Well when it comes to firearms, like many other products, there is a price floor that one has to meet for well made functional firearms of good enough quality to use heavily. Fortunately that price floor is relatively low all things considered. For a rimfire revolver in a single action there are not a lot of choices, especially if you want adjustable sights, and a steel frame that is made from gun quality steel as well as other quality internal parts.
That pretty much leaves the price floor revolver as the Ruger Single Six, which is not really a bad thing. For the money you are getting a pretty nice little gun, and honestly they are not a lot of money. You also get a "real" gun that will work, and keep working, in fact they will work so well you will take for granted the fact that it will go bang and function properly all the time. Plus given the much higher materials quality it will still be around for your children's children to enjoy.
My father has been down the cheap gun road exactly once, incidentally with a cheap nasty little .22LR single action revolver made by a company called FIE. After about 6 months of regular weekly use the little gun was no longer functional, I don't remember why since I was only 10 years old at the time. I do remember shooting it a bit though not that my skill level at 10 years of age allowed me to tell you much. I can relate the end result, that being my father getting rid of the nasty little paper weight and buying a Ruger Single Six convertible. That little gun is still going strong 23 years later, and at the time it was a real revelation; even a 10 year old could tell it was much more well made, smoother to operate, better finished, prettier, it even sounded better being cocked making the nice sounds of a solid well fit action. Oh and it shot a ton better too.
As CraigC pointed out we may argue a lot about Rugers vs other more expensive guns, and we do no doubt. The reason being that for the money Ruger revolvers are often the yardstick that other revolvers are measured against. Ruger revolvers earned that reputation by being damn good guns that work at a more than fair price. Are there better guns than a Ruger? Sure, but in many cases they cost a lot more. I'll be the first to admit that the extra cost may or may not be worth it over a Ruger, and I own a Freedom Arms that cost several multiples the cost of a Super Blackhawk. For me it was worth it, but the price paid to gain that extra strength, precision, and finish was seriously hefty.
