Security Six and hot loads

[steelbird]

Hello all-

I'm very aware of the Ruger revolvers being able to handle strong reloads and hot factory loads- I have a. 357 Blackhawk myself. I was wondering about the Security Six; can it handle a steady diet of strong stuff, like the Buffalo Bore or Double Tap .357 loads?

 

[Tomcat47]

It probably can.....they are durable revolvers....however I have came to the conclusion through my years of shooting I do not like HOT loads.....with the exception of a Thomson Contender!!!

I do not even like +P or +P+ ammo ..... seems pointless to me... and I know others like them, I just think if I wanted MORE out of a .38 I would just pick up a .357....If I wanted more out of a .357 ... I would just pick up my .41 Magnum....If I wanted more out of my .41.....(You get the picture)

As above stated with The Thompson Contender you have a very broad platform to play with when it comes to getting more out of less.....even compressed powder charges...And in terms of .357 mag you can get pretty inventive and even step up to .357 Maximum barrels in different lengths.

 

[CPLofMARINES]

Not too steady of a diet, but if your intent is hunting, sighting in with a few,
and keeping your rounds count low with the above mentioned loads, I feel
a Ruger is up to the task.


Semper Fi

 

[ColtPythonElite]

It will eat factory rounds just fine. Shoot all you want. I doubt if you'll ever wear it out. Very few people shoot enough to actually wear out a gun. I'd guess those that do can usually afford a replacement if their wallet is deep enough to feed a gun enough ammo to wear it out. Your hand will get tired long before the gun gets tired.

 

[WHALIN]

I think the loads will wear you out before the gun. If I wanted to shoot a lot of highend loads I would go up to a larger frame GP100 or L frame. Serious amount and get a Redhawk in 357. Will last forever and so will you.

 

[steelbird]

Thanks for the input- I am a bit of a "recoil junkie" on the revolver side of things, and it is true that I can only shoot so much of the power loads before my hands and arms say "enough already." But I do enjoy shooting the hot stuff, and I've been thinking about a DA revolver with the versatility of hot stuff for fun on the range, or for defense purposes, etc. As before, I know Ruger makes tanks- I just want some first hand knowledge before buying - is it a Sherman or a Stuart....... after all, some tanks are just stronger than others.

 

[Got_Lead?]

I baby my Security Six, just because I know they're not made anymore, and I really treasure mine. I did read somewhere that a range gun had logged over 2 million rounds, so I guess they're pretty durable. Blackhawks and Supeblackhawks will probably be made into the next century, they're incredibly tough, load em up hard.

 

[Cosmoline]

Eventually any revolver will start to loosen up. Shooting a truly steady diet of B-Bore is usually not an option due to the cost. But if you're handloading I'd try to keep the amounts reasonable. For one thing, if you're shooting heavy hardcast you really don't need them maxed out for anything this side of a brown bear. Slower is actually better with those for most purposes.

They're tough revolvers, but they're not Super Redhawks.

 

[Deaf Smith]

Hello all-

I'm very aware of the Ruger revolvers being able to handle strong reloads and hot factory loads- I have a. 357 Blackhawk myself. I was wondering about the Security Six; can it handle a steady diet of strong stuff, like the Buffalo Bore or Double Tap .357 loads?

The Secuity Six can handle a fair amount of hot loads. But if you really want to put steam in your six gun get a GP100 and let that S6 rest some.

Deaf

 

[Owen Sparks]

Aren't the cylinders of the GP-100 and the Security Six virtually identical? That weak link not the frame or barrel. The cylinder walls of the S&W Models 27 and 28 are MUCH thicker than either the Security Six or GP-100 yet the ruger lockwork is more robust. The S&W will go out of time quicker than either of the Rugers even when used only light .38 wad cutter loads because of the small delicate parts yet it will withstand more pressure in a bursting test than the Rugers can because of the massive thickness of the cylinder walls. Revolver durability involves two seperate and unrelated things:

1, The ability to withstand repeated high pressure loads without bursting.

2. The ability to stand up to repeated mechanical cyclings before going out of time.

 

[W.E.G.]

The Security-Six is likely to stand up to repeated hot loads longer than you will.

 

[Drail]

My advice is to avoid firing lots of 110 and 125 gr. high velocity stuff or anything that produces a huge fireball. While these loads will not "blow up" the gun they will in time do serious damage to the forcing cone. This is not something I heard or read - I have done it to my own GP 100 when I was young and stupid and seen at least 5 other Ruger DA revolvers that were abused this way. The temperature and duration of the flame front on light bullet/high velocity loads is very close to what happens when you apply a gas cutting torch to a piece of steel. It will only withstand it for a short time and repeated firings will carbuerize and pit the metal in the forcing cone and leave it brittle. If you find this hard to believe find a copy of Kuhnhausen's Ruger shop manual for Ruger DA revolvers. There are lots of detailed photos of the damage he has seen customers do to a DA revolver with high velocity loads. Heavy bullet loads do much less damage to the gun. I wish someone had warned me before I ruined a nice revolver. With any brand DA revolver even though it is safe to fire hot loads it WILL shorten the service life of the gun.

 

[Guy de Loimbard]

All of my .357 ammo is near max loads of 296 under 140 and 158 grain bullets. I have not noticed anything abnormal on my security six yet. My hand always gets tired after a box or so.

 

[revolversrbetter]

My trail gun is either a 4" or a 6" stainless security six, whichever I feel like grabbing that day. I keep 'em both loaded with DoubleTap 200gn hardcast. They handle it just fine.

I've fired Buffalo Bore 180gn in my GP100, but had sticky extraction issues and never went back. The DoubleTap works for me.

 

[Jonah71]

I baby my Security Six, just because I know they're not made anymore, and I really treasure mine. I did read somewhere that a range gun had logged over 2 million rounds, so I guess they're pretty durable. Blackhawks and Supeblackhawks will probably be made into the next century, they're incredibly tough, load em up hard.

I seldom shoot .357 mags or +P's in my Sec. Six. I know it will handle them but I like to baby mine a bit too. Some would see this as a waste I know, but I have other revolvers to shoot the bigger stuff through. I don't know why, but I don't worry so much about going with heavier loads in my old '72 BH 3 screw and it's in better condition than the Sec. Six.

 

[GRIZ22]

If you feel a need for "hot" 357 loads you should probably get more gun, a 41 or 44 mag maybe or use standard 357 loads in a carbine. Everything mechanical has a certain life. The Security 6 is a very strong gun, will most likely stand up to most hot loads, but you shorten its life to some degree by using hot loads.

If you are using the gun for SD a factory 357 load will do fine.