What are these revolvers and are they any good?

P

Pond James Pond

New member
I've found these on a German website and I believe there are (expensive) means and channels by which someone here can import them.

I'm curious as to what they are like and if they are worth ditching a very compact, accurate and comfortable Astra 680 S&W clone in .38Spl for carry duty.

A Ruger in .357.
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Another Ruger, also .357:
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A S&W M36 in .38Spl
server
 
The Rugers are somewhat large and heavy. They are also built like a tank and I doubt if two or three generations of shooters could wear one out.

The S&W is, well a S&W. The 3" barrels are somewhat sought after and while not as robust as the Rugers, in .38 Special it will last forever and makes a great CCW gun. they are considerably smaller and easier to conceal than the Ruger Security Six revolvers pictured..

It really depends on what you want to do with them.
 
I personally am not a fan of Ruger DA revolvers. Owners seem to love them.

The Model 36 is meant to be a concealed handgun. Shooting a J frame S&W like the 36 can be a little too much given the gun's light weight. For carry, it's great. For fun shooting, not so much. Again, what do you want to do with it?
 
The two Rugers are good guns, long out of production with no factory parts support.

The Smith is a small 3-inch J-Frame.
I've had one here, nice carry package.

Any of the three would be better than the Astra.
Denis
 
For duty carry (presumably holster carry) the Rugers would be fine. The S&W is a smaller (5-shot) revolver more suitable to concealed carry. Even better, if available, would be an S&W K or L frame six shot; the K-frames would be lighter than the Rugers, and would also be six shot.

Jim
 
The S&W is absurdly cheap and if the gun pictured is the gun for sale, the finish looks great. However, it seems to be a 5-shot, judging by the cylinder flutes.

Any of the three would be better than the Astra.
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I don't doubt that those 3 are very good guns, but don't be too hard on my poor little Astra! 6-shots, a sweet trigger, locks up tightly and is accurate. :D
 
The Rugers are somewhat large and heavy.
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Those look like Security Six's ..... not "large and heavy" ...... they have slightly smaller frames than the Colt Trooper MkIII, with the same cylinder size ..... they are smaller framed and lighter (by 12+ ounces in the 6" barrelled flavors) than the S&W 686 .....

Folks see a Ruger revolver and automaticly assume it's a GP100, and repeat what they read about them on the internetz ....... ;)
 
They are Security-Sixes, not made since about 1987.

Again- better guns than the Astra,
Denis
 
Those look like Security Six's ..... not "large and heavy" ...... they have slightly smaller frames than the Colt Trooper MkIII, with the same cylinder size ..... they are smaller framed and lighter (by 12+ ounces in the 6" barrelled flavors) than the S&W 686 .....

Folks see a Ruger revolver and automaticly assume it's a GP100, and repeat what they read about them on the internetz .......
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I know they are Security Sixes. I bought one new in 1980.

While they may be slightly smaller than a Colt Trooper MkIII, that does not make them small or particularly light. They are slightly bigger than a K frame Smith although not by a whole lot, but as I recall, mine was rather heavy and didn't balance as well as the K38 Masterpiece I had at the same time.

If the Smith J frame is a good price, I would opt for that if it's primary use would be as a carry gun. If all you want one for is target shooting, then either on of the Rugers would work OK. Both are better than an Astra.
 
James Pond ,you seem to know your guns
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Great help to the thread, that!

Give yerself a hefty pat on the back....

If the Smith J frame is a good price, I would opt for that if it's primary use would be as a carry gun.
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If I sold the Astra, then it would be to buy another carry gun to replace it. I do indeed like the dimensions of the Smith, although the longer barrel might make IWB appendix less comfortable. I like the calibre, build and OAL of the security-6 snub but the width may also end up making carry difficult.

I know Rugers are tough, but the website has a Hi-Def photo gallery and that snub has definitely been knocked about. Doesn't mean it is not tight, but still. The Smith is almost certainly an archive photo: it is spotless in the photo, but the cheapest in price.

As usual, the first thing to do is establish which other bureaucratic hoops I'd have to jump through to acquire used from another country. No doubt there would be fees and costs too which make the relative value. I plan to go to the Police on Tuesday to double check the whole muzzle-loader acquisition process and if indeed there is no restriction on their purchase. Perhaps they can advise me on private importation procedures too.
 
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The S & W Model 36 you show is the 3" barrel version. It also came in a 1 7/8" "snub" barrel length.

I have one of each. I switch off with them as far as carry. They are a 5 shot, 38 Special revolver. I love both of them. Yes, as mentioned, a smaller frame revolver but I find both comfortable to shoot and practice with - have no issues putting 100 to 150 rounds through either of them at a shooting session. But, I will add, I have replaced the factory grips with Pachmyer grips.

If you reload, you have the option of also using 38 Colt Short or 38 Colt Long in them as well. I often load up 38 Colt Shorts to use in my Model 36s. Right now I'm using 1.8 grains of Bulls Eye under a lead semi wad cutter cast out of a Lee 358-105 SWC mold (105 grain bullet).

I've never owned either of the Rugers you show but I do own a number of Ruger revolvers and semi-autos - all great handguns. The Rugers you show should be a larger frame than the Model 36 (comparible to a S & W "K frame"?) and be 6 shot revolvers versus the Model 36's 5 shot cylinder.
 
The two Rugers are S&W K-Frame equivalents in general dimensions & fit much of the same leather, but much more durable than the Smith K-Frames.
Denis
 
James,

I've shot several hundred rounds out of a buddies security six. Action was well put together, reasonably smooth and it pointed quite well. But I found the accuracy to be pretty unimpressive. I could hold everything to a pie plate at 7 yards, but that was about it. On the other hand it is build like a steel.....well a heavy chunk of steel ;) I seriously doubt you'd ever need to worry about either of the Rugers wearing our for at least a couple more eons. And if you run out of bullets, you can always bludgeon the perp. with it.

While I have shot a couple different models, I don't have enough experience with S&W to give you a good answer on one. I actually just did pick up the first one I've ever personally owned yesterday. A Commonwealth lend lease 1905 in .38 S&W.
 
The Security-Six I started policing with in 1976 will still hold far tighter than a pie plate, at 25 yards.
Your buddy must have gotten a lemon.
Denis
 
Denis:

:eek:

Not sure I could hold far smaller groups than a 4" circle with factory ammo unsupported with any .357 revolver I've owned or shot other than a 8" 686 and a 6" python at 25 yards

Maybe his security six wasn't a lemon, could of been operator error.:D
 
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Maybe. :)

I found years ago that 7 yards really tells me nothing useful about a gun's accuracy.

The Sixes are not target-grade, but they're accurate enough.
Denis
 
Security Six

Very accurate. Maybe somebody didn't know how to clean a gun or have the right equipment to clean from the muzzle end. Otis anyone?
 
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