Overview
Ruger has long had an ace up its sleeve when it comes to fun rimfire handguns.
The company, after all, was founded with Bill Ruger's Standard model 10-shot semi-auto .22 LR in the late 1940s. The single-action Ruger Single-Six .22, which was based on the classic wheel guns of the mid-19th century, was introduced in 1953 and remained a staple of the company's catalog through several generations to the present day, augmented by its Bearcat cousin. However, when the Single-Six debuted during the Eisenhower administration, the "I like Ike" period six-shooter had an ask of $49. That's climbed to about $800 these days.
To circle back and pick up those lost to the increase in price on the Bearcat/Single-Six over the years, Ruger introduced the more basic Wrangler series in 2019. Using an alloy frame rather than steel and tapping in a Cerakote finish and plastic grips, the basic Wrangler hit the shelves at $269, suggested, and was a hit.
The thing is, folks wanted just a bit more to the Wrangler, while still being affordable. Like a convertible model that could use both .22 LR and the beefier .22 Magnum, as well as better sights other than the Wrangler's fixed rear notch and front blade. All with a price that was a gentle bump to the region of about $329 (a price typically lower at retail).
Something like that would surely be a Super Wrangler.
Boom:
For full disclosure, Ruger provided this Super Wrangler for review purposes. All testing was done on this one gun.
The Specs
- Overall length: 11 inches
- Barrel length: 5.5 inches, 1:14-in 6-groove RH Twist
- Overall width: 1.45 inches at the widest point over the cylinder
- Overall height: 5 inches
- Magazine capacity: 6-shot cylinders (1 ea. 22LR & .22WMR)
- Sights: Windage- and elevation-adjustable rear sights
- Trigger pull: 4.5 pounds single-action-only (10-pull average).
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Weight: 37.7 ounces (unloaded)
Features
The Super Wrangler sports much the same classic profile and feel that the Ruger Single-Six – which in itself was a throwback design – has been rocking for the past 70 years and change. A single-action revolver with a long spur hammer and fixed (not swing-out) cylinder, the design would be instantly familiar to anyone who had ever picked up a Colt Single Action Army going back to 1873.
Trigger
Check it out in operation:
It's not as crisp as the Single-Six or Bearcat, but some things can be done to slick it up such as adding a reduced tension spring set and stoning the trigger sear, should you feel up to it.
Reliability
As far as going "bang" on a live round when the hammer falls and continuing to function, the Super Wrangler works.
Sure, we have had a few instances without said "bang" over the course of our tests, but that could be attributed to the nature of cheap rimfire ammunition, which often has a higher failure rate when compared to centerfire cartridges.
About the worst we can say is that the revolver gets exceptionally dirty after the first 100 rounds, and the cylinder will begin to get sluggish as carbon builds up. On a long enough timeline with a dirty (and getting dirtier) gun, spent brass becomes harder to eject. A protest if you will. This goes away with cleaning.
To keep prices down, both the Wrangler and the Super Wrangler have a die-cast zinc alloy grip frame and trigger guard (considered "low melt" in some states), while the cylinder frame and loading gate is A380 aluminum and the barrel is cold hammer-forged steel. The hammer and trigger are MIM stainless steel as are some other small parts. You'll hear lots of folks wringing hands and gnashing teeth that such construction will show stretching, peening, and wear after even just a few rounds and quickly become unusable. Of course, different ammo loads (looking at you, Winchester) seem to shoot dirtier than others.
In our experience, that just isn't the case.
We've put upward of 3,000 assorted rounds of .22 LR and .22 WMR through our test Super W in the past year and have not witnessed any sort of issues or uncommon wear and tear. It hasn't started keyholing or lost time. It's not shaving lead.
Don't just take our word for it, check out the dozens of reviews for both the Wrangler and Super Wrangler from Guns.com customers and pages of comments on Ruger forums about durability.
Accuracy
It's hard to stop shooting this little revolver when you take it to the range with some friends. The Super Wrangler is a bit heavy, at just over 2 pounds, and full-sized, which eats up the recoil impulse of the rimfire fodder even when shooting CCI .22 Mags. The long sight radius, and adjustable sights, help find and keep the target.
On one extended testing session, we found ourselves bored and took to shooting "range trash" such as spent 12-gauge shotgun hulls and greasy black pecans that have been on the ground by the backstop for years. More often than not, you could send them flying with a little concentration.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Fun on the range
- Accurate
- Reliable
- Inexpensive compared to the Ruger Single Six convertible.
- Additional .22 Mag cylinder adds capability
Cons
- Slow to reload, as are all single-action revolvers
- No other barrel length or grip style (e.g., bird head) options
- More expensive than the Heritage Small Bore convertible.
Conclusion
The Super Wrangler is a solid rimfire single-action revolver that is made in America – not Italy or Brazil – and is both enjoyable to shoot and inexpensive to acquire. The bonus of its .22 Mag cylinder puts things like small game acquisition and campground use on the table. Like having two guns in one box.
No, the fit and finish aren't as fine as on the more expensive guns. No, the trigger and cylinder aren’t as smooth. But the Super Wrangler is meant to be a fun range gun without the more heirloom quality investment. Buy it now, use it now. Have fun.
