Quick question for Rough Rider owners

[BigAlofPa.]

Oh no they are not as good as a single six. Just a range toy to have a little fun with. When im in the woods where i may need a gun to save my life or my family i have my ruger super blackhawk with. And my 10mm 1911. An economy gun is what it is. Have fun with it don't sweat it. Shot the long one today ran it with the mag cyl and the lr had fun. Hit some clays i sat up at 25 yards free standing. I was worried about the grip not being enough. But it works for me.

[fatelk]

It sounds like we're on the same page, for sure. As many little problems as this Rough Rider has, I still enjoy tinkering with it, and I still think I can get it put together right to make a nice accurate little range toy. I wouldn't want to rely on one for protection, but it would certainly be better than nothing.

[fatelk]

I checked the advance at partail cock. It does not advance all the way. Just a partial advance. Checked on all my S/A revolvers and my wives and sons. None do. Different brands including the Heritage.

I was wondering if you could indulge my curiosity on this; We might be talking about different things. On every SA revolver you checked, none of the cylinders were fully indexed and locked when the hammer was carefully fully cocked?

This is just academic for me at this point. I am just curious, not trying to knock Heritage. It’s just that I have seven single actions available to check, the RR, the new Wrangler, and five different Italians (Ubertis and Piettas). Of those, the RR is not close, one old Uberti is only off by a hair, and the other five are impossible to cock the hammer without the cylinder being fully indexed and locked.

I’m really just curious as to how common it is.

[Texas by God]

Mine carries up correctly when you cock it but is horribly inaccurate as I have whined about to - everyone

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The proof that I got THE LEMON of the bunch. At least it fires every time. I'm not sending it back, myself or my nephew will set the barrel back or rebarrel the thing. It's way down the list.

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[Love Life]

My rough rider shot a foot to the left. I shot 22 shorts out of it 90% of the time. Yeah, it was a piece ****.

[fatelk]

I've almost come to the decision to send mine in for repair. I didn't want to spend the money to ship it, seemed like throwing good money after bad, but my boss suggested to use the company shipping discount (as long as I pay for it). I calculated that with that discount it will be less than $20 for UPS 1-day. I fixed the loose barrel thing, but this timing thing bugs me, being as far off as it is, and then there's the fact that the cylinder rubs on the barrel. These things just can't be right, ever for a cheap gun. Hopefully it will work right when it comes back.

You do a search online and find a lot of issues like this, but for the most part people really seem to like their Rough Riders. They must make a lot of good ones too. I saw a video somewhere (maybe on here) of a Heritage Arms factory tour and how they were made. It was a real fast paced production. The guy doing the "test firing" was fanning them off in a big hurry, so I imagine that quality control is almost nonexistent, and a lot of problems slip through. More and more companies nowadays practice what some call "customer QC". The only real QC is the stuff that comes back. A lot of people won't go to the trouble of returning something for warranty work; instead they'll just toss it in a box in the attic, or in the trash.

[Love Life]

I pawned mine for $75

[dubber123]

I pawned mine for $75

You heartless SOB

[fatelk]

Well, it’s on it way back to Florida. I told them about the loose barrel (which I fixed), the timing problem, the keyholing, and the lack of cylinder gap. We’ll see what I get back.

Every manufacturer has lemons once in a while. I soured on Heritage when this one started having troubles but I’ll give them a chance to fix it. A lot of people seem to really like them. I hope I didn’t throw good money after bad.

[Silver Jack Hammer]

My gunsmith applied a shim between the cylinder base pin bushing and the frame. I can’t get the shim back in. I’m planning on taking this gun to a match next weekend, but I’m thinking it won’t make it through the match. There will be several other Colt’s in my gun cart to draw from.

Does it have excessive end play in the cylinder or not enough gap from the factory?
Curious what he recommended to fix it.

[onelight]

My gunsmith applied a shim between the cylinder base pin bushing and the frame. I can’t get the shim back in. I’m planning on taking this gun to a match next weekend, but I’m thinking it won’t make it through the match. There will be several other Colt’s in my gun cart to draw from.

Thanks for the reply.

[Texas by God]

I gave mine to my nephew. He's going to gunsmith school so I gave him "projects and practice pieces". He will set back the barrel, cut a more normal forcing cone, and pin the barrel. And then we'll see where it goes from there.

