New Ruger Wrangler.... I'm confused

[<*(((><]

Just got notice they charged my account at Sportsman's Outdoor Superstore, so should be getting mine shipped soon. I'm sure I'll enjoy it. And the absence of the safety is a very big plus in my book.

 

[OrangeCat]

Just got notice they charged my account at Sportsman's Outdoor Superstore, so should be getting mine shipped soon. I'm sure I'll enjoy it. And the absence of the safety is a very big plus in my book.

I more or less ignore it. I rarely have more than five rounds (not for safety reasons I buy ammo in boxes of 50, 50 divides evenly by five but not by six. It's a good brain it's not rotten.) in it anyway so it seems superfluous maybe if you want to use it for a novice shooter it makes sense. If I could change two things about mine it would be the safety and I gotta admit those unfluted cylinders look sharp.

 

[<*(((><]

I more or less ignore it. I rarely have more than five rounds (not for safety reasons I buy ammo in boxes of 50, 50 divides evenly by five but not by six. It's a good brain it's not rotten.) in it anyway so it seems superfluous maybe if you want to use it for a novice shooter it makes sense. If I could change two things about mine it would be the safety and I gotta admit those unfluted cylinders look sharp.

Don't get me wrong I was close to just buying a Heritage, and then Ruger came along with this, so they headed me off at the pass.

 

[OrangeCat]

I've had a lot of fun with mine. If I didn't have it I would definitely be interested in the Wrangler. But this one has treated me really well. I'm hoping that this will make them diversify a little bit and introduce some new stuff. If nothing else maybe drop the prices so I can justify getting one of the birds heads

 

[ThomasT]

If they all look like the bottom three in that picture of the set.....I'd pass them up easily. Those 3 are just as ugly as the safety on a heritage. At least the heritage is only ugly from one side......those 3 are ugly from any angle. Just IMO. I hope it's a success for Ruger and introduces many new shooters to single actions, and shooting in general, but I'm calling it already, it aint for me.

It won't be for everyone. Its just that some like Ruger and find the gun interesting. People like me. And I don't need one. I have an almost unfired Single Six I bought new a few years ago that is a better gun in all respects but this gun will be a beater type gun I don't mind getting holster wear on the finish or marks from use. I don't pamper my other guns either this is just one you can get wet. Leave it in the truck. Or as another poster stated use on the tractor. As soon as I get one of these I am definitly getting a tractor to carry it on. And I don't even need a tractor.

I had a single six that was sort of rough on the outside but perfect on the inside I paid $215 for and sold it to my bud. I shouldn't have done that. But its done. It would have served the same purpose as the Wrangler and had the benefit of adjustable sights and a 22 mag cylinder.

 

[Jeb Stuart]

Just curious, Since the Single Six and Wrangler are the same gun, other than some minor scaling down of the cylinder,no blueing etc. Then it would be safe to assume all the parts of the Single Six and Wrangler are interchangeable. And that would go for any after market parts like springs etc. So would you say that this is a bonus?

 

[Jeb Stuart]

Not much new info on Wranglers here since no one has one yet, but the entertainment value on this thread is priceless. lol

Come on we have two self proclaimed experts that know all about this gun. Just ask them.

 

[ThomasT]

Just curious, Since the Single Six and Wrangler are the same gun, other than some minor scaling down of the cylinder,no blueing etc. Then it would be safe to assume all the parts of the Single Six and Wrangler are interchangeable. And that would go for any after market parts like springs etc. So would you say that this is a bonus?

I would assume at least some of the parts are interchangeable. I for one will find out as soon as I get mine home weather or not a 22 mag cylinder will fit from other Ruger 22 Single Six. If it does I will fire some rounds from it just to see if it blows up. I am certain it won't.

Way back in the eary 1980s I have a two cylinder gun made in Germany(no it was not an RG) and it cost a hundred bucks and may have had a Zemak frame. I don't know. But I really liked shooting the 22 mag. It had some power compared to the 22lr round. The 22 mag never hurt it.Then I was giver a Ruger Single Six and sold the German gun.

