Ruger Wrangler Review

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Sidenote... Heritage Manufacturing was acquired by Taurus USA a few years back. I wonder why Sturm Ruger didn’t just buy Heritage and nearly have the entire 22 rimfire SAA market share. Seems silly. Perhaps this is their attempt to right that mistake. Surely there was a reason.

I still want birdshead. Will buy a HRR just to get the birdshead unless Ruger makes a Bisley or Birdshead grip for the Wrangler. Standard plow handles just aren’t really my thing. I love the look, but I shoot nearly anything else better.
 
I would really like to see Ruger put out a Wrangler with decent adjustable sights. Kinda where I'm at right now when it comes to gettin' one for the grandkids. The quality I saw between the Heritage's and the little Rugers is little to none. Which means I'll probably go with a RR like this one. The LGS says I can have it for $200 OTD.......

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Since you mention the quality comparison between the two, I thought that I would venture a constructive opinion.
I suppose that my concern with the adjustable sights on such a low cost revolver would be durability. How well do they stand up?
And, yes, I think that Ruger needs to market and adjustable sight version next if they could do it well for a low cost.
As for the quality that you mention between the two, IMHO the Ruger looks a lot nicer.
I find that the square trigger guard on the Roughrider really puts me off. The lower grip frame also doesn't seem to fit as well as on the Wrangler. However, functionally I suppose that it makes little difference.
Also, below the surface the Wrangler shares the same design as the Single Six, with all coil and music wire springs, a transfer bar safety, and a cylinder release interlock.
The Roughrider has flat leaf springs, just like old traditional single actions, which do break on occasion.
In the end I guess that as long as the one that you choose does what you want it to, and you are happy with it, it doesn't matter.
 
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I still want birdshead. Will buy a HRR just to get the birdshead unless Ruger makes a Bisley or Birdshead grip for the Wrangler.

A birdshead Wrangler would really be nice to see. I might buy one of those. I'm just not a fan of the Roughrider's overall appearance though, compared to The Wrangler.
 
I have a RR with adjustable sights. I’m impressed with it for the price. I bought it used through GB. I would not have bought one without the adjustable sights as I’m particular about accuracy.

Accuracy is somewhat better than I was expecting based on other reviews.
Of course it’s not quite as accurate as my S&W 617 or 1950’s Ruger RS-6, but accurate enough that the difference isn’t noticeable in field usage.

re: sights; I’m convinced that original owner sold the gun due to rear sight being tight in the sight slot. The rear sight was adjusted all the way down and required being pried lightly with a knife blade to elevate. A bit of gun oil “fixed” it. The sights appear to be Williams Fire-sights. Durability will be as good as the rest of the gun. However they won’t be immune to abuse... they are mild steel with plastic inserts.

For a utility, plinker, it’s hard to beat. Ruger has done well to come out with the competing Wrangler. If they add adjustable sights I may aquire one given the price point. However it will likely hurt the Single-6 sales.
 
WestKentucky

Sidenote... Heritage Manufacturing was acquired by Taurus USA a few years back. I wonder why Sturm Ruger didn’t just buy Heritage and nearly have the entire 22 rimfire SAA market share. Seems silly. Perhaps this is their attempt to right that mistake. Surely there was a reason.

Maybe because it was less expensive to develop and manufacture the Wrangler in house than to buy up another company just to effectively corner the market on .22 single action revolvers.
 
For a utility, plinker, it’s hard to beat. Ruger has done well to come out with the competing Wrangler. If they add adjustable sights I may aquire one given the price point. However it will likely hurt the Single-6 sales.

I wondered about how the Wrangler would affect Single Six sales too. If you market a more or less identical version of your fixed sight up-scale .22 revolver, wouldn't that persuade buyers to choose the Wrangler?
On the other hand, who knows? A lot of car companies sell economy cars and don't worry about losing sales of their luxury cars because of it.
 
I doubt it will have much effect at all. There are many loyal Heritage fans out there and they must have sold millions. Which means millions of satisfied customers. And I see no reason to get into the "Mine is Better" garbage that exist. Both are nice guns, Ruger fans will most likely go to Ruger and Heritage fans to Heritage. I own about 7 rugers. But no longer a fan. And I have the Heritage which has been a very dependable gun.And it cost less. Some folks will like the Cherakote some not. Just a matter of personal preference. I personaly do not cherekote on any firearm. Took a gun down to get one down and saw many on display and just did not like the look. Nothing wrong with it, The guy that does them, was honest and said it does eventually wear.

That said, Congrats to the op. I am sure he will have many happy days with the Ruger. Both of these guns are IMO fun guns and that is all that matters.
 
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That said, Congrats to the op. I am sure he will have many happy days with the Ruger.

Of that I have no doubt. It's an excellent firearm.

While some may disagree, IMHO it's a superior firearm to the Roughrider in fit and finish and in it's use of the time-proven Single Six design, with unbreakable coil and music wire springs. But, I'm not going to participate in any more Wrangler versus Roughrider wars. :)

The Roughrider certainly has it's merits in that it sells for less, is available with adjustable sights, and has an accessory .22 magnum cylinder.
And the fact that it has so many fans speaks for itself.
 
