I've had about 25 or 30 no-lock Smith wheel guns over the last 4 decades and recently found myself without any. My last two were a M-24 .44 Special in mint condition that was too nice to shoot a lot so I sold it for over double what I paid for it, and a M-442 .38 snubnose that was just a little bulking for my blue jeans front pocket. If i'm going to carry on a belt I might as well carry something a bit bigger. I hated being "Smithless" and I was craving a 4" Highway Patrolman, but have you seen what those things are selling for now? A stainless 4" Ruger Security Six .357 appeared in Armslist that looked in great shape and I really didn't want it, but for $400 I wasn't going to get a S&W N frame for that price unless it was a rusted mess. I always babied my S&W revolvers because they were so pretty and were rapidly going up in value, but this Ruger I don't really care if it gets a few scratches so I will be taking it in the woods with me quite bit if it is a good shooter. I wonder when I will be getting my next Smith wheelgun, ...if ever?

You just blew my mind. Smith-less, what a concept!

Life goes on, it's only "things", don't look back.

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Sure you did

There is your answer! Don't think of it as spending money; you're merely exchanging one asset for another. And unlike cash, which today has little to no return on investment, a nice S&W will almost always be worth more tomorrow than today.

No matter what my Smiths are worth I'll never give them up! Did that with a Colt once and have regretted it ever since!
As for the Ruger, I picked up on a 4" stainless Security Six and it's an excellent shooter. The only regrets with that is that I didn't pick a few more of them up back in their heyday.
I'm sure you'll be pleased with yours, good luck and enjoy!

You must not spend much time on either Ruger board. The Security line of guns is also going up in price, and some are paying more than you did. Newer Ruger .357's are also not cheap.


I carry S&W's and just try to avoid scuffs and scratches. The same is true of my Rugers.

How could one own 25-30 S&W's and not have a favorite shooter stick with them?

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I will never be without at least a couple of S&W revolvers.
I will say though, my 1976(?) Ruger stainless Security Six was the most accurate, strong revolver I have ever owned.
So, fear not. You will have a great companion.

The M-24 .44 Special was a favorite, a 4" M-19 was a favorite, a nickle 2" M-36 was a favorite, a bodyguard was a favorite, a nickle pencil barrel M-10 was a favorite, a 3" square butt Chief Special was a favorite, the 586 and 686 weren't too bad, M-63 .22 was nice, K-22 was darn accurate....O.K. now you got me missing them real bad!!

I guess I just don't understand the notion of having to shoot every gun that you might own.I would have hung onto the 24 and enjoyed just owning a work of art that is no longer made.

Most of my Smiths are from the 50's through the late 80's with a few from the teens and 20's thrown in. My newest one is from 1994 and don't own any made after that. I think that the older (pre - 1990's) Smiths were the finest revolvers ever made and I could not ever be without many of them.

I also own Colt's and cherish those as well.

A Farewell to Arms?

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You're shy a few manners.

A snubby 686-4 is my youngest and an S130xxx 5 screw 1955 is my oldest.

The 1955 is the only one that was in my safe a year ago.Sold or traded everything else for the new safe occupiers.

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NEVER GIVE UP YOUR GUN

I bet you will be happy with that Ruger. I carry a SP101 in .357mag and it shoots very well. It certainly doesn't have the Smith trigger but it is a well built revolver. Can't beat the old Smiths though.

Good for you but I could not do it.

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Some assembly required..

LOL .... who you trying to convince? Us or yourself?

Maybe the wife?

While I love my Smith's, I also enjoy my Ruger Security Series revolvers.

I think you'll find the Ruger revolver useful.

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You say yes, I say no
You say stop and I say go go go, oh no
You say goodbye and I say hello
Hello hello
I don't know why you say goodbye, I say hello
Hello hello

I've never been scratched or scuffed by any of my guns, but maybe that's because we are not allowed to carry here.

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Vote Responsibly

I have never saw a gun "too nice" to shoot......A majority of mine were NIB when I got them.....They all get shot.....After all they are just things/stuff......

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S&W Accumulator

i have rugers, now i have a model 15.
i'm not gonna bother with any more rugers.
i will buy no handgun that is not an old s&w.
i shoot lots n want the best tools.
i have never had a ruger that didn't need lots of work n money to get a decent trigger.
if you don't care about nice triggers, i guess your ruger is fine.
you're the one that's gonna use it so i do hope you enjoy it.
my opinions are only my opinions.

