Wrangler Single-Six: A Single-Action .22 LR For The Masses

Priced to move, the Wrangler Single-Six gives any shooter a shot to get into the classic single-action rimfire revolver.

How the Wrangler Single-Six offers an affordable option in the line:

• With $249 MSRP, nearly every shooter can afford the revolver
• Cast-aluminum frame and synthetic grips cut down on price and weight
• Revolver’s other major parts – barrel, cylinder, trigger, hammer, sear – steel constructed
• Cerakote finish gives the gun a uniform and attractive look
• Handy free-cylinder modification makes loading and unloading fast and easy

Successful beyond comprehension, Ruger’s Mark Series pistols suck the air out of the room when talking .22 LR handguns. Unfortunate, given the gunmaker has about a shooting-range full of other top-notch rimfire heaters that are on equal footing with the iconic semi-automatic. Not the least of them, the Single-Six.

Born on the wave of Western movie popularity in the early 1950s, the single-action .22 revolver is among the classiest and most enjoyable rimfire handguns ever conceived. I confess I’m biased in my appraisal. I have a Single-Nine – the six’s larger-capacity compatriot – and find few guns more pleasurable, whether varmint hunting or keeping soda cans in line.

Those who are familiar with the Ruger six-shooter know, as pleasant as they are, they’re also difficult to get into. A starting MSRP of $629, the revolver only get spendier from that point. No matter how you cut it, that’s a pricy plinker.

Ruger appears to have solved this issue with the introduction of its economy Wrangler Single-Six line of revolvers. With an MSRP of $249, the revolvers don’t take as much hand wringing to get you to crack open your wallet. Though, as expected, Ruger has tweaked a few aspects of the gun to eke out the savings. In particular, how the .22 six-shooter is made.

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The most notable cost-controlling measures are the Wrangler Single-Six’s cast aluminum frame and the use of plastic grips. While it might not achieve the same level as the all-steel and hard rubber or wood grips of the original, the new construction method has some benefits away from dollars and cents. Specifically, the Wrangler Single-Six is a bit lighter, which gives it the potential to be a bit quicker in the hand. At the very least, the revolver should turn out easier on your hip if you're humping the backcountry for squirrels and woodchucks.

The rest of the Wrangler’s major parts — barrel, cylinder, sear, hammer, trigger — are all steel. Despite the material differences, the revolver is beautifully uniform in appearance, thanks to a Cerakote finish. This aspect also allows Ruger to offer the Wrangler Single-Six in a number of different finishes, including silver, black and a very attractive burnt bronze.

Outside of color, there isn’t much diversity in the Wrangler line at present. There’s only a 4.62-inch barrel model and it’s exclusively a .22 LR. But it comes with everything you’ve come to expect from a Single-Six, such as Vaquero style front blade sight, notched rear and transfer bar safety. The Wrangler also features a free-spinning cylinder modification, which makes loading and unloading the revolver much easier. Essentially, the cylinder is free to spin either way unimpeded when the loading gate is open.

Overall the Wrangler Single-Six will do what I’m certain Ruger intended, give shooters little reason to look anywhere else when it comes to a single-action .22 LR revolver.

Wrangler Single-Six Specs

Caliber: .22 LR
Grips: Checkered Synthetic
Capacity: 6
Front Sight: Blade
Barrel Length: 4.62″
Finish: Black, Silver and Burnt Bronze Cerakote
Frame Material: Aluminum Alloy
Rear Sight: Integral
Overall Length: 10.25″
Weight: 30 oz.
Twist: 1:14″ RH
Grooves: 6
MSRP: $249

For more information on the Wrangler Single-Six, please visit www.ruger.com.