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Old Stumpy

On the other hand, who knows? A lot of car companies sell economy cars and don't worry about losing sales of their luxury cars because of it.

Not so much this Stumpy but many manufacturers see it as a way of developing brand loyalty. Just starting out you really liked that economy car from Toyota for it's great gas mileage. Then maybe you get married and start a family; now you need something slightly larger and with four doors (or more). So it's back to the Toyota dealer for another car and so on as you move up the car buying ladder til it's retirement time and now for that nice luxury car you've been dreaming about all these years!

Start someone out with a Wrangler, then maybe they'll want a Single Six, Blackhawk, or Vaquero. Maybe their interest shifts to semi-autos; Ruger has that covered too along with just about any kind of rifle you can imagine. Might not buy another Ruger but chances are they will look at them first before they make their decision.
 
I would imagine that someone that bought either a Heritage or Wrangler, might move up to the single six if that was their forte in shooting. I wonder how many people actually spend a lot of time shooting either gun. These are not carry gun nor combat guns, they are fun plinkers. Maybe Ruger Loyalist will buy a Security9 down the road and the Heritage guys will by any number of brands for example. I suspect Ruger Made the Wrangler, affordable to keep folks in the Ruger family. So many fans with kids and Grand kids. It was a smart move on Rugers part and high time coming. They should have done this 20 years ago.
 
The cylinder spins freely in either direction. For me, it is much easier to unload than a SingleSix. Having said that, I love single actions in general, so the whole loading/unloading thing is pretty much second nature to me.
aw man. I was hoping for a half cock and the cylinder lining up with the ejector rod. I"m just not into the whole free spinning cylinder thing. But I like my single action revolvers the way colt built them.
 
I've been reading all the back and forth about the Wrangler and RR. I love all of my RRs. I've never owned a Single Six. And probably won't own a Wrangler. If I buy a Rim fire SA from Ruger it will probably be a Single Six. I just can't warm up to the Ceracoat on the Wrangler. I do have several Ruger handguns and I swear I am even wearing a Ruger T shirt right now so it has nothing to do with brands or price just the Ceracoat.
 
Cerakote finishes can look good, but boy it doesn't look good on the Wrangler. Out of the three, the black ones look the best and I credit the op for getting the one that looks least bad.
 
As a traditionalist, of the 3 Cerakote finishes I really only like the black finish.
It made not be a traditional shiny blue six shooter but the overall impression and quality is excellent.
The public must agree because they can't keep up with the demand.
 
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I was at the range shooting the breeze with one of the ROs, when a retail guy brought a like-new Wrangler back for testing. The owner traded it back to the store, complaining that the sights were "way off" and the gun shot poorly.

I volunteered to give it a quick test to see how it shot.

The POI equaled POA precisely, and the gun's accuracy was far better than I would have expected from a gun at that price-point.

Conclusion: The gun was fine; the previous owner simply cannot shoot....

I recall a guy like this. At an indoor range he was blazing away with a new Browning Hi Power.
He simply could not hit the target except by accident at 20 yards.
After a few targets he said the same thing.
The gun must be defective.
But, I could see him visibly flinch every time he fired it.
The guy couldn't have hit a bull in the arse with a banjo.
 
When I stumbled across the Wrangler I viewed it as a unique opportunity to own a (potentially) solid SA trainer. I concur with the sentiment it doesn’t look like it should with ceracoat and if I were looking exclusively for an inexpensive Colt knockoff the Wrangler would not be it. For new shooters to learn on it simply made sense to me given its lineage and that if as a new model it faltered in any way that Ruger would make it right.

Pros: Based on Single-Six action, Ruger standing behind it, price.
Cons: looks, stocks, non-convertible, less expensive alternatives.
 
Thanks for the review. I can’t do the ceracote on a single action, but that says more about me than it does the gun. Sounds like a good low cost option for someone wanting to get their first single action. But I already have a Single Six and a number of Blackhawks. And I’d still like a Bearcat. But think I’ll pass on the Wrangler.
 
Thanks for the review. I can’t do the ceracote on a single action, but that says more about me than it does the gun. Sounds like a good low cost option for someone wanting to get their first single action. But I already have a Single Six and a number of Blackhawks. And I’d still like a Bearcat. But think I’ll pass on the Wrangler.

Definitely get a New Bearcat. I like mine better than a Single Six.
And, about the Wrangler finish issue. On a bargain-priced revolver does it really matters if one has a Cerakote finish if the other one has a painted finish?
The first priority of both companies seems to be keeping the cost of manufacture to a minimum.
 
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to me a wrangler seems to be a perfect beater gun: at just $200 it’s inexpensive enough but trustworthy with high quality guts from an esteemed maker. it’s probably too early in the wrangler’s product cycle life but i’d sure love to see a field review of one that was shot a bit after it went out camping, trapping or hiking with its owner, or was stashed under a car or tractor seat, or was thrown in get home bag for awhile. i’m happy with both the s.s. and the r.r. while im very sure that the s.s. can take such hard use, i wouldn’t want to beat on it. i wouldn’t mind using the r.r. as a beater/hardcore handgun, but don’t have alot of confidence that it “can take a licking and keep on ticking.” the wrangler seems to be a perfect “goldilocks” 22 handgun.
 
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