Question about Ruger Double Actions

[thinckley]

I am only familiar with Ruger Single Action revolvers and one LCRx in .22WSM that I just recently sold for my MIL. The only double action revolver I have is an S&W 686 in .357 I inherited a few years ago.

What is the trigger like in DA/SA on say, the GP100, SP101, Redhawk, Security/Service-Six? Looking at .357 or larger.

 

[pisgah]

Some folks say the Ruger triggers are horrible; others say they're the best.

Take your pick.

 

[edm1]

I have a Redhawk and security six that have awesome triggers. I have another security six that’s just ok. Try it before you buy it.

 

[XUSNORDIE]

I have two GP100s and a Security Six......a little Flitz and a spring kit makes a difference. My Security Six is the smoothest, but then it's the oldest and has been fired a lot more.

 

[Fox Mike]

My only Ruger DA is a SP 101 and the trigger is great ... now. I changed the trigger return spring and the hammer spring to improve it from the original. Five minutes of work and well worth it.

 

[Johnnu2]

What he said

 

[thinckley]

Do any of you have a trigger pull gauge? One of the considerations is my wife's ability to shoot it DA. The LCRx I sold had a trigger too heavy for her to shoot it. I don't have any issues doing a trigger job but want to know if it is worth it. If it is not something she will be able to shoot, then I need to rethink the situation.

 

[arfmel]

Rimfire DA revolvers of every brand seem to frequently have heavier springs (for reliability) and therefore, triggers, than their centerfire equivalents. I have surely noticed this on S&W J frame rimfires.

If you have a S&W 686 .357, you already have a revolver that can be easily given as good a trigger job as any.

You might consider a LCR 327magnum revolver, loaded with .32 S&W long wadcutter ammo, for a low recoil revolver with a decent trigger for your wife, if that's the purpose of your question.

Or, better yet for her, a semi-auto S&W Shield .380EZ, which was specifically designed for people with low hand strength.

https://www.smith-wesson.com/product/shield-ez-180023

 

[Captain America]

Trigger pull is very personal, I like a heavy but smooth pull with a predictable break point…I despise a super light trigger pull, it feels terrible(to me) and my accuracy suffers because of it.

 

[Mobuck]

Basically comes down to what one wants to spend. I have a Sec 6 that has the lightest, smoothest DA trigger I've EVER tried. I bought the gun sight unseen and got the deal of a lifetime.
No idea of how much this treatment cost but coupled with the strength and longevity of the Sec6, it's an unquestionably superior handgun vs S&W.

 

[RoninPA]

Any of the Ruger DA's can be modified/polished/shimmed/respringed/etc. to make them feel/operate however the shooter wants. It's not that hard to do but use caution if you are polishing any of the internals to insure you don't change any angles.

I use to shoot competition (PPC) where you basically shot everything DA and the GP100 I built into a PPC gun had a very nice light trigger pull and release. That said, I would not carry it configured that way for everyday carry/shooting. My EDC DA's have been polished/modified to give me a very nice medium trigger pull and release in both DA and SA and I am comfortable carrying them anywhere, anytime.

 

[arfmel]

It's also been my observation that some women (my mother and sister, for example) with low hand strength have problems with holding, aiming, and accurately firing a comparatively heavyweight handgun like the GP100, 686, or Redhawk. The extra weight does moderate recoil, but you might let her handle one before moving ahead with the purchase of one for her.

The muzzle blast of a .357 generally is unpleasant and intimidating to a new shooter, as well.

 

[thinckley]

She already shoots my Blackhawks, all the way up the the SBH. No problem with any of them, other than forgetting to cock the hammer, so size isn't an issue. Anything more than 4-6# trigger and she has a hard time.

This will be her "Montana Yard Gun", for the 4 legged miscreants, not the 2 legged kind. Trail cams show black bears on the property and we are in grizzly country.

 

[XUSNORDIE]

Well in that case if she runs across a grizz or a protective black bear sow, the adrenaline will take care of the DA pull.....

If Wifey is already comfortable with your BHs why not stick with them? Unless you want a DA revolver because she forgets to cock the hammer?

 

[thinckley]

Unless you want a DA revolver because she forgets to cock the hammer

exactly this.

 

[TommyG1960]

Really don’t mind the pull weight I want it to be smooth. Flitz works wonders.

 

[Bear Paw Jack]

Frankly after reading all of this, I'd go with a Ruger Six series, have a good gunsmith (or buy a six series from RoninPA) that's had the trigger worked over and another hammer spring 2# lighter than factory. It's critical that you fit her with say a Hogue grip, Pachmayer grip, which ever works best for her. Nice thing about revolvers you can select the grip that works best. Have her practice with plenty of light 38 Special loads or wadcutters, where she gets plenty of practice cocking the hammer with her off hand. Then leave it loaded with a good hot 38 Special +P with 170 grain cast bullets. A 4" barrel is a good compromise for purposes of weight.

Another option is a nice S&W Lady Smith 3913 loaded with Buffalo Bore 148 grain penetrators. This gun is a DA/SA it’s double action first shot, and Single action for the rest. Same thing Phil Shoemaker used to kill a grizzly on the Alaska Peninsula.
Just make sure she can get the first shot off without a problem.

