......and I like my Single Six, but it won't shoot as well as my M17. I like my wife's Security Six but not as well as any of my Smiths. Back in the 80s I wanted a .257 Roberts. At the time the only one I could find off the shelf was a Ruger M77. I have OCD when it comes to rifles. I want all of mine to be capable of shooting one inch or less groups at 100 yds. Never mind that I can't shoot that well in the field but I want to know why I miss. The Ruger wouldn't do it no matter what powder, bullet, primer combination I loaded for it. I didn't get into floating or bedding. A couple of years later Remington came out with a .257 Roberts in their 700 Classic. I made the trade and the Remington is still in the safe along with five other 700s. It is one of the tightest shooting rifles I own.

I wanted a double barrel 20 gauge for grouse and desperately wanted the Red Label but it was just too heavy to haul up and down these mountains.

I wanted a .357 to take deer hunting. After seeing a couple of outfitters carrying Black Hawks I tried one. Couldn't keep it on a paper plate at 50 yards. I am not a crack pistol shot but I can do it with the M28 I traded for.

I like the way Rugers are built, kind of heavy but you can tell the quality is there. Not the prettiest pup in the pen, but not hard to look at. I just can't seem to make them shoot. Right now I have the itch for a .41mag Black Hawk with approximately 5" barrel, in a Bisely configuration, (I am not even sure one exists) but am afraid I may be disappointed again. Is it me?

Back in 72 I bought a then new Security Six 357 4’’ adjustable sights as GOOD Smiths’ were kind of hard to come by. I still have it and for me it shoots pretty good. I still have an early 44 Mag carbine and the first stainless Mini 14 to hit the Albany area way back then. The Mini shoots decent, far better than I see/hear from a lot of folks over the course of time. I have an early 7722 with 4x Leupold on it and that little gun thinks it’s a target gun. Won a lot of sodas/coffees/lunches with it.

I had a 7722M and7717 (just so-so shooters) and 77 7MMMag that I won in a raffle but never shot and traded it off. Had a nice 44M. Super Blackhawk and got rid of it when I could finely find a model29 for sale back in the Dirty Harry era. The 44 was a decent gun and I now regret selling it.


All in all I like Ruger I find then very reliable and dollar for dollar very good. All of my other revolvers are non lock Smiths though. That’s what makes the sport so interesting.

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14 S&W Revs none with locks!

Interesting post, I really like certain Rugers, and others not so much. Their .22 auto pistols shoot great (accurate and reliable), as do the 10/22s; they are a great values. I've got a heavy barrel 10/22 race gun that is a real tack driver, and a couple of Mark 2s that are the same way. My M77 Mark 2 in 7 Rem Mag is an accurate, nice gun. I've got a snubby SP 101 that's a real tank, use it as a truck gun.

I'm also a fan of the of the Super Blackhawk, and Number One rifles; own both and love shooting them. The Red Labels are also very nice, American made shotguns. Would love to land one of those some day...

However, I generally prefer other brands that seem to build in a little more quality/refinement into their guns. Most Rugers suffer from pretty bad triggers out of the box, but can be made much better. This usually goes a long way to better accuracy. That being said, my Single Six suffers from mediocre accuracy as it is a conversion model.

I'll take a nice Smith, Colt, Winchester, Remington, Browning, Sig, etc. any day over a Ruger. But, there is a time and place for some of their guns.

Has anyone got an opinion on the new 'All American' rifles, in terms of accuracy? Very low price point, but wondering if they shoot...?

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NRA Life Member

I've had several Rugers through the years.A ruger 77 ultralight was fantastic once I started making handloads for it.The super blackhawk was a cannon,but a knuckle buster.Never found the brand of 22s my single six liked.My 77/17 groups 3/4" at 100 yards.My mark I and Mark III pistols are accurate and fun shooters.

I have a couple that I try to like, but they fall short.

My first .357 is a gp100. I liked the design - it's modular, tough, no sideplate or screws. But they cut too many corners on production. Rough sharp edges and lousy trigger. Innards are so rough it is almost impossible to strip.

