Single Six Hunter Problem/Question

[JohnnyRingo]

recently, on a whim, i purchased a ruger single six hunter 22/22M convertible. i also bought a simmons 4x32 power pistol scope for it. well oday i took it out for the first time, and im sorta disappointed. im wondering if there is something wrong wit it or something.


it shoots like a dream with remington 22LR, but with remington HP 22M loads, it has the worst accuracy of any 22 mag pistol ive ever seen.

i shot the gun first with 22LR. lined the scope up, and the thing will shoot 25 yard 1" groups freehand. i slapped the 22 mag cylinder in it and it wouldnt even hit paper (i am no stranger to shooting,ive been doing so for 45 years, and before anyone mentions it, i DO know that different loads and calibers have different points of impact)

so i tried to line the scope up with 22M. when i finally got it on paper, the best groups i could get, and i mean the absolutely best were about 30" across. so i thought to myself, maybe something went creepy with the scope. i pulled it off, and tried to line the sights up on the gun with 22m.....no good at all. it still wont hit the broadside of a barn, even at 20ft!

so i tried it with and without a scope, with 22 and 22M, and cant get 22M t shoot worth a crud. i spoke to ruger and of course they said send the gun back to them and they would check it out and fix it, but i dnt want to jump the gun and send it back until i get a few opinions.

the 22M ammo i was using was the 14.00 a box 40gr HP remington. the 22LR was also the green box remington.


any ideas?.....anyone else have this problem, and if so, what was your cure?......i was thinking maybe either somethings not right with the cylinder ( even though everything is good and tight),or maybe the gun doesnt like the ammo. im hesitant to go out and shoot anymore 22M as ive already shot about $45 bucks worth tday trying to figure the problem out.

 

[mike7mm08]

It seems odd that it is shooting the 22 mag that bad. But it is not uncommon for 22lr and 22 mags to be finicky when it comes to ammo. It is not cheap but I would buy several different types of 22 mag ammo and see if you can get it to shoot better. Almost all accuracy problems I have encountered with 22s have been fixed by different ammo.

 

[djw54]

My first thought would be that the bullets are getting beaten up on the way down the barrel, possibly by poor indexing of the mag cylinder. This could be the case with one or all of the chambers in that cylinder. It may or may not be something that you can check yourself, and certainly is not something that you can fix yourself. How does the cylinder gap look on the mag cylinder, comparing it to the LR cylinder?

It also might be worthwhile to try at least one other mag ammo in it.

Don

 

[JohnnyRingo]

well, i fugured it out.

i went down to my little local sporting goods store today after posting and talked to a bud of mine who runs the place. i told him what the gun was doing, and he said that in his experience all remington rimfire ammo is junk,period. so on his say so i bought 3 boxes 22 mag CCI TNT hollowpoints,3 boxes winchester supreme black box and 3 boxes CCI gamepoint, just to see if i was the ammo and see how they shoot.

took them out to the range, lined the scope up and every single one of them i bought will shot 1/2" 6 shot groups at 25 yards from the bench. not all the same POI of course, but each brand and bullet grouping within an inch of the other. after i got the scope lined up and shootin nice, for grins i put the 22LR cylinder in, and loaded it up with the el-cheapo american eagle red box ( federal el-cheapazzes) and wouldnt ya know, those suckers shot identical to the CCI TNT hollowpoints without touching the scope at all.


anyway, im glad i took the time to make the trip and buy the other mag ammo. i was on the verge of sending the gun in to ruger and having them go thru it and check it out. now fr some fun. a buddy of mine has a walnut orchard. when we get bored, we go out and shoot walnuts off the trees and on the ground from 25 to 150 yards . orchards nice and cool under the walnuts, and we can shoot all day long if we like.

 

[mike7mm08]

Good to hear you figured it out. I was pretty certain different ammo would fix the situation.

 

[JohnnyRingo]

yea, i was so close to sending it in, i already had a box and packing tape out and ready to go.

later today, i took a couple of my other 22 mags out, a ruger 10/22M and another ruger single six 9 1/2", and took the rest of that remington ammo out to shoot it and try it in some other guns, just to see it if shot any better. it didnt.

man, ill tell you what, i wont ever buy another box of remington rimfire ammo. never had an issue with there center fire, but man, there rimfire is dog doo.

now, only thing really id like to have to complete my "collection" of shootin rugers is a ruger super blackhawk stainless hunter 44 magnum....


my favorite all time 22 mag ammo is the winchester supreme black box 30gr. best ive ever shot with the CCI TNTs comming in a real close second.

 

[single action]

I have tried 6 different brands of magnum and more long rifle and cannot get it to shoot either. Do much better with my iron sighted super single six. will be sending mine back. just not acceptable. Very disappointed. sa

 

[JohnnyRingo]

SA

before you do, give the CCI TNTs or the winchester black box supremes a try. i was suprized at the huge difference in that and the remington ammo.

ive for a 4x simmons on mine. im waiting right now for a 2x6 bushnell to put on my smith and wesson 500, and i ordered another to put on this hunter ive got.

im going to go out to the range a bit latet this evening when it cools down a bit.ill post some targets ifn i get a chance.

 

[JohnnyRingo]

oh, by the by...

i absolutely positively HATE the iron sights that come on the SS hunter. if anyone knows of a company that makes an aftermarket sight set that will fit the single six hunter, PLEASE hit me and let m know. one thing i love about rugers built in ring bases on there guns is that the tollerances are so close once you get a scope lined up, you can pull it off, put it away, and when you go put it back on, unless youve bumped it or smacked it, it will generally be within 1/4" to 1/2" of where you originally set it.....

 

[paochow]

I haven't had the best luck with .22Mag either, but it is decent with the CCI TNT. My .22 LR accuracy is outstanding however, and as I shoot them much more often I have no complaints.

 

[JohnnyRingo]

took my SSH out last night with my son, and man, does the magnum drive tacks now. winchester black box . i setup a bunch of cans at about 75 yards and was popping them 5 out of 6 shots with the simmons 4x scope.

for chits and grins, i took one of my sons regular 22 shells, slid it in the mag cylinder and it still shot right on.

 

[louiethelump]

Millet makes after market sights for Ruger

 

[Quarterbore]

Thanks for sharing what worked well too! I have a couple 22 Mags now and I have yet to buy a single box of ammo for them

 

[Jayhawkhuntclub]

Interesting. I've only shot 1 group of 22Magnums in my single six. It was 5" at 20 yds from a rest (Remington shells). That's 2.5 times the typical size it produces with cheap Federal or WW 22 LR ammo. I never gave it much concern as I don't have any desire to shoot Mags. Maybe I'll by some WWs just for the heck of it.

BTW, I absolutely friggin love the iron sights on the Single Six Hunter. I converted my 5.5" to the same rear blade and a modified front blade to duplicate it. They work awesome.