Speed Six Rescue Update #2

[magnum0710]

It's been a long couple of months but I finally got my Speed Six where I'm happy with it! Took a lot of work and a lot of help from RoninPA but I got it to where it can be carried and relied upon and it looks a 1000x better than it did. Thank you to RoninPA for all your help as well as Alpha426 for helping me with my front sight problems!

In case anyone missed it here's a pic of it when I first got it, severe pitting and front sight missing.

And here it is today after a lot of sanding and scotch brite work, trial and error, trying possible sights, and locating the correct sight. I've ran quite a few rounds through it, now it can be relied upon and carried. I switched out the factory rubber Sile grips for Pachmayr Compac Pros. I figured the Compacs would conceal better but surprisingly they're about the same as the Sile grips. I think the Pachmayrs might be better on the range since the rubber is softer. I'm planning on trying the original wood stocks too, whichever I can conceal the best will get the nod.

Depending on which part of the cylinder is showing it looks great. Other sides of the cylinder have a good amount of pitting still but overall I'm very happy with it, especially for a carry gun. Now I just need a find a good holster. I have a nice leather holster that fits about perfect but I can't adjust the cant on it so I have to wear some pretty big shirts to conceal it. Once I'm able to adjust the cant at an angle it should conceal in everything but a tank top. I'm looking into possible Kydex options at the moment but found some other options that could work too.

I'm still considering having it bead blasted at some point down the road. Perhaps a possible cerakote job. I'm even thinking about doing Duracoat at home. For right now though I'm extremely happy with it so I'm in no rush to do any of that to it. I do have a spare cylinder and trigger guard I might swap at some point too. They were from a blued gun but most of the bluing was polished off, like someone used too much Flitz. Surprisingly they looked really good when I tried them on but decided to stick with the original parts for now.

 

[hittman]

Night and day difference! Congrats.
And yes, Ron is the bomb on these things.

If I were gonna have one coated I'd ask Ron if he'd do it for me.

And if you're not recoil sensitive, maybe the factory wood and a Tyler T Grip would suit you.

 

[magnum0710]

Night and day difference! Congrats.
And yes, Ron is the bomb on these things.

If I were gonna have one coated I'd ask Ron if he'd do it for me.

And if you're not recoil sensitive, maybe the factory wood and a Tyler T Grip would suit you.

I couldn't have did it without him! I'm still considering my options, there's a good chance I'll leave it as is for a working gun and keep my eye out for a pristine USPS 3 inch. That's probably the one gun I would trade my stainless low back for .
There's also a chance I'll swap the cylinder and trigger guard. If I ever do decide to have it bead blasted and or coated that'll be down the road. My ammo supply is getting low and so are my reloading supplies so ammo will be my main focus for the time being.

I wouldn't consider myself recoil sensitive, but I'm a firm believer that the grip has to fit your hand regardless of material. I absolutely despise the factory stocks on my low back Security Six if I'm shooting 357s. But considering this is a high back we're talking about I'm willing to give the factory wood stocks another chance on this one. A t grip might be a good addition to the factory stocks too.

 

[Cofaler]

I would be proud to carry it as is. There's something about having a carry gun where you really don't worry about the finish, you can just use it as the tool that it is, like having a nice old reliable pick-up that you don't really worry about the paint, stains on the seats, etc. I think Simply Rugged might have a holster for it on the 'Gear to go' page, but it may be left handed.

 

[magnum0710]

I would be proud to carry it as is. There's something about having a carry gun where you really don't worry about the finish, you can just use it as the tool that it is, like having a nice old reliable pick-up that you don't really worry about the paint, stains on the seats, etc. I think Simply Rugged might have a holster for it on the 'Gear to go' page, but it may be left handed.

Oh I definitely am proud of it, I'm most likely going to leave it alone at this point. If I do anything else it will be down the road and it won't cost much. Overall I'm very happy with the results.
I'll look into the Simply Rugged too, I have a nice leather holster for it but I need to find one that I can adjust the cant on.

