Picked up my new Ruger Wrangler this week . . . was very disappointed at first, but got over it pretty quick. Really liking it now.

I bumped into my FFL buddy in the hallway at the sheriff's office a few days ago and he asked me if I'd seen the new Ruger Wrangler. I told him I'd seen some info on line but that was all, and he said he was about to order a couple and did I want one. Said he'd fix me up for $170 including tax and shipping.

"Heck yeah, order me a silver and black one," I said.

Two days later I get a text message from my FFL buddy saying my new Ruger Wrangler was in. I stopped by at lunch and filled out the paperwork and paid the man, took a quick look inside the box, then put the box in my trunk and went back to work. When I got home I took the box to my reloading bench to get a better look and get it ready for some range time.



I removed the cylinder base pin so I could take the cylinder out and remove the yellow plastic cylinder block that the factory puts in place for shipping. The cylinder base pin was pretty tough to get out but I finally worked it out. I then replaced the cylinder and base pin and when I tried to pull the hammer back it was all locked up. What the heck? I also noticed there was a little rattle with the gun with I shook it. I fiddled around with the gun a bit and found when I pointed the barrel up I could cock the gun just fine, but when I held it horizontally it would lock up. I eventually narrowed the problem down to the firing pin block, it was hanging up on the firing pin.

I took it all apart again and closely examined all the parts. Upon close examination I noticed the cylinder base pin has a spring loaded pin at the tip of it that my other SAA type revolvers do not have. Eventually, I realized that my other SAA revolvers don't have a firing pin block either, so the spring loaded doo-hickey on the base pin must have something to do with putting pressure on the firing pin block. So, I reassembled the revolver again, and noticed the cylinder base pin was a booger to get in and I really had to put some pressure on it to go all the way in. Once I got it into place and made sure the base pin was all the way in, I pulled the hammer back to cycle the gun and everything worked fine. Whew . . . okay, I 'm making progress.

I disassembled it again, and again the cylinder base pin was as hard to get out as it was to get in, so I took a close look at the pin to see if it was maybe out of round. Nope, it looked good. I re-examined the end of the base pin much closer and found two burrs on the tapered end of the pin where in slides into the hole in the frame. I inserted the pin without the cylinder and sure enough, that's where the binding was coming from. You can see the burr on the picture below.



I took a small, fine, file and buffed off the burrs on both sides of the cylinder base pin, cleaned off the filings, and reinserted the pin and it slide right it without any resistance. I then reassembled the gun and the base pin slipped right in like it should, pulled back the hammer and the gun cycles like a brand new gun like it should. Okay, at least the problem was solved.

So, then I loaded up my range bag with some .22 LR ammo and headed to the range. I took my Colt Frontier Scout .22 LR SAA and my Uberti Stallion .22LR SAA along to compare with the Ruger Wrangler. I was actually very pleased how the gun performed. If you like SAA style revolvers you'll like the heft of this one. Not as accurate as a .22 semi auto, few .22 revolvers are, but plenty accurate. Certainly snake head accurate if necessary. You can see how I placed six rounds off hand at 15 yards on the target below after I warmed up with it.



If you're needing or wanting a SAA style .22 LR revolver at a very competitive price point I think Ruger has done well with the Wrangler. Now to find me a nice holster.

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Thanks for the "Unboxing".

I’ve been thinking about a SA revolver. This gun is on my maybe list. Thanks for sharing.
David

Thanks for sharing your experience. I'm becoming big Ruger fan after picking up the GP100 in 44 special blue 5in bbl. Everything about it was spot on great!

I like SA Rugers too, this new Wrangler caught my eye, I think I'm going to try find the Burnt Bronze model ASAP. It should be quite fun and as I have found with my Rugers so far very accurate.
Karl

All respect to the OP, but with all that difficulty and toil in making a brand new revolver ready to fire the first round, "Ruger has done well"!!?? Price is irrelevant; that gun is unacceptable IMHO. I do, however, salute the OP, a brother LEO, for his patience and diligence. Good shooting!

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103

For $170 INCLUDING tax and shipping? a winner!
competition is a Heritage SA now serviced by taurus.
Ruger every time.
saw the announcement but did not realize they were this inexpensive.

Good write up! I've been listening since these came out & I'm interested.

But isn't it a shame you have to do that much work to get a brand new gun in working order? Ruger is not the only one suffering from this.

Thanks. I've been looking at these with curiosity about whether or not they are worthwhile.

was that $170 an LEO price (without the excise tax) or was it an "anyman" price? If that is a anyman price, I'd buy one in a heartbeat just for giggles even if I have to smith it up a bit. Question: What is that round thing on the side of the hammer half hidden by the frame????

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Forum consigliere

From other articles I've read, the round "thing" is a lightening hole; one of several in the hammer.

Even though I love good inexpensive guns and have several, I think I'm going to have to pass on that one. Ruger makes a great single action steel revolver and I think it would be worth it to me to save up a little more and get one of those.

Trick lawyer question? Only government agencies get the excise tax exemption...

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S&W factory revolver armorer

The difficulty with removing/replacing the center pin has been absolutely typical of every new Ruger SA I have ever owned -- although burrs that big have not. Typically, after a few removals/replacements it gets much easier.