 

[Jeb Stuart]

Just curious, Since the Single Six and Wrangler are the same gun, other than some minor scaling down of the cylinder,no blueing etc. Then it would be safe to assume all the parts of the Single Six and Wrangler are interchangeable. And that would go for any after market parts like springs etc. So would you say that this is a bonus?

Where are the experts when you need one?

Just like I figured. Did not think they would show up now.

Regardless, I sent a email up today asking and their reply was a definite NO, they are not interchangeable.
Just like we learned from Ruger that the Grip frame is Zinc.

 

[bannockburn]

Ratshooter

One of the first single action .22LR/.22 Magnum revolvers I had was a Hawes Town Marshall. Made in West Germany by J.P. Sauer and Sohn, it was a full size gun with a Zamak barrel, cylinder, and frame. I seem to recall the cylinder and barrel were sleeved with steel inserts and overall it was quite heavy. It had a black finish and faux ivory grips. The .22 Magnum cylinder was a hoot to shoot but was quite loud due the short 2.5" barrel the gun had!

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

Just curious, Since the Single Six and Wrangler are the same gun, other than some minor scaling down of the cylinder,no blueing etc. Then it would be safe to assume all the parts of the Single Six and Wrangler are interchangeable. And that would go for any after market parts like springs etc. So would you say that this is a bonus?

Howdy Again

I can tell you from what I have seen in the Ruger photos the Wrangler hammer is not the same as a Single Six hammer. Here is a photo of a Single Six hammer. Notice it is flat on the side. If you look at the photos of the Wrangler on the Ruger website you will see there is a relief cut into the sides of the hammer. There is also a groove cut into the rear of the Wrangler hammer which does not exist on the rear of a Single Six hammer. I have never seen a rear groove like that on any Ruger hammer. Not having personally examined a Wrangler, I cannot comment any further on whether or not the rest of the internal parts are the same, but the hammers are not.




https://www.ruger.com/products/wrangler/specSheets/2002.html


A few other comments:

Somebody said the Wrangler was aimed at the Cowboy Crowd, or some such wording. Legal calibers in the Single Action Shooting Society must be at least .32 and non larger than .45. The only 22 rimfires allowed are for the Buckaroo Category only, for children 13 years old and younger. There will not be very many Wranglers sold to Buckaroos, the great majority of SASS shooters are adults.

Somebody said something to the affect that Vaqueros are more expensive than Blackhawks because they have more fitting done to them. I have been inside lots of Vaqueros. I have never seen any sign of hand fitting inside them. Ruger internal parts are made by the Investment Casting technique (not MIM). They are designed so the parts can be assembled with no fitting at all. Neither Blackhawks nor Vaqueros have any fitting done to them at all, they just go together with a screw driver. Vaqueros have a steel grip frame while Blackhawks have an aluminum grip frame, that may account for part of the higher price of a Vaquero. Other than that, I would say the higher price is reflected by that is what Ruger has decided they can sell them for.

The Wrangler is not approved for sale in MASS, so I will not be able to buy one anyway. I suspect this may be because of the aluminum frame, but I do not know for sure.

Regarding good values in used Single Sixes, I just went through some old receipts and I paid $250 for a blued Three Screw Single Six in 2000. It was made in 1961 and is still going strong. In 2013 I paid $450 for another one made in 1963. It is still going strong too.

Special Note: I will never, ever say anything derogatory about Ruger or any of their products. Ruger was the ONLY revolver company that stood up to the MASS Attorney General back in 1998 when his rules regarding firearms that could be sold in Mass were released. Ruger went to bat for all gun owners in Mass, sending a letter to the AG stating their revolvers could meet the requirements of the AG's list, ie.: drop safe, and no pot metal frames, and I don't remember what all else. Furthermore Ruger told the AG they would foot the legal bills of any dealer the AG tried to go after. Ruger was the ONLY company to do so, Colt, Uberti, and all the others simply wrote off the state and decided they would not attempt to sell any revolvers in MASS. The AG's rules for determining which firearms are legal to sell in MASS are very strict, a sample of every single model must be subjected to destructive testing. Every model means every SKU. Each barrel length is a separate SKU.

 

[ThomasT]

Great information Driftwood. I bet most never have heard that. I sure hadn’t. And I will never say anything bad about Ruger either. That’s because I think they are a fantastic company. I love my Ruger made guns.