77/22 rifle is accurate, has a decent trigger (yes, it can happen on a ruger!), but then they put probably the worst possible rear sight on it. No micro adjust - you loosen a screw and wiggle it back and forth with your fingers. I finally put a scope on it.

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Common sense isn't so common.

if you cant hit what youre shooting at with a ruger single action, its probably not the guns fault.
they arent s&w but they are fine firearms in their own right.
ive owned and shot a few of each and like em both.

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the rules? there are no rules

My Super blackhawk was very accurate,but the single six was embarrassing .I had this non shooting fishing buddy ( I shot a lot in those days) that showed up one day with a very used Mark I and he shot circles around me and my single six every time lol.I finally bought my first one a few years ago( have 3 now) Great little guns! Ive got a 5 screw pre 18 headed this way in a week.I hope it measures up to those Rugers :-D

I'd love to own a Mark I or II--wanted one for years.

The only Rugers I've owned, a very well-worn Security Six and a lightly-used GP100, were excellent, though the triggers weren't as silky as my Smiths. The Six was close, and I wish I hadn't sold it.

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Oh well, what the hell.

The Mark IIs are a hot item right now,but Mark Is can be found for $250 or so.Quite a bargain for an accurate 22.The old silver bottom magazines are very hit and miss,Ive had no luck tuning those things,but the Mark II and sometimes the Mark III mags will work in em.

I have owned a number of Ruger single action revolvers. All but one have proven to be quite accurate. I have had trigger jobs on several to get them to the place where they are easier to hit with. My little single six magnum in .32 is a keeper as is my 4 5/8/ Blackhawk convertible. I use a Bisley in .45 Colt for the heavy hitting. It manages recoil better for me that the double action revolvers. The one place that I moved away from the Ruger is in the double action revolvers. I had a very nice GP100 that I had a good gunsmith do trigger work on. When he was done it was almost as good as my stock model 19. I don't shoot a lot of full house loads in my double action revolvers so there was no point in going on with Ruger double actions. I have very limited experience with Ruger rifles. I know if I look for an older #1 I need to be careful when it was made due to the changes in barrel providers that they used.

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JOSHUA 1:9

I Like Ruger firearms. Haven't bought a boat load of them. The ones I have bought have been excellent. Ruger M-77 round top... .30-06 w/ iron sights. Excellent rifle. Stupidly let it go. Had a No. 1-V in .223 Remington that was a lot of fun. Fiddled with the bedding of the forearm. Fed it some nice little handloads using the Speer 52 gr. Gold Medal bullet loaded in USGI cases. Put a nice 6x24 Leupold on top. First rifle I ever had that would shoot under .5 MOA. I'd shot it till the barrel was so hot I had to put light cardboard over the barrel to keep the heat waves from making it hard to see through the rifle scope. On one memorable afternoon that little rifle produced a string of 5 shot groups that measured under .5 inches... and one that measured .25 inches. Really wish I'd kept that rifle. But I was young... and foolish. Got a 77-22 that my wife bought me for my birthday and Christmas present. She bought it a few months after it came out. Just like the article in the American Rifleman says... shoots like a small-bore target rifle! Tremendous rifle. Only God knows how many thousands of rounds have been fired through that rifle.

I've had several of the little Ruger SA .22 revolvers. Excellent. Sooner or later will buy another, probably in SS. Since 1980 have bought, traded, sold off a number of Mk. II's.... can't remember one that would not shoot accurately and extremely reliably. Very much wish I'd kept the last one I had. Had a Mk. II Govt. Model. It would keep ten shots inside of 1.5 inches firing prone with a sandbag at 50 long paces. Let it go. Why? Don't know.

Bought a Redhawk in .44 Magnum. Very much liked it, better than the 29-2. Very much liked the interchangeable front sight. Change of springs made the trigger nice. Liked the factory grips. Again, wish I'd kept it. But you know what they say about wishes. Never owned a Security-Six or any of the other similar revolvers. Liked the Security-Six, but when it was available, I was to poor to afford one and when I later had the money, it was no longer in production. But, S&W was producing... wonderful revolvers! And I was in that buying mood. The rest... history!