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susie

If you were craving for a model 28, then you might want to look at another N frame 357 such as a 627 Pro. Not cheap, but also not overly expensive either. I got mine last year for around $800 delivered to my FFL guy. It does have the lock and it has a rather ugly slab sided half lug barrel instead of the much more traditional half lug round barrel of a 27 or 28, but it also sports 8 shots instead of 6. The lock hasn't bothered me a bit and I've probably run around 2k rounds through mine in the almost year I've owned it. It's also a fun and accurate weapon and the 4" barrel is very handy in handling.

As to cost, well you will get what you pay for and if you use an inflation calculator you will find that today's pricing isn't as out of hand as what it would seem at first glance. Take my old 5" 27-2 for example. I bought it new in 1974 for $200. If you throw that into an inflation calculator, it works out to around $1100 or so last time I looked and that's not too far out from what S&W sells the new Classic 27s for.

Well that's true of new Smith's, but even Billy Magg knows that some old Smith's are best left as they are, beautiful art that reminds us of the love and labor of the master craftsmen. Now I got nothing against storing them in your nightstand, and if the KRAP hits the rotary discumbobulator, well all bets are off.

As for Rugers, I've seen a few Rugers that are beautiful artwork, my old 44 Flat-Top was one of those, though I did enjoy touching off some "startchy" handloads, sadly went down the road for a New Frontier, with a 45 ACP cylinder as well as a 45 Colt. Pretty Gun, but lacked the slickness of the Ruger.

I bought a new Stainless Ruger 44 Super Black Hack, fit and finish were marginal, wouldn't hit the broad side of a barn, my best buddy Ruger guy was convinced he could make it shoot! He couldn't?? His 7 1/2 45 Black Hawk Convertible is as accurate as any revolver I've ever fired. But it too was a relic from the past???

All my Rugers are gone, but my Smith's will be the last physical toy they pry from my cold bony dead fingers!

I now have only a 1990 640 which I've carried daily for years, and a 1967 10-5, four inch standard barrel, as a head-of-the-bed gun.

They aren't going anywhere until I shuffle off this mortal cluster. I can't bring myself to be without Smith revolvers.

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Oh well, what the hell.

I like 'em both. My first Ruger was standard model .22 back in 1953. A red model. Long gone I'm sorry to say. Now as I age most guns are with my children. I kept my 686 & 638. And my Luger. Still have my prewar Smith 22-32 Target, old bugger like me.

I carry a 4 inch S&W Model 686-6 as a duty weapon with a 2 inch RB Model 12-2 as a backup and a Model 642-2 as a last-ditch backup.

I would like to find a Ruger Speed Six 2 3/4 inch.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

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CPT, Armor (Ret)
Luke 22:36

I've been a N frame guy for 35 years and about 20 years ago fell into a deal with a 4" blue Ruger Security Six ($175). I had shot a buddy's SS S6 a few years earlier and due to the weight, balance of the heavy barrel and feel of the grip, I preferred it over a K frame S&W M19 or a M66 when shooting magnums.

So I bought the S6 and kept it around for years as a house gun. One time I took it out and shot it and was amazed. Very accurate and comfortable to shoot, but the action sucked. I disassembled it and cleaned it, going very heavy over the trigger group numerous times with carb cleaner and then brake parts cleaner. I then sprayed teflon oil into the inside of the trigger group, left it standing overnite and propped it up flipped the other way and hit it again with the oil spray and the next day reassembled it. OMG! You couldn't believe the difference!

Smooth, even pull and much lighter trigger. I used the 4" S6 as my woods gun for years until I found a 4" M28.

Shortly after buying the M28, a family member NEEDED a gun due to serious social situations and I loaned him the S6 and a Mossberg 500 12ga. I got the M500 back and have gotten many times the purchase price of the S6 in favors from the family member. It's his now and it ain't going nowhere.

when i buy new rugers, i'm lucky there are tons of aftermarket parts available.
usually, i replace sears n sometimes springs to get what i want.
i guess there may be good rugers out there but i think of them as poor out of the box.
you can make them nice, but you gotta work on them.

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susie

Old and used doesn't mean beat up and worn out. I can afford my guns because I buy decent, used, older guns. If looks is very important to you it will increase the price some, but not like buying new.

Part with my smiths? Get a silver hammer.

Maxwells silver hammer came down upon his head.
Maxwells silver hammer made sure he was dead.