Quote:
|
Let's compare apples to apples... a full-shrouded 4" six shot GP100, KGP141, weighs 40 oz. The full-lugged 4" 6-shot 686, SKU #164222, weighs 39.7 oz. Keep in mind that the Ruger is cast SS; the S&W is hammer-forged and heat treated. The Ruger has a solid frame with an easily removed trigger group. Further dissassembly requires a ziploc baggie. The sideplate seems stout enough on S&W's - the frame material is inherently stronger. Besides, they use the same construction for N-frame .44 Magnums and X-frame .500 Magnums. The S&W construction is decidedly more costly, MSRP $829 vs the Ruger's $729 MSRP.
|
I'm not gonna get into the debate over whether what Ruger or Smith was designed to compete with whatever. Frankly, don't know, don't care. When I was younger, my budget didn't allow for many S&W revolvers, so as an alternative I bought Rugers & Tauruses. Tauruses are all gone now and my Rugers are on the way out.
I'm not a metalurgist. If I understand the process correctly, steel investment casting uses all reclaimed material of largely unknown steel composition. They smelt up a batch and test for the desired composition. If they find the batch lacking in the qualities they desire, they take a "best guess" addition of more scrap steel to achieve the qualities they want. After the casting process, heat treating would have to be performed to achieve the desired toughness. The process would be identical whether it's carbon or stainless.
Forged ordinance steel on the other hand is made from virgin steel and scrap steel of known heritage. It all boils down to "Better ingredients, Better Pizza" Papa John's.
It doesn't end there. Forged anything is denser than cast anything, thus stronger. That's why Rugers seem so overbuilt. They have to build them bigger and thicker to equal the performance of forged ordinance steel.
Bill Ruger practically invented the investment casting system used today in the USA. He owns one of the largest investment casting facilities. There's nothing wrong with investment casting as long as you realize you're gonna end up with a larger part than if you started with known high quality material and you forge rather than cast. I'd imagine that if Ruger forged their investment steel then their guns might be a tad smaller and stronger. But, I suspect hodgepodge steel doesn't forge well. Ruger only uses a tiny percentage of their overall production of investment steel to make their guns. The rest is sold to customers from various industries.