 

[ThomasT]

Bannock the gun I had was not a Hawes. I have seen them since then but I’ll be darned if I can remember the name. But they were a direct Ruger knock off right down to the adjustable sights. But they were a nice gun at least to the best of my memory. But this was like, oh 1982 or so.

 

[GunnyUSMC]

A few other comments:

Somebody said the Wrangler was aimed at the Cowboy Crowd, or some such wording. Legal calibers in the Single Action Shooting Society must be at least .32 and non larger than .45. The only 22 rimfires allowed are for the Buckaroo Category only, for children 13 years old and younger. There will not be very many Wranglers sold to Buckaroos, the great majority of SASS shooters are adults.

That would be me.
I know that 22 rimfire is only allowed in the Buckaroo category. I thought that was common knowledge.
There are some parents that can afford to spend $800 to $1200 on a set of revolvers for their kid the get into Cowboy Action Shooting, but there are many that can’t. Those that can’t only had the Rough Rider as a choice as a budget gun. The Wrangler will give them another choice.
Who knows, more kids may get into CAS..

 

[TTv2]

After reading all your post it is plane that you have a strong dislike for Ruger. But other then some former employee telling you how bad they are, you have not given a reason for such a strong dislike.
You have also shown that you are a fanboy of the Heritage Rough Rider.
I don't know how you have come up with me thinking that Ruger is the land of milk and honey. You seem to be making things up.
I own a few Rugers, but I am nowhere close to being a fanboy. I do own five of there handguns and seven of their rifles . But I also own many other guns to include Sig, Glock, EMF, Remington, Beretta, Star, Mauser, BSA, Webley, CZ, PSA, Anderson, Aero, HK, Marlin, Browning, Colt, Springfield, Winchester and more.
Now the only thing I have said about the Heritage is that I don't care for the look of their safety and the finish look of the guns are OK. I have friends that own Rough Riders and they seem to like them, I have no problem with that.
I like the look of the Wrangler and have already asked my FFL to get me one. I know that if I have any issues with it Ruger will stand behind it. For me it will be a range toy for plinking and fun. I may even give it to my grandson or buy him one for Christmas.
Most of the post in this topic have been good and some funny, but I would have to say that most of yours have been unpleasant and sometimes rude.

I have a dislike for something that's been hyped up, yet hasn't been proven and is in very few people's possession and is given a veritable seal of excellence vs competitors offerings that have been proven for many years. I own six Rugers, I like most of their guns, I'm leery of their newly made revolvers, I don't like their management in the factory and I think they should hire me to be production manager at a modest salary of $100k dollars a year to fix their problems and turn the company's manufacturing division into the land of milk and honey.

I think certain Rough Riders are more worth the money than the Wrangler.

If you found my posts rude, that's your opinion and your problem.

 

[TTv2]

Somebody said the Wrangler was aimed at the Cowboy Crowd, or some such wording. Legal calibers in the Single Action Shooting Society must be at least .32 and non larger than .45. The only 22 rimfires allowed are for the Buckaroo Category only, for children 13 years old and younger. There will not be very many Wranglers sold to Buckaroos, the great majority of SASS shooters are adults.

So .32 is the smallest caliber allowed? I did not know that and it makes sense now why Ruger makes a Bisley Single Six in .32 H&R Mag.

Somebody said something to the affect that Vaqueros are more expensive than Blackhawks because they have more fitting done to them. I have been inside lots of Vaqueros. I have never seen any sign of hand fitting inside them. Ruger internal parts are made by the Investment Casting technique (not MIM). They are designed so the parts can be assembled with no fitting at all. Neither Blackhawks nor Vaqueros have any fitting done to them at all, they just go together with a screw driver. Vaqueros have a steel grip frame while Blackhawks have an aluminum grip frame, that may account for part of the higher price of a Vaquero. Other than that, I would say the higher price is reflected by that is what Ruger has decided they can sell them for.

That was me. I know the steel grip frame costs more, but the wood grips aren't as cheap as the checkered plastic grips the Blackhawks largely have.

