Revolvers; my switch from S&W to Ruger

yogi

yogi

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My first revolver was a S&W686 six inch in 357 mag, I remember the first time pulling the trigger and the thrill. Over time, roughly two years, I bought its little brother, a snubby 2.5 inch. I ended up trading the 6 inch as shooting the 357 through it wasn't very "thrilling" or a challenge. I purchased a Ruger Alaskan 44 mag 2.5 inch about a month ago as I like small handguns and was in love with the first trigger pull. The gun is amazingly balanced and hogue grips are perfect. The trigger is as smooth as I have ever pulled in both double and single action. Today I bought a Ruger Super Blackhawk in 44 mag (single action only). It is even better than the Alaskan in terms of fit and finish. And the trigger is so sweet. I thought I was a S&W fanboy but Ruger is awesome. I know these are different calibers but Ruger wins hands down and trust me I love the S&W 686. What's that Willy Nelson song, "what a difference a day makes".....
 

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i am with you on this. my experiences w GP100 and SP101 have won me over. ruger semi-autos i'm on the fence, but revolvers i'm a fan.

-great value
-rugged as hell
-QC seems excellent - haven't heard many stories of people purchasing lemon ruger revolvers
-easy to disassemble/reassemble
-easy to polish trigger components
-stock grips are great - really no need for much upgrading
-wolff springs are dirt cheap and do wonder on the trigger

i actually just sold my 327 TRR8....beautiful S&W craftsmanship but i find myself taking the GP100 match champion to the range waaaay more often....not sure why it just appeals to me.
 
Its a coke Pepsi type thing. I am glad your happy with your purchases and they should give you many years of service. I am a big fan of the scandium Smith and Wessons. I have an ultra light .357 snubby and a ultra light 329 full size 44 mag. I carry more than I shoot but am never disappointed when I pull the trigger.
 
I appreciate both my GP100 and my 625 performance center, for different reasons. Both great revolvers, but definitely different flavors.

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk
 
Yogi - Have you heard of a guy named Hamilton Bowen?

I a going to try to cost you thousands. He is a custom (primarily) Ruger pistol smith.

He takes the famously functional Ruger revolvers and turns them into perfectly tuned pieces of art.

Don

http://www.bowenclassicarms.com

Old_Model_Ruger_Bisley.jpg
 
Thanks All - I was concerned this might turn into S&W bashing thread and glad it's not. It's just Ruger has aligned with what I like after shooting both. Don - thanks for the info, looks awesome!
 
Like you said, its all about how you use it.

Smith and wesson's revolvers, particularly the 686 and 66 are very easy to tune to have a truly excellent double action trigger. If I'm shooting pins, its my 686 without a doubt.

If I'm shooting single action my blackhawk is tough to beat.

I'm anxious to try the new race tuned GP100. I hear it is much better than a standard gun.

My two favorite overall revolvers to shoot are a custom model 66 that I had done by Richard Fletcher. Tuned for use with Federal primers in my reloads, it is a total tack driver with the nicest double action trigger I've felt.

My other favorite is a Ruger Single Six convertible that my dad got from Bill Ruger Jr. as a gift while he was doing audit work for SR in 1969.

Don
 
One other thing. If you use your single action Ruger primarily for range use. You can do a Zero dollar trigger job on it by removing the stocks and removing one leg of the trigger return spring from its bearing point on the action. It knocks a couple of lbs off the trigger pull, though its still got all the creep and overtravel it had originally.
 
Both make great guns but I'm not sure why you're comparing a double action 357 to a single action 44 magnum.
 
because based on the original poster's post, this is all about fun. Not a specific use.

If the gun serves a true function, your point is valid. If the gun is just for fun, than any comparison is valid
 
One day me and a buddy were going to go to the range, we were at my place and I opened my safe and he said "big fan of Ruger huh?" I thought to myself, well, I'm a big fan of lots of things, not necessarily Ruger. Looking in my safe, maybe 8 of 10 revolvers are Rugers, and quite a few autos too. I never really went in search of having to buy a Ruger, but when looking for a pistol for a particular job, I always came home with a Ruger. I've handled quite a few Smiths, and I do like them, but they're always in the top if not over what I'd pay for one. I really dig the M&P R8, that's just a slick looking rig, but for almost $1,300, I can think of much better defensive weapons for half the cost.
 

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