heritage vs ruger for single six 22 revolvers

[Gaucho Gringo]

I Have owned both and I now have a Heritage RR and I am looking for another one. The Ruger is priced 2 1\2 times that of the Heritage and I do not believe it is 2 1\2 times the gun the Heritage is. Of course you are entitled to your opinion and I am entitled to mine. I have shot the present one I own over 3,000 rounds with no problems.

 

[bestseller92]

GO RUGER.

I have two Single Sixes. One of them has 35,000+ rounds through it and is still mechanically perfect.

GO RUGER.

 

[Piedmont Plinker]

Rugers, Heritages, when it comes down to it they are all clones. What you need is one of these

 

[jpwilly]

Here's my Heritage Rough Rider new in box:

 

[foghornl]

I don't own a Heritage, but I have shot a couple of them (I have a few shooting buuds that are real cheap galoots! One c.g. said the Ruger Single-Six was waaaayyy too expensive).

Fit & finish not as nice as the Ruger Single-Six, but not a bad value for the $$. Didn't spit lead sideways, and did put the lead where I pointed.

 

[TallPine]

I have shot the present one I own over 3,000 rounds with no problems.

That's what I was saying about a 1000 rounds ago

Now the barrel is loose and it fails to go off about 1/3 of the time

I'd say the SS is about 10x the gun as the RR, though my SS has a horrible trigger.

 

[Seancass]

I made the same decision and went with the Ruger. its going on a year with 1-2k rounds through it. It still looks new(except how do you clean those round marks off the front of the cylinder), shoots better than new. The more guns i handle, the more i realise this thing has a sucky trigger. i hear springs help, but its not crisp at all.

Remember, there are companies that bore this thing out to 41 special, Ruger made it in 32Mag. this thing is massively over built.

you'll know you bought the right one when you ring a gong at 100 yards. you may do it with the ruger or the RR, but it will put a BIG smile on your face.

 

[phoglund]

It is a good question, Heritage Rough Rider .22/.22 mag Vs Ruger Single Six .22/.22 mag. I have one of each although in different configurations. The Single Six I've had for over 20 years and is a 6 1/2" barreled model. The Rough Rider I've only had for a couple of months and is a 3 1/2 barreled model with birds head grips. I've carried and shot the Single Six a lot. It is a better gun now than when I bought it. It is smooth smooth smooth from a lot of trigger time. There is wear, yes, but that just adds character.

The Rough Rider I purchased because I just liked the look of the short barrel and birds head grips and the price was right. I am quite pleased I bought it I must say. It shoots quite well and feels very pleasing in the hand. I also like that it operates more like the original colt revolver (except for the goofy safety). No picture of the Rough Rider as it looks just like the new ones you can see on their web site.

There is no question the Ruger is the better revolver. I doubt it will ever wear out. They get better as you shoot them. Although my experience with the Rough Rider is very limited I like it as well...but it is not in the same class as the Ruger. If I could only have one and the price was not a large consideration I'd own the Ruger with out a doubt. If I just wanted to try out single action revolvers and wouldn't be shooting thousands and thousands of rounds through the piece and were constrained on money...I would probably buy the Rough Rider and then purchase a Single Six when and if my interest in .22 caliber single actions increased and/or I became more financially able.

Either way, good luck, .22/.22 mag revolvers are a lot of fun and very inexpensive to shoot!

 

[GRIZ22]

Ruger, you can pass it to your great-grandchildren.

 

[JaxJim]

I have owned a single six over 30 years. My father gave it to me when I was running a trap line as a kid (15 years old). This thing has shot 10s of thousands of rounds. It has been wet, muddy, shot until the cylinder would no longer turn until cleaned and it still will put lead to poi shot after shot.

I recently put on a new set of original wood grips and it looks pretty good still (some holster wear on the barrel and cylinder and nicks in the aluminum frame black).

The rough ryder, in my opinion lives up to it's name: Rough. For the bucks I guess it's fine, and for most folks they will never use it as a tool or put thousands of rounds through it. For those folks, a shelf ornament like a Rough Ryder will be just the ticket.

 

[MCgunner]

I've heard the Heritage is a good gun and I know it's a bargain, but me, i ain't just startin' out and I'd definitely wait to get a Ruger. I really like the little Bearcat, too, neat, neat little guns. If it's your first gun, though, and you wanna just get your feet wet, the Heritage is more affordable

My first handgun was a Hawes, the 1960s cheap single action with a spare magnum cylinder, a bargain gun at $37.50 at the time. It was in the Heritage class and I sure loved to shoot that thing. It shot a little high and had fixed sights, so I had to use a little Kentucky elevation with it.

 

[john1911]

Started shooting handguns with a RR. Shot decently. Hated the safety. It's not a bad gun for the money, but it's not a Ruger.

 

[mainebear]

Vern and 461 have the right idea.
Just bought a Heritage a month ago. Now I bought the gun used so that's definately a factor, but I will be trading it for the Ruger ASAP. Shoots terrible groups. Yeah it was cheap but, you get what you pay for. I can either fool with the thing to try to get it to both group, and be reasonably accurate, or just get the Ruger. I've never had a problem with a Ruger but, just my opinion now, this Heritage is not what I expected at all. Checked it out well too.
IMO buy good quality and pass it along to your grandchildren. Buy lesser quality and then buy again.

 

[KevininPa]

I'm thinking about getting a steel framed Heritage with a birdshead grip. I've gambled on inexpensive firearms in the past and fortunately got lucky. I'd like a SS but for some reason I'm hooked on this BH gripped .22 idea. I already priced out what it would take to convert a SS over to that configuration and I'll tell you right now that it's not cheap even with a used blue gun. The parts aren't as cheap as I thought they would be. So if any Ruger guys want to pass the hat to keep me from blundering down the wrong path, I won't stop you and will accept your token of assistance with great humility . Maybe next year when a couple of big construction projects break around here I'll be flush enough to work on a little SS project gun.

 

[22-rimfire]

There is quite a divergence of opinion on the two revolvers. I like my guns to last. I've heard too many horror stories about the Rough Rider that I wouldn't consider buying one. You can get a bad Ruger too, but they are rare. For my money, I'll spend the extra bucks for the Ruger given the question. But frankly, I'd probably opt for a used Colt New Frontier instead of either of them. Just my two cents. Take it or leave it.