Smith and Ruger: Startling Revelation

[gudel]

Good for you, but I think S&W is a better well made gun.

The Ruger is STRONGER than the Smith

I keep hearing people saying this. Has anyone successfully measure this or is it just a nonsense talk?

 

[Sport45]

I keep hearing people saying this. Has anyone successfully measure this or is it just a nonsense talk?

I'm thinking there is something to it. Why else would Hodgdon and others publish "Ruger Only" loads? Okay, maybe Ruger and T/C. Okay, okay, maybe Ruger, T/C, and Dan Wesson. Point is, S&W is never listed with the "strong" guns. At least not until they came out with the X-frame.

Quote:

why do these gunsmiths use Ruger revolvers

444,
Off set bolt stops.
Colt and Smith (on the Anaconda and the .500 S&W- I'm not sure, I never looked that close at them) place their boltstops in the center of the frame, Ruger off sets theirs. Like a chain and the weaskest link thingie, the weakest part is the thinnest. Offsetting the bolt stops allows the thinnest part to be NOT over the chamber proper.

I don't know if the position of the bolt stops would be an issue in one of these conversions. When they convert it to a 5-shooter the bolt stop would be in the thick part of the cylinder even if the bolt was in the center of the frame. A S&W with an odd number of chambers wouldn't give up anything to a Ruger in that regard.

I have a Redhawk, a Model 19-5, and and 36 no-dash. The S&W's have better triggers without a doubt. The revolver I shoot the most, though, is my Dan Wesson 15-2. When I get the Redhawk back from Ruger (light firing pin strikes) that may change. The main reason I see the Ruger taking over is that I like shooting my 1911's more than my Sig. When I take the Sig to the range I take the DW along with it. When I take the 1911's I take my Redhawk (.45 Colt). By doing this when I get home I don't have to sort brass before throwing it in the cleaner. 9mm doesn't get hung up in .38 and .45 Colt doesn't get hung up in .45acp. I'm lazy that way.

 

[Boats]

There is nothing nonsensical about Rugers being stronger than S&Ws. It approaches being a fact of life.

Read the thread from the beginning. You will discover about Ruger that:

It employs offset cylinder cuts.
Has a solid frame as opposed to a sideplate.
Uses no screws at any critical stress points.
Is arguably overbuilt, even for being a "mere" casting.
Is used as a work-up platform for serious large bore revolvers.

Even the GP-100 has a conversion package available to take it up to .44 Special, something I have never even seen anyone suggest doing to an L-Frame Smith.

Clement's Custom will make you a 5 shot .44 Special GP price on request.

So, again, I think you will find that most Ruger shooters will concede that out of the box a Smith has more refinement in it. What I find curious is that the Smith shooters will not concede that a GP-100 is tougher than an L-Frame.

I think it is because a Ruger can be refined to a very great degree, but there is precious little that can be done to get a stronger Smith .357 Magnum, shy of finding a used N-Frame.

 

[BigG]

Ding ding ding!

Even the GP-100 has a conversion package available to take it up to .44 Special, something I have never even seen anyone suggest doing to an L-Frame Smith.

This may have been true at one time but S&W made some L frame 44 Special 5 shooters. I have one, an ugly hump back alloy/titanium no hammer DAO.

I do not dispute the strength claims in favor of Ruger. My question is, "at what cost?" They are too expensive for me, because I have to work for my money; I can't afford a cheap gun.

To put it another way - I have never heard of a Ruger being used out of the box. It's always "buy one, get a trigger job, find a way to mount the forend without warping the bbl, ..." or some nonsense, like "buy a 10/22 - throw away everything but the receiver and put all aftermarket parts on it, then it's a pretty decent .22." I know not all of the problems with Rugers are with their revolvers, but all Rugers have built in problems/compromises.

 

[wanderinwalker]

Even the GP-100 has a conversion package available to take it up to .44 Special, something I have never even seen anyone suggest doing to an L-Frame Smith.

I believe the now discontinued S&W 696 was an L-frame in 5-shot .44 Special format.

As for strength, I feel that anything capable of handling SAAMI-spec loads in its given caliber is strong enough for my needs. A Smith .44 Magnum is durable and powerful enough for little whitetails and black bear. (I don't feel an overwhelming need for a 300gr 1100+ fps load for either honestly.) My forests aren't crawling with armored ninja-grizzly bears and other mythical Internet beasts.

 

[StrikeEagle]

I had a security six that was better than any Smith I've ever fired. I did a trigger job on it to get it that way, though, which is quite easy to do with a security six.

Yeah! I hear that!

I have a Security Six that has a BETTER trigger than my Smith 66. It was my first full-sized revolver, and I got it at a time when I just didn't own a many other guns... so I shot it a LOT. And I'd sit in front of the TV and dry fire... for hours.

Did that for over a year I guess.

Did I mention that I LOVE the Ruger Security Six?

StrikeEagle

 

[Boats]

Well, you learn something every day. I never knew about limited edition Smith L-Frame .44 Specials and now I do. Thanks.

I don't hate Smiths, not pre-agreement ones anyway, they just have never gotten it done for me. I am left handed, and for that special trait of mine, both Ruger and Colt have made the better mousetrap for releasing a cylinder than has Smith. A push button like the Ruger or a pull latch, like the one on my Dick Special, has always been easier to use than contorting my left index finger back far enough to push forward the latch obviously designed for the right thumb that is on the side of every Smith.

I was just trying to point out that the strength of Rugers is not based on hot air, it is real.

As for the Ruger trigger job, it took fifteen minutes of stoning and ten dollars to Wolff for springs. I guess I have time for cheap guns, especially ones that can be taken apart without tools. I still save the better part of $100.00 and don't have a locking hole in the sideplate as a bonus.