Riomouse911
Member
I bought a birdshead Wrangler last month, but I went on a long-delayed vacation and didn’t get a chance to shoot it until today. Well, since I was bringing one SA revolver out, I figured I would take along almost all of the other Ruger SA revolvers I own: .45 Colt Old Vaquero, .44 Spl. Flattop, .41 Mag, .32 Mag Bisley Single Six, .22 Wrangler and the birdshead. (Since I had two .22’s already, and I only had about 2 hours to shoot, I left the .22 Single Six convertible at home.)
I brought one load for the .45C, a 255 gr Rem factory load I have had on the shelf for ages (Tag says $28.99 at Big 5.)
For the .44 Special I brought three, a 200 gr RNFP over 6.8 gr HP-38, a 215 gr short-nose SWC over 6.9 gr Unique, and a plated 240 gr HP over 6.9 gr Unique.
The .41 Mag had two loads, one a 210 plated TCFP over 8.2 gr Unique in magnum cases and the same bullet over 7.4 gr Unique in .41 Special cases.
The .32 Mag got two, a 100 gr RNFP over 4.2 gr Unique and a 115 gr RNFP (A .32-20 bullet) over 3.9 gr Unique.
And I brought two bulk-packed Aquila .22 LR loads; 40 gr plated RN and 38 gr plated HP.
Without warmups, I shot two 6-shot groups at 15 yds with my hands resting on a foam block. I fired the third group standing two-handed at 12 yds. to see how much of a difference there was (A lot, sadly
). The paper targets had 8” colored circles with 4” white centers.
I started with the birdshead. The shorter barrel and light-colored sights were a challenge, as was the less than crisp brand-new trigger pull.
This gun shot a bit high. Other than the top right group, the four rested groups (Top two in each row) weren’t great. This was my first time shooting a birdshead, I think I will need more practice to get used to the feel..
The Wrangler was next. The barrel isn’t much longer than the birdshead but the darker color sights were much easier to see and keep on target.
The difference between the two budget shooters was pretty obvious. I think I am going to blacken the birdshead sights and see if that improves my aim.
The Ruger take on the Bisley grip frame is my favorite SA grip. I find the shape, hammer spur and trigger shape make the .32 really nice to shoot.
My first target was a center hold, everything went high. After this I held at 6 o’clock for the white center. Still a tad high with both loads, but this gun is a better shooter than I am for sure.
The .41 Blackhawk really liked the .41 Special loads. The Magnum loads, not so much.
I have a hotter load with a 210 gr JSP and Enforcer powder, but I left it at home. I think I will try that one next to see how it shoots for me.
The .44 Special is a really nice shooter. Just like the .32, it is s better shooter than I am.
Man, if I just could avoid the flyer, the top four would be looking pretty good.
The Old Vaquero with the plain-Jane factory load really surprised me. On the first target I held a 6 o’clock sight picture but it shot right to POA so it hit low. Even with the shiny sights it wasn’t hard to hit the center of the 4” circles. The .44 Special load on this target is my 200 ge Eggleston RNFP load. This is a go-to in my 3” GP 100, the Blackhawk liked it OK, too. (Another dang flyer killed a nice group!)
It has been a while since I shot a few of these guns, and this was a first for the birdshead (which showed!). It may be a while before I get them all together again like this, I often try to bring a variety rather than just one action type. When I do have another SA day I will try to have more time so I can shoot a few more loads and see how those do.
If anyone else got to take their SA’s out recently let us see how they shot for you.
Stay safe.
I brought one load for the .45C, a 255 gr Rem factory load I have had on the shelf for ages (Tag says $28.99 at Big 5.)
For the .44 Special I brought three, a 200 gr RNFP over 6.8 gr HP-38, a 215 gr short-nose SWC over 6.9 gr Unique, and a plated 240 gr HP over 6.9 gr Unique.
The .41 Mag had two loads, one a 210 plated TCFP over 8.2 gr Unique in magnum cases and the same bullet over 7.4 gr Unique in .41 Special cases.
The .32 Mag got two, a 100 gr RNFP over 4.2 gr Unique and a 115 gr RNFP (A .32-20 bullet) over 3.9 gr Unique.
And I brought two bulk-packed Aquila .22 LR loads; 40 gr plated RN and 38 gr plated HP.
Without warmups, I shot two 6-shot groups at 15 yds with my hands resting on a foam block. I fired the third group standing two-handed at 12 yds. to see how much of a difference there was (A lot, sadly
). The paper targets had 8” colored circles with 4” white centers.I started with the birdshead. The shorter barrel and light-colored sights were a challenge, as was the less than crisp brand-new trigger pull.
This gun shot a bit high. Other than the top right group, the four rested groups (Top two in each row) weren’t great. This was my first time shooting a birdshead, I think I will need more practice to get used to the feel..
The Wrangler was next. The barrel isn’t much longer than the birdshead but the darker color sights were much easier to see and keep on target.
The difference between the two budget shooters was pretty obvious. I think I am going to blacken the birdshead sights and see if that improves my aim.
The Ruger take on the Bisley grip frame is my favorite SA grip. I find the shape, hammer spur and trigger shape make the .32 really nice to shoot.
My first target was a center hold, everything went high. After this I held at 6 o’clock for the white center. Still a tad high with both loads, but this gun is a better shooter than I am for sure.
The .41 Blackhawk really liked the .41 Special loads. The Magnum loads, not so much.
I have a hotter load with a 210 gr JSP and Enforcer powder, but I left it at home. I think I will try that one next to see how it shoots for me.
The .44 Special is a really nice shooter. Just like the .32, it is s better shooter than I am.
Man, if I just could avoid the flyer, the top four would be looking pretty good.
The Old Vaquero with the plain-Jane factory load really surprised me. On the first target I held a 6 o’clock sight picture but it shot right to POA so it hit low. Even with the shiny sights it wasn’t hard to hit the center of the 4” circles. The .44 Special load on this target is my 200 ge Eggleston RNFP load. This is a go-to in my 3” GP 100, the Blackhawk liked it OK, too. (Another dang flyer killed a nice group!)
It has been a while since I shot a few of these guns, and this was a first for the birdshead (which showed!). It may be a while before I get them all together again like this, I often try to bring a variety rather than just one action type. When I do have another SA day I will try to have more time so I can shoot a few more loads and see how those do.
If anyone else got to take their SA’s out recently let us see how they shot for you.
Stay safe.
. That 265 gr SWC should punch right through a deer or hog at any reasonable range 
