Ruger's Six Series of DA Revolvers

In the latest TTAG "Obscure Object of Desire" column, Travis Pike discusses his Ruger Police Service Six revolver that he recently acquired. The basic history of this weapon is that heading into the 1970s, Ruger had developed a good reputation for its various single-action revolvers, but wanted a piece of the law enforcement market which required it develop a double-action revolver to compete against the offerings from Colt and Smith & Wesson. Rather than copy a S&W designs, which seems to be what most other companies did, Ruger decided to come up with its own design. As Pike describes:

According to Legend and Ruger, the engineers were given a fresh sheet of paper and an unlimited budget. According to Ruger, they represented the first major innovation in revolvers since the double action mechanism. They used solid frames made of investment cast. Parts were installed through the bottom of the gun. These solid side walls promised a strong and capable revolver.

It also made the Ruger revolvers far easier for the home gunsmith to work on, as I discovered when I had to replace the trigger spring on a Security Six revolver. 

    Pike indicates that Ruger came out with three basic models: the Security Six, the Speed Six, and the Service Six (aka Police Service Six), but some of his information on the different models appear to be incorrect. Rather, the differences are:

• The Security Six is a .357 Magnum with an adjustable rear sight (windage and elevation) and square butt frame. It apparently was offered with 6", 4", or 2.75" barrels.
• The Service Six (aka Police Service Six) is a .357 Magnum with fixed (i.e., gutter) rear sights with a square butt frame. It was also offered in .38 Special only for those law enforcement agencies that had policies against issuing magnum rounds. A version with a lanyard ring were produced for the military to be used by military police. Apparently versions in 9mm and .38 S&W were also made. It was apparently offered with 4" or 2.75" barrels.
• The Speed Six was similar to the Service Six, but used a round butt frame to make it more concealable for plain-clothes officers and detectives. It was made in .357 Magnum, .38 Special, .38 S&W (for the Indian police, which version also included a lanyard ring) and 9mm. It was offered in a 2.75" version and (depending on the source) a 3" and/or 4" version. 

    Like most .357 Magnum revolvers of its day, the Security Six and its siblings were not intended for steady diets of .357 Magnum. Rather, it was envisioned that most practice or shooting would be with .38 Special with limited use of full power .357 Magnum loads. In 1985, Ruger replaced the the Six line of revolvers with the GP100 which featured beefier frames to allow for a steady diet of full power .357 Magnum loads, along with some changes to simplify manufacturing.

    Although I have not shot a GP100, I have handled and viewed plenty at gun stores and gun shows with the thought of picking one up. But I've always held off because they are not only heavier than the Security Six overall, but front heavy, which didn't seem as handy. Most of the difference comes, I think, because the Security Six (at least in the 4" model) uses a half-lug barrel, while the GP100 uses a full lug barrel (I know that there are some models released in the last few years that use a half-lug design, but the basic model is still a full lug). I also prefer the looks of the Security Six. And since I mostly shoot .38 Special even when using the revolver, the extra strength of the GP100 would be superfluous. 

Sources:

• "Ruger Security-Six"--Wikipedia.
• "The Ruger Security Six Series ... One Of Bill's Best!"--American Handgunner. 
• "A Look Back at the Ruger Security-Six Revolver"--American Rifleman.
• "Ruger Six Series Review: An Obsession"--Day At The Range.
• "Review: Ruger Security Six"--Shooting Times.
• "Instruction Manual for Ruger Security Six, Speed Six, and Police Service Six Double Action Revolvers" (PDF).