Anyone put a spurless hammer in a Ruger Police Service 6? Anyone else own one of these revolvers? I recently came into possession of a 2 &3/4 inch 357 magnum example.

I own a couple of speed sixes which is the round butt version of your gun. One is spurless. Nice solid guns and they are getting pricey these days. Don’t have a pic of the blued one. This one is .38spl and was an NYPD service members gun.

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I own a couple 2 3/4” Speed Sixes, one in .357 Mag and another in 9mm, as well as a 2 3/4” Security Six.



Ruger did make a small number of Service Sixes with a 2 3/4” barrel but they are not common and border on rare. I would under no circumstances bob the hammer on one.

Ruger also made a small number of Speed Sixes with Police Service Six or Service Six markings. These were Service Six frames pulled off the line and modified with the round butt to fill Speed Six orders. These are also fairly rare and again I would not mess with one.

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None of these guns are pocket carry sized and I’ve carried K framed sized revolvers including the speed and security six IWB for years and never saw any need for or advantage to removing the hammer spur. I put bobbing the hammer on a K frame sized revolver right up there with buying a big pickup truck and then putting low profile tires on it. It might help you feel cool or special but all it’s really doing is costing you capability for no real gain.

Sometimes you see bobbed hammers on S&W K frames but that’s more often than not an artifact of a problem with push off.

Ruger did make Speed, Service and Security Six revolvers with bobbed hammers as special order revolvers for police departments with training deficiencies that could not get their officers to stop cocking them manually. It wasn’t done as a tactical improvement.

I would see no problem modifying a spare hammer by removing the spur and fitting it, giving you the option of changing back to the original. I have seen a Ruger GPNY, DAO with a spurless hammer.

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Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220

All I can add is; I wish I'd bought a Speed-Six or two back in the day!

I used to have a speed six. I put a factory spurless hammer on it. The nice thing about it is the mass is the same as the spurred hammer so you would tend to not get misfire issues that are possible if you take the hammer mass down too low. I eventually sold it as it was a bit too big and a bit too heavy for my taste for a concealed carry piece. It was, however, a fine gun.

I had a brief infatuation with Rugers. I owned a Security 6 and a Speed 6 both 2 3/4 and in stainless. They are good strong guns but a bit heavy.The Speed 6 had a spurless hammer. Personally I detest those. I sold both as I prefer K frames or a Detective Special.

Still have a Security Six...it's a good horseback gun, with enough penetration to put down a fatally injured horse. It also doesn't matter as much if you hit the dirt with it.

Thank you guys for the replies and photos. This is a cherished pistol that I received from an uncle. No plans to permanently alter it nor carry it for social purposes. I’m not a gun plumber by any sense but it appears Ruger’s are less complicated than Smiths to tear down.

they are nice revolvers, can have a nice action, are nice and strong, and can look good too.

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Sceva
OGCA SWCA NRA

First, Burn the heretic, this is the S&W forum!!! None of the great Satan Bill's spawn are permitted here. Next, you will be talking about the devil's own contraption, them evil hand guns without cylinders.

Just having a little fun. I've got a 2 3/4 .357 Service 6 and actually like it better then my 3" 66. You can find parts for it on everygunpart.com They buy chopped old guns and part them out, so sometimes their inventory varies. I got a hammer, barrel, cylinder, trigger group, main spring and strut, etc. for around $200. Gunpartscorp aka Numerich arms out of NY has some parts too. You could buy a used hammer and have it chopped and fitted (if needed) by a gunsmith and keep your origional. Supposedly, you can swap hammers between Rugers with out fitting, but I haven't tried it.

SCEVA where did you find the grip adaptor? Rest assured CD I have many more S&W’s than Rugers, you did make me chuckle!

I to love and respect the six series, I’m lucky to find these two security and one speed that are all pre-safety banner stamps on the barrel.
Semper paratus

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NRA Life Member
CPO

I've had several Security and Service Sixes over the years and currently only own one, a 4" blue .357 Security Six with action job by Jim Clark in 1977. One I wish that I had back was a six inch blue .357 Security Six with "Made in the 200th Year of American Liberty" on the frame and no warning on the barrel. Although not quite as smooth as a K Frame Smith, they all gave good service and were excellent shooters.

