Miami_JBT
Member
Love my US Postal Inspector contract Speed Six.
Missing the Security-Six?
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- 357 ruger security-six
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stonebuster
Member
I believe the decision to discontinue the Six Series was to cut costs.They changed from the full grip frame and added the front cylinder lock while they were at it. If I were to get another GP100 it would be the blued half lug like CraigC's.
Miami_JBT
Member
OP
OP
Confederate
Member
Yes, the Security-Six was pretty much perfect as a .357, with the exception of its out-of-the-box action. It's fine as a dresser drawer gun, but as a shooter it needs help. And fortunately, the fix is as easy as changing its springs. So once I changed the springs and dry fired it a few thousand times, the gun smoothed up considerably.
I can't imagine why Ruger felt the need to beef up the Security-Six. The guys at Ruger could have cut the corners and kept the weight down without adding all the excess steel or changing the balance of the gun.
The Ruger Security-Six has a full frame design whereas the GP-100 has
a shaft (inset).
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anothernewb
Member
toyed with the idea of machining a GP100 down to a half or 2/3 under-lug once. best of both worlds? Know that Ruger did have some back in the day. but never seen one personally. Never followed up on the idea as I never had the guts to try it on one of mine. Keep saying someday I'll find a cheap abused GP to try it on... as you can guess. I'm still looking for that.
tightgroup tiger
Member
Is it my eyes or does the barrel inscription say 36 special in that picture? Granted it's more accurate than 38 special.
stonebuster
Member
It does look like 36 but it's a bit lightly stamped on the top. Now a 36 spl Speed Six would be extremely rare!
stonebuster
Member
I installed a 10# mainspring and hammer/hammer dog shims on my Speed Six 2 3/4. The trigger pull is light, smooth and 100% reliable through several hundred rounds fired. I found an extra hammer to bob and kept the original intact. You know the GP100 snubs only weigh a couple ounces more than the Speed Sixes. The GP100 may have been in part Ruger's answer to the S&W 686.
stonebuster
Member
I'm still kicking myself for not buying a very nice old half lug GP100 (asking $450) I saw three years ago.
WheelGunMan
Member
My Security Six circa 1978 has been issue free since the day I picked it up at a now a long closed gun store. It has a buttery smooth trigger in both single and double action and is always a pleasure to shoot. I carried it as a sidearm during deer hunting last year, as was originally intended. I wish I could say that about my other 5 Ruger revolvers with the exception of the LCR357 which has never gone back to the mothership either.
OP
OP
Confederate
Member
Yes, what you say is true, but the GP-100s I've handled have completely different balances. The Speed-Six pistols do tend to be smoother due to age and having been shot more, but taking the weight from the grip frame and adding it to the front of the gun gives the GP-100 a completely different feel, and one I don't personally care for. Still, preferences do vary.
I wish I could let you try my 3-inch Speed-Six, though, in a side by side comparison. As for the S&W 686, I think it is the best production .357 ever made. Yes, I despise the lock on the 686, but I don't think the Colt Python has anything on the S&W. The extractor on the Colts have always appeared a bit feeble and though the vented rib has always looked cool and the heavy forged frame gives a quality heft to the gat, I remember when the 686 first came out, there were range reports where people, anxious to see how the 686-0 stacked up to the Python, bolted them into Ransom Rests and fired them into targets to see which were the most accurate. The blued 686s fared dead on with the Pythons, with some unreal numbers churned out by both, even with light bullets (110/125gr). The Ruger, though they fared well with heavier bullets, didn't do as well with lighter ones. They were well within the accuracy range one could, and would, expect out of a quality .357, it wasn't what one might hope for in a match grade revolver.
The 686 held its own against the Python with some superb numbers, but while the Ruger did just fine, they tended to do better with heavier bullets. This was viewed as being okay because most self defense shootings stew done with lighter bullets at close encounters, while heavier bullets were used by hunters at longer distances. I haven't seen any recent comparisons as we're up to the S&W 686-6. When the 686 was first rolled out, S&W was determined that the Python was the gun to beat. The 686-6 I have is extremely light in its action. Smooth, too. If it stacks up to the Python in its tolerances, it should prove a worthy competitor, and I would love to see the numbers.
The one thing I can't figure out is this: why, if people love the vented ribs so much, doesn't S&W give them a vented rib? How difficult can it be to slap on something like that? They stole the barrel underlug thing. And years ago they had a vented rib for the Security-Six that could be glued in place. But it didn't turn the Security-Six into a Python, or anything that looked like a Python. It just looked like a Security-Six with a straight rib!
Well, check out a used Security-Six or Speed-Six, if you can find one.I'm still kicking myself for not buying a very nice old half lug GP100 (asking $450) I saw three years ago.
Ruger GP100 and Security-Six (inset).
KevininPa
Member
Your last sentence is what I had always heard. The 686 was brought out due the problems the 66 had. At the time Ruger was the smaller company trying to compete with the big dogs and followed suit. Couple that with less handfitting, polishing and investment casting for a cheaper to produce product. Voila! The Boat Anchor 100 was born. At least that's the internet lore I gathered over the years. Strangely enough, a lot of it on this very site.
