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Old January 7, 2006, 03:17 PM   #1
Dan*Smith
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Heritage Arms Rough Rider

I have been looking around for a good .22 Revolver for my first gun. The Ruger Single Six looks excellent, but a bit pricey. Then I found the Heritage Arms Rouh Rider. It comes in blued or satin finish and a variety of barrels and is quite cheap at about $160.00 It also goes with a .22 Magnum cylinder for a bit of extra kick. I have read a few good reviews of it, but I would like your opinions.
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Old January 7, 2006, 04:23 PM   #2
shecky
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I own one. Perfectly suitable. Great plinker. Nice and small, lightweight. Mine is the 6.5" barrel, aluminum frame, blued, fixed sights, with the extra .22WMR cylinder. They have some with a sort of stainless look, which are painted a metallic silver color. I thought they looked funny.

I shoot .22LR almost exclusively. I've only put a half dozen .22WMR rounds through it. They are painfully loud, more expensive, and don't really offer much advantges for my plinking. I guess they'd be a little better for self defense than LRs, more likely to deafen your assailant into submission. Aside from the noise, I didn't notice much difference in accuracy or kick.

Accuracy is fine. It has a safety that blocks the hammer. Or you can ignore it and carry on a empty chamber. The trigger on mine is quite nice. I susually use bulk Federals, but have also shot Velocitors, CBs and Colibris. No problems whatsoever. Don't know how many hundreds of rounds I've gone through. My son likes to shoot it, too. Even though it's like a scaled down SAA, it's still a bit big for his 8 year old hands. Cocking is a two-handed affair for him.

http://www.budsgunshop.com seems to have a 3.5" barrelled version (probably without the extra .22WMR cylinder) for $100 delivered.

They also have the inexpensive Comanche revolvers, which I've never handled or even seen.
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Old January 7, 2006, 04:29 PM   #3
Dan*Smith
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Thanks for the response. It has increased my faith in such a cheap gun. Are the WMR Rounds really that loud? You say the stainless looks funny? I was kind of torn between a shining, more modern one or a deep, more classic one. (Silver or Blue)
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Old January 7, 2006, 04:50 PM   #4
DonR101395
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I bought one New Years weekend and put 550 rounds through it. It's a fun little pistol. Reasonable accuracy for fixed sights, no failure to fires. Had a blast with it so much I'm taking it out again tomorrow.
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Old January 7, 2006, 05:01 PM   #5
Dan*Smith
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Thanks again. This is sounding up to be a pretty good first pistol. I especially like the SAA look of it. You can't beat that. Unless you had two.
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Old January 7, 2006, 05:13 PM   #6
shecky
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I thought the silver one looked funny. From a distance, it looked like bead blasted stainless, up close, too much like paint. IMO, of course.

I thought the WMR rounds were very loud. Being a revolver makes this characteristic very noticable. You might be able to shoot LRs without hearing protection. Not so WMRs. I am unable to verify the difference of velocity of WMRs vs LRs.
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Old January 7, 2006, 07:37 PM   #7
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Does it have a fixed firing pin, or is it a transfer bar?
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Old January 8, 2006, 09:15 AM   #8
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I've had one for years, fired who-knows-how-many thousands of rounds through it. Nearly all of those were cheap bulk ammo with one box of magnums thrown in just to see how they'd do. I'd get one with adjustable sights; I had to bend my front sight over a little to match POA with POI. IMHO it's a fun, cheap plinker.
You might also check into a Ruger Bearcat. I don't own one but they seem very nice, just a little more expensive but higher quality.
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Old January 8, 2006, 11:58 AM   #9
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Thanks for the info. Does the fact that the frane is aluminum ever make it ot durable enough? Do you have to take reakky good care of it to keep it undented? How is it's reliability?
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Old January 8, 2006, 11:13 PM   #10
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Any more opinions? I would really like to know of it's durability.
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Old September 10, 2008, 01:00 AM   #11
toofarjuan
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Durable?

I have one of these in blue with the 6.5" barrel. I have both the .22 LR and the .22 WMR cylinders but use only .22 magnum hollow point ammunition. I was surprised to see that someone says that part of the pistol is made of aluminum. It definitely doesn't feel like it. Mine has a nice solid feel and I would recommend it as a good snake charmer (I use mine mostly for rattlesnakes and other varmints).
I shoot rabbits with a single-shot .410 shotgun and a semi-auto .22 rifle. I use a Remington 700 in .30-06 caliber for deer and shoot dove and other birds with a double-barrel 20 gauge and a variety of 12 gauge shotguns. I also own a couple of semi-auto pistols that I might describe as a better choice for self defense than the Roughrider. But, my .22 WMR Roughrider is the pistol that I carry with me for herding rattlesnakes. I recommend it.
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Old September 10, 2008, 01:19 AM   #12
toofarjuan
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Safety?

