I agree with the OP. I have owned S&W Mountain Guns in 41mag, 44mag, and 45colt, as well as my current favorite double action revolver - a S&W 22-4 Thunder Ranch 45acp revolver with a 4" tapered barrel, square butt grip frame, and fixed sights. Even though these revolvers aren't suited for a steady diet of mega loads, they are plenty strong enough for the potent cartridges they are each chambered in. And, they are reasonably light, and no bigger than necessary for the task they perform, and perform well.
Ruger's double action revolvers tend to be, in my opinion, heavier than necessary for normal loadings of the cartridges they are chambered in (with the possible exception of the Super Redhawk, which has to handle 454, and 480 - no small task). I love the Redhawk, GP100, and SP101, but it would be nice to have a line of Ruger revolvers that were better matched to their cartridges (I mean standard loading here, not highest possible loading). I enjoy taking a Redhawk to the range to soak up some heavy loads, but not for an all-day hike covering 15 miles and a total cumulative elevational change of 6000 or 7000 ft. Just my opinion, but unless you need the heavy loads for a specific purpose, why not load with something more managable. And if I don't need all that bulk and weight for standard pressure loads, why carry a gun sized for the hotter stuff.
Ruger seems to produce DA revolvers on both ends of the spectrum, but none in the middle. Even the SP101 seems heavy for it's intended purpose. Why make an extremely heavy carry revolver and a super light carry revolver but nothing for the average Joe in the middle. The Speed Six was a nicely sized revolver, as was the Security Six and Service Six. It would be really nice if Ruger produced 44special, 45colt, and 45acp DA revolvers that were suited to normal factory loads in these cartridges. Tapered barrels without the full underlug, GP100 type grips, adjustable sights and less metal overall so that the guns were lighter and less bulky.
I think Ruger's SA revovlers are just right. They offer the New Vaquero in the slimmer, lighter form, as well as the Blackhawk and Super Blackhawk that are beefy enough to handle heavy loads without feeling cumbersome or awkward. If all that steel isn't necessary for strength, how about removing some of it on a few DA models. I certainly appreciate the current models, and hope they remain in production forever. It would be nice to add to the lineup for those of us who prefer something that tastes great but is less filling.
