Ruger Super Wrangler Convertible Revolver

Source: Ruger

    First up, this is not a review because gun companies don't send me new products to review. Rather, I am relying on this article--"First Look: Ruger Super Wrangler Convertible Revolver"--from Shooting Illustrated, a couple other items I've seen published about this revolver, my experience with the standard Wrangler Revolver, and my more general experience with .22LR firearms.

    With that said, I think this is an exciting product because it mimics the Ruger Single-Six revolver, but for a heck of a lot less. Unlike its immediate predecessor, the Wrangler, the Super Wrangler has a steel cylinder frame, sports a slightly longer 5.5 inch barrel, and comes with two 6-round cylinders: one for .22 LR and one for .22 WMR (aka .22 Magnum). It also has adjustable sights and the front sight can be replaced. Like its predecessor, however, rather than being blued or stainless, it comes (or will come) Cerakoted in three colors: black, bronze, and silver (which is actually more of a dark gray). This means that the MSRP is much lower than the $799 for a Single-Six, coming in at $329.

    I picked up the Wrangler .22 revolver the first time I saw it at a gun store, which was about two months after its release was announced. I wanted the bronze, but my only choice at the time was the silver or black, so I took the silver. And I shot it quite a bit since, and it has always worked flawlessly. I've appreciated the fact that, when opening the loading gate, you could move the cylinder in either direction. I've only three complaints about the original. 

    First, I was disappointed that it didn't come with the .22LR and .22WMR cylinders like the Single-Six, but because the Wrangler used an aluminum cylinder frame (and some sort of zinc alloy for the grip frame), it just wasn't up to shooting .22 WMR. On the other hand, this did make it fairly lightweight.

    Second, being in the same style as a Single-Action Army (SAA) revolver, the sights were rudimentary: a fixed front blade and a gutter rear sight. Fine for plinking at short range, but certainly not a target weapon or something that you might use for hunting ground squirrels or jack rabbits. 

    Third, there was one cylinder that was bored just slightly smaller than the others that made it a bit harder to load a cartridge. 

    This new model takes care of the first two issues, at least.

    Now, in a world with a multitude of quality semi-auto .22 pistols, you might wonder why you would want a .22 revolver, particularly one that is single-action only. 

    Well, to address the why of a revolver, I think there are two main points, the first of which is reliability. Twenty-two rimfire, particularly of the .22LR variety, is not known for rock solid reliability. There are brands and levels of quality out there that go bang every time, but particularly with the bulk packs, it is not unusual to have a few duds in the box. And then, as I've related before, I had a bulk pack of some Federal .22LR where about every third round was a dud. In a semi-auto, a dud is a stoppage that must be cleared. With a revolver, you just keep going to the next round.

    The second is directly related, which is that specialty ammunition that might not correctly cycle through a semi-auto will work fine in a revolver. For instance, I saw a video recently of someone testing the Federal Punch .22LR ammo which, because of the shape of the bullet, was not reliably feeding and chambering in their semi-auto. But (and I've shot some through a revolver), it presents no issues in revolvers. And if you think you might want to use a .22 as a kit or trail gun, or live somewhere you can and will be disposing of pests like snakes or rodents around your property, you probably will make use of the shotshell ammunition which works much better through a revolver.

    As to why select a single-action revolver, there are a few reasons that come to mind. The first is when training new shooters, particularly youths. There is added safety in their having to manually cock the hammer before each shot. I also think the deliberate and slower nature of shooting and loading makes a greater impression on their mind than quickly blasting through a bunch of rounds.

    Second, there is a certain additional reliability that comes from the simple mechanism of a single-action revolver over even a double-action revolver. The trigger mechanism is much simpler (and, at least in theory, more robust) than a double-action revolver. And because the cylinder uses a completely different mechanism to lock into place, you don't have the worries of the cylinder rod loosening while shooting and locking up the cylinder.

    Now, with all that said, I have to admit that my "kit gun" is a double-action revolver--the S&W Model 317. But I chose it because its extremely light weight, is substantially smaller than most .22 revolvers (even smaller than the Ruger Bearcat), has relatively good sights, and has a greater capacity (8-rounds) than other .22 revolvers. But it is no plinking or target revolver. The Super Wrangler, with its larger size and adjustable sights, might serve well for not only target work, but also hunting. Particularly when matched with the more potent .22WMR cartridge.