how does the ruger revolver stack up?

[bobski]

not many guns can shoot 357 all day.

i do know the reason the korth and french MR73 were, thus the high price tag.

my studies conclude that a 357 is tested and a limit is established as to how many 357 it can fire before it starts to loosen up or fail.

how does the ruger design fare in this area?

 

[hittman]

I've got Redhawks in both 41 and 357 ….. suspect the 357 a pretty tough old bird you'd never wear out

 

[FLUndertaker]

I suspect you’ll get tired of full house 357 magnum loads long before the gun does.

 

[akmania]

Looks like to me if a Ruger or S&W is designed and chambered for a 357 mag. It should hold up a long time shooting 357 mag rounds. I have a S&W model 60 Pro 357 mag, how long should it hold up with 357 mag rounds do you think? I know it’s not fun shooting them out of it. Just curious what everyone thinks about it.

 

[bobski]

like i say,
i wonder what the endurance tests show the rugers limits are....

 

[bisleyfan41]

You should get samples of each and go at it. I'd wager the Blackhawk or Redhawk would outlast both the Korth and Manhurin.

They're only expensive because of their hand built nature and fitting as well as the European manufacturing climate.

 

[Pál_K]

I have a 1971 Colt Border Patrol 2nd issue (nearly identical to a Trooper Mk III). It has had thousands of .357 rounds through it and is completely tight, lockup and timing is absolutely perfect. Signs of holster wear, but no wear or fatigue on the metal. No flame cutting, no forcing cone erosion.

 

[contender]

"Looks like to me if a Ruger or S&W is designed and chambered for a 357 mag. It should hold up a long time shooting 357 mag rounds."

Actually,, (and sadly) a few S&W .357's can not hold up to full power magnum all the time. Same with a few other calibers. (This was proven a lot,, and the Model 19 S&W was one that didn't fare too well.)

Many years ago,, there was an "advertising war" so to speak between S&W & Ruger due to this very issue.

That said,, I do know that I've read of how a Ruger was put on an action cycling machine to test it's durability. I heard it want so long the machine broke before the gun did. But it wasn't a machine that fired any ammo, just worked the action. But overall, my far,, Ruger has a long & storied history of being very durable.

 

[jmca]

I have a 19 and I know it's not as heavy and as heavy as the highway patrolman I carried years ago. But I practiced both guns with 38s and occasionally full power 357mag. Now I carry 38+p in both handguns. Exception is when I know I want it heavy for protection or hunting.

 

[JAYDAWG]

A friend of mine, did some reloads for 357.........a newbie.
Was having a good time shootin, until "the last six shots didn't hit sh*t"

Brought it to me. The calipers told the story, ALL SIX rounds were in the barrel???!???!?
Good thing he was shooting a Ruger!!!

 

[jmca]

WOW! I saw a WWII vintage 38 in a Museum with 5 or 6 rounds stuck in the barrel. They had it milled open for viewing. From shooting old ammo left over from a previous War.

 

[akmania]

Was that a Security Six or ??

 

[gunzo]

The Euro brands appear to be comparable to the L frame Smith or GP Ruger.

Thinking the GP might hold it's own just fine. The Manurhin does seem to have a pretty complex heat treat & machining procedure that should/might give it an edge, & if it outlast the Ruger I'd dang well expect it to at over 4 times the cost.

 

[JAYDAWG]

Was that a Security Six or ??

Yep. Security Six.
It now has a shorter barrel, bought on ebay :D

JaydaWg

 

[jmca]

Gee! That barrel doesn't look that bad. A little welding and hammering would straighten that right! ;)

 

[hittman]

is completely tight, lockup and timing is absolutely perfect.

See …. Unicorns DO exist! :ROFLMAO:

 

[Pál_K]

See …. Unicorns DO exist! :ROFLMAO:

My GP100 is the same way, but it has had very few rounds through it from new. I was impressed how well Ruger built it.

 

[dobegrant.45]

My first centerfire revolver was a Ruger Blackhawk.357 in 1972, I have been shooting Ruger .357’s ever since, Blackhawk, security six and GP 100’s , I don’t think you can wear them out period

 

[Rclark]

I don't think you can wear them out period

Well, all have a built in expiration date... But not many of us shoot enough to matter. My Rugers will out-last me and be usable by the next generation(s). Another reason is ... a lot of have more than one revolver, so we shoot this one for awhile, then another, then another, ... Maybe a year rolls by before we revisit a firearm... So for me, my guns get a relatively 'low' round count even though I may shoot quite a bit.... Which lately I haven't been out to often :rolleyes: . Oh, and another reason for me is I don't shoot full house rounds. I load 'down' to what I want to shoot.... Rare for me to load hot just to feel it exercise my wrists and elbows...

 

[gunzo]

Saw a 6.5" Smith 29(44 magnum) with 5 bullets in the barrel. There was sixth, but the frame was stretched enough that the cylinder bound & wouldn't rotate when the trigger was pulled double action.

Nothing blown, split or cracked. Just stretched. Hard to tell at first the cause as there were no obvious signs. Who knows, the sixth shot might have sent parts to the moon but the metallurgy in that gun was phenomenal. A safety margin without bulk or extreme mass.

 

[Laserbait]

not many guns can shoot 357 all day.

i do know the reason the korth and french MR73 were, thus the high price tag.

my studies conclude that a 357 is tested and a limit is established as to how many 357 it can fire before it starts to loosen up or fail.

how does the ruger design fare in this area?

I have had to send only one of my revolvers into Ruger for service. It's a 4" 44 Mag Redhawk, and it went "out of time" after about 15K rounds (and untold thousands of dry fires). I shot primarily 225 Grain LSWGC bullets propelled by 24 grains of Hodgdon's Lil'gun. Ruger replaced the trigger, pawl, ejector, hammer and the barrel & refinished my frame to match the new barrel - all for free.

I have more rounds through some of my GP100's and no signs of timing issues, so I think that the Redhawk was a fluke. It was also my 2nd revolver that I had ever bought. I saw Jeff Quinns Gunblast review of the revolver, and I ordered it that day. I talked to Mr. Quinn over email about it on several occasions and compared notes, so the gun is rather special to me because of that connection.

 

[powder smoke]

Lots of good info in the thread thanx everyone! ps

 

[Bigbore5]

I've got an Old Model Blackhawk 357 mag that's had uncountable rounds through it. I've had it for 43 years. Someone else had it for 16 years before I got it, and had cared for it, but shot it regularly.

It's had the springs replaced once back in the early 90's. The rifling is getting shot out and it's ready to rebarrel, but some of that is certainly due to my overzealous cleaning in my younger days where it was shot everyday and cleaned every night. It still groups @2" at 25yds if I do my part.

I've got another old model 357 that's from 1969. Had many rounds through it when I got it,too. For the past few years, I have shot it about a couple hundred rounds a week on average, so it wouldn't be a stretch to say 10,000 rounds of the Keith bullet on a full charge of H-110. Still perfectly tight and going strong.

 

[gnappi]

A friend of mine, did some reloads for 357.........a newbie.
Was having a good time shootin, until "the last six shots didn't hit sh*t"

Brought it to me. The calipers told the story, ALL SIX rounds were in the barrel???!???!?
Good thing he was shooting a Ruger!!!View attachment 51162View attachment 51163

The bullet sticking out made me laugh... it looks like a "happy" male dog :)