I've carried that very round while hiking in West Virginia and other areas around the Smokey Mountains...I feel very comfortable with that round!The Ruger on the other hand is not as refined as the S&W but it's not bad either. I just prefer the S&W trigger. That being said, I'll only fire hot .357 magnum loads out of the Ruger. It's a rugged, steel beast of a gun and I carried it in a chest rig while in the remote mountains of Idaho with Buffalo Bore Heavy 180gr hard cast rounds.
I am surer there is better info that what I will say. I had a S&W 19-6 and it was stated per S&W not to user a steady amount of 357’s; it can handle them but for constant use.I don't quite get the whole "Ruger is more durable" argument. Putting aside the cast versus forged argument, how many rounds would it take it wear out the typical 686 or a GP 100? 20,000? 40,000?
The Ruger is unquestionable beefier but what does that mean to durability and total round count?
Now I do see that the lockup method of the Ruger seems more durable - but wouldn't you wear out a forcing cone long before either design would fail elsewhere?
I will not call myself a competitor but "back in the day", my father and I hung around the fringes. Those courses were full of SWs with untold rounds through them. The sheer numbers of SWs (K and L frames) running around would equate to more failures though as a percent of overall production is it any greater than Ruger? Ruger doesn't have a history of being a service gun like the SWs - that sure cuts down on abused guns in the real world.
I still have his 1960's K frame that we both ran untold numbers of 357mag loads through and the gun is still as tight as ever.
None of this is to say not to buy a Ruger as I think it an excellent platform but I think you buy the Ruger for reasons beyond "durability".
I would sure like to hear someone's take on this that really knows like @Bosshoss
That is correct for a K-frame but the L-frame (686 et al) is a more comparable platform to the Ruger.I am surer there is better info that what I will say. I had a S&W 19-6 and it was stated per S&W not to user a steady amount of 357’s; it can handle them but for constant use.