Security Six vs. Model 19 Combat Magnum

A security-six not a gp100? Just a bit over 500 dollars is about what gp100 can be new where i am at. The ruger would be a stronger revolver. I have a shooting buddy thats a ruger nut and has a box full of them and buys most of his for around the 350 mark for nice used models. He has several 9mm and mainly the 357 mags.

The 19 will undoubtedly have a better double action trigger, if you are interested in shooting your double-action revolver, well... double action.

Conventional wisdom is that the Ruger can eat magnums all day every day forever, while the Smith is best shot mostly with 38s and only occasionally with magnum loads. Supposedly the failure of Model 19s to stand up to a regular diet of 357 Magnum firing led Smith to develop the L frame to be able to take the full-time-magnum punishment.

OTOH, there are owners who claim to have shot their Model 19 for decades with magnum loads only and the guns are still tight.

I've owned both - a 19 in about 1970 which had the "target" hammer and wide grooved trigger and factory oversize "target" grips, and a Ruger in the '90s which had the standard hammer, trigger and grips. As between those two I'd pick the Ruger because it felt better in my hand. (I only kept the Smith for a month or two before selling it back to the guy I bought it from. I still regret letting the Security Six go in a trade for a GP100, which I never warmed up to.)

Get the Smith. You'll never regret it.

I have a 4" 19-3 that I bought new. It's relegated to wadcutter or +P loads but it's nice to know I can stoke it up if I want.
I've done a lot of reading on the split forcing cone issue and concluded it's a steady diet of super-hot 110 or 125gr loads that cause the issues. YMMV.
But - If I'm going for a walk in the woods this is the sidearm I'll be wearing. It's accurate, has a sweet DA pull, and is balanced nice. And I don't have to chase the empties!

I've owned both and like both. The Sixes are slightly stouter but the Smiths usually have a smoother, lighter trigger pull. Both are excellent magnums. I don't think you'd regret getting either, esp. the short barrel ones for CCW. They do have quite different frame architecture, and some hands are going to do better with one or the other. But you can make adjustments with various stocks and the T-Grips of course.

The Six's triggers will get better with use, and you can buy Wolff kits for them to take them down a peg. But some folks like a stouter trigger on a carry piece. If you're going to do competition or speed shooting, the Smith has the edge.

Take down and clean up, the Ruger has the edge. You remove one screw, insert a little brass rod behind the mainspring and the whole thing comes apart. As long as you don't try to take apart the trigger assembly, the whole thing strips down easier than most semiautos. It's very impressive. This is one reason I prefer Rugers in general as trail guns over Smiths.

I have one of each and love them both equally. I think the Model 19 is better looking, but from a functional standpoint I can't tell the difference. They are similar in size and, at least with mine, equally accurate.

I carried a Model 19 and dearly loved it for what it was: a light, powerful, accurate and smooth operating duty gun. Advance 30 years. I had found both a nice Model 19 at a gunshow, and an equally nice Ruger Security Six at gunbroker. Side by side, as stated, the S&W was smoother, but I had recently had to trash a Model 10 S&W barrel, because the forcing cone had split. The S&W 19 has also had a history of similar failures with too many magnums being fired. I wanted a .357 that would last and be my ONE .357 for general use. The Ruger shot like a laser beam, and the fact that it will stand up to more .357's than the Model 19 made it my choice. I sold the S&W, in spite of my nostalgic attachment to the model from my experience with it long ago. The Ruger will serve you longer, and can always be tuned for a great action job.

if all u want to do is shoot magnums better buy the ruger but i think 500 is way to high i have a 2 1/2 19 and i love it but most loads are 38 spl and carry the mag loads for defense if i was going to give that much i would get the smith

For $500, that shop can keep 'em both if I were shopping. I'd pay max $300 for the ruger and maybe $400 for the Smith.

That said, both are good guns, but both will suffer from extensive use with really hot ammo. The 19's frame will stretch, and the -Six series had problems with cracked forcing cones (mine did). For the same money (both guns in similar condition), I'd take the smith every time. Much nicer gun, far more refined.

If you plan on shooting it a lot go with the Ruger. I have one and love it. I also have a S&W .357 but it is a Model 28 "Highway Patroleman" and it is built on the heavy N frame. There were a LOT of old police guns traded in back when they switched to semi-autos. Most were carried a lot but shot very little but some came from police accadamies where they were shot a lot. If you go with the 19 make sure it is not worn out.

