Shot a Security Six.....

[rwsmith]

I told the story before..

....how about 35 years ago I met an elderly gent that had been the captain of some military shooting team (my memory fails me) but he had a Ruger Blackhawk that he said was the best gun he ever owned. I'll have to admit, it was nice, and he could shoot it "pretty good" too.

 

[Arisin Wind]

Not to detour this thread any more than necessary but I think it was a low point in Ruger's history that there was no Redhawk recall. Now I'm afraid to shoot the damn thing ever since being told that they are no longer making good on the bad guns.

They still repair or replace the guns if they break.

 

[Texas Star]

I love collectors.
Geoff
Who notes it's all in the details.

Speed-Six also came in four-inch, and got a fine review from Skelton at , Shooting Times.

I've only seen a couple, though. But I think military aircrews and Marine Embassy guards had them, as well as many S&W's. The military ones have lanyard rings.

 

[Watchdog]

"Impressed by its looks"??? Now that's a chin scratcher...
Ruger makes the ugliest guns on the market.

Really?

Uglier than this?

Or this?

How about this one? Makes you want to reach for your billfold for sure, don't it?

You know, folks have these Ugly Dog Contests all the time. We ought to have an Ugly Gun Contest. This one would probably be a contender, whaddaya think?

 

[Warren Sear]

^^^^ OK, you got me there. Maybe they had some help from Ruger's designers?

 

[KEN L]

Once had a stainless speed six in 9mm. To this day, can't figure out why I EVER let that one go!

 

[JohnRippert]

I owned three of the 2 3/4in Six Series revolvers over the years. One stainless Security-Six and two Speed-Six's, one blue and one SS. They were robust revolvers with good triggers that made shooting full bore .357 ammo effortless. That said, one was stolen and I put the other two up for auction early last year. I never shot them any more after I got my Model 19-2.

On another note. I noticed a couple of the pictures had guns with the Ruger factory target grips. I bought four sets of them over the years off Ruger's site. I got the first set for $19.99 and the other three for $9.99 on sale when they were closing them out. Right after I sold my two Six's, one of which had the target grip on it, I put the remaining three grip sets up on Ebay. I got $235 total for all three. Just a FYI for those who have any of them in good shape.

 

[357-RevolverGuy]

They're great revolvers. I much prefer their closer to K-frame size than the GP100. Pictured below is my 1978 6" Security Six.



The reason they cost more to manufacture was because the barrels and cylinders were forged, triggers were ribbed, and they came with walnut grips. With the GP100 they cast all the parts, did away with the full grip frame, and went with rubber grips.

 

[white cloud]

I purchased a new 6" Security Six back when I shot NRA bull's eye. I used a K22 and the Security Six for the .22 and centerfire stages of competition. I couldn't afford a worked over .45 and really liked revolvers better anyway. I still have both guns and will never sell either them.

I don't have a count of how many rounds I have fired through the Security Six but it significant. A lot of those rounds were obviously wad cutters but some were pretty "warm" as I used data from the Speer Manual #8 for hunting loads. I understand that some people feel the data from that manual to be a bit "over the top". The Security Six always digested them and never gave me any trouble with sticky extraction. I guess you can wear one these revolvers out but mine is still very accurate and locks up as tightly as ever.

 

[Sixenough]

I bought used a SS Security Six 4" in 1982, and it is a great shooter that gives me confidence that it can take any amount of abuse and keep shooting. Though I own a bunch of Smiths, including Model 66, I still am fond of the Ruger and will die owning it, I imagine.

 

[CajunBass]

They're great revolvers. I much prefer their closer to K-frame size than the GP100. Pictured below is my 1978 6" Security Six.

As I said earlier, I owned a couple of "Six's" back in the day, but when they bought out the GP-100, I never even looked at one. Now you want to talk about an UGLY revolver?

I didn't buy another Ruger centerfire revolver until a few weeks ago when I bought an LCR 38. Which I'll admit will never win a beauty contest either, but it fills a niche.

 

[Double-O-Dave]

While I'm a real S&W fan, the Ruger Security Six, especially in the 4.0 inch barrel length is my absolute favorite center fire, medium bore revolver. I have two of them, a "pre-warning" series 150 (blued steel), and a series 151 (stainless steel) that was a former Puerto Rican "state" police turn in. No, their trigger pull is not as smooth as that on a S&W, but they are well built and reliable. Oddly, few people seem to realize that the speed loaders and holsters for a S&W K-frame also work on the Ruger Security Six revolvers.

