New Ruger Revolvers Introduced

[Texas by God]

I knew that it was better than the Heritage when I heard the name Ruger. I believe I will pick one up like yours sometime this summer!

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[arcticap]

NO gap. the edges of the pieces have a slight radius, that's all. this gun blows away the rough rider in every respect. ymmv.

Attachment 241278

I would expect the Wrangler to have some better qualities.
After all, the Wrangler does cost about twice as much.
I've heard that many folks bought their RR's on sale for $99, and now I see a new one on Gunbroker for $89.
And many used ones have even lower starting bid prices than that, with one still under $50.

BTW, those grips look excellent.
I once held a Vaquero that had white factory grips and wanted to buy it so much that I didn't want to put it down.

RFD, one question that I have for you is have you ever shot a Heritage?
Which model and what was your experience shooting it like?

[rfd]

... RFD, one question that I have for you is have you ever shot a Heritage?
Which model and what was your experience shooting it like?

more than just shot one, i owned a heritage rough rider for about a year and had gotten it on sale for $99/shipped. it was a "good" gun in that it shot minute-of-liter-bottle most of the time at 7 yards - beyond that, accuracy went to hell-in-a-hand basket. this wrangler does at least minute-of-beer can at 10 yards (longest indoor range distance i've shot it at). this gun stuff is fraught with personal subjectivity, so who cares what anyone - including me - thinks. go see for yerself if at all possible. not much of a gamble for a ruger at under $200, but i doubt the taurus heritage brand will be as customer friendly as with ruger, methinks. see? there ya go, more personal subjectivity.

[rfd]

faux ivory grip ruger family portrait, baby .22lr and papa .357mag ....

[Texas by God]

A .32 S&W Long Wrangler would be cool. I didn't say H&R or Federal magnum due to the alloy frame. There us at least one Heritage RR thread here where several of us have documented what an inaccurate dog some of them are- mine included.

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[fatelk]

I’ve heard people talk about the inaccuracy of the Rough Rider, but mine has proven to be plenty accurate enough. From a bench I could get fairly consistent 2.5” groups at 25 yards. That’s as good as I can do with anything.

I can do a little better with my old Ruger Standard automatic, and this new Wrangler shows real promise. I haven’t even got it sighted in yet but the one group I shot from the bench real carefully was nice: just under 2” at 20 yards, but 5 of the 6 measured .8” center to center.

I know I’ve seen the Rough Riders go on sale on rare occasion (Black Friday and such), but around here the going price is $130. You see them all over at the gun shows; every other table has a couple for $130 to $150. So far the Wranglers I’ve seen have been about $190 from the same dealers, so about 50% more than the Rough Rider.

Clearly cheap guns like this aren’t for everyone. Some guys want nothing less than a vintage Smith, or a Single Six at the very least. I get that, and I like quality guns too, but I also like inexpensive guns to tinker with sometimes, as long as they’re usable.

Heritage has proven that there’s a strong market for inexpensive .22 revolvers that actually work. They found the right price vs. quality point that works for their market. Ruger has jumped in with a competing product, but their price/quality point is aimed at those who want just a little more than the Rough Rider. It’s better quality, for more money. Depends on what you want.

[arcticap]

more than just shot one, i owned a heritage rough rider for about a year and had gotten it on sale for $99/shipped. it was a "good" gun in that it shot minute-of-liter-bottle most of the time at 7 yards - beyond that, accuracy went to hell-in-a-hand basket. this wrangler does at least minute-of-beer can at 10 yards (longest indoor range distance i've shot it at). this gun stuff is fraught with personal subjectivity, so who cares what anyone - including me - thinks. go see for yerself if at all possible. not much of a gamble for a ruger at under $200, but i doubt the taurus heritage brand will be as customer friendly as with ruger, methinks. see? there ya go, more personal subjectivity.

I already did post about my older Heritage Target Model in Post #100 on page 5 and Post #108 on page 6.
Because I like it and can live with its faults, I don't want another SA .22 right now.

I have one of those mini-Beretta Bobcat .22's that I can't hit much with it either so I know the feeling.
Meanwhile others can manage to shoot their Bobcat at very long distances, but don't ask me how they manage to do it.
Thanks for the reply and enjoy your new Wranglers everyone.

