Riomouse911
Member
I picked up a new Black Wrangler the other day for $235.50 OTD and finally got to take it to the range for a side-by-side-by side with my Ruger Single Six 6.5” and my S&W M-17 6”.
Observations on the new gun:
The same fit and finish issues the others have noted as nice to good to okay:
The loading gate is a bit stiff but not unreasonable. I’m not a fan of the “carved out” look of the hammer, but it fires every time so it’s not a big deal. The all-black Cerakote is evenly applied, I saw no bubbles or scratches. The muzzle’s straight-cut face was square by my measurements, and the front sight appears perfectly aligned vertically. The smooth-faced and wide trigger feels good. There is a bit of a rattle from the ejector rod and from the transfer bar when it's cocked, but otherwise it's a solid little revolver.
And no so great:
The casting line around the grip frame is obvious. There is the annoying gap that shows light between the front of the grips and the frame. (Why Ruger can’t address this one small issue is beyond me!) I did notice that the gun wouldn’t cock when the cylinder was between charge holes. I had to line it up to get it to cock the hammer. The fixed sights are very, very tough to see at an indoor range. Between the narrow front blade and the matching-color sight trough across the frame I had to really search for the front sight at times.
(I wiped the gun down after shooting, the spots on the frame is lint)
The trigger pull measured 4.9 Lbs on my Lyman gauge for 5 pulls. The B/C gap is a serviceable .007”. To compare, the trigger pull on my Single Six convertible was 3.7 Lbs for 5 pulls, and the M-17 has a very light and glass-breaking 2.1 Lb SA pull.
The ammo:
I grabbed a representative hodge-podge that those of us who buy .22 LR ammo every time we see some worth the expense would probably have:
Aguila Super Maximum Hyper Velocity 30 gr solid
Aguila Super Extra 38 gr HP
Aguila Target 40 gr solid
Norma Tac-22 40 gr Solid
Federal High Velocity 40 gr plated solid
CCI Blazer 40 gr solid
CCI Mini Mag 40 gr plated solid
(I also brought along Armscor 38 gr HP loads as well, but I ran out of targets so these weren’t fired today.)
I can't set up my chronograph at this range, so no velocities were recorded.
The shoot:
All shots were indoors, single-action, fired from a front-of-the-frame rested support. The rear (hands) was rested as much as possible on a pad. The targets had 20 separate squares, each with a 1” black bullseye. The targets were at 10 yards. I fired three-6 shot groups with each load through each gun and measured as closely C-T-C as I could with a finely marked ruler. (The resulting fractions are kind of wonky, I apologize!)
Wrangler:
Aguila SM: 2 7/12” Avg. Best 2 1/4”
Aguila SE: 2 1/6” Avg. Best 1 9/16”.
Aguila Target: 2 1/3” Avg. Best 1 1/4”.
Norma Tac: 2 11/24” Avg. Best 2 1/8”.
Federal HV: 1 3/4” Avg. Best 1 1/4”.
CCI Blazer: 2 5/16” Avg. Best 1 1/2”.
CCI Mini: 1 5/6” Avg. Best 7/8”.
Single Six:
Aguila SM: 1 5/6” Avg. Best 1 5/8”
Aguila SE: 1 3/4” Avg. Best 1 5/8”.
Aguila Target: 1 13/16” Avg. Best 1 5/8”.
Norma Tac: 1” Avg. Best 3/4”.
Federal HV: 1 3/8” Avg. Best 3/4”.
CCI Blazer: 1” Avg. Best 3/4”.
CCI Mini: 1 5/6” Avg. Best 1 1/2”.
M-17:
Aguila SM: 1 3/16” Avg. Best 1”.
Aguila SE: 1 5/24” Avg. Best 1”.
Aguila Target: 1 13/24” Avg. Best 1 1/4”.
Norma Tac: 1 3/16” Avg. Best 11/16”.
Federal HV: 5/6” Avg. Best 5/8”.
CCI Blazer: 7/8” Avg. Best 3/4”.
CCI Mini: 1 1/6” Avg. Best 3/4”.
It’s clear that the small, non-target sights and a slightly heavier trigger pull had some effect on my shooting with the Wrangler. Those with younger or less distance-challenged eyes would probably post much better numbers than I could with all three guns I fired, not just the Wrangler.
For fun, the across the board 6-shot averages for these loads in these three handguns were all sub 2”:
Aguila SM: 1 2/3” Avg.
Aguila SE: 1 2/3” Avg.
Aguila Target: 1 11/12” Avg.
Norma Tac: 1 5/9” Avg.
Federal HV: 1 1/3” Avg.
CCI Blazer: 1 5/12” Avg.
CCI Mini: 1 5/12” Avg.
Even though the sights were frustrating, I still did pretty well with the little gun. All the groups were roughly 1" larger at 10 yards with the Wrangler than the Single Six. (I did expect them somewhat larger due to the sights and longer sighting plane of the SS.) At further distances I will expect the Wrangler to be even further behind the SS unless I can brighten up the front sight a bit. (Testors paint time!)
I have ordered some Altamont grips to replace the factory ones (They were 19 bucks on Black Friday ), so once those come in I'll report if they cover that grip/frame gap and also fill the hands a bit more or not.
For those in the market for an inexpensive .22 LR plinker that’ll shoot pretty well compared to guns that cost 2 to 3 times more, I'll say give a Wrangler a shot. It's certainly soda can accurate at plinking distances and a fun little range-toy for sure.