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<><

The Rugers of mine I love:

Mk-II .22 LR Pistol
10-22 .22 LR Rifle
Red Label 12 Gauge I have two
Model 77 Mk-II Ultralight .308

The ones I've owned but only liked:

Super Redhawk .44 (A bit heavy)
Super Blackhawk Bisley .44 (Trigger creep)

The one I did not care for

P-85 9mm. (Poor accuracy and trigger)

I'm with LazyKB. I've tried Ruger rifles and just can't get them to shoot small groups. The lager caliber handguns are knuckle busters. I bought a Lipsey's Ruger Vaquero Sheriff's Model in 44 Special. I hope this one proves to be the exception.

I like Rugers and haves a couple of them. My opinion is the center fire rifles had barrel problems (accuracy lacking) for many years. I'm not sure if that is fixed yet or not. All their handguns are build stout, rugged. But most all the handguns would shoot pretty well. At least service grade or better. Handgun Silhouette shooters used the Blackhawk fir 200 meter shooting and it shot good and held up. I have a LCP 380 that I have several hundred rounds through and I am still pleased with how it shoots and how reliable it is.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

I had a Ruger M77 in 7MM Magnum. I glass bedded it and could get 1 1/4 inch groups at 100 yards for three shots.

Almost all Rugers I have owned "needed" something to make them better, or they lacked "something" that made them more attractive.

My M77 was an exception.

I had a Ruger No. 1 in 7MM Mauser that I bedded and then got 1 inch groups with the Hornady 139 grain spirepoint.

The Rugers which I think are the best are the Vaquero and New Vaquero revolvers. I have four, three in .44 Magnum, one n .44 Special. They are excellent for what I do which is ride horses in the back country. They are tanks and 100% reliable. BUT...all of them had to have their barrels twisted to shoot point-of-aim at 25 yards. I've never had to fix the point of aim on a S&W fixed sight revolver or a Colt SAA.

As I said, Rugers, to me, seem to always "need" something.

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Have guns...will shoot'em.

My first Ruger was a 243 .I figured it could be a varmint and deer rifle.Then I thought the ultralight version would be great for toting around the mountains.That light weight 20" barrel really didn't care for factory ammo.It shot 2" groups @100 yards.So I took up reloading.In no time at all I had a varmint load and a deer load that would put 3 rounds inside of an inch.The rifle disappeared in a fit of needing a Yamaha,but I'm still reloading.

I have had 3 Ruger #1's and still have a 218 Bee (recent production) and a 7x57 (pre 76 production) They shot wonderfully. My 1972 10-22 Deluxe has been fantastic. My 6 old model Vaqueros all work great and are built like tanks. The 77 International in 308 Scoped wouldn't do 5" at 50 yards from a rest. The 77 regular with no sights in 300 Win. Mag. would hold 4" at 100 yards scoped and the 5 Mini-14's shot lousy, but were profitable when I got rid of them. Had a extremely used Red Label skeet model with well over 400,000 rounds through it, I still see it around. Bill Ruger had a brilliant mind for designing guns,and some of their manufacturing processes made them work well, but for a long time the barrels just plain stunk! They bought 4 Hammer forges and things got better. Ivan

I have a 3 screw .41 Mag Blackhawk 6.5" barrel that was made in 1971. I have no problem shooting tight groups with it. Another favorite is a .45 Colt 7.5" New Model Blackhawk.

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Corripe Cervisiam

Why discuss Ruger and S&W in the same thread?

A Ruger has a use, at its price point, a S&W has a use at its price point.

This is my favorite 22LR:



This is my favorite snow shovel:



Neither my 22 pistol, nor my snow shovel are disposable,

Both do a good job!

As far as Rugers... if these don't put a smile on yer face at the range... nuthin' will.