Asking a group of keen pistol shooters what the best .357 Magnum revolver is will almost certainly start a heated discussion, with several well-known designs coming up including the Smith & Wesson Model 27, the Colt Python, the Smith & Wesson 686, and (from that one guy) the Manurhin MR-73.
Guaranteed to appear in the discussion are also the Ruger GP-100 and its predecessor, the Ruger Security Six — and it is the latter which this article covers.
Released in 1972, the Security Six is a double-action, swing-out cylinder .357 Magnum revolver, usually a 4” or 6” barrel; they were made in 3” and 2¾” versions, too.
The pistol was available with either a stainless steel or blued finish. Over time the process for the bluing on some of the latter frames has caused them to turn purple. This does not affect the safety of the gun, and the “plum” finish is seen as an interesting sub-collection by many Ruger enthusiasts.
The Security Six was designed to compete with pricier Colt and Smith & Wesson revolvers on the lucrative law enforcement, security and military markets. It very quickly earned itself a spot on the podium with the other two.
The Security Six popularised the transfer-bar hammer safety system found in a number of modern revolvers.
Generally, revolvers had the firing pin mounted on the hammer and it was possible that a gun with a round under the hammer could go off if dropped or the hammer was hit with enough force.
The transfer-bar system eliminated this possibility entirely, as the firing pin was mounted in the revolver’s frame and could only be hit by the hammer if the trigger was pulled, because the new transfer bar would be raised to connect the hammer with the firing pin.
Ruger did not invent the system. It was first used by Iver Johnson in the 1890s, and was reintroduced by Charter Arms in the 1960s, the runaway success of the Security Six meant that transfer bars were back in the spotlight again, and they are now found on a number of modern revolvers.
The revolvers also feature a coil mainspring, and can be easily disassembled for cleaning and maintenance with nothing more than a 5c coin (although obviously a screwdriver or even a Swiss Army Knife would be preferable).
The first guns had serial numbers with a 150- prefix, but following client feedback, the grip was slightly redesigned in 1975 to have a higher backstrap and guns produced afterwards generally had serial numbers with prefixes in the 151- to 162- range.
There’s actually a family of double-action Ruger Six revolvers. The Security Six is the best known, but there was also a fixed-sight, .38-calibre version known as the Service Six, and there was also a snub-nose version with a rounded butt — intended for the concealed carry market — known as the Speed Six.
The Security Six and Service Six proved enormously popular handguns. They were built like tanks, easy to maintain, accurate, comfortable to shoot and, most attractively, affordable.
The US military adopted the Service Six in .38 Special as the M108 revolver and the gun was also issued to the NYPD, the US Border Patrol and the US Postal Service, among other government agencies and various local police forces.
Many police forces and other law enforcement agencies around the world also adopted the Security Six and Service Six revolvers — in Australia, both Queensland Police and Northern Territory Police issued the revolvers.
The NT Police had a special run of at least 50 Security Six revolvers made in 1980 stamped with the NT Police crest, which officers were allowed to buy (and keep) for $225 – about $1200 today. These pistols are highly sought after by collectors, for obvious reasons.
The Service Six has the distinction of being the last revolver produced in the .380 Revolver Mk IIz cartridge (essentially .38 S&W with a 174gn projectile). The round had been used in various British military handguns in the early- to mid-20th Century, including the Webley Mk IV and the Smith & Wesson Victory).
About 30,000 of these Ruger revolvers were made for the Indian government in the mid-1980s, mostly intended for border security and police issue, and about 250 ended up on the commercial market in the US as contract over-runs. Given how well-built the Ruger revolvers are, it is extremely likely these guns are still in use in India today.
Small numbers of the Service Six and Speed Six were also made in 9mm Parabellum, mostly intended for sale to police departments or security entities which also had semi-automatic pistols on issue.
Production of the Security Six and its siblings ended in 1988 after about 1.5 million had been made. The design was succeeded by the even more popular Ruger GP-100, which is still in production today.
Shooting the Ruger Security Six
The Ruger Security Six operates the same as pretty much any other modern swing-out cylinder revolver, albeit with the cylinder release button being pushed in, rather than slid forward or backwards.
The trigger has a 10lb (4.5kg) double-action pull, and 4lb (1.81kg) single-action pull, and the gun shoots well with full-power .357 Magnum loads.
As with other popular revolvers, there are a range of aftermarket accessories available for Security Six pistols. Pachmayr grips and fibre-optic front sights are popular additions to the gun, and speedloaders are made by HKS and Safariland as well.
It is worth noting that many of the grips are designed for the “high-back” revolvers with 151- prefix serial numbers or higher, and may not fit on earlier guns.
There are quite a lot of Security Six revolvers around, and thanks to the gun’s rugged construction most of them are in good shape.
They are perfect for a range of competitions including Service Pistol, Metallic Silhouette and general centrefire pistol shooting.
While not having quite the same cachet as a Colt Python or a Smith & Wesson Model 27, the Rugers are affordable, reliable, practical guns and an excellent first revolver for a new handgun shooter — and a popular addition to pistol safes in Australia generally.
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