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Old 01-29-2017, 11:05 AM
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Originally Posted by gsn View Post
Looking at a Ruger Speed Six and from searching here it -appears- that the frame size of the Ruger lies somewhere between a J+ to a K- ???

Thanks in advance to anyone who can provide info
The Six series frame is better described as being between the K and L frame, although much closer in weight to the K frame.

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The K frame .357 magnum revolvers were designed in an era where officers practiced with .38 Special and then carried .357 magnum, with the result that most of them were shot the vast majority of the time with .38 Special.

However, in the mid to late 1960s many police departments got sued for "under training" their police officers and most police departments and law enforcement agencies switched to training with .357 Magnum loads.

At the same time, 125 gr loads became very popular with law enforcement, and with about 25% more slow burning colloidal ball powder under them compared to a 158 gr load, they produced commensurately more throat erosion in the relatively thin forcing cones of the Model 19, etc.

This led to a number of cracked forcing cones in these K frame .357s. It was a low number, but none the less enough to be considered a problem.

That's when Ruger got on board with the Six series DA revolvers, building them in a K frame sized package but with a stronger frame and heavier forcing cone to avoid the issues that were appearing in the Model 19, 13, etc.

S&W's response was the L frame revolver, using a K grip frame with a slightly heavier frame and forcing cone.

I don't have the measurements handy (I've posted them before) but in general the frame height and cylinder diameter differences between the K frame and Six series revolvers are on the order of .05" and the Six series revolvers will usually fit a K frame holster with no issues.

The L frame revolvers tends to be that much again larger, and in many cases they will still fit a K frame holster.

There is a fair amount of weight difference between the K and L frame, but not as much as you'd think between the K frame and Six series revolvers, when all other factors are controlled for.


Top to bottom on the left are a 2 1/2" S&W Model 686+ (L frame revolver), 2 3/4" Ruger Speed Six, and a 2 1/2" S&W Model 66 (K frame revolver). Top to bottom on the right are a 3" Ruger SP101 and a 3" S&W Model 60.




Weights (unloaded and loaded)

Model 60 = 23.35 oz, 25.64 oz
SP101 = 27.09 oz, 29.35 oz
Model 66 = 34.18 oz, 36.90 oz
Speed Six = 34.81 oz, 37.53 oz
Model 686+ = 36.90 oz, 40.07 oz.

Thus, even with a 1/4" longer barrel, the Speed Six weighs only 0.6 oz more than the S&W K frame Model 66, when both are wearing the same model Pachmayr Compact grip.

The Speed Six is about 2 oz lighter than the L frame 686. Even if you add the extra weight of the Security Six's adjustable rear sight and larger front sight, it's still no heaver than a comparable L frame revolver.

That's significant as the Speed Six has a heavier forcing cone that holds up to full power .357 Magnum loads much better than the K frame .357 revolvers, which is why S&W developed the L frame revolvers in the first place.

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In terms of overall feel, the trigger on the Ruger revolvers feels more mechanical as you feel the hand and bolt engage more than you do on a S&W.

Ruger used injection molded frames and fire control parts and as such the fire control parts tend to be much larger/heavier than on a K-frame. On the plus side however, the Ruger frames and fire control parts are very durable and it's almost unheard of to find a Ruger with broken or non serviceable fire control parts.

In terms of actual trigger weights, both S&W and Ruger revolvers from that era vary a bit, but the Ruger revolvers vary more than the S&Ws. In both brands you can find examples with exceptionally good triggers, and you can find some that are not so hot.

Ruger replaced the Six series DA revolvers with the GP 100, which added a crane lock. It's arguably stronger, but then again it's arguably overkill as no one was been breaking the Six series revolvers in the first place.

Last edited by BB57; 01-29-2017 at 11:13 AM.
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