Heritage Mfg. Rough Rider - Opinions

M

Mikeseli

New member
Hi Folks,

Anyone have first hand experience with the Heritage .22 SA Rough Rider? It received a good write up in Gun Test. 2nd hand opinions from reliable sources would be appreciated as well. :p

Price in So. California is $148 for the 4.75 blue. Can't do one of the really fine .22s right now, and this would not be my only firearm.

Thanks,
Mike
 
I would put it toward either a used Ruger MK II or a used Single-Six. If you shop around you can find either of those under $200. Maybe prices are higher in California, but I have seen MKII's with the fixed sights going for $175 or less. Both will hold their value much better than a new Heritage gun.
 
Makarov,
Thanks for your reply. You're right about the Single Six, it's been high on my list in the .22 department. It's just, being fairly new to this, I don't trust my own prowess in checking out used guns (yet). I know there's an excellent post on this forum on this subject. And at least around here, the dealers make used car salesmen look like choirboys.

The Rough Rider comes with 2 cylinders, one for .22 and the other for .22mag. Point being that it is probably built well enough to plink all day with .22LR, and with none of the potential feeding problems I've read about on the Semi side of this forum (on semi-autos costing 2-3 times as much).

Each purchase I make is to fill a niche, without putting the credit card in full cardiac arrest. So, in .38 I bought a steel Taurus 85 ($250), Rossi stainless .38 ($269), Mossburg Persuader .12 ga ($199) and Beretta Jetfire ($210).
These are So.Cal prices for new firearms. Each one functions fine.

So, anyone else have opinions / knowledge on the Rough Rider .22 revolver?

Thanks,
Mike
 
I like mine

It was awful rough when I got it, had some FTFs and a rough trigger pull, but it smoothed up nicely. Havn't had a Fail to Fire since after that first month or so, I would buy another one in a heartbeat, kind of looking at their birdshead grip one anyway.

I don't ever use the 22 mag cylinder, I had a lot of keyholing and pretty poor accuracy out of the mags, I think the barrel is a little to small (I know the single sixes have a slightly larger barrel to accomodate the mags) But it is a great plinker gun.

You can probrably get it cheaper without the mag cylinder, or maybe they have fixed the problem, who knows maybe the problem was only my gun???

But I say buy it.
 
I agree with JJ; I like mine.
Mine has the birdshead grip and nickel (chrome?) finish. When you pull the hammer back, it makes that wonderful SA sound. Also the trigger is very good. I bought it from a gunsmith friend, so I do not know if he slicked the trigger. It has as good a trigger as the Single Six I had stolen. That was a new gun, so I was out a chunk of change.
I'd buy a new Heritage, myself.
Pat
 
They don't hold up for the long haul. You'd be much better off saving for something of a little better quality.

dfm
 
Tropical Z, JJ, Pat & DFM;

Thanks for your replies. Your opinions and evaluations are respected and appreciated. That's why I asked! And why I enjoy this Forum.

Pat; Sorry 'bout that new Single Six. You do the right thing and go for a quality piece and it gets ripped off, that's lousy.

Appreciate the "heads up" from JJ about the initial problem with the gun. This way I won't freak out if it isn't perfect right out of the box (so far I've been lucky), but I'll give it some time. Glad it worked out. From what I'm reading, I could go through the same thing with a new S&W 686....nobody hits a homerun everytime. Is it possible the Rough Rider that Gun Test praised up and down received some special attention prior to hitting the range? :eek:

I'm going to go ahead and get it. I plan on using only .22LR in it, which should increase it's lifespan a bit (or a bunch).
I haven't had a .22 in quite some time, it will be nice to have one again.

Thanks Again,
Mike
 
I've never liked the funky safety at the top of the hammer.
Way too non-traditional for me.
I have seen them new, at the dealer, with rust on them.

-This happened a couple of years ago.-
I was at my local dealer when she sold one.
The guy took it down to the range, and it wouldn't shoot.
She gave him the other one she had in the display case, told him to try it, before they did the paperwork over.
It wouldn't shoot either.
(Don't know if he got a refund or what. He had already had a background check on the first gun.)

In defense of the guns, the dealer said she had sold a lot of them, and never had any problems.
And, she still sells them.
Sometimes you have to take a chance, but I would trust a Ruger more. :D
 
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