Spend $35 for a new hammer and it drops right in. Rugers come apart so easily

Off ebay many years ago when they were still fairly easy to find. It is an older one that came in the little white box. The grips I got from Don Collins about the same time frame.

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Sceva
OGCA SWCA NRA

Looks like a Tyler T to me.
T-GRIP Listing

I have a T Grip on a 629 mountain gun. I got a BK grip adapter on a smith 638. I got the BK years ago when I was just a dirty lurker here. I didn’t see any Ruger Tyler’s available. I really like the look of these original grips but an adapter would make them perfect.

Got to this one late due to a trip, but herewith:

I have a 2 3/4" bbl stainless Security Six in which I have installed a spurless hammer. I also have one in my backup Ruger PPC revolver (more on that anon). It was a drop-in conversion for both.

Owing to my background, I shoot DA revolvers DA all the time, without exception. In that context, a hammer spur is useless to me (emphasis on context). I fail to see the analogy between preference for a spurless hammer and low profile tires on a pick up truck.

When I bought the 2 3/4" Security Six I would have preferred, had the shop had any, one of the fixed sight models. Between a smooth top strap and spurless hammer there would have been less to snag on or abrade outer garments.

Despite my shooting DA only, I did have a use for a spurred hammer. Our department provided wadcutter ammunition for PPC matches. These were commercial reloads with varying tolerances. Before a match, in my garage, with all of the appropriate safety precautions, I would load the cylinder of my PPC revolver with these rounds. On each cylinder full, I would carefully retract the hammer, using the spur, and rotate the cylinder to make sure there were no high primers. I did this with all the rounds to be used in the match. The spur let me do this safely. My backup PPC revolver, which as it turned out never got used, had a spurless hammer since I only tested on my primary.

A lot of PPC competitors preferred spurless hammers. The thinking at the time was that a spurless hammer, having less mass due to no spur, slightly reduced lock time thus reducing the time available for the sights to be misaligned before the bullet left the barrel. I have no idea if this was true. I was not good enough to make that determination. But given the skills of the top PPC shooters at the time, it is a cheap shot that ignores the history behind the rationale to conclude "...it may make you feel cool or special....". The only thing that made any of us "...feel cool or special..." was the score on the target. That is why we were there.

My department did not have a great track record with our issue S&W 66s, so when I decided to buy a K frame size short barrel revolver, I chose the Ruger. It is a great revolver.

I obviously struck a nerve. My apologies.

However I’ll stand by the comment I made. The fact is that for the majority of people who want a spur less hammer, they are giving up some degree of capability in exchange for at best questionable return.

Checking for high primers isn’t a use for a spur hammer that would have occurred to me (a straight edge and a case gauge work just fine) but it’s obviously a use you found for a spur hammer and you are not even a fan.

I’m in agreement that for defensive purposes mastery of the DA trigger is critical, including the ability to shoot accurately with the DA trigger pull.

However, for a small target 100 yards or so down range, it doesn’t make much sense to use a DA trigger pull when you have an SA pull option available.

For example, let’s say your engine quit and you are down in a forest somewhere with weather conditions such that you are going to be there awhile. You have a revolver and 12 rounds total. You also have a rabbit or partridge even just 40-50 yards away. Sure, you *can* hit it DA, but if you had a lick of common sense would you take that shot DA or cock the hammer and shoot it SA?

As for PPC, there generally isn’t a minimum trigger pull restriction for in a revolver division, at least under IPSC rules. Even in semi auto classes with a minimum pull weight it’s either 5 pounds for the first shot and no restriction there after, or it’s 3 pounds for all shots (striker fired pistols, and SA only pistols).

I do have a spur on my go-fast custom shop Model 625 revolver, but I’d never bother using it as the DA trigger is incredibly light and smooth. But I also would not remove it.



Yes, the hammer might move faster and slightly reduce the lock time, but it also potentially reduces the reliability, and an mis fire will ruin your day if you have a harder than average primer cup. That delightfully light DA pull comes by way of a lighter than standard hammer spring, where the momentum of a heavier hammer is important.

There’s never a free lunch. It’s always a balance between minimum spring weight, sufficient hammer weight, with a commensurate balance between trigger weight, lock time and reliability.

