Single ten accuracy. Range report.

C

caz223

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It seems that most people would put the single six behind the ruger mark series of pistols for accuracy.
Now, I'm not here to disparage the mark I/II/III pistols, the ones I've shot have been very reliable and accurate due to the fixed barrel blowback design that everyone takes for granted in target guns combined with good quality heavy components, and simply good execution.
I'm not a huge fan of the magazine disconnect in the mkIII models (I know you can replace parts to downgrade it to a mkII.), nor am I a fan of manual safeties.

I took a pair of single tens to the range today, and though I had used them a few times before, I never did wring them out and see what they were capable of. The models in question are the 4 5/8" barrel and the 5 1/2 inch barrel stainless models.
I did better with the shorter one, as I started out the day with semi-auto
.22 and 9mm sig pistols.
I think after 2 hours I started to shake a bit, and switched to the single tens.
The 5 1/2" model had some issues with empty cases being tough to eject, and some ammo wouldn't even chamber. I hope a few more range sessions and a few more cleanings will smooth things out. As for now, the ammo it can chamber isn't very accurate, the ammo that is accurate in the other gun won't chamber in this one. I'll give that example a few more tries.
As for the 4 5/8" model, holy cow, what an awesome revolver!
It chambered everything, and the ammo it liked was cheap, and it really liked a lot of the stuff I had.
Bulk pack win 555 packs shot the best, followed by vintage remington golden bullet (From the 80's, I think), then SK standard, then current remington golden bullet 40 grain- then everything else. Anything made by CCI did poorly (2 different lots of both Mini-mag and standard velocity) as did thunderbolt. The CCI was reliable, at least, the thunderbolt seemed to have a few dud rounds. (If a revolver won't set off the ammo, it's bad ammo)
I shot with 9" paper plates with a sticky note in the middle of the plate.
The winchester bulk packs put every shot into a sticky note at 15 yards with boring regularity. I'm talking about 100 shot groups into 3x3 inches until the sticky note wasn't visible any longer. And no shots on the plate.

With the rest of my other .22 pistols/revolvers you'd get an occasional stray. With the CCI ammo, it was the opposite, you'd hit the plate every time, but not the sticky note.
Both single tens were perfectly zeroed for 15 yards, dead on with the ammo that worked, no adjustment required. Those fiber optics sights are easy to use, even wearing sunglasses with the setting sun at your back.
I shot steel at a friend's house last week (10" gong at 50 yards, every time, no drama.)
I started at 15 yards and every time I hit the target, I took a step back.
Before you know it, I was out of space, and couldn't back up any farther (Unless I wanted to get in his pool.)
I'm going back to the range tomorrow, and hopefully will have enough time to give them a chance at 25+ yards on paper.

From what I've seen I shoot the 4 5/8" single ten better than a mark III pistol. That is high praise, indeed.

So many guns, so little time.
 
I have a single six and a buck mark. They are equally accurate as far as I can tell. Some days I shoot one better, some days it's the other. Maybe someone who is a better shooter could make a decision about which is more accurate. I mostly just demonstrate which i am messing up more that day, revolver technique or pistol technique. :)
 
Some people may think so because you can theoretically fit 2 at a time in the window to load it, but to unload it's a 1 at a time affair. Worse yet, it's more difficult to unload because the ratchet clicks every 36 degrees (360/10) rather than every 60 degrees (360/6), so until you get used to it, you may over-rotate the cylinder during ejection, and have to go around again. (Premature ejection?)
I don't think it offers anything over the single six except for 4 more rounds in the cylinder.
That being said 4 extra rounds in the cylinder is a big deal.
Enough to where I didn't consider the single six, but immediately bought the single ten as soon as I found one. In a barrel length I didn't like. Then bought another in a barrel length I did like. When I couldn't find any .22 ammo to shoot..... for over a year.......
 
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I'd consider calling Ruger on the gun that won't chamber rounds.
Any idea why they won't chamber?
The chamber shouldn't be that tight. It indexes off the rim an I believe there is plenty of room out front. I just don't see how that could happen without there being an issue.

If the chambers are cut too small or the tool was wearing and they are rough, by the time you wear that material off with a jag and abrasive polish I think your chambers will probably have all sorts of waves through the walls.

If I was buying again I'd probably get a ten. My six is such a great shooter and well worn in I can't imagine trading it around though. Maybe some day I'll get a second.
 
It only happens with certain ammo, and the other gun isn't affected.
But that same ammo that won't chamber in only 1 gun also sticks in the barrel of my PPQ .22, and I think it's because it has a similar problem, but a different symptom.
I think it fires slightly out of battery, then sticks in the chamber.
Either way, the spent case needs to be tapped out of the PPQ's chamber with a wicker skewer.
Sometimes it also leaves a small chunk of lead in the chamber area.
I'd call it bad ammo, and if the 'good son' shoots it fine, then who am I to argue?
From my time at the range today, I am saddened to learn that my Walther PPQ .22 outshoots all my other .22 pistols and revolvers by a pretty significant margin, including my CZ75b+kadet kit. I was hoping that the single six would be the accuracy champ, but it was not to be.
With 20 year old remington 'milk carton' ammo, my PPQ shot a 3 shot group a little over 2 inches at 50 yards, off a 2x4 with carpet stapled to it. That was my first 3 shots at the 50, to try to 'get it on paper'. I didn't see the holes until I got up to the target, and it was maybe 3 inches over the bullseye, so I didn't touch the sights. The elevation is at the extreme limit anyway, and I have to shoot at a 6'o clock hold. I shot another 10 shot group, and it spread out to 3 inches, but I think it was me shaking. I saw no need to shoot it again, and moved on to sighting in a revolver that needed it...


Call it luck if you'd like, but I'm not touching the sights any more.

I thought it was inaccurate at first try, it was left, then right. I grabbed the rear sight to push it over with my thumb, and it popped out. Turns out it needed to be tightened with the tiny allen wrench that came with it.
 
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Maybe with stock sights the MarkIII and Single Six shoot equally accurate. But an optical/red dot sight on the Mark III will beat it every time and the Single Sux doesn't come pre drilled for one (to my knowledge)
 
It's hard to argue about the reliability of a revolver, but if your Ruger Standard, Mark I, II, III, IV or 22/45 is set-up properly by someone who knows these pistols, you will have a "super" shooting piece of machinery that's hard to beat. Smoothing and tuning these pistols, internally, will have 'em operating flawlessly. A trigger set-up to eliminate as much pre and then over-travel possible will have reaction time shortened by a whole bunch.
Getting the magazines prepped so they operate in as smooth a functioning manner as possible will eliminate brass and lead shavings from gumming up the feeding process, and collecting in the receiver.
Paying attention to the chamber mouth so that the bullets don't get their bearing surface scarred as they get fed in from the magazine is extremely important.
The Ruger factory stamped, $2.00, extractor should be tossed into Lake Michigan to sleep with the fishes, and then replaced by an extractor provided by Sarona Gun Works LLC.
There is quite a bit that can be done to the Ruger Mark pistols to make them operate and perform much better, and once those modifications are done.....they're done and then all you need to do is get more ammunition.
 
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