New to me Ruger Single Six

[bakert]

I like single action revolvers. Been looking for a decent used Single Six and found one yesterday for $250. Small scuff on the ejector rod housing and just a tad of bluing wear left side at the very end of the muzzle but overall pretty nice. Got to tweak the trigger a bit and after loading my Blackhawk and Super those little .22s sure are kinda tricky to handle if you got two thumbs like me.

 

[Eightball]

Awesome find, great price.......you done well, my friend

And a good picture to boot!!

 

[Confederate]

I've got one in stainless, but I have a hard time with the grips.

Because of the gun's tolerances, I understand it's not quite as accurate as standard .22LRs. Has anyone else found this to be true? It's supposed to have something to do with the gun taking magnum rounds, too. Maybe the chambers being a bit too long....

I do like the gun, though.

 

[Biker]

I miss mine. She was a sweet shooter. I'll have another someday.
Great pickup bakert!

Biker

 

[DouglasW]

Very nice find, congratulations. Bit of a thread hijack, but do you happen to know if the Single Six is the same frame/trigger pull as any larger caliber Ruger single actions (preferably .357)? Kind of the like the old double-action S&W Model 17 "K22" was a .22lr revolver in the exact same K frame as the larger caliber Model 10 (.38).

I've been contemplating buying my first single-action, and am thinking it would be even more fun to pair up two single-actions of same frame/different calibers (.22lr + .38/.357) for practice/plinking/fun....

 

[bakert]

Douglas, the frame of the Single six is smaller than the Blackhawk's but I think the grip frame which is a separate unit on single actions, is the same XRN-3RED and uses the same grips as the Blackhawk. It does feel smaller and lighter. The triggers seem similar to me.

 

[DouglasW]

BakerT: Thanks for the information! Based on your tip about the blackhawk frame size, I Googled a bit and found Jeff Quinn's rather complimentary review of the New Vaquero -- in which he stated:

The New Vaquero is built on the same size frame as Ruger’s beloved original .357 Magnum Blackhawk

So it sounds like the New Vaquero (.357) and a Single-Six (.22lr) might make good siblings -- though realistically, I'll have to acquire them individually.

Now the question is: which finish and which length barrel for each to search for? I've always been partial to stainless...but the blued/case-colored example in Jeff's review sure looks purty.

btw, this other review suggests that both revolvers have the XR3 frame, and that the 1993-era Vaqueros (not New Vaqueros) had the XR3-RED frame:

When the first Ruger sixgun, the Single-Six .22, appeared in 1953 the grip frame was virtually identical in size and shape to the 1st Generation Single Action Army. This XR3 frame was carried over to the .357 Blackhawk of 1955 and the .44 Magnum version one year later. In 1963 the grip frame was changed to XR3-RED allowing more room between the back of the trigger guard and the front of the grip strap.

I just scraped the surface of Single Action history this evening and quickly realize how much there is to learn!

 

[bakert]

Douglas, check this site on the history of Ruger grp frames. You'll see there was a redesign in 1972/3 and grips were marked XRN-3RED that fit New Model Single six, Super Single Six, Blackhawk and the shrter barreled 4 5/8 and 5 1/2 Supers. On top of that the New Vaquero is a different breed of cat. Confusing?? I can never keep 'em straight myself.
http://www.gunblast.com/Hamm_Ruger-SA-GripFrames.htm

Also this pic shows the New Model single Six(top), NM Blackhawk and a formerly 10 1/2" Super Blackhawk that's been cut back to 5 1/2" that uses a different grip frame altogether.

 

[DouglasW]

Douglas, check this site on the history of Ruger grp frames. You'll see there was a redesign in 1972/3 and grips were marked XRN-3RED that fit New Model Single six, Super Single Six, Blackhawk and the shrter barreled 4 5/8 and 5 1/2 Supers. On top of that the New Vaquero is a different breed of cat. Confusing?? I can never keep 'em straight myself.
http://www.gunblast.com/Hamm_Ruger-SA-GripFrames.htm

Wow, that article has quite a lot of information. Thanks. Ruger has produced 14 different single action frames since 1953...I think I need to start taking notes to keep this all straight...