The point being that fixed sights will cost more, even if it's just slightly, because holes have to be drilled and tapped and the sight installed, unlike fixed sights where the rear sight is integral with the frame.

Special Note: I will never, ever say anything derogatory about Ruger or any of their products. Ruger was the ONLY revolver company that stood up to the MASS Attorney General back in 1998 when his rules regarding firearms that could be sold in Mass were released. Ruger went to bat for all gun owners in Mass, sending a letter to the AG stating their revolvers could meet the requirements of the AG's list, ie.: drop safe, and no pot metal frames, and I don't remember what all else. Furthermore Ruger told the AG they would foot the legal bills of any dealer the AG tried to go after. Ruger was the ONLY company to do so, Colt, Uberti, and all the others simply wrote off the state and decided they would not attempt to sell any revolvers in MASS. The AG's rules for determining which firearms are legal to sell in MASS are very strict, a sample of every single model must be subjected to destructive testing. Every model means every SKU. Each barrel length is a separate SKU.

Well that makes me feel better about them, but I will call a spade a spade and not give a pass when I feel something wrong is happening and can be made better.

 

[GunnyUSMC]

I have a dislike for something that's been hyped up, yet hasn't been proven and is in very few people's possession and is given a veritable seal of excellence vs competitors offerings that have been proven for many years. I own six Rugers, I like most of their guns, I'm leery of their newly made revolvers, I don't like their management in the factory and I think they should hire me to be production manager at a modest salary of $100k dollars a year to fix their problems and turn the company's manufacturing division into the land of milk and honey.

I think certain Rough Riders are more worth the money than the Wrangler.

If you found my posts rude, that's your opinion and your problem.

And you called me deluded.
So you think that Ruger should hire you to fix the problems that you have heard about from a former employee. Have you applied for that job yet?
You claim that everyone is in love with a gun that they haven't even put their hands on yet. But at the same time you have passed judgment on that same gun without putting your hand on one.
We are right back at the same old thing. You got butt hurt because people said something negative about a gun you own. So you felt obligated to come in to the topic to defend Heritage and bad mouth the Wrangler, Ruger and their Management. Boy have you taken The Highroad on this one.
Your posting in this topic is nothing more then TROLLING. I believe your objective is to have this topic locked.

 

[.308 Norma]

but the wood grips aren't as cheap as the checkered plastic grips the Blackhawks largely have.

Where are you seeing all those Blackhawks with "checkered plastic grips?" If you count Super Blackhawks, I've probably had a dozen Blackhawks over the years, seen hundreds more of them in stores, and I can only remember one with plastic grips - the ones I bought and installed myself on my old .45 Colt Blackhawk.

The point being that fixed sights will cost more, even if it's just slightly,

Huh? Fixed sights cost more? More than what? No sights?
I'm just clowning around TTv2. I know what you meant. But I really haven't seen any Blackhawks with plastic grips (other than my own) around here.

 

[TTv2]

And you called me deluded.
So you think that Ruger should hire you to fix the problems that you have heard about from a former employee. Have you applied for that job yet?
You claim that everyone is in love with a gun that they haven't even put their hands on yet. But at the same time you have passed judgment on that same gun without putting your hand on one.
We are right back at the same old thing. You got butt hurt because people said something negative about a gun you own. So you felt obligated to come in to the topic to defend Heritage and bad mouth the Wrangler, Ruger and their Management. Boy have you taken The Highroad on this one.
Your posting in this topic is nothing more then TROLLING. I believe your objective is to have this topic locked.

When did I pass judgement on the Wrangler? All I've seen is people give the Wrangler a seal of excellence and bashed the Rough Rider, a gun they've never owned, and said this Wrangler they've never even seen in person before is loads better. I've criticized the sights and the issues Ruger has with their QC and production work environment. I'm glad to see another affordable option on the market, but people have put this new gun on a pedestal.

 

[TTv2]

Where are you seeing all those Blackhawks with "checkered plastic grips?" If you count Super Blackhawks, I've probably had a dozen Blackhawks over the years, seen hundreds more of them in stores, and I can only remember one with plastic grips - the ones I bought and installed myself on my old .45 Colt Blackhawk.