Apology accepted, and you have my respect for doing so.

I am not saying that SA has no function. My shooting environment consisted of LE; on and off duty, and PPC competition. Long after I had converted to DA only, my department mandated DA on the qualification course, as well as combat courses of fire during non-qualification shoots, so I was ahead of the game. Some departments even disabled SA capability on duty revolvers due to the safety factor.

Whether it was PPC competition or departmental shoots, the clock was always running. One of the advantages of DA only was there was no need to be changing the grip in order to thumb cock the hammer. That left more time for sight alignment and trigger squeeze.

The first semi-auto I carried on duty was a second gen S&W, model 467 IIRC, that the courts had turned over to our department. This was a compact 9mm DA/SA that held 12 rounds using a double stack magazine. When I was issued it and tried it, the action was terrible, but I loved the double stack grip because it fit my large hands perfectly. Although I could never own it, I paid for an action job. That really transformed that pistol. First shot was a PPC-smooth DA, and then the rest were a very light, crisp SA. I became a real wizard with that pistol. Without altering my grip, and with all but the first round being a very short, light SA, I had more than ample time on the courses of fire and could really refine my sight alignment and trigger squeeze. That pistol got called back in when we went to issued full-size Glocks. But the bug had bitten, so I purchased the third gen version, the 6906, had the same action job done, and ended up with about an identical pistol. I still have that 6906 and it is my favorite combat semi-auto. S&W really nailed it with that one. All this to explain that when SA is in fact superior I have no hesitation in using it. But that differs from the constraints imposed by DA revolvers which is where we started in this spurred/spurless hammer discussion.

As far as light primer hits, I have some experience there too. The legendary Louisiana gunsmith Jim Clark designed an adjustable mainspring for the Ruger Six series. He did this by making a cylindrical mainspring strut that was threaded. A nut on this strut could be loosened or tightened to adjust the pool. I blew at least a couple of matches because I had the adjustment a hair too light. One misfire (all I ever had in any match) in a 120 or 150 round match tanked the aggregate score. Pilot error on my part.

As far as the engine quitting in the boonies, we live in such an area. In this overall region consisting of far northern CA and southern OR, there are such occurrences, albeit infrequently. With such victims the common thread is lack of familiarity the area and roads and a general lack of preparation and equipment for back country survival. When my wife and I hit the back country in my Jeep, we do carry food and water, but most importantly, someone knows where we went and when we should be back. Were I in the situation of having to shoot a small bird or animal at distance I have the experience and thus advantage of knowing that game will come closer if one is motionless, quiet and downwind from the quarry. I have experienced this when sitting watching trout streams for fish activity. If I had to shoot, and had a shot, I am not sure if I would go by habit and shoot DA or stop and think and decide that SA is potentially more precise, assuming I was carrying a DA revolver, not a SA revolver and not a semi-auto pistol. The scenario is just too obscure for me to visualize being in it despite the remoteness of where we live. Frankly, when I or we are in the back country I am more concerned with two legged predators. This extends back to our back packing days.

Spur less hammer from Numrich is on the way! Hopefully it’s drops right in without issue.

Over the decades, I've owned several Ruger Security Six and Speed Six revolvers---down to just one now, a stainless 4" Security Six with factory Ruger square-butt grips---a great shooter---rides in an old Hunter holster that I picked-up at a gun show for $3 bucks (a long time ago). It's the only DA revolver I currently own...

Officers cocking a DA revolver in anticipation of a potential shoot was a problem.

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Out here in eastern NC, I don’t have quite the same need for a survival kit revolver that I used to. The terrain is flat and the area is a lot more populated than it was out west. And a 406 ELT and a 406 epirb makes getting found after a potential crash a lot easier.

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The closest I came to a serious survival situation back home occurred when my wife broke the binding on one of her skis on a back country cross country ski trip 11 miles from the nearest trailhead, late in the afternoon with a storm front moving in and it staring to snow.

Moving without skis or snow shoes wasn’t possible as you’d post hole waist deep in the deep, soft snow. I was a lot younger and dumber then and suffered from a typical youth affliction of failing to imagine what could go wrong. Consequently, I had not thought to bring a pair of snow shoes as back up.

