Thoughts on Ruger single six

Heritage Rough Rider. An affordable, reliable, and accurate convertable 22 rimfire SA revolver.
Ruger Single Six. A family heirloom for generations. At more than twice the cost of a Rough Rider.
 
I have a 5.5" pre warning convertible...I installed a spring kit and it has the best breaking trigger of any handgun I own although the single action does have a bit longer lock time than say a good 1911 ,etc. trigger.

Being a convertible it is actually a .22 magnum revolver with an accessory .22lr cylinder. The magnum bore diameter is actually a little larger than it is for a .22 LR only bore. The best ammo for THIS particular Single Six is Winchester 45 grain Dynapoint magnums. These are copper plated or copper washed rather than the usual jacketed .22 magnum ammo.

I have tried probably 15 to 20 different types/brands of ammo in both LR and magnums and the Dynapoints are the only ones that will often print inside 1.5 inches at 25 yards for 5 of it's 6 chambers. Sometimes it will do better, sometimes worse. In most revolvers usually there will be chambers that will shoot better than the others. You have to experiment and mark which ones shoot best.

An acquaintance told me to try standard velocity long rifles but I never did. Then again, the excellent Single Six was never intended to be a match target pistol. It is the sidearm of the trapper, hunter, outdoorsman, etc.
 
I don't really know why everyone feels the need to compare the Heritage to the Ruger. It's like comparing a High Point to a Sig. They're both serviceable guns, just in different classes. The Ruger is a better quality pistol and that quality comes at a price.
 
I don't really know why everyone feels the need to compare the Heritage to the Ruger. It's like comparing a High Point to a Sig. They're both serviceable guns, just in different classes. The Ruger is a better quality pistol and that quality comes at a price.
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Then why did you? Basically repeating everything those who previously mentioned the Rough Rider said.:D
 
ruger single six is one of the few indispensable handguns. brick like a brick outhouse, so your unborn grandchildren will enjoy it. single action makes it a great “by the numbers” teaching/learning tool. 22lr for endless fun plinking, 22wmr for some protective oomph. don’t neglect the magnum cylinder, it is actually more accurate in 22wmr. politically correct anywhere. pairs nicely with a shotgun or centerfire rifle.


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Being a convertible it is actually a .22 magnum revolver with an accessory .22lr cylinder. The magnum bore diameter is actually a little larger than it is for a .22 LR only bore.
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First I would be surprised if Ruger really makes a barrel for the 22LR only version that is .001 smaller than the barrel on the convertable gun. And its a moot point because I have measured many 22LR bullets and not a single one of them have measured .223. They have all been between .224-.226 in diameter. They are the same size or bigger than the bullet used in the 22 magnum round. So the myth of the barrel being sized for the 22 mag round is just that. A myth.

More important is to shoot several 22lr loads and see what your gun likes. I did that once and it was an eye opener as to the differences you get between ammo brands and bullet designs. Especially in a handgun.

And the Ruger Single Six is one of the best 22 handguns you can own.

And I like the 22 mag. I don't care that they cost more than the 22lr rounds. They are a real step up in power from the 22 and they come with a real jacketed bullet unless you buy the CCI with its soft plating which I don't care for.
 
I just use mine for plinking and paper targets, so even when I had a 22 magnum cylinder I didn't use it much. If I need to shoot a copperhead in the backyard I use a 410 single-shot. If I am walking my doggies in areas where bobcats or coyotes are present, I carry my 32 H&R magnum Single Six. That's just me. YMMV.
 
Picked up the Ruger but I haven't had a chance to shoot it yet. It's heavier than I thought it would be and obviously built like a tank. Really grateful that the roll marking is under the barrel instead of on the side of it. Are all Rugers like that now?
 
