Ruger Wrangler

America still loves its cowboys. This is reflected in the number of single-action revolvers offered by current gunmakers. Ruger’s single-actions have long been favorites of cowboy action shooters and others who shoot for fun. The cost of ammo and the discomfort of heavy recoil make rimfire versions of these revolvers quite popular.

Aluminum Revisit

It’s not the first time Ruger has built an aluminum alloy Single Six. In 1956 they introduced a “Lightweight” version of the Single-Six revolver which had an alloy cylinder frame, alloy cylinder, alloy grip frame and steel barrel. Only one barrel length (4 5/8″) was offered. The guns weighed about 23 oz. compared to the 35 oz. weight of the standard Single Six. The first production guns had a silver/gray anodized cylinder frame, black anodized grip frame, flat cartridge loading gate, blued barrel and black checkered hard rubber grips. They also had a brown or dark golden coating on the alloy cylinder.

These first guns became known to collectors as the “Tri-color” Lightweight. Later, Ruger built some of these guns in all-blue and with a steel cylinder instead of aluminum alloy. Production was stopped on the lightweights in 1959 after a run of approximately 12,000. Apparently, the market at the time wasn’t ready for an aluminum revolver from Ruger.

The new Wrangler copies the external style of these early aluminum alloy Single Sixes externally, but internally it has newly designed parts, foremost of which is Ruger’s Transfer Bar Safety, allowing the gun to be carried with all cylinders filled. When the hammer and trigger are fully forward, the transfer bar is lowered out of firing position and the hammer rests directly on the frame, not on the firing pin. The hammer and trigger on the Wrangler resemble those on the New Model Single Six, but they are metal injection molded (MIM) parts. Ruger has its own MIM operation which allows them to manage both costs and quality.

“Go out and learn the fun of single-action shooting. That’s what this gun is all about!”

Comparisons

It’s only natural to compare the Wrangler with its more expensive cousin. I have a New Model Single Ten .22 to use as a comparison, made from stainless steel with hardwood gunfighter grips. I’ve always been a fan of the wood grips on Ruger’s single-action revolvers, but I’m finding the Wrangler’s checkered synthetic grips attractive and functional as well. They are reminiscent of early Colt Single Action Army grips and have a great feel to them. It appears to be the same grip as on the previous Lightweight Single Six.

The New Model Single Ten weighs more — 38.8 oz. compared to the Wrangler’s 30 oz. The Single Ten has adjustable fiber optic sights where the Wrangler features a blade front sight and a fixed rear sight factory set to be on target at 15 yards. None of the Single Action Ruger’s have a half cock. Instead, you open the loading gate to rotate the cylinder for loading or unloading.

The Wrangler has a cold hammer-forged 4.62″ barrel with six grooves and a right hand 1:14″ twist. Trigger pull on the three Wranglers I tested averaged just over 5 lbs. while the Single Ten pull averaged 4 lbs. 6 oz. The Wrangler shares a feature with other Ruger rimfire revolvers — they have a recessed ring around each cylinder hole allowing the base of the cartridges to sit totally flush in the cylinder. This recessed ring makes it possible to dry-fire the Wranglers without damage to the firing pin, something almost always prohibited on other brands of rimfire revolvers. The Wrangler owner’s manual actually recommends dry-fire practice.

When I asked Mark Gurney what he wanted to tell our readers about the Wrangler, he said, “Go out and learn the fun of single-action shooting. That’s what this gun is all about!”

Gunfight At The Backyard Corral

In keeping with this thought, I rounded up three grandchildren for a session with the Wranglers at their backyard plinking range. We set out a bunch of aluminum soft drink cans along with some self-healing targets and just went plinking. I had a variety of rounds on hand including Winchester Super X .22 Shorts, Remington .22 Subsonic, CCI Mini Mags and Remington Golden Bullet. The kids had cans and the self-healing targets bouncing all over the place. They have all been well trained in gun and range safety, so I just sat and watched the smiles on their faces. There wasn’t even a hint of a problem and they all enjoyed the session. The all-black gun seemed to be the overall color favorite among the boys, while their sister preferred the burnt bronze one.

The next day it was my turn to shoot. I went to one of my favorite indoor ranges with the three Wranglers and a couple of guns for comparison — the New Model Single Ten and a High Standard Double-Nine reminiscent of my first handgun, bought 56 years ago for $45. It’s an aluminum-framed revolver, too, weighing only 25 oz. with a 5 lb. single-action trigger pull and iron sights like on the Wrangler.

I picked an assortment of ammunition, including everything from match grade Ely to some old .22 Shorts and some .22 Longs I’ve probably had for 50 years. The nice thing about revolvers is they don’t care. I find shooting the Shorts fun because they are so quiet compared to other cartridges. If you want to make some loud bangs use CCI Mini Mags.

I wasn’t expecting match-grade accuracy but by focusing on the Wrangler’s blade front sight the result was some nicely grouped shots around the point of aim at 15 yards — plenty good for plinking or teaching a kid about sight alignment. What’s really cool is an hour of range time with less than $10 in ammo cost and no sore hands or shoulders due to recoil.

Single-action Sold

I’m all-in with these Wranglers. I can see them as “first guns” for an entire generation of new shooters attracted by the look, feel, brand name and quality of a new Ruger at an easily justified price when compared to alternatives. I can also see them as affordable collectibles for us old guys who just can’t resist adding another Ruger or two to their collection — just because they can!

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