Ruger Single Six revolver - questions

K

kr1

Joined
May 30, 2006
Messages
1,343
Can someone tell me what they think of their Ruger Single Six revolver? Particularly its accuracy. I am considering getting rid of my S&W model 317 because it doesn't shoot nearly as accurate as I would like. I am considering the Ruger as a replacement. I don't want another lemon though. Can anyone tell me how theirs shoots?

While we are at it anyone that shoots a bearcat. How does that shoot? I know they are fixed sights but information on that would be of interest also.

Thanks,
KR
 
The Single six is a terrific revolver, BUT...before you get rid of your S & W, do
a coupe of things for yourself....

First, try shooting some groups (from a good solid rest), with a wide variety
of different 22 LR ammo. You will almost certainly find that it likes one or
two types better than the rest. S & W, and Ruger BOTH have a decided
preference for Remington LR High Velocity Hollow Point (36 gr bullet), and
Remington LR Target ammo.

If you put it on paper, and still cant get it to shoot to suit you, then
take it to a good gunsmith, and see what he suggests.

I recommend these two approaches, because I understand from experience,
what a vicious circle it can be, to swap guns (usually at a loss),
only to learn later that the problem was probably fixable.
 
Russ is dead on here.

The Ruger is a fine revolver, I've owned a few but so is the S&W. I have a 650 S&W in .22 mag with a 3" barrel and it's surprisingly accurate.
 
I happen to own S&W's, my brother prefers Ruger. When we get together to beat up on cans with them, both seem to be up to the task. It comes down to what you like better.
 
One more thought, KR.
If this is a new firearm, there may be some
small burrs at the crown, or the mouth of one
or more chambers. If that's the case, it will
improve with use.
 
My take on this is, the Airlite gun is HARD TO SHOOT WELL......just due to the lightweight of it.

The trigger pull, even single action, is nothing to brag about. Evenso, it's harder to hold the gun steady against the jar of the hammer fall. Slight tho it is, in a gun that's as light as a feather, you don't have the normal mass of a steel gun to absorb/mitigate the hammer fall impact.

If you sandbag rest the gun/arms/hands, you will be able to see how much instrinsic accuracy the gun has with any given load. This presumes your technique isn't flawed.

Problem is you won't have sandbags in the field. But once you see what the GUN can do, now it's a matter of working on your technique to acheive the same level of accuracy.

If your typical handheld groups at, say, 15 yds is 4" while your rested groups are 2", then you need to improve your skills.

A shorter 3" barrel isn't the easist to shoot well, so maybe that's part of the problem, also.

What kind of groups at what distance are you getting now ?

.
 
I really, really like my SS. I have the irons zeroed for 35 yards if that tells you anything.
 
Maybe send the 317 back to Smith to be looked at. It does have a lifetime warenttee. There may be some problem to be corrected.

I only say this because my better half has a 317, and she lets me shoot it on some of our range outings. Its about as accurite as the model 63 kit gun in stanless I had. At 20 yards on a N.R.A. pistol target it will keep all the rounds in the black, but you had to be VERY VERY carefull with the trigger pull because of the light weight of the gun. But it's that light weight that is the reason we bought it, it makes a great trail and woods walking gun.

I say send it back to Smith with a letter saying the trigger is lousy and they'll do a trigger job for you. Then work with the gun a bit more before abandoning ship.
 
jackknife said:
Maybe send the 317 back to Smith to be looked at. It does have a lifetime warenttee. There may be some problem to be corrected.

I only say this because my better half has a 317, and she lets me shoot it on some of our range outings. Its about as accurite as the model 63 kit gun in stanless I had. At 20 yards on a N.R.A. pistol target it will keep all the rounds in the black, but you had to be VERY VERY carefull with the trigger pull because of the light weight of the gun. But it's that light weight that is the reason we bought it, it makes a great trail and woods walking gun.

I say send it back to Smith with a letter saying the trigger is lousy and they'll do a trigger job for you. Then work with the gun a bit more before abandoning ship.
Click to expand...

It was sent back to Smith once already right out of the box. The bullets were coming out of the gun sideways. I kid you not. Smith repaired the problem so that the bullets now go downrange pointy ends first but it still doesn't shoot anyway near the way my model 17 did. The reason I bought it was for exactly that. I wanted a small light trail and woods gun. I have benched it with sandbags firing SA and cannot get better than 3 inch groups at 20 yards. In my opinion it should do considerably better than that. Plus I really really have grown to hate, really hate the green blob sight and the shallow V. I have read yesterday several others complain about the accuracy of their 317 on another forum. If you guys think it should do better than what I'm seeing for accuracy I may send it to Smith again and ask them to tune it up. I like the gun. I'd keep it if it shot better even with the sights.

