Speed six 4in stainless .38

Hi everyone. Picked up a new to me Speed Six for what I thought was a steal. Joined this forum because I just can't seem to find much on this configuration. ser 162-183xx which I understand is last year or so of production. I can't seem to find how many of these there are, or what the value may be for .38 vs .357. Also, if they are built well enough to handle 357 why did they mfg a 38? Any information you have for me I would appreciate it. Thanks. Ed

Ed, yours was made in 1987 according to RENE. As for production numbers anyone's guess is as good as anyone else's, as Ruger doesn't publish production data and serial numbers didn't necessarily follow a particular model. A 4" Speed Six in .38 Spl versus .357 Mag could have been made for a specific contract. Many police departments had their revolvers chambered in .38 and ordered them that way from Ruger.

You have a good revolver, have fun shooting it.

Some revolver guys say one chambered in 38 Special detracts from the value and desirability. I'm not one of those. I shoot 38s in my 357s the majority of the time anyway.

Ron is correct, many police departments, security firms and even foreign governments requested 38 Special only. You'll see that in the GP100s too.

Oh yeah, then there's the 380 Rim and a bunch of other variations. You've only just begun! :lol:

Welcome to the forum.

Hi Ed
Nice find. Placing value sight unseen and without any description will be difficult. You have a great shooter. Hope you enjoy your revolver. Plan on acquiring more.
Welcome to the forum

Wilbur

And as I understand it, not just foreign governments bought "Six Series" .38s, but Uncle Sugar did too, for government security guards in various agencies who didn't pack .45s. I've always been told that these were bought to replace worn out S&W and Colt .38s because there was a tremendous stockpile of .38 Special ammo on hand. Can anybody confirm that?

Personally I'm always happy to find a .38 Spl. "Six." Sure they're overbuilt, but they are also virtually recoil-less with target ammo. (I even have a .38 "Jeep"!). And an S&W Model 20 "Heavy Duty." The problems with the .38 as a service weapon had as much to do with the loading of the service loads as with the cartridge's capabilities. And the military loadings were always THE WORST, IMO.

Mike Armstrong said:

And as I understand it, not just foreign governments bought "Six Series" .38s, but Uncle Sugar did too, for government security guards in various agencies who didn't pack .45s. I've always been told that these were bought to replace worn out S&W and Colt .38s because there was a tremendous stockpile of .38 Special ammo on hand. Can anybody confirm that?

Personally I'm always happy to find a .38 Spl. "Six." Sure they're overbuilt, but they are also virtually recoil-less with target ammo. (I even have a .38 "Jeep"!). And an S&W Model 20 "Heavy Duty." The problems with the .38 as a service weapon had as much to do with the loading of the service loads as with the cartridge's capabilities. And the military loadings were always THE WORST, IMO.

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The Speed/Service Six in .38 Special replaced the Victory Smith for Army Air Crews. I absolutely confirm that. Not because of huge stockpiles of ammo, but because the .38 revolver remained the mission accepted standard for aircrews, and there were not enough Smith's to go around. As far as the anemia of the Army .38 round...Remember, we called these a survival weapon, not a defensive weapon. When I left Army Aviation in 1975, the Smith's were the only revolver available. In 1982, I attended an Army school where the Ruger was part of the curriculum. That's the first I knew of the change .

When I was a Lockheed guard we had 4" stainless speed sixs. Ours had the rounded style butts. They felt better to me in the hand than the colt op`s and smiths 586`s all in 4". Ours were in .357 but we carried .38 special in them.

vitaminboy said:

[...] value may be for .38 vs .357. Also, if they are built well enough to handle 357 why did they mfg a 38? [...] Thanks. Ed

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While government agencies specifying .38 Special in their requests for bids probably is the primary reason they were made, I prefer my fixed sighted revolvers to be made only for .38 Special so that the sights will be regulated for the cartridges I shoot more often. Every thing else being equal, a faster bullet hits lower at at the distances pistols are commonly fired. .357s are built with higher rear sights or lower front sights than the same model in .38 Special.

I prefer adjustable sights on .357s in part so I can lower their rear sight for pleasant hours firing .38 Special. However, I have more than enough noisy .357 Magnums so I am more likely to buy a fixed sighted revolver or will pay more for one if it is a .38 Special.

Thanks for the replies. I'd be happy to post some pics once I find out how. Great information so far. I guess I was thinking production numbers would be known. I've done searches for comparisons but I can't seem to find much on 4inch Speed Sixes that are stainless. It is nice and for well under $300 I finally got another LGS win. First Ruger revolver and it is killing me that I also didn't get the SS 357 Bisley he had.

Under $300? You sho' ain't in Richifornia.... On second thought, it's a really big state with some very poor corners.