The blued Blackhawks all have black plastic grips and those are significantly less (MSRP $669) than the Stainless Blackhawks (MSRP $799) with wood grips and the Vaqueros (MSRP $829).

Huh? Fixed sights cost more? More than what? No sights?
I'm just clowning around TTv2. I know what you meant. But I really haven't seen any Blackhawks with plastic grips (other than my own) around here.

Meant to say adjustable sights. Anyway, after looking at all the MSRP prices, it does appear that fixed sights vs adjustable sights isn't much of a price difference. I stand corrected.

 

[.308 Norma]

The blued Blackhawks all have black plastic grips and those are significantly less (MSRP $669) than the Stainless Blackhawks (MSRP $799) with wood grips and the Vaqueros (MSRP $829).

Maybe so. My .45 Colt Blackhawk is stainless with wood grips, and my wife's old .22/.22 Mag isn't really a Blackhawk - it's a blued Single Six that had wood grips originally, but I replaced them with fake bone, plastic grips.
However, between my wife and I, we've had a half dozen (really) blued Super Blackhawks, and they all had wood grips, including the one that's within an arm's reach of where I'm sitting right now. I also had a couple of blued .357 Blackhawks, one with an interchangeable 9mm cylinder, and I'm sure they had wood grips too. Of course that was well over 20 years ago, so I might not be remembering correctly. But I don't think my memory is getting that bad yet (knock on wood).
Edited to say: I went to the Ruger site and looked it up, and it looks like you're right TTv2 - the blued Blackhawks Ruger is building nowadays have plastic grips. It didn't use to be that way, I swear. After I posted, I also remembered the blued .32 H&R Blackhawk with wood grips that I gave my dad for Christmas way back when. Dad gave it back to me before he passed, and I in turn gave it to one of our daughters. She still has it, and it still wears its original wood grips.

 

[GunnyUSMC]

When did I pass judgement on the Wrangler? All I've seen is people give the Wrangler a seal of excellence and bashed the Rough Rider, a gun they've never owned, and said this Wrangler they've never even seen in person before is loads better. I've criticized the sights and the issues Ruger has with their QC and production work environment. I'm glad to see another affordable option on the market, but people have put this new gun on a pedestal.

Well, I would like to inform you that this topic is not about Ruger’s work environment, what they pay their employees or who could run their factories better.
It’s about a new affordable single action revolver they have put out.
Many of us are a little excited to hear about this gun and look forward to getting one.
Like I said before, if you would not have come into this topic with a piss poor attitude and start defending Heritage like they were a top end manufacturer. Not much about would have been said, more then a passing comment or two.
You are the one that turned this topic into a Wrangler vs. Rouge Rider.
And yes, some have put the Wrangler up on a pedestal, but why should that rub you wrong. All the reviews so far have been favorable and yes, there are people lining up to buy them.
If the Wrangler is a flop, then it will just have to fall from the pedestal that some have put it on.

 

[farm23]

It looks like a few are about to get into regular customer hands and we will soon have first hand reviews. I am looking forward to them. Often a company will have hiccups at startup and I hope Ruger is able to avoid them. I expect this Wrangler will have a long and prosperous run.

 

[TTv2]

Well, I would like to inform you that this topic is not about Ruger’s work environment, what they pay their employees or who could run their factories better.

You can blame Old Stumpy for injecting employee wages into this conversation then.

It’s about a new affordable single action revolver they have put out.
Many of us are a little excited to hear about this gun and look forward to getting one.
Like I said before, if you would not have come into this topic with a piss poor attitude and start defending Heritage like they were a top end manufacturer. Not much about would have been said, more then a passing comment or two.
You are the one that turned this topic into a Wrangler vs. Rouge Rider

No, that was two other posters.

And yes, some have put the Wrangler up on a pedestal, but why should that rub you wrong. All the reviews so far have been favorable and yes, there are people lining up to buy them.
If the Wrangler is a flop, then it will just have to fall from the pedestal that some have put it on.

Time will tell.

 

[bannockburn]

Ratshooter

These were the only foreign single action .22 revolvers I could find, circa the late '70s-early '80s (courtesy of Gun Digest). I believe the Iver Johnson Cattleman series was made by Uberti but not sure about the Kassnar/Jager revolvers.