Low Back (150- s/n), Stainless, Police Service Six and Speed Six

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Have been looking for one of each, barrel length not a concern (as long as it is an original barrel), would like it to be in good condition (but I can refurbish) to fill holes in my Six series collection. People in the know (me included) don't think Ruger made any but you never know.
 
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Baxter6551

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If you are interested in a 150 prefix Security Six at all I know where there is a six inch with a spare 4 inch barrel For sale.
As a new member I hope posting this is no violation of the rules.
 

weaselmeatgravy

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Ron, good luck on your quest. I have determined (at least to my own satisfaction) that only the adjustable sight Security Six was made in stainless at the high end of the 150 prefix and that the Service Six and Speed Six were not made in stainless until they had fully switched over to the highback frame.

The fixed sight square butt gun (initially also called Security Six) was renamed Police Service Six coincident with the introduction of the highback frame in the upper end of the 150 prefix and was only made in blue until into the 151 prefix. I believe the Police Service Six was the only highback to appear in the 150 prefix but I'm not 100% certain of that. But it makes sense that they would continue casting one frame until enough were made prior to switching over to another. Also bear in mind the DA frames were not the only thing keeping casting busy; they had the whole Ruger product line to support, including the changeover from old model to New Model single action revolvers and 1974 was when those were first offered in stainless... same timeframe as the DA prefix roll from 150 to 151. So there was a lot going on and I don't think they had the bandwidth to do stainless fixed sight DAs immediately.

I believe the frame change, material change, and prefix change all happened this way due to the luck of the draw in production; they happened to pick the adjustable sight frame (then lowback) to experiment on when first casting stainless and didn't change up until they were sure they got it right. At which point, the designers were ready with the approved highback designs, but possibly behind other work in the queue.

Guns were completed and serial numbered randomly based on what frames were available and the 150 prefix was exhausted before any fixed sight stainless frames were available to be completed into functional firearms. I suspect the design team worked on one frame at a time then handed it off to casting only after WBR approved it, and production was at the mercy of whatever became available from casting.

On a side note, the highback guns didn't fit the die cut interior of the white boxes and so the early ones were shipped in the flimsy orangish-red & white boxes until the red and black boxes came out. The white boxes were exhausted just prior to the prefix roll and some lowback guns were shipped in the red & white boxes. I don't believe any stainless (lowback Security Six) guns were shipped in white boxes since they would have had to order a new rubber stamp and instead just printed a label for the red & white box with the stainless gun info.
 
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Bob, your info coincides with what I have found out over the years of collecting the Six series revolvers and what has been compiled by Chad. My low back stainless Security Six (4" w/adjustable sights) is 151-095xx, dated 09/1974. But I also have a high back frame (blued) Police Service Six (roll marked as such) with a s/n of 150-944xx, dated 08/1974. So I thought that they, just maybe, did produce some other low backs in stainless.

And, since we never say never in regards with what Ruger does and has done in the past, I thought I'd put it out there to see if any might pop up - if only to say "I have one but it's not for sale"
 
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weaselmeatgravy

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There were stainless 150 prefix lowback Security Sixes in addition to the 151's. My lowest is a real outlier, a GA32 at 150-55384 which must have been from the very first experiments with stainless and it received a high polish gloss finish at some point before leaving the factory extremely late in 2009 during a warehouse cleanout. Probably a prototype that sat around the shop until they finally put it in a 1980's style yellow box and wrote "High Polish" on the end in ballpoint (then when they shipped it out, they slapped an orange barcode label on that end partially obscuring the note). I always thought it may have had a standard finish until they picked it as a test subject to try the high polish treatment for the glossy Vaquero which was Ruger's first glossy stainless offering, simulating nickel plate.

But from regular production, my next lowest stainless lowback is 150-92573, also a GA32 but with regular finish, and 150-95114 which is a GA34.

And like you, I have blue highback Police Service Sixes in the upper 150 prefix at 150-94446 (SDA84, bought new by my dad), 150-97027 (SDA32), and 150-97331 (SDA34).

I have another interesting pair from that transitional period, lowback fixed sight blue guns in the 151 prefix that are rollmarked as Security Six rather than Police Service Six. That further strengthens my opinion that only the highback guns were marked Police Service Six. They are different calibers but are very close together SN-wise at 151-01438 (SDA84) and 151-01445 (SDA34).
 
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My odd pair from the transition period:
150-86386, a blued, low back, fixed sight, roll marked Security Six (SDA-34) shipped 02/1974
150-94411, a blued, high back, fixed sight roll marked Police Service Six (SDA-84) shipped 08/1974 only 35 difference from your dads gun.

I checked and my 150-94411 came in a red and white box marked SDA-84 and had the s/n hand written on the label end.
 
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weaselmeatgravy

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As discussed in our conversation thread, the 1973 retail flyer showed the GF gun (stainless fixed sight but at that time still called Security Six), however none appear to have been made until the highback frame in 1974. The Speed Six was listed as only in blue.

Flyer-1973-Speed-Six_n_Stainless_small.jpg


The flip side of that flyer showed a stainless adjustable sight Security Six, but no fixed sight gun.
Flyer-1973-GA34_n_RDA36.jpg


And the 6" gun is shown in blue because those lowback stainless guns were never made....... or were they?
Yes! Two are known to have been assembled quite late for lowback guns, way up in the 151-2xxxx range.
Here is one of them:
GA36-151-26549.jpg
 

Baxter6551

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If anyone is interested here is the gun. As I said it has a spare 4" barrel and is in a red and black box
 

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Baxter6551, That is a nice looking stainless low back Security Six, I have a 4" low back stainless.

The problem is that, so far, no one knows if Ruger ever made a low back stainless Speed Six or Police Service Six or fixed sight low back Security Six (before the fixed sight model became the Police Service Six they were roll marked Security Six and the factory description was - Fixed sight Security Six). Amongst the Six series collectors we don't think they did - HOWEVER - No one can definitely say that Ruger did not make any. There have been many instances in the past that Ruger has surprised us collectors.

I will send you a message (conversation) about the gun you showed.
 
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As discussed in our conversation thread, the 1973 retail flyer showed the GF gun (stainless fixed sight but at that time still called Security Six), however none appear to have been made until the highback frame in 1974. The Speed Six was listed as only in blue.

View attachment 18901

The flip side of that flyer showed a stainless adjustable sight Security Six, but no fixed sight gun.
View attachment 18902

And the 6" gun is shown in blue because those lowback stainless guns were never made....... or were they?
Yes! Two are known to have been assembled quite late for lowback guns, way up in the 151-2xxxx range.
Here is one of them:
View attachment 18903
Great information WMG!

Do you by chance have the later model number reference, e.g. what was the model number for the GS(stainless) speed sixes and did the model numbers change when Ruger renamed the fixed sight guns to Service Six?

Finally, where did the reference above originate, i.e. what book, etc.

Thanks
 

weaselmeatgravy

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You have it right, stainless Speed Sixes were GS.

The SDA/GF models for the blue/stainless fixed sight square butt guns did not change when the name changed to Police Service Six.

The flyer I pictured above is mine, I took those pictures of it some years back and had them on my PC.
 
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You have it right, stainless Speed Sixes were GS.

The SDA/GF models for the blue/stainless fixed sight square butt guns did not change when the name changed to Police Service Six.

The flyer I pictured above is mine, I took those pictures of it some years back and had them on my PC.
Thank you, so do you know what the numeric model number was for the GS-32 etc (not the catalog number)

NHRugerman
 
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