Speed Six Question

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CBinNH

Single-Sixer
Joined
Aug 3, 2008
Messages
261
Location
NH
I picked up what I believe is a Speed Six recently. It is stainless, has a 3" barrel & is a round butt. 38 Special, regular hammer. It is stamped Police Service Six on the side of the gun. The shipper box is stamped GS-83 Speed Six. The yellow Ruger box has no label. Is this a run of the mill Ruger? Thanks.
 

T.A. WORKMAN

Hunter
Joined
Mar 24, 2006
Messages
4,266
Location
MANSFIELD, OHIO USA
Sir,
Open the cylinder frame and look on the crane of the revolver,,,is there a "Star" stamped on it?
Sounds like a GS-83NYCPD New York PD gun,,,scarce revolver.

Serial # on mine is 162-40935.

Best,
Terry
 

Terry T

Buckeye
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Oct 17, 2006
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1,917
Location
NorCa.
Couple of more questions -
Boxes and guns sometimes get mixed up. Only way to be sure is to get the factory letter from Ruger by Ser. No.
A GS-83 (full 3" barrel, not a 2 3/4" barrel) is a rare bird. 'LovemyDals' has one. So...the shipper box is 'rare', for sure.
Actually any full 3" Six Series double action is rare or at least uncommon.
I assume with a 'regular hammer' its a traditional DA/SA and not DAO? I believe the New York City PD guns were all DAO.

We have also identified about 12 Speed Sixes mis-stamped as Service Sixs. I have 3.
We have also seen a few Service Sixs that folks have re-contoured the butt into the round butt configuration.
Is it a scalloped frame? A measure of the base of the grip can tell if it's a ground off square butt Service Six or was actually a mis stamped Speed Six. The Speed Six is thicker. See photos.





Photos would be helpful, especially with the grips off and the roll stamping clearly visible.
Terry T
 

CBinNH

Single-Sixer
Joined
Aug 3, 2008
Messages
261
Location
NH
Sorry for not posting pics in the beginning. I don't see a star in the crane area, just rough milling. I don't have calipers handy to measure the grip base. It darn near took an act of Congress to get one grip off without doing damage.

 

Terry T

Buckeye
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Yup, it's a rare one! :shock:
First mismarked GS-83 that we know of! Rare gun plus rare, incorrect roll mark!
Chad at one time thought there might be as few as 75 of the GS-83 made up. We really have no way of knowing since Ruger will not release production numbers.
It is not a NY gun since the shipper doesn't list it as a GS-83NYPD but simply a GS-83.

Of course, 'rare' doesn't always equal high value. Has to be buyers willing to pay extra, above the 'shooter' price but...you've got the box and shipper - a huge deal and the gun appears to be in excellent condition.
Great find! Well done! Thanks for sharing. :D

The (full) 3" barrel appears to have been first ordered by the U.S. Postal service in .357 mag. Once the barrel was in inventory, it appears to have been offered in other configurations on special (usually LE) orders. It was never listed in the annual brochures as an optional barrel.
I have a real (square butt) Police Service Six with the 3" barrel in .357 mag., a GF-33.
Terry T
 

Poco Oso

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Jan 31, 2012
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1,970
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Central Orygun
The depth of information available on this forum never ceases to amaze me. Great score CBinNH. That's an excellent little revolver, even if wasn't a collector. Wish I could stumble onto even a shooter quality one up here.
 

CBinNH

Single-Sixer
Joined
Aug 3, 2008
Messages
261
Location
NH
I appreciate the info gentlemen. I bought it thinking it was rather odd to be stamped Police Service. It is supposed to be unfired, but I see a bit of carbon evidence around one of the cylinder exit holes.
 

Terry T

Buckeye
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Oct 17, 2006
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1,917
Location
NorCa.
"Unfired" is not exactly true with Rugers since they are all test fired at the factory. :shock:
It DOES show an absence of cylinder ring (drag marks from the cylinder stop) which indicates to me that it probably has not been shot since it left the factory. In other words, about as New In the Box (NIB) as one can find. Gun was made in the late 1980s so is pushing 30 years old. Someone suspected or knew they had a rare one and set it aside. A 'safe queen'.

Since these were low production guns, I'm not totally surprised that there is no end label on the yellow box. On the other hand, they did tend to fall off. You might look inside the shipper box just in case it's stuck in it. Or under the inside flap in the yellow box.
Having the correct stamp on the shipper AND having the shipper is a huge plus in this case.
Terry T
 

MinorLV

Ruger Six Series and DA Collector
Joined
Aug 5, 2016
Messages
98
Location
Las Vegas
Hello CBinNH...

I have SS Speed Six 9mm and would be interested in discussing a trade.

Best,

Michael
 

mohavesam

Hawkeye
Joined
Jan 4, 2004
Messages
5,847
Location
Rugerville, AZ
TT 's info is very good. Recall also that this gun was probably made during the "cleanup period" after the Security Six guns were discontinued in '85-86. The Speed Six and Service Six were still cataloged and it would not be unreasonable to see cleanup parts and roll-stamps in any combination. Looks nice as a unique/HTF gun but I have to admit if it were mine it'd get some holster time, and get shot a bunch!
 

WheelGunMan

Bearcat
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Sep 14, 2016
Messages
17
Location
U S A
Hello CBinNH...

That is one exciting find!!

I posess a brother to it in a S/S Security Six in .357 mag with a 6" barrel. In my opinion...the Six series are the best revolvers Ruger ever made.
 

bogus bill

Hunter
Joined
Dec 25, 2009
Messages
3,969
Location
utah
We used to be issued 4" stainless speed six`s. That gun felt right in my hand more than the service grips on our Smiths or Colts that we also had.
 
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