I recently bought a very nice Ruger Security Six in 357 and have begun thinking about needs/purposes and loads for the gun. What is the general opinion of the frame strength as related to loads? Is the frame capable of handling a steady diet of max H110 loads using 170/180 grain bullets?

I likely won't run a steady diet of max loads but would like to achieve 950-1000 ft/sec for a 160-180 grain lead bullet.

What say the brethren?

There is no way you have a single six in .357.

I think you should sell it to me.

What pressure does the 327 mag. run at? Since Lipsey's got Ruger to do a run of 327 single-7's, and Ruger is known to be quite conservative.

In light of the upcoming Lipsey Single-seven's; I was wondering if perhaps 357 Mag's or at least 38 Special Plus P Single-Six (or five?) would possibly be on the horizon and measured my single six cylinder and a J-frame I have and the single six's is slightly larger, not that size is the only issue.

Jerry

A custom gun it can be... one Smith was building 41 Special's on the 3-screw single-six frame. I contacted him and he is no longer making them... too far behind with other projects.

Jerry

What he said. Single Six was .22LR caliber. Super Single Six had two cylinders .22LR and one for .22WRM.

Yep, not a factory Single Six. It would be hard to get that .357 bullet through the .223 barrel.

You guys are spot on - I have a Security Six - not a Single Six. I'll change the thread topic to reflect this error. I was looking at Single Six's on GB just before I typed this thread topic.

What do you guys say about the strength of the Security Six in 357?

That makes more sense now...the first few posts had me confused. I had one a while back, and I loved it. It will take a steady diet of magnums, as far as I understand. I think they were a lot prettier than the GP100's that replaced them, and just as strong, if not stronger. I don't think it will take near full pressure to get to 1000 with 180gr cast bullets though. How long is your barrel?

4" barrel. I don't think so either but some of the faster loads are with H110 - which usually require near top loads for best accuracy. I use alot of 2400 because it holds accuracy better with less than max charges.

Understanding that one can blow up anything if they try hard enough, the security six is one of the tougher 357's out there, and should be able to handle what you want to do with it....

Tom

Here is mine. I bought it a long time ago, so long ago that it is a "pre-warning" Security Six.



I have no idea how many rounds I have through it but I've certainly put some "hot" ones down that barrel. So far, no problems. Still carry it out in the boonies sometimes... when my wife isn't carrying it.

It depends on how hot you want to make your cartridges, but unless you just try to blow it up, I doubt you'll have a problem. Shooting an helluva lot of fire breathing rounds through a .357 Magnum isn't my idea of fun, anyway.

L.W.

I've been trying to wear out my old Security Six .357 mag with a steady diet of max loads of WW-296 & 180gr LBT cast bullets for years! I've owned it for at least 35 years now. It hasn't loosed up any, as far as I can tell.

Look someone else mentioned, it's probably one of the stoutest mid sized .357 Revolvers ever built. I sure as heck wouldn't worry about wearing it out. Just shoot it and have fun.

If you jack up a Security Six, you have flat done something. Either you ran it over with a heavy tracked vehicle, or you loaded something so far beyond reality that's it is just stupid.

If I remember correctly, back in the day, people were shooting a steady diet of 125 gr. 357 loads a lot thru the S&W Model 19/66 and the Security Six. This seemed to cause frame cutting at the top strap and some cracked forcing cones. Not a problem with heavier bullets, but it caused S&W to come out with the L-Frame 586/686 and Ruger came out with the GP-100. I never saw this problem, but read about it in the rags of the day. The Security Six is still my favorite of Ruger's 357s. They must be held in high regard by a lot of folks out there as is evident by the prices being commanded on GunBroker.

I've never heard or read of a security six blowing up.

Every instance I'm aware of a gun exploding it's either been loaded with the wrong ammo, or someone used a handloaded cartridge.

Never seems to happen when factory ammo is used.