As to safety mechanisms: the pistol has a safety switch on the left side of the block, but it is actually a bit of redundancy.
The pistol is equipped with a four-position hammer. The hammer is in contact with the firing pin only in the first position. The normal resting position of the hammer is at the first click (second position). This is a single-action revolver and the hammer must be pulled back to the third click (fourth position) before it can be fired. In order to get the hammer into the first position, the safety must be disengaged and the trigger pulled.
The cylinder can be turned (for loading) only when the hammer is in the third position (second click).
Familiarizing yourself with the use and manipulation of the hammer is something that takes some practice and is an exercise that I would definitely recommend. Don't be fooled into thinking that a single-action revolver is a simple handgun - the complexity of the single-action revolver is one reason that I recommend a semi-auto pistol for self defense.
The complexity of a single-action revolver like the Roughrider works two ways: On one hand it can make the gun difficult to operate in a panic, but it also makes it a bit more likely that the gun might discharge unexpectedly in the hands of a poorly trained user.
If your purpose, however, is self-defense against a human assailant, then there are a large number of semi-auto pistols that are safer and simpler to operate. My personal recommendation for that purpose would be that you save your pennies and get yourself a Colt Model 1911 or a Colt Commander.
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Old September 10, 2008, 04:50 AM   #13
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My father has one and we always take it to the range with us , I have shot
1" groups at 10yds and I love it, plan on getting me one too.
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Old September 10, 2008, 05:47 AM   #14
CraigC
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They're cheap guns, the receivers are pot metal. Expect them to be disposable. Save your money towards a Single Six and expect your grandsons to enjoy it. They're common on the used market for well under $300.
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Old September 10, 2008, 12:37 PM   #15
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If your heart is set on a single action .22 I'd seriously consider spending a few extra dollars and getting a Single Six. I had one (sold it recently) and it's a fine gun. It's sturdy and will no doubt outlive its owner. It's also quite accurate. As for shooting .22 WMR, out of the 3-4,000 rounds I fired out of that gun I shot exactly 50 magnum rounds. I see no real advantage for target shooting/plinking in shooting magnum. A box of 50 .22 magnum rounds costs $12 - $15. A box of 550 .22 lr rounds at WalMart (Federal) costs about the same. So, by my estimate, magnum is 10-11x more expensive than .22 lr. And, for what? It's louder, and it goes a lot faster than .22 lr, but the holes it makes in the target are the same size and it doesn't have a reputation for being inherently more accurate than .22 lr. I suppose it is a useful hunting round, but not so much for daily target practice.
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Old September 10, 2008, 01:50 PM   #16
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Mine has been a good little gun for the money. I have never used the .22 mag cylinder but I have hundreds of LR rounds through it. Don't expect a match grade gun and you will like it. Also be sure to tighten all the screws on it every couple of range sessions. Mine have a tendency to work loose. I could loctite them but I just check them when I clean it. My only wish was that it had double action capability. Why does no one build a double action .22 that doesn't cost a fortune?
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Old September 10, 2008, 02:50 PM   #17
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Guys, this thread is over 2 years old.

Still some useful information, though.
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Old September 10, 2008, 07:14 PM   #18
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well I really like my heritage but I also think the ruger is totally worth the extra money
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Old September 17, 2008, 05:55 PM   #19
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I have had mine over 2 years now and have had no problems with it. I owned a NIB Ruger SS that I sold about 30 years ago and even though it may last longer I really like my Rough Rider. Nowadays I couldn't afford even a used Ruger but the $150.00 new I paid for my Rough Rider was well worth it. Mine is a blued 6 1\2" barreled model with the .22 mag cylinder. It had nice checkered wood grips on it. I am very happy with it
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Old June 22, 2011, 02:43 PM   #20
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I see that Cabela's has the 6.5" blued RR's on sale for $149 (and I have some Cabela's gift certificates to burn) Is that a good price, and is the gun accurate enough for bullseye target work?

I found this thread while searching to see if the RR's had a transfer bar; looks like they do according to a previous post
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Old June 22, 2011, 07:13 PM   #21
POKEYJOE04
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I had a Rough Rider. Accuracy was fair. I sold it and bought a Ruger Bearcat. Accuracy of the Ruger was a good bit better.
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Old June 22, 2011, 07:58 PM   #22
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They're fairly accurate, and $149 is a great price. Some "adjustments" to the front sight may be necessary.

Many will recommend saving up to buy a Ruger. But if you're like me, and you have no desire to spend $400+ on a .22 plinker (even if you had the money!) then the Rough Rider will do just fine.

There's no transfer bar safety though. It has a hammer block safety that is manually enabled/disabled. It looks a bit funny on the side; but on the plus side the gun makes that *click-click-tick-click* when you cock it.
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Old June 23, 2011, 01:09 PM   #23
microman
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Dan,

I was looking and almost purchased one of these last
week for a fun plinker at the range. I love SA revolvers.

Haven't made the purchase yet. If you get it let us all
know what you think.
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Old June 30, 2011, 01:10 AM   #24
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I just got one today and took it to the range and put about 150 rounds through it. Fun little shooter IMO. Great price, shot everything I fed it and it was fairly accurate. I will need to adjust the sights somehow though, it shoots to the left. Plus my wife will be able to shoot it also.
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Old June 30, 2011, 05:30 PM   #25
zxcvbob
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I took the afternoon off from work and drove out to Cabela's to buy a Rough Rider .22 (on sale for $149) and when I got there they said they don't sell them in MN -- they just forgot to mention that in the ad this time.
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