Stay safe.
Observations on the new gun:
The same fit and finish issues the others have noted as nice to good to okay:
The loading gate is a bit stiff but not unreasonable. I’m not a fan of the “carved out” look of the hammer, but it fires every time so it’s not a big deal. The all-black Cerakote is evenly applied, I saw no bubbles or scratches. The muzzle’s straight-cut face was square by my measurements, and the front sight appears perfectly aligned vertically. The smooth-faced and wide trigger feels good. There is a bit of a rattle from the ejector rod and from the transfer bar when it's cocked, but otherwise it's a solid little revolver.
And no so great:
The casting line around the grip frame is obvious. There is the annoying gap that shows light between the front of the grips and the frame. (Why Ruger can’t address this one small issue is beyond me!) I did notice that the gun wouldn’t cock when the cylinder was between charge holes. I had to line it up to get it to cock the hammer. The fixed sights are very, very tough to see at an indoor range. Between the narrow front blade and the matching-color sight trough across the frame I had to really search for the front sight at times.
(I wiped the gun down after shooting, the spots on the frame is lint)
The trigger pull measured 4.9 Lbs on my Lyman gauge for 5 pulls. The B/C gap is a serviceable .007”. To compare, the trigger pull on my Single Six convertible was 3.7 Lbs for 5 pulls, and the M-17 has a very light and glass-breaking 2.1 Lb SA pull.
The ammo:
I grabbed a representative hodge-podge that those of us who buy .22 LR ammo every time we see some worth the expense would probably have:
Aguila Super Maximum Hyper Velocity 30 gr solid
Aguila Super Extra 38 gr HP
Aguila Target 40 gr solid
Norma Tac-22 40 gr Solid
Federal High Velocity 40 gr plated solid
CCI Blazer 40 gr solid
CCI Mini Mag 40 gr plated solid
(I also brought along Armscor 38 gr HP loads as well, but I ran out of targets so these weren’t fired today.)
I can't set up my chronograph at this range, so no velocities were recorded.
The shoot:
All shots were indoors, single-action, fired from a front-of-the-frame rested support. The rear (hands) was rested as much as possible on a pad. The targets had 20 separate squares, each with a 1” black bullseye. The targets were at 10 yards. I fired three-6 shot groups with each load through each gun and measured as closely C-T-C as I could with a finely marked ruler. (The resulting fractions are kind of wonky, I apologize!)
Wrangler:
Aguila SM: 2 7/12” Avg. Best 2 1/4”
Aguila SE: 2 1/6” Avg. Best 1 9/16”.
Aguila Target: 2 1/3” Avg. Best 1 1/4”.
Norma Tac: 2 11/24” Avg. Best 2 1/8”.
Federal HV: 1 3/4” Avg. Best 1 1/4”.
CCI Blazer: 2 5/16” Avg. Best 1 1/2”.
CCI Mini: 1 5/6” Avg. Best 7/8”.
Single Six:
Aguila SM: 1 5/6” Avg. Best 1 5/8”
Aguila SE: 1 3/4” Avg. Best 1 5/8”.
Aguila Target: 1 13/16” Avg. Best 1 5/8”.
Norma Tac: 1” Avg. Best 3/4”.
Federal HV: 1 3/8” Avg. Best 3/4”.
CCI Blazer: 1” Avg. Best 3/4”.
CCI Mini: 1 5/6” Avg. Best 1 1/2”.
M-17:
Aguila SM: 1 3/16” Avg. Best 1”.
Aguila SE: 1 5/24” Avg. Best 1”.
Aguila Target: 1 13/24” Avg. Best 1 1/4”.
Norma Tac: 1 3/16” Avg. Best 11/16”.
Federal HV: 5/6” Avg. Best 5/8”.
CCI Blazer: 7/8” Avg. Best 3/4”.
CCI Mini: 1 1/6” Avg. Best 3/4”.
It’s clear that the small, non-target sights and a slightly heavier trigger pull had some effect on my shooting with the Wrangler. Those with younger or less distance-challenged eyes would probably post much better numbers than I could with all three guns I fired, not just the Wrangler.
For fun, the across the board 6-shot averages for these loads in these three handguns were all sub 2”:
Aguila SM: 1 2/3” Avg.
Aguila SE: 1 2/3” Avg.
Aguila Target: 1 11/12” Avg.
Norma Tac: 1 5/9” Avg.
Federal HV: 1 1/3” Avg.
CCI Blazer: 1 5/12” Avg.
CCI Mini: 1 5/12” Avg.
Even though the sights were frustrating, I still did pretty well with the little gun. All the groups were roughly 1" larger at 10 yards with the Wrangler than the Single Six. (I did expect them somewhat larger due to the sights and longer sighting plane of the SS.) At further distances I will expect the Wrangler to be even further behind the SS unless I can brighten up the front sight a bit. (Testors paint time!)
I have ordered some Altamont grips to replace the factory ones (They were 19 bucks on Black Friday ), so once those come in I'll report if they cover that grip/frame gap and also fill the hands a bit more or not.
For those in the market for an inexpensive .22 LR plinker that’ll shoot pretty well compared to guns that cost 2 to 3 times more, I'll say give a Wrangler a shot. It's certainly soda can accurate at plinking distances and a fun little range-toy for sure.
Stay safe.