The Security-Six

Ruger's Sleeper Hit and My Personal .357 Story

I want to start by thanking Steve for the opportunity to write this guest post for The Revolver Dispatch. So many of you have made your way over to my Substack after finding me through Steve’s recommendations, and I’m grateful for that support. This is a small way of reciprocating and hopefully bringing some of my readers over to discover Steve’s excellent work if they haven’t already. If you appreciate thoughtful writing about classic wheelguns, you’re in the right place.

The world of classic wheelguns is dominated by the fancy side-plate designs. The beautiful, complex Smith & Wessons and Colts that command reverence and collector prices. But the true workhorse, the gun that captured the American market by being tough, affordable, and just plain right, was the Ruger Security-Six. It defined a generation of law enforcement carry, and it keeps showing up in my life.

The Waitlist Problem

When Sturm, Ruger & Co. introduced the Security-Six series in 1972, they solved a manufacturing problem their competitors couldn’t crack. While Smith & Wesson and Colt relied on labor-intensive side-plate construction, Ruger chose investment casting and a one-piece frame. The result was a .357 Magnum just as robust as the competition, but simpler and cheaper to produce.

Police departments across America ordered them by the thousands. Demand outpaced supply.

My father-in-law experienced this firsthand. Looking for a new service sidearm in the ‘70s, he found the Security-Six completely back-ordered. He jokes that he was “forced” to buy a Smith & Wesson .357 instead, which wasn’t exactly a consolation prize. But it says something that even the mighty S&W played second fiddle when the Ruger was available.

The Security-Six series (which included the fixed-sight Service-Six and the compact Speed-Six) sold over 1.5 million units before Ruger discontinued it in 1988 in favor of the beefier GP100. For many lawmen and shooters, it was the revolver of the era.

Too Pretty to Shoot

My own Security-Six story begins in Alaska, early in my marriage. My wife and I were both active duty Coast Guard. She was a Gunner’s Mate with the Maritime Safety and Security Team in Anchorage; I was stationed two hours south in Seward. We maintained separate residences those first couple years, seeing each other maybe a couple weekends a month when our schedules aligned.

This arrangement was fantastic training for marriage. When you only have 48 hours together, you don’t waste time on petty arguments.

That first Christmas together, I wanted to get her something special. A shipmate of mine, Kevin, wanted to buy a Ruger Super Blackhawk. I offered him $300 for his Security-Six, a stainless 6-inch model with the original 1970s wood grips.

I ordered custom rosewood grips, polished with a high sheen, and spent many nights with polishing compound and my Dremel tool, working that stainless steel until it gleamed. The finished product was striking. Insanely accurate, with that heft in your hand that makes even +P loads feel manageable.

My wife still calls it “too pretty to shoot.” That was 21 years ago. Pictured here is that same gun, still as beautiful as the day I gave it to her.

She’s always had her own perspective on firearms. Once, at a Sportsman’s Warehouse gun counter, she described a pistol as “cute,” which visibly unsettled the macho gentlemen behind the counter, the type who insist all women need pink gun cases. The Security-Six is proof that a serious, duty-grade tool can also be beautiful.

The Second Time Around

I thought that Christmas gift was the end of my Security-Six chapter.

Years later, I listed a used MIG welder on Facebook Marketplace. A gentleman offered a trade: a stainless .357, police turn-in, complete with original duty holster. He couldn’t tell me much else about it.

When he pulled up to my house and opened the case, I tried to keep my poker face. It was a police turn-in Ruger Security-Six, stainless with a 4-inch barrel. My favorite length. I had already agreed to the trade sight unseen, but the moment I laid eyes on it, I knew I would have traded for damn near anything. It was only the second Security-Six I’d ever seen in person.

That 4-inch model has since found its way to my mother’s nightstand, where it serves as her gun of choice. These revolvers have a way of staying in the family.

Why These Guns Matter

I can’t fully explain the pull of these revolvers. Maybe it’s their honest engineering. No pretense, just solid workmanship designed to function under the worst conditions. Maybe it’s their place in history, carried by countless officers who depended on them. Maybe it’s that they represent an era when “affordable” didn’t mean “cheap,” and “utilitarian” could still be beautiful.

Ruger built something quietly exceptional with the Security-Six. No flash, no marketing hype. Just a revolver that worked, day after day, year after year. And every time one crosses my path, I remember why some tools transcend their function and become something more personal.

That’s the magic of a good wheelgun. The Security-Six is one of the best.