[arcticap]

The short range accuracy of a 1950's Ruger Single-Six fired at 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 feet is about the same as a brand new Heritage Rough Rider shot at 20, 30 and 40 feet.
The Ruger has a rear leaf sight and a longer barrel, while the Heritage has a rear groove sight and the short Wrangler length barrel and was fired new out of the box.

The Ruger Single-Six test firing begins at the 3:15 mark of this video with 3 shots at each target distance with 2 brands of ammo




The Heritage Rough Rider test firing begins at about the 1:35 mark with 6 shots at each distance with one brand of ammo.

[Texas by God]

I didn't video it, but I shot my 1970s Single Six against my 2018 Heritage. The Heritage tumbles bullets at all ranges and the Ruger- doesn't. So I can't compare them. For the people that got a accurate HRR; congrats. I didn't-and the Wrangler will be my next .22 revolver.

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[arcticap]

I didn't video it, but I shot my 1970s Single Six against my 2018 Heritage. The Heritage tumbles bullets at all ranges and the Ruger- doesn't. So I can't compare them. For the people that got a accurate HRR; congrats. I didn't-and the Wrangler will be my next .22 revolver.

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I watched one Heritage ammo testing video where 1 or 2 bullets per cylinder of some brands keyholed while other brands didn't keyhole at all.
It also showed that there can be a difference in performance from one brand of ammo to another, and also due to the ammo. velocity.

I've have seen semi auto Bullseye target pistols keyhole on occasion too, often due to barrel leading.
But maybe revolvers do it for different reasons.

[fatelk]

I wondered if the occasional tumbling had something to do with the massive, cavernous forcing cone in the barrel of the Rough Rider, but after I bought the Wrangler I noticed that the forcing cone in it was just as big. Do the old Single Sixes have a huge forcing cone that will swallow most of a live .22lr round?

[Texas by God]

I wondered if the occasional tumbling had something to do with the massive, cavernous forcing cone in the barrel of the Rough Rider, but after I bought the Wrangler I noticed that the forcing cone in it was just as big. Do the old Single Sixes have a huge forcing cone that will swallow most of a live .22lr round?

Rough Rider on the left, single six on the right.

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[onelight]

Rough Rider on the left, single six on the right.

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My guess is the size of that forcing cone is based on how good the cylinder locks.
It would help keep them from spitting lead out the sides when the cylinder is not lined up. It’s probably cheaper than getting the timing where it should be. I don’t mean this as a cut it is inexpensive there are going to be compromises.

[fatelk]

Here's the Wrangler compared to the Rough Rider, Wrangler on left.

Attachment 241513

[arcticap]

Here's the Wrangler compared to the Rough Rider, Wrangler on left.

Attachment 241513

The forcing cone size could be related to the Heritage also being able to fire .22 WMR instead of .22LR only.
The .22 WMR bullet is .224 compared to .223 for the .22 LR, and can have faster velocity.
And some .22 WMR bullets are actually jacketed

[fatelk]

It's interesting, the Wrangler forcing cone seems to be about halfway between the Single Six and the Rough Rider, in size. The Single Six is also made for .22 Mag ammo. I don't know; as long as they work.

[dubber123]

The forcing cone size could be related to the Heritage also being able to fire .22 WMR instead of .22LR only.
The .22 WMR bullet is .224 compared to .223 for the .22 LR, and can have faster velocity.
And some .22 WMR bullets are actually jacketed

Thats a bit more than the .0005" per side (half of the .001" diffrence). I am quite sure they are left that sloppy for a reason. Same reason the old H&R and Iver Johnsons were "generous" with their tolerances.

[FergusonTO35]

Anybody figured out what the receiver is made of on these? In gunmaking, "alloy" usually means zinc alloy with a low melting point. However, American Rifleman describes it as "aluminum alloy" which would suggest it is mostly aluminum. Anybody figure this out yet?

[Texas by God]

I thought I read that the grip frame is zinc and the frame is aluminum.
Fatelk, we need a range report when you get a chance. Maybe a shoot off?

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[FergusonTO35]

I hope that is the case. It means that the Wrangler would shed some ounces if a Single Six grip frame was installed, also an aluminum receiver would be less likely to crack or egg shape the action screw holes.