Merry Christmas to me - Stainless Police Service Six

[TinkerDave]

I was at my LGS & he had just taken in a Stainless Police Service Six w/ 2.75" barrel & Pachmayr Rubber grips. Got it with two boxes of ammo for $400. I think I did alright as the gun is in very nice shape. My question is: are the grips original to the gun? The serial # starts with 155-83XXX, which I think makes it a later production gun (it has the warning on the barrel).

Anyone have additional info that could be had.

If the grtips are not original to the gun, I would like to find some, so the question is-how hard is that to do and what can I expect to pay for factory grips?

Thanks a bunch for any help. TD

 

[geo57]

Dave, your revolver was made in 1980 if I read things right . The grips are not original but they are nice grips .

One can find factory grips on Ebay, Gunbroker, at gun shows and gun forums. If you place an ad here in classifieds it wouldn't surprise me if someone had a set for sale. As to their cost that will be determined by condition and though I have an opinion on what a nice set may be had for I would not want to spoil the soup for anyone trying to sell some.

Ironically, I found a blue, 2 3/4 " Police Service Six a couple months ago in .357. Is yours in .38 Spl or .357 ?

Enjoy yours and best of luck with it.

 

[turbo111]

 

[Sam Johnson]

PM sent.

 

[Terry T]

The only way to be sure if the rubber grips came from the factory with the gun or not is to get the letter from Ruger.
The Security Six grips are the same as the Service Six grips.
Good price for a nice piece!
Terry T

 

[TinkerDave]

Dave, your revolver was made in 1980 if I read things right . The grips are not original but they are nice grips .

One can find factory grips on Ebay, Gunbroker, at gun shows and gun forums. If you place an ad here in classifieds it wouldn't surprise me if someone had a set for sale. As to their cost that will be determined by condition and though I have an opinion on what a nice set may be had for I would not want to spoil the soup for anyone trying to sell some.

Ironically, I found a blue, 2 3/4 " Police Service Six a couple months ago in .357. Is yours in .38 Spl or .357 ?

Enjoy yours and best of luck with it.

I am sorry, I should have postedx that - it is 357 Mag. TD

 

[TinkerDave]

Thank you for all the info - just what I was looking for. TD

 

[wizofwas]

I'd say that you got a nice deal.

 

[Pistolero]

You got a good deal for a great revolver!

 

[gramps]

They came with wooden, checkered grips. A bunch of us traded out to the pachmyers, cause they were more comfortable to shoot, especially during qualification!
gramps

 

[TinkerDave]

I do not know if this particular revolver has been altered or not. I took the grips off and it appears that the rear bottom corner of the grip frame has been ground down to make a round butt profile and that the front edge of the grip fram at the bottom was not very well polished out. Was this done at the factory? I will need to post some pictures when I get a chance. TD

 

[Terry T]

You may have one of the mis-marked Speed Sixs marked as a Service Six. We've found about a dozen so far.
The only way to tell if it is a ground down square butt is to measure the bottom of the grip. The Service Six square butt bottom is thinner.







I've found this to be true on the scalloped framed guns. Have not yet confirmed it on the non-scalloped frame. :shock:

Also the letter from Ruger will list it as a GS-34 (Speed Six round butt) rather than a GF-34 (Service Six square butt).
I have 3 Speed Sixs mis-marked as Service Sixs. :D

Terry T

 

[TinkerDave]

You may have one of the mis-marked Speed Sixs marked as a Service Six. We've found about a dozen so far.
The only way to tell if it is a ground down square butt is to measure the bottom of the grip. The Service Six square butt bottom is thinner.







