# Ruger's GP-Series vs. The Security-Six: Which Is Better??



## Stargater53 (Dec 10, 2018)

Which do you like better, the Ruger Security-Six .357 revolver or the Ruger GP-100 .357? And why?

When S&W decided to upgraded its model 66 due to problems with sustained shooting of full throttle .357 ammo, it built a new gun from the ground up that would shoot it, building up the forcing come, putting an underlug barrel and beefing up the frame. It also designed the gun to go toe to toe accuracy-wise with the Colt Python. But in so doing, they turned its new model 686 into essentially a range gun, especially in its 6-inch barrel. For those who hike, hunt, fish, camp, or boat, the gun is too large. But S&W reintroduced its model 66, and has a great 2.5-inch model.




_Sharp-eyed viewers may have noticed this 4-inch Ruger Security-Six 
at the end of the movie, Terminator. She has it at the ready to blast any
vile terminators. (Too bad it wasn't loaded.) _

Ruger, on the other hand, had no problems with its Security-Six, which, unlike the S&W 66, had been built from the ground up as a .357. But since S&W came out with a new gun, Ruger decided it would beef up a gun that really didn't need it. Gun writers who used to write articles on hunting and hiking in the wilderness now fell silent as very few hunters and hikers wanted to lug around GP-100s. On the plus side, Ruger introduced its SP-100 5-shot pistol, in 2-5- and 3-inch barrels. But not with adjustable sights.


_I couldn't decide which Ruger Security-Six to buy, so I bought
one of each barrel length. _


_ Removing the grips shows just why the balance of the GP-100
is so forward weighted.





So what do you think? Should Ruger have continued its Security-Six, Service-Six and Speed-Six revolvers, or do you think they made the right call in introducing its GP-100 series of revolvers?_


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## SamBond (Aug 30, 2016)

Stargater53 said:


> So what do you think? Should Ruger have continued its Security-Six, Service-Six and Speed-Six revolvers, or do you think they made the right call in introducing its GP-100 series of revolvers?


Ruger should have kept the Six's line and still introduced the GP-100.
I know people that like the Six over the GP because it is smaller and lighter when equipped with equal length barrels.
One drawback to the Six is the horrible grip it comes with. Of course the stocks can be changed so it's not a big deal.
The original grip the first GP's came with are the best IMO. I don't like the Hogue Monogrip at all but that's easy enough to fix.

Sam


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## DJ Niner (Oct 3, 2006)

First off, let me say I am a HUGE fan of the Security-six revolvers, and I've owned one of each of the most common variations over the last 4 decades. I used one in local- and state-level PPC revolver matches in the early and mid 1980s, and most of the trophies on my trophy shelf are there because of a 6-inch Ruger Sec-6.

Having said that, the only Ruger mid-size revolvers I now own are GP100 variations. In the early 2000s (IIRC), I began to hear rumblings that Ruger could no longer fix certain problems with the Sec-6-series handguns due to a lack of parts. That was confirmed a few years later when I had a chance to buy a used Sec-6 that needed some work done, and when I contacted Ruger to find out how much it would cost, they said they couldn't fix it at all. I know I could pay a pistolsmith to correct most problems I might have with a Ruger, but it would cost a LOT more than I wanted to pay, and possibly more than the handgun was worth, depending on the problem. So I decided to change-over to the GP-series handguns, and I have not been disappointed. Yes, they are a bit heavier, but after you replace the crappy grips on a Sec-6 with functional grips (like the rubber ones, above), you probably have upped the weight enough that you are within 1-2 ounces of a similar GP100 (in the 3- and 4-inch lengths), which is really no difference at all.

I keep my favorite set of Security-six grips in a drawer, just in case the nostalgia bug bites me hard some day when I see a great price on a great old Sec-6. But even if I get one, it won't get shot much, as I'm very happy with my GP-100s, and I know Ruger can fix them if I somehow break one.


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## Sabrien4 (Oct 16, 2019)

Looks Great


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## SamBond (Aug 30, 2016)

DJ Niner said:


> I began to hear rumblings that Ruger could no longer fix certain problems with the Sec-6-series handguns due to a lack of parts.


