Old Ruger Single 6

Not the best choice to teach kids with

You can easily get caught in unsafe behaviors. You need good dexterity because in the normal, safe method of running this revolver there is much manipulation of trigger, hammer, cylinder, load gate and ejector. Without a transfer bar (common on your basic Smith and Wesson - I can't speak for other makers), you are GIONG to catch your child in an unsafe situation. Granted the muzzle is always pointed down range, but even in the basic act of reloading there is a step when you must use the trigger while in a double action you can honor the other main commandment of gun handling - finger always off the trigger until you are genuinely about to fire the gun.
They are great revolvers. I have a few myself and one is a Single Six that I enjoy enough to have sent it off to a smith for some custom work. But I'd not choose it to teach with. I keep mine far away from my son whe we shoot just because he is not ready and does not have the mental discipline just yet.
Just my two cents.
I don't want anyone getting hurt and believe me with safety at the forefront of my own mind, I still once in a while catch myself with my Old Models "Man, that was a little risky. I shouldn't have done that."
 
I disagree with Longfellow. Relying on a transfer bar as a crutch to teach children how toi safely handle a firearm is NOT the way to accomplish the goal. There are a lot of single action revolvers out there that do not have a transfer bar. Kids should learn how to handle them safely, so why not start with the Single Six?
 
I got my Single Six SPECIFICALLY to teach my children with.

Mostly so they would have to actually work a bit for each shot. Give a kid a semi auto and they tend to shoot fast, and not aim the way they should.

There are only three common types of handguns, single shots, revolvers and semi autos. At the time I got my Single six, I didn't have a Contender (I do now, and have a .22LR barrel for it), and since good quality DA .22s are more expensive than nearly everything else, the SA made good sense to me.

Now, only you can determine what level of competence your children have reached, so, if you feel they can't yet manage a single action safely, that's your call. New Model Rugers are a little simpler, and safer than SAs that use the "traditional" (colt style) mechanism, but even the old style system is perfectly safe, with proper training and due diligence to safe gun handling.

Without those, no gun is safe, in the hands of a child, or an adult.

It boggles my mind how people can seriously think that something that has been in common use for well over a hundred years is too "complex" for people to learn to use properly. It isn't. BUT, if the modern individual (at any age) doesn't pay attention to learning what to do, and what NOT to do, that's not any flaw in the gun.
 
All my kids have left home but I showed the boy how to safely use the old 3 screw Rugers. If not it’s like teaching him to drive nothing but a car with a automatic transmission and lord knows 4 speeds in muscle cars are a blast.. I think you need to know and understand both….;) Old 3 screw and transfer bar.
 
I own both a New and Old single six and bought the 3 screw converted w/parts.
Because I teach firearms safety I changed the OM back to the original function.
Interestingly, Ruger is wishy-washy when it comes to use of the safety notch in the manual, however Colt is explicit to not use the safety catch for resting the hammer on. It is a safety device intended to catch the hammer if it slips in the process of bringing hammer back to full cock.
Also, whenever coming off the load notch, its very important to lower the hammer before fully cocking it.
I trust there should be ample pro's and con's for upgrading here for you to make a decision on how you want "YOUR" single six configured.
One important consideration in the conversion is it will not operate like the old or new, it is a conversion and will operate just that way. In that I mean, the loading gate will not lock the hammer like the NM nor will it unlock the cylinder to rotate for loading and unloading. You get a transfer bar and that is it. You will still need to place it in the load position for those functions.
And I too prefer the trigger of the OM! ;)
Edit;
The transfer bar is in a way like a magazine disconnect. It is a mechanical devise that is easily misunderstood to the point that it muddies the knowledge base to the point some think these gun's can be used in any manner desired and the manufacture is the party at fault when something bad happens.
And my Late SIL's NM SBH has a bad trigger spring that he flat refused to address and I have to now get it fixed before any family member quires it.
 
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