Ruger Single Six .32 Magnum

[jdwolf]

I'm interested in a Ruger Single Six .32 Magnum revolver. I'm not talking about the "Baby Vaquero', I'm interested in the Single Six Ruger discontinued in 1997.

I have a few questions concerning this gun & ammo if I may.

What barrel lengths was this revolver available in?

How much is a good used one worth?


Is .32 Magnum ammo hard to come by?


I'm a varmit hunter (mainly Coyotes) and plan on using the Ruger .32 Magnum for that purpose. Does it pack enough punch to down a Coyote with one shot?

 

[kjaniak]

Well I do not have one but I do have the SP101 in .32 H&R Mag. In my area of the country (northeast Ohio), I can find the Federal ammo for the most part but only a few boxes (2 or 3) at each gun shop. Seems most of them only carry the 85 grain JHP and not the 95 grain LWC. I have been paying anywhere from $7.99 a box to $10.99 a box (20 rounds). What I usually do is stock up at the gun shows if I find it at a good price and then grab a box or two here and there when I do run out to a gun shop. The ammo is expensive and you can't find it at the Wallmarts of the world. That being said....I still love mine and it gets shot often.

 

[RCL]

I have two of these, a 4 5/8" that I just got and haven't shot yet, and a 9 1/2" that I have had for a couple of years now. I don't really know if they were available in any other barrel lengths.
I have seen several of the short barrel .32, but the 9 1/2 is the only one I have ever seen around here. Did see one on Auction Arms several months ago, ended up going for around $400 if I'm not mistaken.
I use Federal ammo in the 9 1/2, don't reload for this one yet. There are a couple of other smaller ammo makers loading this round also. The Federal load I use is loaded with a 85 grain XTP. It is one hole accurate at 20 yards. I would think there should be no problem downing a coyote with the proper shot placement.

 

[jdwolf]

Thanks for the info.

 

[Byron]

I have a 6 1/2 barrel i mine and it is accurate. As indicated one hole groups are the norm at 20 and 25. I have loaded for this cartridge for years.Find a March 1991 issue of Shooting Times and there is some great loading data ffor stronger guns in 32 H&R. Byron

 

[Jim K]

According to the Gun Digests at the time, the gun was available in barrel lengths of 4 5/8, 5 1/2, 6 1/2 and 9 1/2 inches.

You can also fire .32 S&W and .32 S&W Long in guns chambered for the .32 H&R Magnum. In a pinch, you can even fire .32 ACP. As Byron says, the .32 H&R Magnum can be loaded up for that Ruger, coming out at near .38 Special power.

Jim

 

[jdwolf]

I'd love to get one of the 6 1/2 inch barrel Rugers. I hear they've become somewhat of a collector's item and command big bucks.

I've also heard the .22 Ruger Single Six can be re-bored and re-chambered to .32 H&R Magnum. I have a .22 Single Six and I'm considering having it done. Is this a good idea or bad one?

 

[RCL]

It's an expensive idea, because you also have to convert the gun from rimfire to centerfire. I do believe there are smiths doing this conversion though.

 

[BlkHawk73]

I too would like to get one. Saw a 6 1/2" model a while back at a shop. Told wife about it and she actually offered to buy it for me right then. Too late to make the 1 hr drive so checked 3 days later - GONE. was priced at $300 and in pretty good shape - maybe 90% maybe someday they'll bring these fine guns back.

 

[jdomin]

Got one in 4 5/8 and one in 6.5 blue

450.

 

[Jim March]

Georgia Arms has a pretty good load in 32Mag. Both cheaper and hotter than the Federal.

There's a fair number of 32Mag 2" barrel 6-shot snubbies by Taurus and S&W floating around. Ruger even did up some SP101s like that, in 2" and I think 4" barrels.

Both Cor-Bon and Texas Ammo have experimented with hot defense loads for these. Both withdrew initial offerings for "lack of sales" . With little decent ammo available, the gun sales suffer. Taurus or S&W oughta do joint marketing and R&D with an ammo house...S&W did this with Cor-Bon on the 500 but it's still a rare concept.

Anyways. Cor-Bon took a 60grain Gold Dot meant for 32ACP and drove it at "warp speed", up past 1,200 in a 4.68" Ruger Single Six. Texas Ammo had an 85grain JHP, I forget which projectile, set up to do 1,000fps from a 2" barrel .

A careful handloader could duplicate these.

 

[iluvG.R.I.T.S]

Jim your right Ruger offers the SP in 32 mag but only as the 4" with adjustable sights for windage.Which is a hell of a little shooter.

 

[only1asterisk]

Both the sp101 and j-frames were made in 3" as well.


David

 

[zeke]

Just took possesion of 6 1/2 ss, blued. Been looking for one for years. Almost brand new, and $280 out the door. Have to load some up for it. Hodgen has data for using Lil-gun and jacketed bullets. Tried some speer 100 gn jhp, at 1100 fps from 4 in Sp-101.