Should it have gotten past quality control with those burrs? Ideally, no, but I can see how it did --- as I said, new ones are always a bit finicky. And examining the situation and reaching for the file would've been exactly how I would have dealt with it.

I'm gonna buy the first one I see...

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Pisgah

No LEO price, just a FFL buddy price . . . he did me a solid.


Not really a hole, but I agree it's a lightening cut.

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I have seen the Wrangler advertised locally for $189 -- but of course, they were gone by the time I got there!

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Pisgah

I agree a new gun owner shouldn't have to gunsmith a new firearm right out of the box gun before the first round is fired. In fact, I was pretty frustrated with the whole situation at first, but at least it was a simple enough problem that I was able to resolve it without shipping it back to Customer Service with that hassle and downtime involved.

I did send Ruger an email explaining the issue with pictures, and they sent me a polite email thanking me for reaching out to them and apologizing for the inconvenience.

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Looks like a real bargain for the price. The spring loaded pin in the end
of the center pin keeps the transfer bar back so it doesn't hit the end of
the firing pin when the hammer is cocked. The center pin is probably
a purchased part rather than being made by Ruger. I haven't seen the
Wrangler advertised locally but for under $200 out the door it looks
like a must have

From the Ruger website...

"The Wrangler™ is not available for sale in Minnesota and Massachusetts."

What's that all about? The zinc grip frame?

Looks like a nicer gun, but when my daughter was 15 I got her one of those Heritage .22s, 2 cylinders, for about the same price. All we had to do was load it and shoot it. It hit "close" to the bull that my K22 wiped out at 25 yds. Couldn't ask for much more. Didn't have to do much other than clean it when we got home. That Wrangler looks like a nice gun, but one sub $200 .22 is enough for me.

A little deburring of a center pin on a $200 gun seems pretty minor to
me compared to the throating work and parts replacement needed to
get some much more expensive 1911s to function at all.

Faulkner...Thanks for the report !
It was so much more informative than that dumb U-Tube range test I saw....
I usually slick up my six guns and have a soft spot for compact light weight revolvers , easy to carry on a belt , in a tackle box etc.
like a light weight SA kit gun... I going to start the couch mining , drawer searching and cookie jar emptying operations and see what I can find !
Gary

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Certified Cajun
NRA Member

Thanks for the report.
I would have been mildly frustrated with the issues you had, but then again I am not too sure what one could reasonably expect out of a sub $200 revolver.

Really cool, truth be known today I found a used 3-screw old model Single Six at my LGS. Used a decent amount but the price was very good so I bought it. I went to the range with it a few hours ago, and the accuracy was not good with several different ammos. Something is wrong with the gun. I believe it out of time as I was getting lead splatter and the cylinder is wobbly.

Coincidentally, a guy in the next lane over had one of the new bronze Wranglers and he seemed happy with it, was shooting with his kids.

Anyone want to trade for a black Wrangler?

I've had the Wrangler to the range about four trips now and am really liking it. I've shot a variety of ammo through it but it really seems to like CCI standard velocity HP ammo. Dead on at 15 yards.

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Took my Wrangler to the range for the first time today, Plenty accurate with Federal bulk ammo. Nice crisp trigger. No real recoil. I'll be looking to get another Wrangler soon.

I want one.

BAD.

How’r yall even finding these?? Around these parts, they’re a hen’s teeth!!

I’d like to have a bronze one.

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Bobby SWCA #4067
SWHF #1144

Vance Outdoors. You can pre-order one for $179.99 until May 30. Not sure about shipping costs. My FFL guy doesn't charge me for transfers. I could be into this for under two Benjamins. And I like the burnt bronze ones as will.

My local FFL ordered one for me. Showed up in three days

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I really want one of the Wrangler revolver's.

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Life is short,live it fully.

The original post dates back about 5 months and I'm still really liking my Ruger Wrangler. Fun plinking gun, but I've worn it while doing some squirrel hunting since the weather has cooled off some and was able to get close enough to one fox squirrel to take him out of the tree with the Wrangler, so it's plenty accurate enough. I had a crossdraw holster custom made that will fit my Wrangler (and other SAA's).

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Nice piece of leather, I really like the double stitching.

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Hue 68 noli me tangere

All I do to mine is load it and shoot it. Frame does not match up with SS grips. They must have made it a different size on purpose. When you swap "em" the grip to frame fit it TERRIBLE.

Attached Images

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S&W Accumulator

Have been reading up on these posts. I didn’t have a .22 SA and I wanted something for teaching the grandkids. So the local gun shop got a few in this week and I went looking.
Liked what I saw and thought for $189 couldn’t beat it! So one came home with me last night. All they had were the black ones which suited me just fine!
Now to get it to the range!

I ordered mine online thru Sportsman's Warehouse, delivered to the local store. I ordered a holster from the Ruger store, but not really to my liking, a Triple K holster. I also ordered grips for it. At hunting camp, my wife shot it and claimed it for herself. When we got home, a local store had one and I bought it for me. Not my first revolver or pistol she has confiscated from me. Oh well, happy wife, happy life.

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Kevin in Oregon