Why should I get a Ruger...

[big44]

I've had Ruger's, S&W, and the Colt Anaconda in 44 magnum. Last year I was diagnosed with breast cancer (I am a man) and with the surgeries, chemo and radiation, I had to liquidate most of my guns. But back to the point. I love the S&W's and I loved the Anaconda, but would I shoot the hottest 44 magnum loads through them? No.

The Ruger is clearly made for the 44 magnum. The N frame was never designed for the 44 magnum, if my reading is correct. They are tough guns and they aren't nearly as weak as internet posts suggest. I just wouldn't shoot the hot loads through the Smith's or the Anaconda.

Look at it this way. If I was going off roading I wouldn't go in a corvette. I would go in a truck. The Colt's and Smith's are corvettes. Buck the Ruger's are trucks.

I was lucky enough to run up on one of the new Ruger Alaskans in 44 mag last week used. The guy that bought it returned it because the of it's size and recoil. I love the gun!

One other thing to consider in the Smith vs. Ruger debate is how often are you really going to shoot hot loads? When I go to the range a half a box of 44's start making the hands tired and I switch to 44 specials.

 

[KINGMAX]

I do own a 686

The only S&W pistol I own is a 686-1. It is one heafty pistol, bar none. It is a great shooter as well. I do carry it as an alternate to my GLOCK 21 for personal carry.

 

[Jim March]

surfinUSA:

In 357Magnum you're mostly correct. The toughest Rugers in 357 starting with the GP100 and most esp. the various 357s Ruger has built on 44Mag-class frames (Redhawk, Blackhawk post-1973, Old Vaquero) will not give you anything extra *except* (compared to some guns) protection from very stupid way-past-SAAMI handloading.

I am not aware of any 357 loads shipping as "Ruger ONLY!"

Blackhawks in 357 have been known to survive handloads where the shells have to be pounded out with a hammer and punch, with no damage. A K-Frame S&W would likely have been shrapnel under the same circumstances.

(Note: the 50th Anniversary Blackhawk 357 and the New Vaquero are built on a new mid-frame size that is approximately equal to an L-Frame S&W or Colt SAA 2nd/3rd gen in strength.)

When you're talking about the 45LC however, "Ruger ONLY!" loads are NO JOKE. Ruger has built 45LC guns on 44Mag frames and produced guns that can take factory ammo that is way, WAY past SAAMI in that caliber. "45LC+P" can mean factory loads that are literally over double SAAMI. Buffalo Bore has a 325gr hardcast that does 1,300fps in 45LC+P. The usual +P rule of thumb is "10% over SAAMI" for most calibers but in 45LC+P you can throw that right out the window. The Colt Anaconda in 45LC can take these loads, ditto the Thompson Center/Encore single shots, and Rugers built on 44Mag-class frames...or of course any gun chambered in 454Casull.

In my opinion Ruger has recently screwed up. They shipped the New Vaquero mid-frame in 45LC. This gun is NOT compatible with 45LC+P "Ruger ONLY!" loads, it's the only "standard strength" 45LC gun Ruger has made to date. My opinion, they should have made it a 44Spl.

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Rugers such as the GP100 and the rest are strong in two ways:

* "Raw blowup resistance" is high even for their size as Ruger metallurgy is a damn fine advanced casting process with very few "weak spots" ever recorded. The GP100 is probably equal in this regard to most N-Frame S&W 357s.

* "Lockwork strength" under fast firing. Back when PPC was popular where people would shoot high volumes of low-powered 38s, the "super strong" N-Frame 357s were not the guns of choice because lots of fast firing would wear out the action. The heavy cylinder moving at high speed in rapid fire would wear out the star, pawl and similar "innards" in a hurry. In this sort of use the K-Frames were actually lasting much longer than the N-frames. Rugers retain the "blowup resistance" without creating a weak spot in lots of rapid fire or rapid dry-firing.

That is a damned respectable accomplishment on Ruger's part. When you combine all that with easy field stripping and generally high reliability (so long as the specimen didn't have a "birth defect" that running a Checkout could have caught) you have to give 'em credit.

While "malformed Rugers" do sometimes ship, and can be spotted, the one defect that is virtually unheard of is a metallurgical defect - a brittle spot or similar. Therefore, the bad ones that do ship (and it happens sometimes) can be identified pre-purchase.

 

[Frog48]

Ruger makes great guns. My dad bought a 4" GP-100 last year, and its beautiful and functions perfect.

 

[Magnumite]

Rugers are also every bit as accurate as comparable Colts and S&W's. I shot my Security Six at 7, 10, 15, 25 and 50 yards, double action during Action Pistol competition. We outshot guys wth Pythons and 686's. And we got spanked by great shooters with nicely built Smiths and a couple of Colts and a few tuned Rugers. So pick the one you like, as Carbon 15 has already done and have fun!

By the way, I have bench rested targets with this gun's favorite loads that are 3/4", 1" and 1.25". The thing shoots like that all day long. Wish I did :banghead: I shot that gun consisitantly, couple times a week for several years. The origonal barrel was refaced and set back twice and the revolver is now on its second Ruger barrel. If you shoot alot of hot loads, go with powders which don't eat up the barrels and just load slightly lower than top end loads. Any truly magnum revolver will eventually show barrel breech face and forcing cone wear with hot loads.

I own a few Smith revolvers. Sold a couple as well as couple of Rugers to get my battery where I want it. My impression is as others with both makes have indicated. If I shoot alot of heavy loads, its the Ruger. My Smiths are for limited competition and occasional usage at this time.

 

[Panthera Tigris]

Smiths can blow up. I know a man who worked at S&W in Massachusetts. They did blow up one. I don't know which model. They used a Ruger GP100, a Colt Python and one of the S&Ws and put the hottest hand loads they could make through them. The Colt was the first one to blow, followed by the Smith. They never could get the Ruger to fail, and I don't know how many rounds through each before the first two did fail.

 

[Lucky Derby]

In the three years I worked at an indoor range, I only saw one gun blow up. It was a Taurus .357 magnum. The load was a HOT reload.