Ruger NYCPD Speed Six 3" 38 spl GS-83(?)

[Waveski]

I have long believed that the Chiefs Special is the quintessential concealed carry revolver , without a close second , BUT , the OP Ruger is right up there!
Man , I'd be proud to own and carry that one. Is there record of such revolvers being converted to 357? That would be a damned shame.

 

[stonebuster]

Thanks to all for helping in my quest for information about this revolver . Getting it in my hands took a while and I used the time reading everything I could and asking questions from a variety of sources. Waveform, thanks for the heads up on getting it lettered and sharing your knowledge. Converting it to 357 WOULD be a waste. Finding a 2.75" 357 Six series or a USPS 3" 357 WOULD make more sense.

 

[Lucky Derby]

It might never have been issued. The job made the switch to 9MM literally 3 days before a 2500 member recruit class went in. So the Equipment Section had a boatload or NYPD Rugers and Smiths that were not going to be needed so they sold them to distributors.

Yep. I have one of those Smiths. a 2" M64 NY-1

 

[golden]

I came across a stainless SPEED SIX with the 2.75 inch barrel and round butt grips. It was lust at first sight and since the action was reasonably smooth, I bought it at the gun shop where I already had another gun on lay-a-way that I had gone in to pickup.
Mine, like most is in .357 magnum. I shot it at the range with the factory wooden grips using WINCHESTER 130 grain fmj (the Air Force load). It was mild and fun to shoot. I then tried some REMINGTON +P 125 grain semi jacketed hollow point and it proved to be more accurate than the 130 fmj load. It was also loader, kicked harder and had noticeable muzzle blast. Finally I tried some WINCHESTER .357 110 grain jhp to use as a carry load. HELL NO! The recoil with the original wooden grips was just too much.
I decided to use the FEDERAL HST 130 grain +P hollow point, which I think is the most effective .38 load available as a carry load until I could do something about the grips.
I put a pair of PACHMAYR gripper grips on it and the problem was solved.
I would consider carrying the SPEED SIX with .38 Special ammo if I used a really outstanding load like the FEDERAL HST, since I like the way the gun handles and the compact, relatively light weight. You may like it that way as well, but I really recommend the grips if you want to shoot anything hot.

Jim

 

[Blue Brick]

Love my 38 Special only.

 

[Aim1]

By the time my agency finally decided to transition to Glocks, the LE market for revolvers was almost non existent. I sold a very nice Chief Special to a probation officer for $25.

Dang, what year was this?

 

[Speedo66]

Early '90's.

 

[stonebuster]

I brought the 3" Speed Six to the range today for the first time and was impressed by now much better I shot it than I do my SP101 2.25". My first group was tight but a bit high but I brought it down and continued to shoot pretty well for DAO. I thought maybe I was just having a good day so I tried my SP and my groups were bad. Finished the day with the SS and left with a big smile on my face. Now I know what all the fuss is about with the six series.

 

[94045]

By the time my agency finally decided to transition to Glocks, the LE market for revolvers was almost non existent. I sold a very nice Chief Special to a probation officer for $25.

I don't think a time since Glock has existed that I wouldn't have given you at least $100 for a nice 36.

 

[94045]

I brought the 3" Speed Six to the range today for the first time and was impressed by now much better I shot it than I do my SP101 2.25". My first group was tight but a bit high but I brought it down and continued to shoot pretty well for DAO. I thought maybe I was just having a good day so I tried my SP and my groups were bad. Finished the day with the SS and left with a big smile on my face. Now I know what all the fuss is about with the six series.

The Security Six / Speed Six was just a very good gun for the money. Anything marginally higher quality was a decent step up in price. Anything cheaper was a decent step down in quality. I don't think many realised just how good they really where until they were gone.

 

[Speedo66]

I don't think a time since Glock has existed that I wouldn't have given you at least $100 for a nice 36.

And I would have loved to have taken it. lol

The problem with selling handguns in NYC is that outside of LE, there is almost no market. Very tough to sell a handgun not in use by LE, tiny civilian market.

 

[stonebuster]

I'm not arguing for any of above just throwing stuff out there. It just seems odd that it wouldn't show shipping to New York but then maybe Ruger has a policy of only showing final dispensation.

There's conflicting information about this after hours of research. A "serious" Ruger collector stated the NYCPD guns were first shipped to a distributor, then purchased by the nycpd equipment dept who sold them to officers. I'm trying to get my info from collectors since they've done the "leg work" already.

 

[Riomouse911]

Dang, what year was this?

During the early 1990s I once traded a Smith 640 Centennial and $100.00 for a 4” M-19 and a 2.5” M-19 Smith.

The other guy really wanted a pocket-carry .38 and the newly reissued centennial 640 was hard to find... and his old duty guns had been sitting in his locker for years after my former Dept went to only allowing S&W 5906 9mm for duty and Colt or Smith small frame .38’s or the PPK s .380 as the only back ups.

Some good things were cheap back then!

Stay safe.

 

[stonebuster]

Wow, two Smith and Wesson model 19s! I don't know anything about the Centennial but sounds like you made a great trade. I've read other stories of officers selling their service revolvers for peanuts. I've been eyeing a S&W model 19-3 at my LGS for $750. I'd grab it for sure but I just bought the Speedy.

 

[Homerboy]

This first hand information is just what I was hoping for and very much appreciated. I've had an issue that's kept me house bound and using the time researching this gun. Approximately what year did NYPD sell off the six series Rugers to distributors and were the ones sold to distributors stamped with the star as the issued guns were?

