Ruger Single Six Convertable, What's it

[Red River Rick]

really worth? An uncle of mine stopped by the other day and wondered if I'd be interested in buying his Ruger Single Six. He said he had no use for it, even when he bought new in '73.

Still in the original box with all the papers and the .22 mag cylinder. He mentioned that he never used the .22 mag cylinder and that he probably only fired a couple of boxes of ammo thru it.

Asking price was $250. I didn't hesitate, I handed him the cash.

I know that I got a good deal, but what is it really worth? It's in imaculate condition, no scatches, rust or marks anywhere. It comes in both original boxes with instruction manual, warranty card etc.

RRR

[felix]

I bought one in 1968. Eventually, the firing pin broke and had to be replaced. The gun was not all that accurate with either cylinder, so I had the Ruger repair shop fix that. Needless to say, they were going to convert the thing to a transfer bar model too. I said if you do that, at least send me the parts back, and give the thing an accuracy check out by your best shooter in the shop and let him repair as if it was his personal gun. Well, it came back with the lawyer trigger and does indeed take much effort to work. However..... the gun will do LR and WMR equally well, and has perfect lockup on each cylinder hole. He, the shooter, whoever he was, sent me a target with 6 shots touching at 50 feet, a target for each caliber. The gun went from a piss poor shooter to the most accurate revolter in the house. With the 44man shooting he'd prolly match my score shooting it with me shooting my model 52 Smith. It took them 4 months to do the turnaround. ... felix

[9.3X62AL]

You did just fine, price-wise.

I've had 4 of these revolvers over the years, none were what I would call "match-grade" shooters--but they were decent small game and beer can guns to 50 yards or so. Expecting gilt-edge accuracy from one of these "as-is" from the factory might be a little unrealistic, but one owned by a buddy from work can REALLY shoot, and is box-stock. 3 of these are still in the family, daughters and nephews have them now. Like most things Ruger, they are sturdy and reliable--so much so that their unrefined characteristics can either be overlooked or upgraded easily in the aftermarket.

[redneckdan]

The single six we have at the MTU pistol club is not know for its accuracy, and its not the shooter either. I shot a 94-6x slow fire with my new model flat top last week.

[Bret4207]

Anyone have any tricks for getting these to shoot better? I've always wanted one, but a buddys shot worse than the H+R 3" barreled job I used to shoot, so I've ignored them. What are the issues with them? Alignment, bore size, throating?

My Single-Six 32 Mag is a tack driver, so it would seem they could do better.

[45 2.1]

Anyone have any tricks for getting these to shoot better? I've always wanted one, but a buddys shot worse than the H+R 3" barreled job I used to shoot, so I've ignored them. What are the issues with them? Alignment, bore size, throating?

My Single-Six 32 Mag is a tack driver, so it would seem they could do better.

Like the Colt 22's, the Ruger Single Six 22's have the barrel spec'd for the magnum round, not for the smaller 22 LR specification. 0.002" or so makes a big difference in accuracy potential.

[felix]

Yes, Bret, Bob is correct. The barrel is too big for the standard lead 22LR boolit. Looking at my gun that was returned from Ruger, I cannot tell for sure that my barrel has been changed. Whatever was done, it is perfect except for that lousy trigger weight. It is crisp, though, so I am leaving the thing alone. It just shoots very good now, even with cheap ammo. ... felix

[redneckdan]

that explains why the club single six is always leaded all to hell and back.

ps- the 50/50 vinegar/hydrogen peroxide trick really does work.

[jim4065]

that explains why the club single six is always leaded all to hell and back.

ps- the 50/50 vinegar/hydrogen peroxide trick really does work.

New one on me. What's the 50/50 trick do - remove lead faster? If so, I'll try it,

[Char-Gar]

First as to price... I should think that pistol would be worth from $100 to $200 more than you paid for it.

The Single Six accuracy things has been beaten around the shooting community for a number of years and you don't get agreement.

I have a 1958 vintage Single Six, which was before they starting to fit them with magnum cylinders, and it will shoot right along side of my SMith and Wesson K-22 or Colt Officers Model 22 in terms of accuracy.

I have a 1972 vintage Super Single Six that came in 22 lr. I picked a magnum cylinder and did the fitting. It is a very, very accurate pistol. I have never fired it with the LR cylinder so I can't speak to that. The pistol locks up like a bank vault.

[redneckdan]

Mix up a 50/50 by volume solution of house hold white vinegar and medical strength hydrogen peroxide (the stuff you can buy in the aisles of a pharmacy). This solution oxidizes/disolves lead but won't touch carbon fouling, steel or copper fouling. As far as my experiences I have never had any discoloring of gun blueing from the solution. To use: plug the barrel with a rubber stopper, lacking a rubber stopper you can cram a couple cotton balls in the end of the barrel and that will hold the solution long enough. Pour in the solution, let it work for 2-3 minutes, you will hear fizzing and see bubbles. Pour out the solution brush the bore out 2 or 3 times with a bronze brush, I then spray brake cleaner down the barrel to wash the crap out. Look in the bore to judge remaining leading, usually 50-75% of the lead will be gone. Retreat if nessisary or go about cleaning as normal.

Usually that club single six would be fouled so bad that the rifling is hardly visible; there was a spanish foreign student last year that really, really loved single actions. He would put a brick through that gun every week. Seeing as we have 11 other firearms (including 4 match guns) that I'm responsible for I really couldn't clean that gun every night. Usually he'd bring it to me when the bullets started going sideways out the barrel. Using that solution I would be done cleaning the barrel in 5 minutes tops.

[Dale53]

I picked up a Ruger Single Six Convertible, as new, at the Ohio Gun Collectors Show in the past year for $250.00. I bought it from a dealer (claimed it was his gun). It has the usual rough Ruger trigger. I plan on keeping it and will have a trigger job done.

Years ago, a friend, whose passion was handgunning ground hogs, picked up a S&W .22 magnum. He killed a number of ground hogs and claimed that the .22 mag did damage quite similar to his .357 mag. That year he killed 50 or 60 ground hogs with handguns (.22 mag, .357 mag,and .44 Mag - all Smiths). Now, with the coyote infestation I wonder if we have 50-60 ground hogs in the whole county. I sure don't see them along the road like I used to. I Do have one living under my Florida room:(, and I live in town).

Dale53

[Red River Rick]

I checked the weight of the trigger pull and it's about 42 oz's, nice and crisp also. I haven't had the chance to shoot it yet so I can't say what the accuracy is like. I don't intend on taking it to Bisley, so for plinking and varmints it should be fine, hopefully.

I would like to change the rear sight to something adjustable. The factory rear sight is not the best and a better after market sight would probably help. Any suggestions.

Thanks for the input gentlemen.
RRR