Post by bazooka on Dec 8, 2019 3:19:17 GMT
A Look Back at the Ruger Security-Six Revolver
From about the mid-1960s through the 1970s, the mid-frame .357 Magnum, double-action revolver was the most popular service firearm riding on a law enforcement officer’s hip. The .357 Mag’s stopping power was legendary, as well as being pretty legitimate, and the medium-frame size didn’t break down an officer’s arches. Smith & Wesson’s Model 19 pretty much ruled the roost, though the Colt Trooper had its adherents too. Those who could, of course, slipped a Colt Python into their Sam Brownes, though the snake was technically not a medium frame.
Bill Ruger, who already had successfully gone against the grain with his autoloading .22 LR Standard Model, Single-Six and Blackhawk single-action revolvers, as well as his Nos. 1 and 3 single-shot rifles, figured he could muscle his way into part of the law enforcement and personal protection markets, too. Along with Harry Sefried and Henry Into, Ruger began working on the medium-frame double-action revolver project in 1966. Among Ruger’s many talents were to design strength into smaller and smaller platforms and develop built-in modular sub-assemblies. What evolved from these fertile minds became known as the Security-Six, announced in 1970 and began shipping in 1972, and it was another great success story for Ruger.
Ruger’s penchant for building a strong double-action revolver centered on two things: a solid frame, sans a sideplate and using investment castings of modern steel alloys that could be heat treated to maximum strength after most of the machining work was completed. To wit this meant that the new double-action would have a slightly larger cylinder widow compared to the S&W Model 19 to accommodate a slightly larger diameter cylinder. The topstrap of the Security-Six was thickened a bit, as was the barrel shank, to better stand up to a steady diet of magnum loads. Keeping strength—consequently shooter safety—paramount, the engineering team found a way to offset the locking bolt notches, leaving more metal to support the weakest part of the firearm. Too, the locking bolt and hand were more robust. These small parts take quite a beating when the revolver—any revolver—is fired rapidly.
From about the mid-1960s through the 1970s, the mid-frame .357 Magnum, double-action revolver was the most popular service firearm riding on a law enforcement officer’s hip. The .357 Mag’s stopping power was legendary, as well as being pretty legitimate, and the medium-frame size didn’t break down an officer’s arches. Smith & Wesson’s Model 19 pretty much ruled the roost, though the Colt Trooper had its adherents too. Those who could, of course, slipped a Colt Python into their Sam Brownes, though the snake was technically not a medium frame.
Bill Ruger, who already had successfully gone against the grain with his autoloading .22 LR Standard Model, Single-Six and Blackhawk single-action revolvers, as well as his Nos. 1 and 3 single-shot rifles, figured he could muscle his way into part of the law enforcement and personal protection markets, too. Along with Harry Sefried and Henry Into, Ruger began working on the medium-frame double-action revolver project in 1966. Among Ruger’s many talents were to design strength into smaller and smaller platforms and develop built-in modular sub-assemblies. What evolved from these fertile minds became known as the Security-Six, announced in 1970 and began shipping in 1972, and it was another great success story for Ruger.
Ruger’s penchant for building a strong double-action revolver centered on two things: a solid frame, sans a sideplate and using investment castings of modern steel alloys that could be heat treated to maximum strength after most of the machining work was completed. To wit this meant that the new double-action would have a slightly larger cylinder widow compared to the S&W Model 19 to accommodate a slightly larger diameter cylinder. The topstrap of the Security-Six was thickened a bit, as was the barrel shank, to better stand up to a steady diet of magnum loads. Keeping strength—consequently shooter safety—paramount, the engineering team found a way to offset the locking bolt notches, leaving more metal to support the weakest part of the firearm. Too, the locking bolt and hand were more robust. These small parts take quite a beating when the revolver—any revolver—is fired rapidly.