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[Harter66]

Mines a 17' . I haven't shot it very much but Ive been shooting wasps with Dad's and snake shot . Mine requires "the 4 Clicks of quality" (or whatever you want to call it) . The first one unlocks the bolt , the 2nd sets the half cock for free spin of the cylinder , 3rd returns the trigger and sets it , the 4th click drops the bolt with the cylinder in position . However if I stop before the last click after the trigger set click it is exactly as you describe except that it doesn't clock , dry fired anyway , into the bolt lock . Never paid any attention to it as it's as mentioned brand new and hardly been shot so everything is still tight and stiff . Dad's has a lot more through it and it is much smoother and more free . I'll check it out next time I go wasp whacking .

[jimb16]

The proof that I got THE LEMON of the bunch. At least it fires every time. I'm not sending it back, myself or my nephew will set the barrel back or rebarrel the thing. It's way down the list.

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That is how mine shot with keyholed bullets at 25 feet. I sent it back and they replaced the barrel. Now it shoots like your single six! They even sent me a factory test target back with it. Service was a little slow, but the results were worth the wait.

[fatelk]

Thank you, that's interesting. I haven't heard back from Heritage (Taurus) yet, and I'm curious as to what they say. Of my three problems, I already fixed one myself (loose barrel). The cylinder just ever-so-barely touched the barrel, and spun free, so they might say that's "in spec", and the instructions say to cock the hammer fully before shooting, so they may call that "in spec" too. I may have thrown good money after bad. I also can be pessimistic. Actually I had a fourth complaint- keyholing sometimes even when I was careful to make sure the cylinder fully indexed. I'm curious to see what they have to say.

It's not a big deal. It was a cheap gun and you get what you pay for.

Added: jimb16, I didn't see your post until I posted. I'm glad to hear that they fixed it right for you. Hopefully mine comes back working well too!

[fatelk]

I just got the Rough Rider back today. If they would have let me talk to someone who knew something before sending it in, it would have saved my money and their time. Apparently the seriously out-of-time cylinder and complete lack of cylinder gap are normal design features for these guns.

The repair sheet that came back with the gun reads:
Cylinder Timing - Adjusted
Cylinder Gap - NPF
Barrel - Replaced Existing
Cylinder Alignment - Adjusted
Barrel Forcing Cone - Adjusted

The timing was no better than it was when it left, so I don't know what they did to adjust it. At this point I have to assume that it's just a part of the design that you can fire it when the cylinder isn't fully indexed.
I also have to assume that severe endshake is normal for these too. I assume that NPF mustr mean No Problem Found, but the cylinder literally touches the barrel, and the front bearing surface of the cylinder does not touch the frame at all.
I don't know what they did to align the cylinder or adjust the forcing cone, or why they replaced the barrel. I guess I'll have to get to the range and see how it shoots.

You get what you pay for. It is a functional revolver, and I suppose a decent value if you don't expect much. I guess the old rules for revolvers such as timing and cylinder gap don't apply to this design. I just wish they had told me that before I bothered to send it in.

I've been shooting the Ruger Wrangler a bit now, and it's solid as a rock. Things like cylinder gap and timing are absolutely perfect on it. For only $60 more, the Ruger is far and away better quality, and a far, far, far better value, in my humble opinion.

[Texas by God]

I'm still looking for the Wrangler to show up at LGS's. My Single Six is fixing to get the springs and polishing it deserves.

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[Argentino]

The problem regarding a short hand is not uncommon to other brands as well; I have seen it in some old Colts that were not worn; pulling the hammer slowly, it will cock but the cylinder stop would not reach its cylinder notch completely. The hand can be taken out and stretched a little to correct this, but it takes a more knowledgeable person than me to do it.

[KCSO]

A fellow stopped in the shop to get some leather to make a holster for his Rough Rider. I told him to just use toilet paper as that is what you put a in! Got no use for them they are a just go bang gun one step below a Hi Point.

[mac60]

Fatelk - I thought I'd chime in. I have one that's never been to the range - it's new in the box. I did as you requested and got the same results as you. I did notice this with both cylinders (WMR and LR). Also, if I brought the hammer to full cock slowly - leaving it "not locked in" and pulled the trigger and held it back, the cylinder was locked up tight.