Heritage Rough Rider

CH4 said:
I know they’re just 22s, but they feel cheap. Perhaps Iam just a gun snob, but once you handle, shoot a Smith or Colt 22, it’s hard to settle for anything less.
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True. The Heritage revolvers aren't in the same class as the Smith or Colt offerings in the same caliber.
BUT for a sub-$150 price tag, the Heritage revolvers are still a great value. At least as long as you are looking at them from a "what you pay for what you get" kind of value proposition.
In that context, they really SHINE.
But any other comparison of Heritage pistols to Colt or S&W revolvers is apples to oranges.
 
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I have the RR 6.5" with adjustable sights, extremely accurate and reliable.
 
I have one with the .22LR and .22 Mag cylinder. Paid next to nothing for it. Is it as good as my Ruger Single Six convertible? No, it is not, but for the under $200 price tag it is a good little gun, a decent shooter and well worth the price.

Pictured with my 1987 FIE Lil Ranger at top
 

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Wife asked me to stop by the local RK to pick up some ground fabric for the garden. Looking at the Gun Barn I saw they had the 6 1/2" Heritage RR for $99. My son and I got to the range today and I fired 100 rds of Federal 36gn ammo through it . Towards the end I had three failure to fire, which all fired on the second try. Might be the ammo, might be the chamber was getting dirty, might be a weak mainspring.

It shoots slightly to the left and I think either the front sight is slightly bent or the barrel slightly canted. Either way I suspect a lead babbitt will fix point of impact. We only shot at 25' and I could keep all the shots easily within a 6" paper plate. That's all I expect for the first time out with a cheap 22 plinker.

I did go to the Heritage web site and ordered a 22 Mag cylinder simply because I have a bunch of 22 mag ammo. It was $29 shipped and delivered in a week. We'll see how it holds up but as an inexpensive camping/plinking gun it has potential.
 
The Barkeep

These haven't been mentioned here yet, but have become popular and are now offered in 1 and 2 inch barreled "boot" versions as well -

See: https://heritagemfg.com/revolvers/heritage-barkeep

Also, here's a video on a QED DIY project for converting the standard square butt Barkeep to the birdshead grip configuration -

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UerM01AqIYc[/ame]
 
Friend has a old one, it jammed so I took it apart, holy cow what a mess. Had to file clearance for the trigger and took over a hour just to “ clean it up” from all the burrs. Put it back together and it shot fine. Told him to save up and buy a Ruger single six…..
 
Definitely not the highest quality

I saw the 16" barrel convertible at my lgs and laughed, but then told the guy at the counter that I had to buy it. I couldn't resist. I've put probably 750ish rounds or so through it. The ejector rod assembly fell off the gun at one point because the screw backed out and destroyed itself and it's missing another screw in the frame. After replacing and putting locktite on the screws I've had no issues. And this thing provides what we in the car community call "smiles per gallon". Hands down the most fun you can have for the money. I bought a box of .22lr bird shot for it and me and my buddy made little tunnels in the snow with it last winter. The spread was comical. And it is way more accurate than it has any right to be. Way more accurate than any of my semi auto .22s that I've had. Even at full price($189.99 at the time), it's a fantastic value.
 
Michaelp57 said:
I saw the 16" barrel convertible at my lgs and laughed, but then told the guy at the counter that I had to buy it. I couldn't resist. Even at full price($189.99 at the time), it's a fantastic value.
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For about $100 you could by the parts from Heritage to turn your 16" revolver into a revolving carbine.
 
walnutred said:
For about $100 you could by the parts from Heritage to turn your 16" revolver into a revolving carbine.
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I recently noticed an online article detailing this conversion step by step (although I'd caution that this should be done only with the 16" version so as to avoid making an illegal short barreled rifle). See: Make Your Own Carbine Revolver | Shoot On


Michaelp57 said:
The ejector rod assembly fell off the gun at one point because the screw backed out....
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I believe earlier in this thread somebody else mentioned encountering the same problem. It might not be a bad idea for anyone buying one of these to preempt the issue by removing that ejector rod housing screw and reinstalling it with Loctite®.
 
