Confederate
Member
I was searching books on Amazon last night when I came across Massad Ayoob's The Greatest Handguns of the World. I've come to inspect samples of books these days before I buy the actual books and this was no different. But what floored me was the fact that while Ayoob covered many Colt and Smith & Wesson handguns, he not only failed to cover the Ruger Security-Six, but the GP-100 as well.
It's apparent from the text I did read that Ayoob isn't a huge fan of Ruger and that he missed out on one of the most significant handgun designs of the 20th Century. While he covered the plethora of S&W handguns with side plates (many of which were just different versions of the same handgun), he missed the Ruger, which introduced not only investment casting, but solid frame durability and modular design. This was a gun where, if nothing else, Bill Ruger declared 1) he started with a clean sheet of paper in its design and 2) he never made a dime on its production. Certainly one would think these alone would qualify the Ruger as one of the great handguns of modern history.
In writing about the Colt Python, Ayoob wrote that while some saw it as an outstanding competitive revolver, "others saw it as one thing more than a hunting revolver or target .38: the finest quality self-defense revolver that money could buy." I don't know about you, but if I had a Colt Python in excellent condition, the last thing I'd use it for is for defense. Why? What's the first thing cops do when you're forced to shoot someone in self defense? They take it away from you, throw it into a plastic box and lock it up as evidence. Oftentimes if you get it back, it's all scratched up and shows signs of rust.
They're not going to do that with my prized pistols! That's why I use a stainless Rossi 5-shot .38 or a blued Ruger Standard .22LR pistol! Nope, my good guns are never used for self defense. Yet Ayoob includes the S&W 586/686 in his book while admitting that they're basically copies of the Python. Then he does a shout-out to the Ruger GP-100, which also isn't included in his book and which he also says is a copy of the Python.
At the same time the Smith K-frame .357s were falling apart with steady diets of hot magnum rounds, the Ruger Security-Six was eating them like candy. Ruger was able to do this, as stated, through investment casting and a strong modular design. Yet Ayoob ignores it.
Am I being too critical or does Ayoob have something against the gun? In fact, I don't remember a single article Ayoob has ever written about this fine Ruger revolver.
It's apparent from the text I did read that Ayoob isn't a huge fan of Ruger and that he missed out on one of the most significant handgun designs of the 20th Century. While he covered the plethora of S&W handguns with side plates (many of which were just different versions of the same handgun), he missed the Ruger, which introduced not only investment casting, but solid frame durability and modular design. This was a gun where, if nothing else, Bill Ruger declared 1) he started with a clean sheet of paper in its design and 2) he never made a dime on its production. Certainly one would think these alone would qualify the Ruger as one of the great handguns of modern history.
In writing about the Colt Python, Ayoob wrote that while some saw it as an outstanding competitive revolver, "others saw it as one thing more than a hunting revolver or target .38: the finest quality self-defense revolver that money could buy." I don't know about you, but if I had a Colt Python in excellent condition, the last thing I'd use it for is for defense. Why? What's the first thing cops do when you're forced to shoot someone in self defense? They take it away from you, throw it into a plastic box and lock it up as evidence. Oftentimes if you get it back, it's all scratched up and shows signs of rust.
They're not going to do that with my prized pistols! That's why I use a stainless Rossi 5-shot .38 or a blued Ruger Standard .22LR pistol! Nope, my good guns are never used for self defense. Yet Ayoob includes the S&W 586/686 in his book while admitting that they're basically copies of the Python. Then he does a shout-out to the Ruger GP-100, which also isn't included in his book and which he also says is a copy of the Python.
At the same time the Smith K-frame .357s were falling apart with steady diets of hot magnum rounds, the Ruger Security-Six was eating them like candy. Ruger was able to do this, as stated, through investment casting and a strong modular design. Yet Ayoob ignores it.
Am I being too critical or does Ayoob have something against the gun? In fact, I don't remember a single article Ayoob has ever written about this fine Ruger revolver.
