"Autoitis" & the Six Series

[Watertender]

Many years ago Police Departments went crazy for semi automatic sidearms and dumped their revolvers by the thousands. My work partner at the time & I decided to buy a couple of the recently scorned revolvers as the prices were very reasonable. I like fixed sights so picked up a 152 series Police Service Six that had been turned in by a small town department on some of those rapid fire plastic curtain rod company things. Mine had a little bluing wear at the muzzle but had not been used that much or abused from what I could see. My new to me Service Six set me back just under $100 & has been an absolute delight since. My work partner scored a 151 series Security Six that looked like it had been dragged behind a car & kept in a dog kennel when it wasn't being dragged. I checked the action on it & spun the cylinder against a feeler gauge which showed me it was not badly used but just had ugly looks. He got his for $85 with a set of rubber grips on it because the wooden ones were chewed up badly. We then checked around to see what it would cost to reblue his revolver. The local places were in the $50 & up range so I contacted Ruger in Newport NH to see what they woiuld get to refinish this sad looking Security Six. They told me $35 so we made arrangements to get it to them. We put the chewed wooden grips on it & sent it off to be worked on with a check enclosed for the repairs plus return shipping to the FFL we used. In 3 weeks he gets a call so we go pick up his gun. When we opened the box we were shocked to say the least. Inside was his Security Six looking almost brand new with a bag tied to the trigger guard & a detailed work order. Ruger had put in a new hammer, trigger, springs & sights as well as a new set of wooden grips on his revolver & returned the old parts in the bag. The work order said that there was one pit by the muzzle that could not be polished out so it was still there. The charge was still the original $35 quote so in both our eyes Ruger stood tall. We both still have our Sixes & consider them great revolvers

[gunman42782]

I had a similar experience. Had a Security Six that I wanted to take the cylinder apart cause it was a little sticky. Had an article telling me how to do it, but I neglected to read that the ejector rod had reversed threads. So, I proceeded to break it! Called Ruger and asked if I could buy the parts, they told me to send it in. They also told me not to send anything aftermarket in. Mine had a set of Hogue grips, so I took those off and sent it in. When I got it back, they had replaced the entire cylinder assembly, put on a brand new set of wood grips, and did not charge me a dime. And this was entirely my fault! Ruger's customer service was outstanding to say the least.

[MinorLV]

I am looking at a Speed 38 that despite the commentary appears to need some bluing work to get it pretty for the collection and I prefer stainless. Are the speed 38 hard to come by...if so I may be better off getting the blue and having re-blued by Ruger...thoughts?

[RoninPA]

The Speed Six in .38 isn't uncommon. That said, it depends on what you consider your collection. I collect the Six series handguns and I look for as unused as possible guns with as few of blemishes as possible. A reblued gun looses "collectibility" and worth to a collector like me. However, if your "collection" is a collection of shootable guns, then if you want it reblued to make it look nicer, then I'd go for it. That said, I don't know if Ruger would do anything for you or not. The Six series hasn't been made since 1988 and Ruger doesn't stock parts for them anymore so I wouldn't be surprised if Ruger would not reblue it. There are a number of gunsmiths out there though that can do a reblue on your gun.

[MinorLV]

Thank you for the feedback Ron. I am going to wait until I can get my hands on a stainless in good shape. Not planning on doing a lot of shooting if any w/ the collection.

Best,

Micahel