Yes, when a model is discontinued and after the parts dry up it is my understanding that Ruger is pretty much done with that gun.
However I have been told that Ruger will give you a good deal on a replacement if you send them the discontinued model. How good of a deal seems to depend on the condition of the discontinued model you have. 
I have not done this myself, just something a guy claimed he was told about a rifle that had a "shot out" barrel.
Don't know if that was a hunting rifle only deal or if it might apply to handguns too. Could be worth asking Ruger CS about if you still have a Six laying around.

Sam


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## Stargater53 (Dec 10, 2018)

Some people like the heavier models because they are easier to shoot magnums out of, so if they shoot the guns at ranges and keep them in drawers for defense, there they are.

Years ago, I carried my 4-inch Security-Six in my glove compartment. While driving from Paducah, Kentucky, however, my mother didn't like me carrying the gun there, so I put it in the trunk. Sometime after that, I somehow angered a couple in another car when I passed them on a highway. The driver of the other car was a diminutive woman with a _very_ large man as the passenger. I don't know what I did to offend them, but the next thing I knew, _he_ was in the driver and he was right on my bumper! When I speeded up, so did he, and when I slowed down, he slowed down as well.

This greatly disturbed my mother, and when I saw this guy, it disturbed me as well. The woman, as I said, was very small, but her traveling companion was not. When I saw him in my rear view mirror, he was someone out of an Alfred Hitchcock movie! Coke-bottle glasses, massive frame with a head that caused him to hunch down to fit into the driver's seat. No matter how I drove, he stayed just inches off my rear bumper! And the expression on his face? Determined. Very determined. And my gat was now out of reach. So I speeded up with him just hanging on my rear bumper, and no sign of a cop anywhere. So I kept up my speed. Then, at the next exit, I veered off at the last moment and Demented Dan kept right on going. I pulled over, retrieved my gun (with no comment from my mother) and continued on our journey!

Strange how one incident can change one's outlook!

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## SamBond (Aug 30, 2016)

Stargater53 said:


> Strange how one incident can change one's outlook!


You know what they say... *"*A liberal is just a conservative that hasn't been mugged yet*"*.

Or in this case. Afraid of guns until they see something that scares them more than a gun and having a gun handy might be the smart way to go.

Sam


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## Stargater53 (Dec 10, 2018)

SamBond said:


> One drawback to the Six is the horrible grip it comes with. Of course the stocks can be changed so it's not a big deal.


Yes, the first Security-Sixes had a horrible grip. There were so many complaints that Ruger redesigned them into the grip design we all know and love today. Of course, Pachmayr made the point moot with its fine rubber grips. I rounded the butts of many of my Sixes to take the Compaqs, which anyone with a grinder can (and perhaps should) do. I would recommend this for 4- and 2.75-inch models, not four the 6-inchers.

I was thinking about selling one of my 4-inch Security-Sixes and buying a GP-100, but when I handled a 4-inch model GP-100, the balance was atrocious. I'd checked out the 4-inch S&W 686s, and I found the balance was much better. The 7-shot 686+ is a gun I'd love to have, but the price is a bit hefty, and I have yet to find one on a dealer's shelf.

One issue I've had with S&W blued revolvers is that the guns are not really blued in the traditional sense. It's shiny and it's black, but the finish wears quickly on the cylinder latch and the white steel shows through on the latch with only moderate handling. I have a Cold Steel Rajah II (knife) with a black finish. It has an opening latch, and though the knife wears well, the latch has the same white steel that shows through with only moderate handling. There also are white areas on the top of the blade where there's a sharp edge. And even though I open the knife by placing my fingers on both sides of the blade and pulling it out, the top of the blade has white spots here and there.

If anyone here owns a 586 and has had this problem (or not) I'd like to hear from you. The Colt Python had a beautiful bluing job. I was watching a video on YouTube about a guy who bought a S&W 586, and I noticed the white steel showing through the cylinder latch. Either it was a stainless steel latch that had been treated so that it was blackened, or a carbon steel latch that had been blackened. Either way, the latch has white steel that was showing through.

If it is carbon steel, cold bluing may be in order. But if it's stainless steel, I don't know what can be done, if anything.

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