YMMV

I have blown up a lot of revolvers in testing and tried to blow up a lot more.
The failures I see in strength:
1) Cylinder splits in two or three pieces.
2) Cylinder splits in two or three pieces as the primary failure and the top strap breaks as a secondary failure.
The Ruger SS has chamber walls 0.080" to the outside with an internal diameter of 0.382". A rough hoop stress calculation for RC30 would indicate possible yield at P = 2 S thickness/ID = 2 140ksi .08/.382 = 59kpsi
And they are always much harder to blow up than calculated.
Compare that to a 357 mag S&W 640-1 with 0.048" walls and ID of 0.381". That could fail at 35 kpsi, but they are harder to blow up than calculated.
John Bercovitz wrote this in 1991 about the real limitations of the 357 magnum:
https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en&fromgroups#%21msg/rec.guns/S_dalM1NJe0/cBSU4bR2jz8J
Saving you the time of reading John's post, the sticky cases will be found at a higher pressure in the Ruger SS than the J frame, as the walls are thicker and so less stretchy.
The real limit of 357 mag is sticky cases. Sticky cases are the pattern of arrows shot into the fence. SAMMI registered pressures for the 357 were just the target later drawn around the arrows.

What does it all mean?
The Ruger Security Six in a work up will get hard to extract brass long before the cylinder splits because it is stronger than it needs to be.

Very nice - thanks!

I have no intention of running overmax loads but will likely shoot loads in the upper range of the bullet weight I select.

Thanks to all that provided an opinion.

I'm getting back into the 357 Mag business after selling my GP100 and SP101 about 12 years ago.

I've recently retaken posession of a blue 4" Ruger Security Six with target grips. I had given the revolver to my mother for personal protection back around 1980. It's in great shape after all these years, probably less than 100 rounds through it from the looks of it.

Anyway, I have some 170gr Keith SWC inbound from Western Bullet Co. I'm going to load them over 5.5 gr Unique in 38 Spl cases. Quickload predicts about 1009 fps, at 22K psi.

Yeah if you have it, start with 2400. No need to throw flames when you are only after 1000fps or so, even with the heavies. I'd take 2400 to the top end and see how it does before going to H110, were it my project. Nice gun you have there.

That is good info. I'd like to run 170 lead as well. Been looking at Beartooth but the shipping wait sucks.

Thanks.

Western Bullet Co. has decent prices, and a $12 flat-rate shipping regardless of order size. Seems like a fair deal to me.

http://www.westernbullet.com/3535738caliber.html

Looked at them - and they're on sale $10/100 but they have no gas check. I don't see what they are made of or their hardness. Any issues with running them at 10-1200 ft/sec?

This is my first order with Western. Ordered some .44 cal 250gr Keith also.

We'll soon see how they do. I don't plan to push them faster than about 900-1000 fps.

bwinters;
Good morning to you sir, hopefully this finds you well and congratulations on your Security Six purchase.

I bought mine so long ago that I was legally able to buy it in a Washington State gun shop - with the proper Canadian paperwork which they considered the same as an FFL back when - and bring it across the medicine line in a paper bag.

Anyway, so in the intervening 3 decades I'd say that I must have put somewhere close to 5000 rounds through it give or take. I'd say half of them would have been "full house" reloads using 231 and 2400 - usually with a 158SWC from a LEE mold.

I did get my hands on a whole bunch of Speer 125gr FMJ one time and had piles of fun - albeit noisy fun - with max loads of 2400 pushing them.

Here's the revolver by the way.


The only issue I had with it was the cylinder catch didn't always return downward after releasing the trigger. This of course would bind up the revolver and required it be stripped down to function again. I wrote Ruger - as that's what we did back then and they sent me another one - which didn't help actually.

The cure I came up with was a thin wash of industrial epoxy on the part of the frame where the flat bar part of the cylinder catch contacts it. It needed to be pushed down that small amount to function and it's done so without a hitch in the decades since.

Lastly, I've accidentally given it a couple loads where I needed to push the cases out with a dowel and as far as I can see or measure, it's unaffected. They are a stout piece of equipment for sure in my experience.

Hopefully that was some use to you sir. Good luck with your revolver whichever way you decide.