Also, probably an apocryphal tale, but an old shooting buddy that allegedly had friends with Ruger's executive management team once told me that the "GP" in the GP-100's name stood for "Great, profit" which was what Bill Ruger was alleged to have said when he learned he would actually be able to make profit from the sale of this revolver, rather than the barely-break-even sales of the Security Six line of products. I always thought that if that story wasn't true, it was one that ought to be.

Regards,

Dave

 

[Watchdog]

While I'm a real S&W fan, the Ruger Security Six, especially in the 4.0 inch barrel length is my absolute favorite center fire, medium bore revolver. I have two of them, a "pre-warning" series 150 (blued steel), and a series 151 (stainless steel) that was a former Puerto Rican "state" police turn in.

Regards,

Dave

The pre-warning guns are getting harder to find, especially the blued ones. My 2.75-inch stainless one is pre-warning. I look at a lot of them online...and the first thing I look for is if they have the warning on the barrel. A lot of them are in great shape, but I just don't like that warning on the barrel.

 

[steamloco76]

I've owned four Security-Six revolvers and one Police Service-Six. They were all very good shooting, extremely well built guns. Several GP-100's worked their way into, then out of my collection too. Compared to the older Six series, the GP's ware and are a bit chunky and clunky. Accurate and tough, but when you have Smith & Wesson revolvers to compare them too, well

Anyhow, I kept the Police-Service Six .38 Special, a four inch stainless model form the mid 1980's because it has a really GOOD double action trigger. Better than any other DA Ruger I've ever shot. The gun was a former constable & private security guard's. I did a lot of wet sanding and polishing to bring the exterior back to a respectable finish, but the bore and chambers were perfect. The revolver is now one of our home defense stash.

 

[TTSH]

They still repair or replace the (defective Redhawk) guns if they break.

You are apparently correct and I have added a correction to my post (#28) above. Thanks to you and another member who PM'd me, I checked it out again and got a very different answer from Ruger CS. While there still is no recall, they said they were willing to look at my early 500-series gun free of charge. What happens after they check it out is not clear but it can't be any worse than the situation I'm in now. If appropriate, I'll post a separate thread on it at a later date.

 

[Skeptic 9c]

I saw a speed six short barrel at my favorite discount gun store, I intended to go up and check it out on Monday morning, the best time to haggle on used guns.Geoff

Locals in Jacksonville FL note the gun is at Shooters of Jacksonville. They want a very good price ($700) for it. I figured even if I haggled it wouldn't get into my budget range. Looked to be in excellent condition with no holster wear.

Geoff
Who notes that price point is new S&W 686+ territory on sale and 4th of July is rapidly approaching.

 

[OLDSTER]

Great Rugers on this thread. I've always "kinda" wanted a Security Six myself, but at current auction-site prices, I can buy another Model 15

 

[BigBill]

I while back I caught my LGS putting a security six in blue w/6" barrel in excellent condition in the used gun case for $199. It didn't stay there long not even a minute I grabbed it. She's growing roots in the safe ever since.
I have a police service six in 357 / 2 3/4" barrel sing 1976. What a quality built revolver.

 

[Cyrano]

Love my Security Six. I bought it new in the 1970s, and it's been many miles by my side in that El Paso Saddlery holster. Not much blueing left on the old girl.

 

[RobertJ.]

I love the Security-Six, and Ruger revolvers in general. I was shooting those long before I was shooting S&W and Colt, and while I can see the obvious differences, I am still a big fan. I only own 2 at the moment, a SBH, and a SRH.

In 1979 I bought my second revolver, a blued, 4" SS. Brand new, for 177.50. I was 19 and had my dad buy it for me. With the right load, it would stand along side anything else. My first wife could almost out-shoot me with it, and when my dad went shooting with us, he admitted a few years later that after seeing her shoot he almost didn't want to.

About 12 years later I foolishly traded it away. It was an important lesson I learned, never trade away a gun that shoots that good.

The SS is on my "someday when I see another and the price is right" list!