The Ruger Security six was the first center fire pistol I bought back in '75 for $145.98 at a Earnst Hardware Store. It was a good enough pistol but the OEM stocks where too thin and made magnum recoil hard on the hand. I'd put a set of Herrets on it and that helped a lot, a few years later Ruger revised their stocks with a better design.

Kept it for a couple years and them sold it to buy a Colt Python. Since that time I've bought several more Colts and S&W's. Have a much more valuable collection now than if I'd kept the Ruger.

If you just want a shooter then buy the Ruger if its at least 20 to 25% less than the Smith but for the same price the S&W is a better choice.

Get 'em both... I did!



Deaf

The issue with magnums in the Model 19 is covered here:
http://www.gunblast.com/Butch_MagnumLoads.htm
I've not heard of a similar problem with the stainless Model 66.
Short summary is 158 grain magnums should not crack your forcing cone, expect timing issues eventually. 110 or 125 grain magnums may crack the forcing cone.
Based on prices being quoted on this forum over the last year, $500 to $550 is about right for a mint Model 19. The last buy price I recall being quoted for a Security Six was $350 for ANIB, IIRC.
I haven't shot a Security or Speed Six, the ones I have handled seem well fitted guns but the trigger pull was sub par compared to a S&W. IIRC there is also an issue with getting aftermarket grips to fit the earlier Sixes, with the skinny timber grips being painful to shoot with magnums, read up on that before buying.

The

Also the Model 686 was designed to rectify the problems with the Model 19. It has a full size forcing cone and slightly larger cylinder. If buying new that would be my choice over the Ruger GP100, again due to the trigger being better.
If you simply intend to jam solid fuel rocket boosters with a bullet on top into the cylinder, then perhaps the Ruger Super Redhawk is the way to go.

I've owned both. They're both good guns. Over the years I got rid of both of them.

I replaced the Model 19 though.

But is what yall are saying is that old Smith's can't eat 357's regularly? Perhaps I should get a modern Ruger

Click to expand...

I bought a new-in-the-box S&W 19 as my first handgun, but if I had known about the Security Six at the time, I would have passed over the S&W. I have had some issues with the S&W which keep me from having 100% confidence with it. After shooting two boxes of magnums through it - standard moderate factory loads - the cylinder locked up solid as a rock. Turns out the gas ring on the front of the cylinder had swelled up against the forcing cone and tied up the whole mechanism. It's fixed now, but in the back of my mind I will always question the gun a little bit when using magnums; not exactly confidence-inspiring in a defensive weapon.

Please understand I say this as a Model 19 lover; I still think it's the classiest gun ever made. But for complete peace of mind, if I had to do it again I would choose the Ruger.

I also have a Ruger Security 6 in a 3 in Stainless. And,,,,,, it shoots and handles .357 without a problem like S&W 19 does. I also have a 4 inch 65-2 with pinned barrel made back in 79 and, I use anything in .357 above 125 grain loads. Best is the 140s or 145 grain loads in .357 to be safe from forcing cone splits problem.

Noirfan:
What dash model did you buy? In 1977 the Model 19-4 had the gas ring moved from the yoke to the cylinder. I'm curious as to wether this was a fix for your problem or potentially a cause of your problem.

I have no complaints about my Ruger Security Six.

The 'Combat Magnum' is among the best if not the best 'combat' revolvers ever made. Having had Ruger with 2&3/4" barrel for real short time I would say it was among the best "Crowbar Magnums" ever devised. Mine was just like the one above except it was blued steel not stain resistant.
PS. True standouts in Ruger line are 28ga O/U and Beesley framed big-bore revolvers. When they released mass-produced version of Scottish round action called the "Gold Label" I thought they had arrived. Sadly it was abruptly discontinued. The same could be said for bolt-action magnum chambered for 10.75x73. Now you know why I hate Ruger.

That $500 price is a bit high even for a M19 unless it's 100%. The Six should be $400 max. The Ruger is a heavier duty revolver and the M19 is a classic revolver. I own a few of each and they are great shooters. If I was going to shoot a lot of full house .357 I'd get the Ruger.

I have a stainless 4" Ruger Security Six....the trigger pull/wt is fabulous...but only after I worked on it and made it so.....really smooth now....must be one of the early stainless versions....lots of magnum rounds thru it over the years....never failed..replaced factory grips early on with Herret Shooting Stars and recently went to Pachmyar finger groove type...never liked the factory grips....back "when" I had always wanted a M-19 4" but never could afford a new one back then....hence the Ruger came to me....don't see the need now to buy one...the moral to this story is I'd buy a Ruger today if I wanted a .357Mag revolver...double action that is....