Ruger Security Six

BB57 said:

Actually, I never implied the hammer could be grabbed at all - and who would do that? And for what purpose? To fire it SA?

I also stated that they could still be staged - and you are in 100% agreement that both SA/DA and DAO revolvers can be staged.

And yes, the only internal difference was the hammer, that however is not the same as saying the only difference with the hammer was a ground off spur.

Let's not be putting words in people's mouths.

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So you’re saying that if I took a spurred hammer from my Ruger Service Six and installed it on a DAO NYPD Service Six, that the NYPD gun would now function as a da/sa? I don’t think so.

The DAO revolvers I have taken apart have only had their cocking notch removed from the hammer. In fact, the NYPD model 64 I had it was very clearly the only modification to the gun, and putting a standard hammer in it made it a DA/SA revolver.
Can't see how that wouldn't be the case with the Rugers.

squidsix said:

The DAO revolvers I have taken apart have only had their cocking notch removed from the hammer. In fact, the NYPD model 64 I had it was very clearly the only modification to the gun, and putting a standard hammer in it made it a DA/SA revolver.
Can't see how that wouldn't be the case with the Rugers.

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Huh. Surprised they made it that easy. Then again, many hammers won’t just drop in and fit correctly. What I DO remember is the switch to DAO happened fast. Some cop named Marvin Yearwood had a kid on the wall and thumbed the hammer back on his Model 10. I guess to show the kid he “meant business”. BOOM! Shot the kid right behind the ear. DAO soon after. Blued spurred hammer guns were grandfathered in and became a real status symbol. Rookie cops from the last class who got the blued guns walked around like they were real veterans over guys who came out six months later. As time went on, the blued guns were real signs were of time on the job.

As of 8/30/2018, ALL duty revolvers were no longer authorized. Off duty ones still OK. There was probably less than 100 guys still carrying a duty revolver. Most of those with the stainless spurless models. Probably all NOT assigned to uniform duty. Youngest one would be in his 29th year. They would all have been gone with a few years at most on their own. They should have let them keep them till the retired. If they turned down a free 9MM for the last 25 years, they clearly didn’t want one.

My 76 bi centinal police service six ruger with a 2 3/4” barrel in 357 is my first and only magnum snub nose. It’s been an awesome revolver.

About two decades ago I caught my LGS putting a ruger security six in the used gun case for $150. It never made it in the case. With a 6” barrel, in blue in excellent condition. I didn’t see many used 357 revolvers in any brand before the plastic took over.

That top one was the first handgun I purchased back in the early 80's. There has been a whole bunch of lead down that barrel. The other 2 came along years later as the hard earned almighty dollars have allowed me to add to the collection.

squidsix said:

The DAO revolvers I have taken apart have only had their cocking notch removed from the hammer. In fact, the NYPD model 64 I had it was very clearly the only modification to the gun, and putting a standard hammer in it made it a DA/SA revolver.
Can't see how that wouldn't be the case with the Rugers.

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kbm6893 said:

So you’re saying that if I took a spurred hammer from my Ruger Service Six and installed it on a DAO NYPD Service Six, that the NYPD gun would now function as a da/sa? I don’t think so.

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In the case of an NYPD DAO Ruger revolver, fitting a new hammer would probably be all you'd need to convert it back to SA/DA operation. But you'd need to find a new hammer, and then hand fit it.

Removing the SA sear notch from the hammer prevents an SA/DA revolver from being used SA, even if it still has a spur or if someone uses the trigger to lift a bobbed hammer enough to grab it and manually cock it - since there is now no SA sear notch to hold the hammer back.

Most DAO Ruger and S&W revolvers simply had the spur and SA sear notch removed on the hammer. However, a small percentage of them can be found with the sear extension removed from the trigger as well. That's a "belt and suspenders" approach however and wasn't common. It's possible it was something requested by Departments on specific contracts, but I doubt it. However, it's also possible it was done by armorers in specific police departments where paranoia that officer might convert them back on their own ran higher than normal.

That said, in terms of the Ruger DAO revolvers, converting one back to SA/DA was (and still is) harder than it sounds even with just the hammer modification. Ruger did not (and still won't) provide hammers to customers. They are hand fitted parts and Ruger required(es) the customer to send the revolver back to the factory to have a new hammer fitted. The same policy applies to triggers, which are also hand fitted.

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As an aside, some S&W revolvers can be found with non factory bobbed hammer spurs. The first thing you want to do with these revolvers is to see a) if it can be cocked for SA operation, and if so, b) see if the hammer pushes off when it is cocked.

Some high mileage S&Ws can have worn SA sears and the hammer can "push off" with just a little pressure on the back of the hammer, which is a safety issue. Given that hammers are hand fitted parts, and a new hammer is required to restore it to proper SA/DA action, bobbing the hammer was a quick and dirty "fix" for this problem. However, to do it right the defective SA sear notch also needs to be removed from the hammer, not just the spur. If the owner "fixed" it, quite often the spur was the only thing removed and you could still encounter the safety issue, if you manually cocked the hammer.

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Personally, if I were ever asked to convert a concealed carry or back up revolver to DAO mode, I would advise the customer to leave the spur intact and just remove the SA sear notch. Why? Because back in the day it was worth an officer's time to check to ensure the cylinder rotated freely after loading or reloading the revolver. It's still a good idea today for any administrative reload (where you have the time). With a hammer spur, you can pull the hammer back about 1/4" on a Ruger or an S&W, which is enough to drop the bolt and let the cylinder spin freely - without putting your finger on the trigger.

In addition, back when I lived out west and carried a SA/DA revolver around the ranch, I usually carried JHPs in the first four cylinders and snake shot in the last two. Pulling the hammer back slightly let me easily index the snake shot, again without touching the trigger, and with no need to swing the crane out of the frame.

If you remove the spur on a DAO revolver, you also are removing the ability to free the cylinder to check for free movement without partially pulling the trigger.

On the other hand, if you leave the spur on the hammer, it's possible for a moron to pull the hammer back and then release it, which would cause an ND, if the revolver did not also have a trigger activated hammer block or a transfer bar.

For comparison, here is a blued 157 series 2 3/4" Security Six (made in 1981) and a stainless steel 160 series 2 3/4" Speed Six (made in 1984).

The round butt on the Speed Six reduces the bulk slightly, but the major reduction is in the fixed sight tp strap, which is much reduced compared to the adjustable sight top strap.

These two also demonstrate the difference between the earlier full recoil shield and the later scalloped recoil shield. The scallop started showing up late in the 157 series and still appeared as late as some of the late (159-800,xxx) 159 series revolvers. Some folks like the full recoil shield, sometimes just because it was earlier, and sometimes because it looks more classically "Ruger". Some folks like the look of the later scalloped recoil shield.




When you start adding rubber grips for greater comfort and controllability with full house .357 Magnum loads, the difference between the square and round butt becomes more noticeable.

A stainless security six was my first and probably best shooting revolver. A fine handgun