A Ruger Single-6 was my first new 22 pistol when I was a kid. Compared to all my buddies
H&Rs, IJs and imports it was a target gun. I have no idea the round count on it, all I can
say is thousands. I carried it like a pen knife. I had a holster sewn in my news paper bag
for it. The canvas was a little hard on the blue and I carried it so much the walnut grips
look like black marble. It is really not a target pistol but it had the accuracy and durability
that made it worth carrying. I didn't know what a target gun was until I shot a S&W K22.
I was very protective of the K22, it didn't get carried in the field only in padded case. It
took me awhile to realize I should be carrying the K22 even if it got dinged a little. I just
about quit carrying the S-6 , but always took it along on plinking sessions. Still have both of
them, over 50yrs- thousands of rounds through them and not one broken part. I know that
I have owned over 100 top shelf 22 revolvers, they come and go but these two manage to
stay home.
 
ratshooter said:
First I would be surprised if Ruger really makes a barrel for the 22LR only version that is .001 smaller than the barrel on the convertable gun. And its a moot point because I have measured many 22LR bullets and not a single one of them have measured .223. They have all been between .224-.226 in diameter. They are the same size or bigger than the bullet used in the 22 magnum round. So the myth of the barrel being sized for the 22 mag round is just that. A myth.

More important is to shoot several 22lr loads and see what your gun likes. I did that once and it was an eye opener as to the differences you get between ammo brands and bullet designs. Especially in a handgun.

And the Ruger Single Six is one of the best 22 handguns you can own.

And I like the 22 mag. I don't care that they cost more than the 22lr rounds. They are a real step up in power from the 22 and they come with a real jacketed bullet unless you buy the CCI with its soft plating which I don't care for.
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From other forums and videos I've seen, Ruger uses the same bore diameter for their 9mm and .357 revolvers, so the idea that they use different barrels for .22 LR and .22 Mag is silly. I had thought that Ruger used more appropriate sized bores for their 9mm and .357 barrels, but they don't. It all goes back to cost and it costs Ruger less to use the same barrels for .22 LR and Mag, .357 and 9mm than to have to make, inspect, inventory all different barrels.
 
They're good guns and the Single Six is the only Ruger revolver I would own and the only Ruger I've regretted selling.
 
More important is to shoot several 22lr loads and see what your gun likes. I did that once and it was an eye opener as to the differences you get between ammo brands and bullet designs. Especially in a handgun.
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Absolutely!

Rough Rider 6 1/2" @ 10 yds.
 
From other forums and videos I've seen, Ruger uses the same bore diameter for their 9mm and .357 revolvers, so the idea that they use different barrels for .22 LR and .22 Mag is silly. I had thought that Ruger used more appropriate sized bores for their 9mm and .357 barrels, but they don't. It all goes back to cost and it costs Ruger less to use the same barrels for .22 LR and Mag, .357 and 9mm than to have to make, inspect, inventory all different barrels.
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I have read S&W uses the same size barrels for 9mm and 38/357. Why not? There is only .002 difference in size on the bullets. About the thickness of the average human hair. I have shot .358 lead bullets for my 38 out of my S&W moldel 39 and they fed and cycled just fine. Older european 9mm guns had barrel sizes all over the map. That works OK with jacketed bullets but you need to slug the bore if you load lead or you may end up with a lead plated bore.

And the English prefer slightly loose bores on their rifles compared to the tighter American made rifle bores. Test a gun and ammo will tell more than spending time looking at specs that may or may not be what you expected.
 
Cheapshooter your target shows exactly what I was talking about when it comes to testing different ammo to see what groups best. And your group with the Remington Golden Bullets is a perfect example. Most really like to pile on about how Golden bullets are crap and not worth buying. But your group proves otherwise.

They were my 22 round of choice many years ago. And maybe quality did go down and the the golden plating came off and got all over everything. I never had any problems and the last plated bullets I bought from them had a very thin plating on them so maybe Remington listened. But it shows how important testing your gun is. And the most expensive ammo may not be the most accurate.
 
Got the Ruger out to the range today. Kind of disappointing in that for some reason the rear sight was dialed in about 4" to the left ( visibly off center) and 2" high. Was able to get the elevation where it should be but windage screw is so small none of my screw drivers would fit. Still in all after applying some Kentucky windage it was pretty accurate.
 
Every second Tuesday, Ruger owners in the Happy Hunting Grounds line up to SLAP the shade of Bill Ruger for the rear sight screw, AND not putting a screwdriver for it with the gun.

:D
 
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