I am a Ruger man... I think they make the strongest wheel guns out there..at least the older ones were. I have a .357 security-six stainless with a 6" barrel. And I developed a hand rolled load that is pure man stopper... its not a real accurate round, but what it lacks in accuracy it more than makes up for in power.


Doc

Rugers are pretty strong revolvers.

What I don't like about them is two things-
1. They derive a lot of their strength not through superior metallurgy, but through adding more mass to the pistol. As such, most Rugers are "bigger" than they need to be, and this translates into being...well, sort of ungainly. They function fine, but they look kind of "blocky".

2. They also come with a paragraph of "warnings" for prospective shooters. This would be fine if said warnings came in the manual, but Ruger prints them on the gun itself. Again...ugly.

That said, they are strong performers, and often cheaper than similar Colt, S&W, and Dan Wesson offerings.

My brother has one that's a sturdy beast...not pretty, but solid.


See the "warning" on the barrel? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banghead.gif" alt="" />

At least it doesn't have the "lock" like new Smiths do... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" />

I picked up one of these at the last gunshow;



They list for 1300 but I was able to pick it up for 799 at the funshow. 8 rds of 357.

Oh yeah, the locks on the new Smiths are easy to deactivate. I found the instructions online. Take off the sideplate and remove one small piece. Keep it in the case and if you ever decide to sell it, you can pop it back in and sell it as it was from the factory.

Doc

Oops, edit to add, not the last funshow. Been about 8 months ago.

If you want hicap. get a pistol.For revolvers I love my Rugers.I traded in my blue 4" security six for a 6" full luged ss gp100.Glad I did.Super smooth action.Single action is scarry light & I can actualy hit what I'm aiming at with double action.I only feed it 180 gr. loads when in the woods & it will spit em out forever no problem.I wouldn't bet my life on a smitty.Solid frame vs screw on side plate & thick cylinder walls vs scarry thin walls.Get the ruger & a bussekin for price of a smitty.