers and believe me when we go shooting its a marathon and we've never had any problems,as for colts you wont find a redneck around here in his right mind willing to spend that kind of money,hell you can buy a case of jim beam a smith or ruger some bullets and range time and still have some left to go to denny's when you're done for the price of a colt:evil::D:D:D

[mnw42]

I have seen plenty of Colts and Smiths that have loosened up after years of abuse. I have only seen one Python that was badly out of time and that particular gun had been abused for about 30 years.

Rugers do seem to hold up better (especially with heavy loads), but I've never seen a new Ruger that locked up as tight as a new Colt.

[Jim Keenan]

Even considering possible problems with the old Colt lockwork, I doubt anyone could ever fire enough ammo of the type they were made for to wear out or break any of the three. Even the S&W Model 19, which has long been considered too light for extended use with full house .357 loads, will last longer than most shooters will. The equivalent frame sizes are all about equal in strength (Ruger's frames are thicker and heavier to make up for the use of castings) and the internals will last a long time.

Most guns that are broken have not been worn out or harmed by firing, they are damaged by inept attempts to work on them, usually to "improve" the trigger pull.

Jim

[Dienekes]

Amen. Some people should not be allowed to own guns and screwdrivers at the same time.

Of course it does explain why guns that should easily last a century need replacement every ten years or so.

[WVMountainBoy]

Of the three, the only one I have ever seen ready for the boneyard is a colt. It was a Python .357 that the forcing cone was almost completley gone on. I have no idea of the age of the gun, but judging from the wear on the finish and such I would have said pretty old and heavily abused for its life. I've seen rugers that the finish was gone, scratches everywhere, and the grips held on with electrical tape that fired like new. Smith's haven't been too popular with my buddies really. Guess that could change considering I just bought a S&W 1911 and layed away a S&W M&P .38. They are my first smith's

[Sport45]

They don't make them any more, but take a gander at the Ruger .357mag in this thread (http://thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=324375). Kind of gives an idea as to how Ruger builds their revolvers.

(I also like that I can "field strip" my Redhawk only removing the one grip screw)

[REC]

Ruger's frames are thicker and heavier
Heavier???

A four-inch GP100 is slightly (very slightly) lighter than a four-inch 686.

They may be thicker (in the right places) by design, BUT they are not heavier (and they all fit in the same holsters).

[GRIZ22]

many years ago, when Ruger was still making the Security Six series, some branch of the federal government did a study and pronounced the Ruger to be the sturdiest .357 revolver. I believe it was that study that prompted the Border Patrol to switch to Rugers, albeit with a few modifications that they specified.

I helped test those revolvers in the early 1980s. The guns ahd to go 10,000 rounds of full magnums (125gr JHPs) with (I believe) no more than 2 of the 10 or so allowable malfunctions. These were are very minor malfunctions like loose screws, nothing that would prevent the gun from firing. These guns were really abused. You fired in 500 round strings as fast as you could reload. The guns were so hot you wore gloves to help absorb recoil and prevent getting burned. They were cleaned every 1000 rounds. When you put the patch wet with Hoppes it would steam off. You had to use a couple of wet patches to cool the gun down.

There is no way these guns could be abused like this in normal service.

S&W Model 66s were tested first as they were the low bidder. The longest a S&W went was 1500 rounds to being out of time. I think these tests were the impetus to come out with the L frame.

The Ruger Security 6s went 10,000 rounds without a hiccup. We wanted to continue the tests to see how long it ould take for the Rugers to fail but were out of ammo to continue at that time. The first Ruger went out with timing issues at about 15,000 rounds if I recall correctly. The others hit 20,000 rds and they didn't want to supply any ammo to continue the test.

I don't remember any additional requirements made of Ruger before they bought the guns.

I imagine a GP100 would guarantee a revolver for your at least your grandchildren.

[HOME DEPOT GEORGE]

Thanks griz22 thats what I was looking for, do you know if this test was ever published?

[Lucky Strike]

dang that's pretty impressive....makes me all the more anxious to get a GP100.

[GRIZ22]

Thanks griz22 thats what I was looking for, do you know if this test was ever published?


Acceptance tests conducted by a Federal agency for a handgun are rarely if ever published. If they were they would generate more speculation than any internet myth. This is especially true of semi auto pistols. Each agency decides what their requirements are and tests accordingly. That's why you see agencies carrying SIGs, Glocks, Berettas, H&Ks S&W, etc. DEA likes Rock River M4s and DHS uses Colts. There is some experimenter's bias involved. Agencies have a tendency to change to something else they are not using. Most agencies feel that after 10 year service life (from my observation not agency policy) it's time for new handguns. They will replace them with some other manufacturer even if they have had no problems with what they've been using. They do the same with ammunition contracts.

S&W and Ruger were the only mass revolver manufacturers at the time (sorry Colt fans) and the onlyones to bid on the contract. The only reason I know the details I related above was because I helped conduct the test.

[Edward Nigma]

All I've heard are claims. Never had the opportunity to test them myself. A gun shop owner said he used to work for S&W and they once tested a Python, a Ruger GP100 and a Smith .357 (he didn't say which model) with the hottest loads they could make. The Python blew up first, followed by the Smith. He said they never could get the GP100 to blow up. I'd bet the timing was messed up though.

Again, I never saw it, just heard about it, so I'm not certain.

[Big Boomer]

If you want nuclear loads and want to run them without screwing up the gun go with Ruger period.

Just be careful running uber super light bullets at blinding speeds. Do not run say 110 grainers at Max+ loads you WILL get flame cutting on any handgun. In addition you must also be careful of cracking the forcing cone as well with these light bullets. (although I have never heard of one being cracked on a Ruger) I still follow the rules.

The Rugers will wear you out before they'll wear out. Even with loads in my Ruger Blackhawk 45 Colt that are at 44 mag levels I get through about 20 and can't take anymore. Been doing that for years.

My 357 kicks my booty after about 50 rounds of hot stuff even with the hogue grips. (I really need some shooting gloves) My palm was bruised for a week last time.

[44AMP]

Just how many revolvers worth of ammo (price wise) should a gun last? Lets play with numbers for a minute.

Say $5 per hundred (not a realistic figure for magnum ammo nowadys, but just as a number), that is $50 per thousand, and $500 for 10,000

And if we figure the gun cost $500, then 10,000 rnds = the cost of the gun

So, by the time you have fired 10,000 rounds, you have spent the equivalent of another gun in ammo. So, just how many guns worth of ammo should each gun last? And remember, everything except frame damage/excessive wear/stretching can be repaired.

So, if your revolver goes out of time at 15,000 rnds, and needs a trip to the shop (and is fixed for way less than the cost of a new revolver), and then goes another 10,000 (or more) before going out of time again, just how well has the gun returned on your original investment?

And can you think of even ONE other comsumer product that will give you that kind of return on your investment as a normal occurrence? I can't.

[DPris]

The Trooper IIIs were known to break in the thin section of the trigger where it pivoted around the trigger pin. They were pretty sturdy otherwise, but did have that occasional weakness.
Denis