 

[hittman]

This will be her "Montana Yard Gun", for the 4 legged miscreants, not the 2 legged kind. Trail cams show black bears on the property and we are in grizzly country.

This makes my mind go straight to a 10mm Glock and 3 mags.

 

[gnappi]

My first decent DA revolver was a Security six, as was my second, and third. My fourth was a speed six, the fifth a Redhawk in .44 one of the first I could handle in Florida.

Then one day at an indoor range the owner let me have a go at the range with a couple of S&W's. When I got out raving about the accuracy and great DA trigger the owner told me that "serious competitors used S&W's over Ruger by a 99 to one (or more) margin, there's gotta be a reason". Remember this was back in the day when PPC was all the rage but I "think" ICORE is pretty much the same as is USPSA.

So I bought a 29, a 586, 66 and others and slowly sold off or traded the Rugers away. Not long ago I bought a super Redhawk in .480 my first Ruger DA in ~40 years.

Ruger makes a fine revolver but you're either in the Ruger camp, or S&W and not much will sway you away from the one you like.

 

[XUSNORDIE]

Have her practice with plenty of light 38 Special loads or wadcutters, where she gets plenty of practice cocking the hammer with her off hand.

The purpose of the OP wanting a DA revolver is because his Wifey forgets to cock the hammer. If she's going to practice that much cocking the hammer on a DA they may as well stick with his SA BH's.

This makes my mind go straight to a 10mm Glock and 3 mags

Heck yeah....my Wife shoots my Glock 40 easily. She loves it.

 

[SteveSt]

I have 12 DA Rugers that I LOVE shooting. However, I am a bit of a fixer and have done trigger jobs on all of them. The trigger assemblies are very easy to disassemble and tune up. Wolff Springs and fine grit emery cloth are the best things to happen to Ruger trigger assemblies. I even tune up my S&Ws as well. I really like smooth shooting revolvers.

 

[larry8]

I recommend the old security six, you can make the trigger pull as light and smooth as you want. I also have a fairly new (bought new 4-5 months ago) Redhawk in 44 mag, that has the smoothest trigger of any revolver that I have. Same for my Super Redhawk also in 44 mag.

 

[Thel]

In double action it would be hard to get a reliable ignition much below 7 pounds, My GP has about a 7.4 lb pull in DA (on a Chatillon recording guage; it would be in the 6 pound range on my Lyman electronic one). Medium frames seem to be optimal for the lowest trigger pull taking into account inertia in the action and leverage. The GP has been tuned, polished inside and had a 9 lb mainspring and 8 lb trigger return. My SP .357 with same springs and tuning and polishing measures about 8.5 lbs on the Chatillon. I had a Redhawk that was tuned et al with a Wolff 14 lb spring (the Wolff 12 and 13 lbs would not set off all primers) that had a DA of about 10.5 lbs. If one had a source of a very light weight hammer such as Apex makes for S&W revolvers the DA could be reduced even more.

 

[larry8]

However I would not recommend any pistol without first trying to rack the slide as some are quite difficult. Revolvers should be checked as well for trigger pull and hammer. I have a Rossi revolver that the trigger was very hard as was the hammer, so I ordered a lighter spring from Wolf to somewhat cure the problem.

 

[thinckley]

This is the part of the reason for the thread. My wife carries the Ruger Security 380 because of the ez-rack, 380 just isn't quite enough (IMHO) as a possible bear defense weapon.

 

[vlavalle]

I am only familiar with Ruger Single Action revolvers and one LCRx in .22WSM that I just recently sold for my MIL. The only double action revolver I have is an S&W 686 in .357 I inherited a few years ago.

What is the trigger like in DA/SA on say, the GP100, SP101, Redhawk, Security/Service-Six? Looking at .357 or larger.

I own two Ruger Blackhawks (both SA), and one Ruger GP100 (DA). While the .357 Blackhawk is a hair trigger, the GP100 is a bit heavier, but easy enough to shoot off 6 rounds in a few 4-5 Seconds, so it does not have a heavy trigger at all. I would like to get a Redhawk .45 LC when I find one available, or a .454.

 

[arfmel]

S&W offers the Shield EZ IN 9mm, FWIW.

https://www.smith-wesson.com/products/shield-ez

 

[sceva]

I have just the one, a nice Speed Six. When I got it I picked up a Bullseye spring Kit. After actually dry firing and shooting it I found the trigger so nice that I sold the spring kit as it just wasn't needed. Is it as nice as my 1952 K-22 Masterpiece? No but then again the action on those old S&W's are fantastic.

 

[thinckley]

Well, thanks to @weaselmeatgravy I will have a beautiful GP100 coming to work with/on. My gunsmith is very good at tuning revolvers and is looking forward to tuning this one up for my wife.

 

[coach]

Out of the box my S&W 686 was a little lighter and smoother than my GP100 in DA, but the Ruger wasn’t horrible by any stretch. In SA the S&W was extremely light and the Ruger was crisp and broke at a nice press. I preferred the GP in SA.