When Ruger phased out the Speed and Service Six in favor of the GP100 and SP101, the job switched to the GPNY and SPNY. That was in about 1988. I know a cop who came on in January 1988 and she had the Service Six so the switch was made no later than 1989 if the equipment section still had Six’s in inventory. Sounds like yours was right at that time so it is very likely unissued. I know the Ruger’s were less popular than the S&W so I can see the Equipment Section selling them off to a dealer when the GP’s became mandatory no later then 1989.

 

[94045]

There's conflicting information about this after hours of research. A "serious" Ruger collector stated the NYCPD guns were first shipped to a distributor, then purchased by the nycpd equipment dept who sold them to officers. I'm trying to get my info from collectors since they've done the "leg work" already.

I would have thought an order for someone that large would have gone direct but it was a different era. Stinks that you can't get confirmation from Ruger

Didn't some of the old guys in certain positions just give up their revolvers about 18 Months ago?

 

[stonebuster]

When Ruger phased out the Speed and Service Six in favor of the GP100 and SP101, the job switched to the GPNY and SPNY. That was in about 1988. I know a cop who came on in January 1988 and she had the Service Six so the switch was made no later than 1989 if the equipment section still had Six’s in inventory. Sounds like yours was right at that time so it is very likely unissued. I know the Ruger’s were less popular than the S&W so I can see the Equipment Section selling them off to a dealer when the GP’s became mandatory no later then 1989.

Ruger shipped mine to Davidson Supply Co Greensboro, NC Dec 1988 so just before GPNYs like you said. It's marked with star so it must have been in New York at one time. Production date June 1988, shipped to Davidson Dec 1988, then to NY but not issued(possibly). Then back to the dealer seems strange but probably will remain a mystery. Officer may have bought it and decided to switch to GPNY and sold the SS.

 

[Homerboy]

Ruger shipped mine to Davidson Supply Co Greensboro, NC Dec 1988 so just before GPNYs like you said. It's marked with star so it must have been in New York at one time. Production date June 1988, shipped to Davidson Dec 1988, then to NY but not issued(possibly). Then back to the dealer seems strange but probably will remain a mystery. Officer may have bought it and decided to switch to GPNY and sold the SS.

I highly doubt that. Switching guns required an act of God in that job and there would be no reason to pay for a second gun that was so close to the other. Not to mention most liked the Six better.

More likely, the job stamped the guns from that shipment, sold what they had to recruit officers, the job switched to the GPNY, and all unsold Six’s were liquidated at bargain prices to distributors. Anyone who has ever seen the NYPD Equipment Section knows it wasn’t the most organized of places. It wouldn’t shock me if they weren’t officially logged in until that batch became available for sale. Yours probably falls into that category

You have an NYPD Speed Six. Almost certainly never issued to a cop. Enjoy it

 

[stonebuster]

Will do. Your first-hand knowledge is priceless in my search for answers. Thanks.

 

[Homerboy]

Will do. Your first-hand knowledge is priceless in my search for answers. Thanks.

No problem. Now that I think about it the unsold guns were probably shipped back to Ruger as part of the agreement they had with the NYPD, especially since the job kept the Ruger bids going with the GPNY. Having a bid with the largest PD in the world was nothing to risk losing a few bucks over, especially since the job bought the GPNY and SPNY. That would explain why Ruger sent them to North Carolina and the timeline fits.

Matter of fact, when the job began exploring going to the 9MM, the Ruger P series 9MM was one of the pilot guns. Some cops carried them even after the bids went to the Glock 19, the S&W 5946, and the Sig 226. Early on with the 9MM, the Glock 19 was experiencing a rash of phase 3 malfunctions. Glock refused to help out and didn’t do anything until the job contacted Ruger for P series guns to replace ALL Glock 19’s in service. At that time probably 8000 guns. Glock suddenly took interest and dealt with it, and the 9MM Ruger contract never happened. Since the 5946 is no longer supported, it’s not an authorized gun for new hires and for the first time in decades NYPD cops are not being issued S&W’s. The submitted the M&P 9MM but it didn’t pass testing.

 

[stonebuster]

Homerboy, do you remember seeing any matte stainless finished Speed Sixes like mine? I've seen it on a couple USPS 3" 357.

 

[Homerboy]

I don’t really recall. The finish on all NYPD stainless guns was a duller matte finish. It took a long time for the job to authorize stainless guns at all. They were seen as “pimp guns” and my uncle used to tell me the academy staff would tell recruits a stainless gun being flashed meant it wasn’t a cop holding it. The subdued finish was a compromise between flashy stainless and what we eventually wound up with.

The stainless guns were kind of an accident. The guns were all blued and with a spurred hammer capable of single action firing although single action was never taught or authorized. Then some dumb cop named Melvin Yearwood (or maybe Marvin? I’d have to google it) put a kid named Paul Fava on a wall in a subway station. Fava was suspected of breaking light bulbs and Yearwood had his Model 10 in Fava’s ear. He thumbed then hammer back, probably to look like Dirty Harry and BOOM. Blew Fava’s head off. Soon after, DAO revolvers were standard issue to new hires. Guys with the blued guns were grandfathered in to keep them. The Ruger Six guns hung around for a year or so and then the GPNY and SPNY came along. The stainless DAO Rugers were only around for a couple of years before Ruger killed all the Six guns in favor of the GP in 1988.