Carrying the three screw ruger six.

[Gulfcowboy]

I recently find myself in need of a 22 pistol. I have my grandfathers three screw single six 22/22mag. If i use it would I carry it in the cowboy style of load five and let the hammer rest on a empty chamber? I know how to do the old load one skip one load four. I own a cimmeron Frontier in 45 Colt. I was looking at the new ruger wrangler, but why spend the money when i already havethe tool for the job. Thanks for any information given.

 

[Jim Watson]

The Wrangler is the economy model, not as good as Grandpa's Gun.
I think the only improvement would be something radically different like a Single Ten, K22, or an automatic.

 

[reteach]

I'm not trying to highjack this thread. I think this question goes along with Gulfcowboy's. The Old Model Rugers have a "safety" notch in the hammer action. Pull the hammer back one click and it's supposed to be drop safe. But when the this question comes up, experienced users always answer with "hammer on an empty chamber." And, to Gulfcowboy, I would say to carry that way. But I go along with that because people with more experience say it's the right thing to do. So my add-on question is:

Why is that the answer when there is a hammer safety? What real-life experience has taught shooters that the hammer safety is not reliable?

 

[lunger]

For me it would depend on where you are carrying and the sentimental value of your grandfather's revolver.

His Single Six is a fine option. But if I was in need of a knock around trail gun I would invest a couple of hundreds and get the Wrangler.

Grandfather's Ruger could be passed to your grandson.

 

[Gulfcowboy]

Very true. I thought the same with the sentimental value. My grandfather and I were close. After he passed I rescued this pistol from my aunt. She had it stuffed under the seat of her truck. She had let the pistol rust abit and lost the cylinder pin. I asked if she would take another pistol in its place. She informed me she would, so I took the pistol to a gunsmith to be cleaned up and a new cyinder pin installed. Its been in my care since. I would like to see it pased down.

 

[Jim Watson]

The Old Model Rugers have a "safety" notch in the hammer action. Pull the hammer back one click and it's supposed to be drop safe. But when the this question comes up, experienced users always answer with "hammer on an empty chamber." And, to Gulfcowboy, I would say to carry that way. But I go along with that because people with more experience say it's the right thing to do. So my add-on question is:

Why is that the answer when there is a hammer safety? What real-life experience has taught shooters that the hammer safety is not reliable?

Real life discharges when an impact breaks the "safety notch" or sear tip, or the user fiddles it into a "false half cock".
Ruger was repeatedly sued by wounded owners of Old Models who trusted the "safety notch." They didn't redesign the SAA with transfer bar for the fun of it.

 

[reteach]

They didn't redesign the SAA with transfer bar for the fun of it.

Good point. Although Ruger and others can sometimes seem to go overboard with trying to idiot-proof their products. Neither of my Old Models Rugers has ever broken on me, in any way. But the fact that others did see breakage is the answer. The "safety" simply didn't work in real use.

Thanks, Jim.

 

[labnoti]

The above answer beat me to it, and it's correct -- the safety notch is fragile and prone to break.

I have a three-screw, and I simply would not carry it or any other Colt-style action that isn't drop safe. I do carry a Ruger model with a transfer bar. I also carry S&W with reliable hammer blocks, though they are not single action. The problem I see with hammer-down-on-empty-chamber is you can make a mistake with respect to which chamber the hammer is down on, and the cylinder can rotate with only a partial movement of the hammer. In other words, if the hammer gets snagged and pulled back slightly, the cylinder can rotate around so that the hammer is then down on a live round. All of this can be mitigated with a better holster like a very stiff flap holster, but I carry concealed and the risk is real. I have had my hammer snag and snap back from a partial cock when I was carrying it -- fortunately, it was a Ruger with a transfer bar.