Ruger Single Six

[HOUSTON RICK]

My most recent firearm purchase is a Ruger Single Six that I got at a steep discount because it was "missing" the magnum cylinder. Turns out that this Single Six was in the batch that never had one. It is my first single action revolver and it is a nice gun and shoots very well, but is loading with the loading gate and ejector supposed to be that slow (compared to ejecting and loading a Model 686) or does practice make perfect? Any tricks beyond practice to speeding up the process or am I up against mechanical limitation? Thank you in advance.

 

[D Brown]

The Single Six makes it a real challenge to go through more than two bricks a day. My best advice; just slow down and enjoy yourself.

 

[snuffy51]

Just fun

I have a single six with 6.5 inch barrel. Very accurate with 40 gr. mini mag. Unloading one round at a time and then reloading one at a time just makes ammo and shooting it last longer = more fun. I got out of a hurry years ago.

 

[misswired]

Yeah, it's slow and methodical.... but all those Swiss Watch loud mechanical clicks when slowly cocking the hammer makes it all worthwhile.

 

[diyj98]

They're a perfect gun to let your kids or friends use when you're supplying the ammo

 

[misswired]

Caused me to take pause and shoot Pawpaw's old 70' model.
It's been kept in this old S&W holster since day one.( it'll never have the transfer bar while in my possession)

A distant relative recently sent me this old photo of him. I'm gonna run some lr and wmr in his memory for the Fourth!

 

[HOUSTON RICK]

Gratuitous picture

 

[Racer X]

weren't the single six just .22LR and the convertible six the ones with the extra magnum cylinder?

 

[jdlii]

The first handgun that I purchased, with money earned from mowing yards, was a Ruger single/convertible six with the magnum cylinder. I could only afford one box of .22 magnums ever two months.

I learned to shoot a handgun with that Ruger and learned to appreciate swing out cylinders on S&W and Colt revolvers. Semi autos were "over the top!"

For Christmas, my junior year of HS, I received a Colt Huntsman. The Ruger was traded away but, I still have the Colt along with its original box, paper work and warranty card. I wonder if I should send in the warrant card to see if I get a response? Probably not!

 

[Mule Packer]

...but is loading with the loading gate and ejector supposed to be that slow (compared to ejecting and loading a Model 686) or does practice make perfect?

To answer your question...it will never be as fast as ejecting and loading your model 686. And yes, if you do it enough times, muscle memory will make things much easier, but it will never be as fast as loading a double-action.

That being said, the Ruger Single Six is a great gun and a perfect gun for just "woods walking." I gave my 3-screw, .22 LR only, to my daughter when she "left the nest." I missed the gun so much that I went out and bought another. This one has the magnum cylinder. Again...these are great guns, no matter how long it takes to load them. Enjoy yours.

 

[misswired]

Very nice!!

You need an Indian Head Penny to go with the silver....

 

[BB57]

My most recent firearm purchase is a Ruger Single Six that I got at a steep discount because it was "missing" the magnum cylinder. Turns out that this Single Six was in the batch that never had one. It is my first single action revolver and it is a nice gun and shoots very well, but is loading with the loading gate and ejector supposed to be that slow (compared to ejecting and loading a Model 686) or does practice make perfect? Any tricks beyond practice to speeding up the process or am I up against mechanical limitation? Thank you in advance.

I suspect there are a lot of shooters and even gun shop owners who think that all Single Sixes were convertible models. I bought this one a couple years ago from a gun shop owner at a local gun show. It was marked as a Single Six with a the tag stating ".22 WMR, missing .22 LR cylinder" and priced at $125.

I noted it was a new model, where .22 WMR would be in an un-fluted cylinder and figured he was mistaken. Sure it enough it was a .22 LR cylinder.

As an aside, unless things have changed in the last few years, Ruger will provide and fit a second cylinder for you when they are making a new run of that particular model of revolver. The only limitation is that it has to be something that they produced as a standard model. But even that's flexible when it comes to barrel length. For example, if you have a 7 1/2" Blackhawk in .45 Colt, they'll fit a second cylinder in .45 ACP, even though (I don't think) they ever sold a 7 1/2" .45 Colt / .45 ACP Convertible model.

Consequently, provided its a new model with the .224" bore, Ruger will fit it with a .22 WMR cylinder. Cost a few years ago was $125.

 

[GTBL]

They are beautiful guns, enjoy! Happy 4th!

 

[PALADIN85020]

In my opinion, the "old model" Super Single Six Convertible was the best of the lot. The new models are slower to reload, because indexing the chambers for ejection has to be eyeballed. With the old models, you just advance the cylinder manually until it clicks, turn the cylinder back a bit until it stops, and activate the ejector rod. This can be done amazingly fast, as there is no need to fiddle around trying to align a chamber for ejection. The "Super" models had adjustable sights, while the standard Single Sixes did not.

Not all Single Sixes were convertibles. Those that were had the extra cylinder provided, and it was fitted at the factory, its box marked with the last 3 digits of the gun's serial number.

With these, you could shoot .22 short, .22 long, .22 LR, and .22 WMR.

Here's mine, purchased many years ago and still a fun gun to shoot!

John

 

[CajunBass]

When my wife moved here from Chicago, and found out she could buy a gun she couldn't wait. As she looked around the store, I just let her look. I was mildly surprised when she picked a Ruger Single-Six, 50th anniversary. "It looks like a cowboy gun."

Turned out to be a good choice. She loved that. The magnun cylinder is still in the box, and has never been used so missing it wouldn't bother me any. I'm not even sure she knows it's there.



Here she is shooting it at Clark Brothers Guns in Opal, Virginia.

 

[Muley Gil]

"It is my first single action revolver..."

Now wait a minute!!! You claim to be a Texan AND a gun guy and you have never owned a single action revolver!!!!!

SHAME, SHAME, SHAME!!!

 

[storyman]

Here's mine. I think it dates to about 1968. As a side note to a previous post, I bought a 7 1/2" Ruger Blackhawk with a 45 Colt cylinder and 45 acp cylinder in 1973, traded it for a Smith 66 in 1983. Never looked back and no remorse! Date of manufacture chart for Ruger Single-Six 22 W.M.R. from Rimfire Central.

 

[GypsmJim]

(I don't think) they ever sold a 7 1/2" .45 Colt / .45 ACP Convertible model.
.

My 45 Colt / 45 ACP Blackhawk convertible has a 7 1/2" barrel and it was made in 1976. Bought new for $141. It has the "200th year of American Liberty" roll stamped on the top of the barrel.

(PS - that was the year I quit competitive shooting and sold my S&W Model 41 to buy the Ruger. Not a smart move, but at least i still have the BH.)

 

[hoc9sw]

Mine is a 1976 Colorado Centennial / US Bicentennial edition. Bought it at Cabela's (gun library, estate gun), but every spring was trash. The guys there had no clue. After a couple of hours on the phone with CS & the gunsmith at Ruger, they just sent me a complete set of everything spring-related. I had a couple of days "training" on the pistol, but it is perfect now.

 

[M1A]

It is a lot easier if you wear a cowboy hat, boots, and spurs with jingle bobs.