I've found this to be true on the scalloped framed guns. Have not yet confirmed it on the non-scalloped frame. :shock:

Also the letter from Ruger will list it as a GS-34 (Speed Six round butt) rather than a GF-34 (Service Six square butt).
I have 3 Speed Sixs mis-marked as Service Sixs. :D

Terry T

So if I measure it and it comes out to be a mismarked Speed Six, what does that mean in terms of value? Do I then need to get with Ruger and pay for a letter? This is getting interesting as I have never owned anything odd or unusual before. Thanks a bunch. TD

 

[TinkerDave]

Here are some photos:










Terry T, - I used my calipers to measure the gripframe at the bottom and it came to .294". I do not know what that means in terms of whether the grinding that is visible in the top two images was done at the factory or not. Anyway, I really like the heft and pointability of this revolver and am pretty sure that it is a keeper. TD

 

[Terry T]

My belief is that NO Service Sixs were ground from square butt to round butt at the factory. (Others may disagree with me :shock: ).
I have seen at least one other after factory grind job.
Your measurement of .29" suggests to me that it was originally cast as a square butt and therefore properly marked as a Service Six.
As a collector, it would be less interesting to me but it absolutely is a fine serviceable piece. Enjoy! :D
Terry T

 

[Bear Paw Jack]

TD, I have a Speed Six much like that one and hands down it is one of my favorite guns. I vastly prefer it to a 3" GP100, plus it's lighter to carry. I've had one or another for pushing 25 years. Makes a great car gun, night stand gun, or woods walker. Have fun with it. The Pachmayers are very comfortable with it as well. I suppose you could call yours "custom". :)

 

[TinkerDave]

Apparantly, the previous owner wanted to have a round butt with rubber grips and was not too fussy about how he got the frame to fit. Does theat ring true? So now I need to get out my neddle files and sandpaper and fix the rough job done. TD

 

[RoninPA]

TD,
I think you're right, the grinding job definitely does not look like a factory job. If it came from Ruger it would have been ground down properly and then polishes to get the tooling marks out.

I am another that has a true Speed Six that was marked as a Service Six. Terry and I discussed this and so far no one has come up with a Service Six that was factory modified and marked Speed Six. However, as said, never say never, there have been some odd Sixes that have turned up.

 

[greenmtnguy]

I still think that you got a decent deal on a very fine revolver that I'd love to have for a packin pistol myself!
The best presents are the ones that keep on giving enjoyment - I think that this definitely qualifies!

 

[TinkerDave]

I just want to thank everyone for taking the time to give me feedback. I really appreciate this forum and its members. I hope that everyone had a great Christmas and are blessed in the forthcoming year. Thank you. TinkerDave

 

[geo57]

TD, I originally chimed in to your thread giving you the year of manufacture and grips info in post # 2. I see now that you have posted pictures and it does look like a real dandy with low mileage based on the lack of much of a cylinder score.

I wish you the best of luck in finding original factory configuration grips for it however you may find those rubber grips to be much more user friendly than the factory original configuration grips when it comes time to shoot that revolver. From my personal experience the felt recoil from my 2 3/4 " Police Service Six .357 with original factory wooden grips is far greater than that of my 4 " Police Service Six .357 with Pachmayer rubber grips when firing my hand load of a 158 gr. JHP @ 950 FPS and even a little more harsh than my hand load of a 158 gr. JHP @ 1150 FPS fired from a 4 " GP 100 .357. I can only imagine what that latter hand load would feel like from a 2 3/4" PSS with the teeny factory grips much less a full power .357 mag load.

 

[TinkerDave]

TD, I originally chimed in to your thread giving you the year of manufacture and grips info in post # 2. I see now that you have posted pictures and it does look like a real dandy with low mileage based on the lack of much of a cylinder score.

I wish you the best of luck in finding original factory configuration grips for it however you may find those rubber grips to be much more user friendly than the factory original configuration grips when it comes time to shoot that revolver. From my personal experience the felt recoil from my 2 3/4 " Police Service Six .357 with original factory wooden grips is far greater than that of my 4 " Police Service Six .357 with Pachmayer rubber grips when firing my hand load of a 158 gr. JHP @ 950 FPS and even a little more harsh than my hand load of a 158 gr. JHP @ 1150 FPS fired from a 4 " GP 100 .357. I can only imagine what that latter hand load would feel like from a 2 3/4" PSS with the teeny factory grips much less a full power .357 mag load.

I guess that I am just wanting factory grips to be available should I need them. The rubber grips fit really well. I have only had time to shoot one cylinder full of Speer factory 125 gr 357 mag through it. It was a dusk and all I can say is that the short barrel ensures an impresive fireball. The recoil was very managable to me. If I ever get to relaod for it, I will be wanting a heavy bullet, moderate speed loading for sure. Thank you for your input. TD