CraigC
Sixgun Nut
A lot of people believed that BS S&W marketing. When in fact a GP and 686 weigh the same. My half lug 6" GP is a whopping 6oz heavier than a 4" model 19. Or exactly the same as my 6" pencil barrel K22. The 5" .44Spl pictured above is dead even with the 4" K-frame. In reality, any added weight in the GP is in the underlug and that is present on the 686/586, King Cobra and Python. The "boat anchor" with a lot of unnecessary weight is the full lug K22.
kBob
Member
We need to start a post card campaign to Ruger. A picture on the front of a Security Six and Speed Six and on the back "If you Build it , they will Buy it"
I actually LIKED the 150 series grip frame and grips, myself and thought THAT change was a mistake.
-kBob
I actually LIKED the 150 series grip frame and grips, myself and thought THAT change was a mistake.
-kBob
johnnylaw53
Member
The security six was the first weapon I carried after the Sheriff's Academy in 1980. I had a Colt Trooper when I started the academy but the firing pin broke. I couldn't get anyone to fix it right away so traded it for for a blue Security Six. I carried it for a year till my buddy decided to go back into the army and he had a stainless one so I sold my blue one for the asking price of the stainless one. I carried it for many years till they began to issued weapons. I still have it and take it out of the vault now and then to shoot it, really like it.
shoebox1.1
Member
I love this gun!
I used to have a 6" Security Six and currently a 6" tapered lug GP100. Even between those two the balance isn't comparable. Finding the right tapered lug GP100 was worth the wait! The full lug is completely unnecessary for my use.
"toyed with the idea of machining a GP100 down to a half or 2/3 under-lug once. best of both worlds? Know that Ruger did have some back in the day. but never seen one personally. Never followed up on the idea as I never had the guts to try it on one of mine. Keep saying someday I'll find a cheap abused GP to try it on... as you can guess. I'm still looking for that." - anothernewby
A while back there was a picture of a custom GP100 Ahlman's in MN did. They took a relatively rare 1/2 lug GP 6" SS model and cut the barrel back to 3.5 or 4". It was in one of the Ruger forums as I recall. Other than that I had a gunsmith do the 1/2 lug treatment when I had a 4" full underlug GP cut back to 2.75" so it can be done.
A while back there was a picture of a custom GP100 Ahlman's in MN did. They took a relatively rare 1/2 lug GP 6" SS model and cut the barrel back to 3.5 or 4". It was in one of the Ruger forums as I recall. Other than that I had a gunsmith do the 1/2 lug treatment when I had a 4" full underlug GP cut back to 2.75" so it can be done.
Blue Brick
Member
Now you guys have me worried. I am going to have to measure to see if my 38 only is still a 38 only Or did the previous owner have it changed. Hopefully its still original.
Palladan44
Member
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I prefer .38s and 357s in S&W offerings such as the 586 or 686, or the model 27 or 28. Maybe a GP100 (preceded by the "Sixes") is "stronger" than them, but dont see the need for the extra bulk in 357.
Either way, Rugers come close to Smiths in their all around score (my opinion) but they are slightly less money, or at least they used to be, which you could say offsets the difference, depending on how you look at it.
I prefer Rugers to handle the 44 Magnum round. They do it better than any other, IMO. Redhawk, Super RH are the bomb.
Ive owned the security six models and shot them alongside Smith and Wessons for years. Theyre just not as good as Smiths IMO.
Id pack a Security Six and still get done whatever I need to get done with any 357 wheelgun. I do like Ruger Six Series guns no doubt.
Either way, Rugers come close to Smiths in their all around score (my opinion) but they are slightly less money, or at least they used to be, which you could say offsets the difference, depending on how you look at it.
I prefer Rugers to handle the 44 Magnum round. They do it better than any other, IMO. Redhawk, Super RH are the bomb.
Ive owned the security six models and shot them alongside Smith and Wessons for years. Theyre just not as good as Smiths IMO.
Id pack a Security Six and still get done whatever I need to get done with any 357 wheelgun. I do like Ruger Six Series guns no doubt.
Blue Brick
Member
Empty 357 will work as a tester right?
OP
OP
Confederate
Member
Why not just get a Security-Six? After hefting both, the balance of the Security-Six I think is much better.I'm still kicking myself for not buying a very nice old half lug GP100 (asking $450) I saw three years ago.
That's what I always heard. Ruger felt it had to beef up its next iteration of revolver or people would think it would have the same sort of problems the S&W 66/19/65/13 had. It was nonsense of course, but it gave Ruger the excuse to cut corners with the GP100. I tried testing it in the gun store and hatred the balance. It was too front heavy for me. Pointability was awful.
You mean the original grips? They were fine for single action shooting, but people hated shooting it double action. Gun writers said it was a single action gun that fired double action, and that saying stuck. I thought the next generation of Ruger Security-Six was right on. I think the old Speed-Six would sell like hot cakes.
Why would you want only .38? The guy who did my guns reamed them out with a precision the factory just didn't use. I dropped .357 jhp bullets into each chamber and they not only stuck, they stuck at the same place, meaning accuracy would be right on. Let us know what you find on yours. Photos would be nice too if you can.
KevininPa
Member
Thought I'd toss this in here. Doesn't have the Hogue wood on it anymore. I found some Ruger medallioned Pachmayrs for sale on clearance from Ruger themselves. Fit my hand way better.
KevininPa
Member
This is the Service Six that I'm going to send to Mahovsky MetaLife. Looks pretty, but is actually a coating. Which happens to be chipping off. Shoots good but can still use some Wolff springs. Just changing out springs makes a world of difference in these revolvers.
CraigC
Sixgun Nut
According to Bill Ruger, they lost money on the Security Six.
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