Without slighting Ruger revolvers in any way... Colt and and Smith & Wesson had almost all the law enforcement business decades before Ruger marketed a double-action revolver. With law enforcement's transitioning to semi-automatic pistols thirty-to thirty-five years ago, it would seem Ruger's market share of LE revolver sales would have been very small to insignificant.
Agreed. Except the author was dead on about the importance of the Ruger Security Six, Service Six and to a lesser extent the Speed Six as an economical option for officers buying their own service weapons. Shooting a steady diet of .357 Mag without the problems associated with the K frames was just a bonus.
I bought one in the early 1980s as I wanted a reliable weapon on the approved list that cost a lot less than a S&W Model 19 or Colt Python.
The Colt Trooper and Lawmen were other economical options but had sintered iron lock work parts that were inferior to the oversized but tough as nails cast parts in the Rugers - and they were discontinued in 1983.
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Revolvers also have to be viewed in the context of the times. Despite the lessons that should have been learned in the Newhall shooting and elsewhere some departments were still very antiquated, often because of politically appointed police chiefs who were anti-gun.
In the late 1970 and early 1980s a friend of mine worked for a department that issued each officer 12 rounds of .38 Special ammo - six for the revolver and 6 more for a dump pouch. No speed loader or even speed strip allowed. Even asking for a seventh round for the dump pouch (in recognition that few officers would be able to load six rounds without dropping one under stress) wasn’t met with much positive regard. He also worked for the police department in the second largest city in the state.
Many officers in his department carried a Model 36 or Colt Detective special in an ankle holster as a backup, figuring being fired for violating policy after a shoot would be far better than being dead.
In comparison I was extremely privileged in my department as we were able to carry .357 Magnum, and not one but two speed loaders.
