Ruger Speed Six?

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Tex62

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Howdy,

Found a Ruger Speed Six today for sale. It is a 160 prefix, stainless and 2 3/4 barrel. Action is good and smooth, and it locks up well. No scratches or dings.

It looks to be needing a good cleaning. There looks to be very small rust pits on some of the lettering on the barrel and a few other places too. I could scratch some of it off with my finger nail. The barrel also looked dirty. A bit surprised that a small gun store not have cleaned it up better, so I am wondering if it has issues.

He is asking $369 for it which seems a bit high. I found a few forum entries that indicated folks had found similar guns for $350'ish...

Thoughts?

THanks, Tex62
 
For a Speed Six that's reasonable even in the condition described. I've owned a great many handguns and these are absolute sleepers. The best .357 CCW piece ever made IMHO. It handles like a K frame magnum but it's tougher. It's a revolver for shooting not just for carrying around. The lockwork is simple and very durable. You can field strip it by removing one screw. K frame holsters generally work fine for these.

Most folks simply don't know about these guns. They're thought of as the brand C magnum that was a little less expensive than a Smith and a lot less than a Colt. Don't let that rep fool you.
 
I bought a short barrel Service-Six a few years back, it's a great revolver. I agree that price is just a little high but if you really like the revolver don't let it go because of a few bucks. I paid $300 but like I said, that was a few years ago.

service6-1.jpg

service6-8.jpg
 
I would try to get him down to $325-350 range, but if it was nice, I wouldn't balk at paying $369. I have been looking for a 2 3/4" Speed or Sec. Six for awhile now.

I got a nice 4" Sec. Six at a gunshow on Father's Day this year and I love it.
 
The 2.75's are getting hard to find in both speed and security six's. I paid $325 for a 2.75 security six a year ago and felt it was a bargain then. Take a look at gunbroker and search completed auctions, that well give you an idea of current prices.
 
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Thanks for the input. I forgot to mention that it is .38 Special only. That is not a big issue to me as doubt I'd carry .357 with it anyway. Externally, I think it will clean up fine. My concern is that I don't think the previous owner cleaned the bore. I don't think it was shot too much though. I guess I am concerned about if there is long term damage to the bore. I guess without trying to clean it myself, I won't know.

Thanks, Tex62
 
There's not much .38 special out there with corrosive primers. Barring that leaving it dirty won't hurt it. Bring a good bore light next time and take a look at it.
 
Thats actually about the right price these days... I picked up a couple of 4" ones at around $380 but I know I overpaid. These are getting harder and harder to find so I say try to talk the seller down. If you cant, buy it any way.

Just my $.02

V.
 
25 years ago I bought a Speed Six in stainless and Gary Dean did a trigger job on it.

Best shooting revolver I've ever owned.
 
For that price, I sure would be tempted. I have two Speed Sixes in 9 mm and a Service Six in .357 and sure do enjoy shooting them.
DSCN0991.jpg
 
what cal is it in 38 357 or 9mm i got this one not long ago for $330 its a 38
picture.php
 
if its in 9mm its well worth it they or going for $600 plus they are pretty rare i have one in ss and the 38 any speed six is geting kind of hard to find i don't see many on the auction sits
 
It is just a .38. I'll bring pin light and have a better look into the bore. To me without the light, it just looked dirty. I guess if there were any issues, it would have some pitting, correct?

I'll let ya'll know. I should be able to look at it again on Tuesday.

Thanks!
 
I took the Ruger armorer's course on them. They're good solid guns, practically indestructible, and Ruger still sells parts and services them. A neglected stainless gun like that one should be just fine.

I picked a blued one up in rough shape some years back for $89 and the bore was ok.

A lot of people including me think it was a mistake for Ruger to drop that series.
 
A lot of people including me think it was a mistake for Ruger to drop that series.
Click to expand...
I also agree it was a mistake. Yes, the GP100 is a good revolver but they aren't as well balanced as the -Six series revolvers IMO. I guess it's like the S&W K and L frame revolvers, the L frame revolvers are great but they don't feel and shoot like a K frame.
 
Some size questions while we are on the topic of frames... So I have a K frame Model 64 in 4". This is the "house" gun, where this Ruger will be more for the car or carry if I get around to getting the CHL. The Ruger seems slightly (maybe 1/4") smaller on the grip. Everything else looks to be about the same size as the K frame (aside from barrel length). How does the Speed Six size compare to the SP101?

thanks.
 
The Speed gives you an extra round over the SP, of course. It's slightly larger in dimensions and a notch heavier but doesn't have the same "bricky" quality the SP has. The balance, esp. for shooting, is much better on the Speed.

Many find the Six grip too small. Hogue makes their monogrips for it, or you can get T-Grips.
 
You don't see anything priced like that around here......... for your sake I hope its still there when you return.

Best
 
I got it. Got him to knock $20 off of the price.

Spent the last hour trying to get her cleaned up outside. Looks like there is quite a bit of carbon build up in the bore, but otherwise it is OK. Exterior is not in too bad of shape. I will need to find a solution for polishing though.

Also, just where is that "one screw" to undo for field stripping?

Thanks!
 
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