Dwayne

2 of the 3 enterfire wheelguns I own

Dwayne - nice revolver and set-up. I don't plan to feed it a steady diet of full house loads but is nice to know it can handle it and the occasional overload.

I'm thinking 2400 and a 170 hard cast are in the near future for my gun. If I could only find some 170 gr gas checked hard cast..........

Mine's a stainless 6" with Pachmayer grips.
I acquired it back sometime between 76 and 80.
I run 296 and 158gr Speer JHP in it.
It's been a fine one.

Dwayne, I don't believe I've seen a rib like that on one.

Interesting.

AJD;
Good afternoon to you sir, hopefully this first day of August has been treating you well - other than the fact it's August already!

The rib was a Poly Choke rib that I spied in the same small gun shop in Oroville, WA where I bought that Ruger and a Blackhawk before it. Again this was back in the days when we Canucks could wander down across the medicine line and spend our hard earned money with impunity. My goodness did we ever do that.....

Anyway I've always liked the Python look and spied the rib kit when I had whatever US cash it cost me that day burning a hole in my pocket.

I stuck it on with the original front sight and it just didn't look right to my eye, so I grabbed something from my metal pile - maybe some key stock? - and made up the front sight I thought it needed.

The grips are at least the 3rd or maybe 4th set I've made up for that revolver and I had some Pachmayr ones too for awhile, but they got traded for Walmart jerky to some guy in Alaska.

Anyway sir, that's the story of the rib on that revolver.

All the best to you this weekend sir, hopefully its a good one for you.

Dwayne

Great info Clark.

Have you ever tested the 357 Blackhawk or known the theoretical strength?

Jason

My 41 Special Single Six.

Ed,

Nice!

Perfect trail gun IMO. How heavy a bullet and how fast?

Thanks,

Jerry

If I was every going to rob somebody, it would be Ed.




Travis

Be pretty easy, wouldn't it? He keeps all his nice wheelguns and good booze right where you can find them easy - on that fancy side table.

Here's a look at my Security Six, it's really clean.

In a nutshell, what's the diff between the Service Six and the Security Six? Is it just fixed versus adjustable sights?

I've long wondered, but apparently not enough to look it up myself. Anyway, asking here is more fun.

I think it's just the sights, and the Security Six looks to have a bit thicker topstrap.

My Blackhawk is a 45 Colt and I would not run that at the threshold of stickly cases, but after reading your question I looked at a 357 Blackhawk at the gunshow this morning. That is about as beefy as it gets.
The 45 Colt Blackhawk is 0.060" between chambers and the 357 Blackhawk looked more like 0.165" between chambers.
That 357 is much stronger than needed for me to feel confident working up to sticky cases, if I had one.

I got into casting last winter. It is easy to get good results with my own cast bullets--far easier than I believed. Why not invest in a mould and a bit of casting equipment? I am now addicted, and for far less than mail-order, I can shoot alloys I want to. Lee makes cheap, decent intro stuff that works well from my experience, but I think they don't have the mould you want. Lyman does, and Saeco has a 180FN, both of which are available at Midway. I started with several Lee moulds because I was sure I was going to screw a mould or two up during the learning curve. It hasn't happened, and I like all of the Lees I have.

That is a nice one, Shane.

I've looked into this a couple times, even have a furnace. My issue is finding lead. I can't seem to find a source locally for wheelweights. Lead prices online aren't that much less than buying ready made bullets.

Where are you sourcing your lead?

I've had problems getting a hold of wheel weight too. Patience, and car dealerships have worked out. Their service depts do balancing. I have a connect now, but it took some reaching out.

The ebay route is ok for alloy sometimes, but most think they are selling gold. It is worth it to cast some bullets. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at what you can do when you start making your own alloys, casting your own bullets, and getting superb results. As I said, it was easier than I thought it would be. I did and do a lot of research. You can find a lot of good stuff, and answers to many questions, here:

http://www.lasc.us/CastBulletNotes.htm

In fact, the LA shooting club has a lot of great stuff on their site.