 

[Timbo23]

Congratulations on bringing that one back to life. It looks just 'well worn' now instead of abused and continued use will even out the finish. Many of my stainless revolvers have gotten quite shiny over the years from just cleaning and wiping. A Scotch cleaning pad will take care of that if shiny bugs you.

 

[gnappi]

Nicely done. The Speed and Security Six were and are my fave Ruger DA revolvers. Now that the SRH is out I've added that to my list! Magnum0710, did you get any background on the history of the gun regarding how it wound up in that shape?

I bought a ratty S&W 629 "truck gun" that in order to get all of the damage off I had to sand of all of the "engraving", polish it and have the lettering laser etching re-done.

 

[magnum0710]

I love the Sixes too, I'm hoping to add a nicer Speed Six to my collection so I can worry about this one less.
Unfortunately I wasn't able to get any background information, although I do have a theory about it. The site I got it from has quite a few old revolvers, mostly parts guns but a few are serviceable, very few are in good condition. I noticed a few of em had what appeared to be case numbers etched into them. I'm guessing a lot of em are evidence and old police armory guns.

In the case of my Speed Six I believe it sat in a police armory neglected for a number of years until the department did some spring cleaning. The Ruger SN history says it was made in 1985 or 1986 which was prime time for law enforcement switching to semi autos. When I got it there was no trace of fouling on the cylinder or forcing cone so I'm pretty sure it was never even shot before. I'm guessing someone dropped it and the front sight broke, the department never bothered to have it serviced and it sat in their armory until they decided to clean house one day. I have no proof of this, just what I think could have possibly happened. Could be an estate sale deal too, someone wanted a revolver they could throw in their sock drawer and it was never touched again. Who knows lol

 

[rugerguy]

good job, how we have always done it since the 1960s and a little bit MORE work on the right side and you'll be 'done', and to my expectations.....

 

[magnum0710]

good job, how we have always done it since the 1960s and a little bit MORE work on the right side and you'll be 'done', and to my expectations.....

I have 36 grit sandpaper and 50 grit emery cloth up through all the standard grits of sandpaper. I probably could get it all out if I put the time in but I didn't want to take too much metal off. Now I do have a spare cylinder and trigger guard I could swap in and that would get rid of most of it. The thing is they're off a blued gun, most of the blue is worn off (looks like someone used way too much Flitz on it) but there's still enough blue there to protect it somewhat. Oddly enough they match up with the stainless pretty well, I think they'd look good but I need to get an extractor rod tool before I could try the swap. If I decide to do the swap then I'd just have to work on the right side some more.

 

[rugerguy]

those grits are way too rough, need finer grit and the pits can be taken out with small swiss files, by hand ( the way I was taught) or a dremel tool but I tell folks NOT familiar with dremel or ANY power tools,,,,,, NOT to........ it takes a touch, and a feel, but can be done, then finish off with the fine grit papers ( emery or aluminum oxide) and then finish that off with 3M Scotchbrite pads, again, by hand,,yes I have a fine wheel of Scotchbrite, on my bench grinder but I been doing this since the 1960s,,,,,,,and use the wheel for cylinders and round surfaces...........I probably could do the rest of your gun in the time it takes me to type (hunt and peck) the reply,,,,,,well , NOT that quick, patience and take your time, neatness counts............

yes much easier , more forgiving with the stainless, than blued 4140 chrome -moly gun steel.....and then you gotta reblue ( finish) that, so as to NOT re rust/pit.....

 

[magnum0710]

I'll have to stop by Ace and take a look at their files and see what they have. I don't have a Dremel unfortunately, I'm somewhat familiar with it but haven't used one for anything like this so I probably won't go that route.

 

[hittman]

If you don't have a Dremel I wouldn't buy one for this project. I've got some experience using them but would not try it on a project like yours. For me, too much to lose if I make a mistake. And mistakes are very easy to make with a Dremel. Slow and easy wins this one …..

 

[rugerguy]

,,,yessir all too often , more harm can be done with any "power tools" if NOT familiar with them, and how to use them properly.......