BSA1 said:
$320.00 is a whole lot of .22 ammunition. For someone wanting a occasional plinker $320.00 buys a lifetime of ammunition. I have been tempted to buy one more than once.

Ruger has just announced the Super Wrangler. With a msrp of $329.00 it is intended for a different market than the Rough Rider.
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That's 3,200 rounds at 10 cents a piece. O.K. you could do better. Let's say you get 7 cents a round. That's 4,500 rounds. That's maybe two-three years for me.

I have not bought one of these low priced single actions. I do not doubt their accuracy. I doubt their durability. I have a feeling I'll end up buying enough of them to equal a better gun. I've talked to a lot of people that own them, and ranges that rent them, and the durability is just not there. Some repairs you can do yourself I'm sure but I'm just not really feeling it. They may be inexpensive but at the moment I don't think they are a good value.

They are what they are, an inexpensive entry level revolver for casual shooters. I'd like to see a 20,000 round test.
 
Handled both the Heritage and Ruger but both felt cheap to me. Guess I’m a gun snob. I have a s/s Vaquero .22 thats a great sa. Bought it a long time ago along with a used Marlin 39 for cheap SASS practice.
 
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I have 2 revolvers and a rancher carbine. Got them for my grand kids they love them and you can't beat the price
 
Heritage Rancher

Heritage Rancher revolving carbine, have a 22 mag cylinder for it also
 

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Nobody said I was the smart one.

walnutred said:
For about $100 you could by the parts from Heritage to turn your 16" revolver into a revolving carbine.
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Not to sound ignorant, but where would one put their off hand with the carbine. Me being the experimental idiot that I am, I decided to lay prone and shoot some .22wmr. My off arm was just a little too far forward and got peppered with the blast from the cylinder gap. It wasn't bad since it was just a .22, but it looked like a rash for a couple hours.
 
babyloui said:
I have 2 revolvers and a rancher carbine. Got them for my grand kids they love them and you can't beat the price
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Yeah, that is one of the great things about these inexpensive guns. Who wants to let their kids/grandkids knock around their $500-$1,000 Colt? Or who wants to put that Colt in a holster and go bumping around the woods with it? Not me...
 
Michaelp57 said:
Not to sound ignorant, but where would one put their off hand with the carbine. Me being the experimental idiot that I am, I decided to lay prone and shoot some .22wmr. My off arm was just a little too far forward and got peppered with the blast from the cylinder gap. It wasn't bad since it was just a .22, but it looked like a rash for a couple hours.
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Per the attached photo, it appears to me that most folks simply double up their grip to the rear of the cylinder-barrel gap.

Also, here's the NRA's review of the Rancher Carbine: Review: Heritage Rough Rider Rancher Carbine | An Official Journal Of The NRA
 

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For some of us the Ruger Wrangler is not an option because of silly state guns laws.

"The aluminum frame doesn't meet tensile strength requirements nor does the zinc grip frame meet the melting point requirements for handguns in Minnesota"

This old silly law dates back to old "Saturday night special" fears.
I too have several nice .22 revolvers but my tackle box/plinker is a Heritage Rough Rider with the option of the .22 mag cylinder.
 
My grandson loves to shoot mine. I have a little Barkeep with both cylinders and it's really a cool little gun. I had one here that I gave my daughter around 6-7 years ago for Christmas, but I let her take it home since she's 22 now. I bought a used one for my grandson to call his own. It was used but it works great, for what it is. I've had no failures with any of them. The used one had a chipped tooth so I put a new cylinder on it and they had a pkg. with both cylinders, I think delivered under $35 or less. Perfect since he likes shooting the magnums. He likes shooting my(dad's) old K22, of course, but I think he likes fiddling with the reloading process on the single action too. Most of the guns here will probably be his in a few years.
I did buy a 357 Magnum version but the barrel was canted. Sent it back and after about 3 months they sent it back, untouched. I gave that gun away. All in all they're fun little guns, especially for both my grandkids.
 
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