Still, we could have dug in and had the essentials needed to survive a few days to be rescued. However, I had several feet of duct tape I’d wrapped around a water proof match container in my pack. I swapped skis with my wife who was a less experienced skier and duct taped the toe of my boot to the ski. It wasn’t pretty and it wasn’t quite as efficient but it worked and got us out not long after dark and before the snow really got started.

Now, I probably over prepare and while I try to ensure the things I take are multipurpose to save weight, I’ll never be a light weight back packer although as I age I continue to try to shave weight.

However, I still carry a handgun for 2 legged threats, it’s just smaller and lighter than what I carried in the past.

Another fan of the Ruger Six Series DA revolvers here. I currently have 2 Security Sixes and a Speed Six. I'd love to find a nice 6" at a good price, but they're pretty scare in my neck of the woods.
I've always felt that discontinuing the Six Series DA revolvers was the worst mistake Ruger ever made.

The closest I came to a serious survival situation back home occurred when my wife broke the binding on one of her skis on a back country cross country ski trip 11 miles from the nearest trailhead, late in the afternoon with a storm front moving in and it staring to snow.

Moving without skis or snow shoes wasn’t possible as you’d post hole waist deep in the deep, soft snow. I was a lot younger and dumber then and suffered from a typical youth affliction of failing to imagine what could go wrong. Consequently, I had not thought to bring a pair of snow shoes as back up.

Still, we could have dug in and had the essentials needed to survive a few days to be rescued. However, I had several feet of duct tape I’d wrapped around a water proof match container in my pack. I swapped skis with my wife who was a less experienced skier and duct taped the toe of my boot to the ski. It wasn’t pretty and it wasn’t quite as efficient but it worked and got us out not long after dark and before the snow really got started.

Now, I probably over prepare and while I try to ensure the things I take are multipurpose to save weight, I’ll never be a light weight back packer although as I age I continue to try to shave weight.

However, I still carry a handgun for 2 legged threats, it’s just smaller and lighter than what I carried in the past.[/QUOTE]


Packing and then thinking to use the duct tape in the manner you did was very resourceful. Nicely done.

I/we have never had a problem in the wilderness. Early in my LE career I did a lot of SAR work. Our jurisdiction, which I left when I retired, has some 80 miles of coastline, which means cliffs for vehicles to drive off of and people to fall off of (duly noting that a preposition is something one should never, ever, end a sentence with). We also have a wilderness area within the national forest, numerous state parks and are a world wide tourism and recreational destination. I was doing the SAR missions at the height of the hippie era. This experience made for enlightening training.

My bride and I were enthusiastic back packers. During this time we were also breeding German Shepherds, so we usually back packed with our stud male and one or two of his ladies. He had to be in the lead, but never got too far ahead or out of our sight. We could tell long before observation when someone was approaching us on the trail just by watching his ears. K-9s are a great asset.

Now that I am old I have to be even more cautious. If I am going out to fly fish solo my bride always knows where I will be. Since we have no cell service, I can't change destinations. A couple of times I have misjudged time and distance and returned to my Jeep later than anticipated. My wife either found me at the site, or our vehicles passed on the road, so the system works.

I think we may have teamed up to set a new record for thread drift. My apologies to OP. So, spurless hammers; I like 'em.

Numrich hammer arrived and installed! 6 quick rounds on my little pistol range confirmed I did it right. Last few minutes of light so no more time to shoot more, today. Perhaps my imagination but the trigger pull feels smoother to me.

Now that I’ve “mastered” (ha ha) installing a hammer perhaps I can figure out posting a picture here. Thanks for all the helpful replies and pics.

The Speed six is a cool looking gun…the security sixes for me are clunky looking.

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Thirty characters. Exactly...

I have 4 Six series and agree that they aren’t as svelte as say a Mod 19 or 27. They kind of remind me of an old Colt Trooper.
Now my 4.25” Redhawk .45acp/.45 Colt is clunky personified.
The frame looks like it was cut from 1” plate with a torch.

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I told you not to use Lifebuoy

I completely agree the speed 6 is more pleasing to the eye. That plow style handle on the service does handle hot 357 well though. At least to my hand and this particular piece has a place in my heart even if it’s a bit of an ugly duckling.