Original thread about my 317

Thanks,
KR
 
try different loads in the smith until you find something that shoots well through it. if you know someone who reloads have them work up a load for you to try. as for a ruger single six, i have shot a few and i'm not crazy about a single action. they do make a good gun. i dug 3 slugs out of a stainless security 6 that was a state trooper issue model. a friends girlfriend was shooting it and came across 3 duds. she didnt realize there was a problem until the last shot when her boyfriend noticed something odd about the sound. i believe if it was another gun it would have blown up.
 
as mentioned above you really need to try some different brands of ammunition as .22 can be quite ammo sensitive. personally if i had to have a revolver i'd go with the ruger, my personal preference is a ruger .22 standard auto. great gun,lasts forever, small and compact. if you go with the auto stay away from the mark 3 versions and try to pick up a mark 1 or 2. I seem to remember that ruger made the sp 101 in a .22 you might want to look at that. good luck.
 
ahgar said:
as mentioned above you really need to try some different brands of ammunition as .22 can be quite ammo sensitive. personally if i had to have a revolver i'd go with the ruger, my personal preference is a ruger .22 standard auto. great gun,lasts forever, small and compact. if you go with the auto stay away from the mark 3 versions and try to pick up a mark 1 or 2. I seem to remember that ruger made the sp 101 in a .22 you might want to look at that. good luck.
Click to expand...

I actually have a standard barrel mark I and it shoots OK. I bought a stainless Mark III with the bull barrel and that is a serious tack driver. I checked the sp101 models and Ruger doesn't seem to make any double action revolvers in .22 that I have been able to track down. I wish they did.

I have run a couple of different types of ammo through the S&W but will check other versions of ammo out as well.

KR
 
richard j said:
try different loads in the smith until you find something that shoots well through it. if you know someone who reloads have them work up a load for you to try. as for a ruger single six, i have shot a few and i'm not crazy about a single action. they do make a good gun. i dug 3 slugs out of a stainless security 6 that was a state trooper issue model. a friends girlfriend was shooting it and came across 3 duds. she didnt realize there was a problem until the last shot when her boyfriend noticed something odd about the sound. i believe if it was another gun it would have blown up.
Click to expand...

Technically those are called squibs not duds.

FWIW,
KR
 
I think of a Single-Six as an amusing gun, but not a particular tack-driver. If I want an accurate revolver and a sweet trigger pull I pick an S&W. Maybe you have a lemon and maybe the ergonomics of your 317 are wrong for you, but I just don't know a better path to revolver accuracy than a Smith.

Maybe you should be looking at semi-autos.
 
kr1 said:
I checked the sp101 models and Ruger doesn't seem to make any double action revolvers in .22 that I have been able to track down. I wish they did.
Click to expand...

They used to. A 4" six shooter that was as heavy as it could possibly be. I'd rather have the new S&W five inch Model 63 over that chunky SP-101.

But if you have your heart set on a .22 SP-101, the secondary market is where to look.
 
Kr1, I have two older Ruger Single-Six revolvers, one with fixed sights and one with adjustable sights. I think they are both excellent camp and small game guns. I also have an older Ruger Bearcat and it's a fine compact fishing and trail gun. I would not expect any of the Rugers to be more accurate than the S&W M-317 you mentioned, though, assuming that 317 is in good condition. I don't go out and shoot formal groups any more, but I know that all the Rugers and Smiths I've shot will shoot more accurately than I can hold or see. If you suspect a problem with your Smith you should either have it checked by someone you know who is a superb pistol shot, or just return it to S&W and see what they say. Ideally, you could have it fired from a device called a Ransom Rest that takes human error out of the equation. Few people own one of those, but you might run a local ad to see if someone near you does.
 
My experience with the ruger single six is the gun is extremely accurate. I have been shooting all types of rifles and pistols for the last 35 years and for the money it is hard to do better than a ruger. they are just well made.
Sammy Nine Toes
 
ahgar said:
as mentioned above you really need to try some different brands of ammunition as .22 can be quite ammo sensitive. personally if i had to have a revolver i'd go with the ruger, my personal preference is a ruger .22 standard auto. great gun,lasts forever, small and compact. if you go with the auto stay away from the mark 3 versions and try to pick up a mark 1 or 2. I seem to remember that ruger made the sp 101 in a .22 you might want to look at that. good luck.
Click to expand...

The MKII is a good choice and I have one, they are actually better than the MKI. I also have a new 45/22 MKIII and it is a fine shooter, not a thing wrong with this MKIII.
 
I love my Single-Six. Mine has been very accurate with just about every load I have tried, and it really loves the cheap Federal American Eagle red box plated hollow points. My best five shot group at 25 yards is just under an inch, and when I was shooting all the time, I could reliably bounce pop cans at 75 yards. The accuracy with the 22 Mag. has never been quite as good though.
 
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