The Single Six

[gunzo]

Fortunate to be able to work for decent wages & part of the fruits of that are a good selection of handguns. In 22LR I've gathered a decent bunch, they all have their place & I enjoy them.

But the one that stands out is the Single Six. And with that I'll dwell on the new model for now. It's not the easiest to shoot, & maybe, or not the most accurate. It doesn't hold the most rounds, shoot the fastest, & is not the quickest to load or empty. Some may question the ergos.

But with all those low scores it has something over most the others; Dependability & the willingness to do it's job. If crappy or dirty ammo won't suit so many models, the SS will accept it & make it go bang if the ammo is capable of it. I've come to respect good useability along with great dependability, & the SS is just that.

Maybe just rambling, & gettin old but appreciating dependability over pretty, speed, or even guilt edged accuracy these days..

Saying this is with some regret as I am a late bloomer & wish I'd realized some things 50 years ago instead of chasing the shiny things then. Wish I'd spent many more years with a SS as my companion no matter what ever the other guns I had.

 

[contender]

As many have opined often; You can find prettier, you can find better accuracy,, but you'll be hard pressed to find anything more dependable.

 

[mirglip]

You'd also be hard pressed to find anything as durable and long lasting. Even an ugly, pitted holster worn, cracked grip SS, the tolerances will still be like new and you can shoot another 50 bricks through it.

 

[eveled]

My first 2 and only 2 handguns for a long time were a single six and a .357 Blackhawk.

You can’t wear them out and I tried.

 

[Danjet500]

My first two firearms were a Single Six and a 10/22. I still have them both. Untold number of rounds through each and no issues with either.

 

[JAYDAWG]

To prove how strong the action & especially the coil springs were compared to Colt leaf springs, for the 1953 NRA show, Ruger built a machine to dry fire their new Single Six. On day three the machine broke, after 100,000 cycles. Here is an AI summary....

• The Design of the Rig: Bill Ruger and his engineering team custom-built a motorized display fixture specifically for the 1953 NRA Annual Meeting and Exhibit. The mechanism featured a stationary mounting bracket that held a brand-new, early-production .22 LR Single-Six firmly in place. An AC electric motor was attached to a belt-driven cam and an actuator lever. This lever physically hooked onto the revolver's hammer, pulled it back to full cock, and then triggered the mechanism to dry-fire.
• The Operation: The rig ran continuously on the convention floor, cycling day and night. To make the demonstration interactive for the attendees, Ruger installed a mechanical click-counter onto the frame of the machine, which logged every cycle to show the crowd exactly how much abuse the gun was absorbing.
• The Breakdown: On the third day of the show, the continuous friction and lack of industrial-grade components caused the machine's internal gears to strip and overheat, rendering the rig entirely inoperable.
• The Survival: When the revolver was removed from the broken apparatus for inspection, it remained mechanically flawless. The piano-wire coil springs showed zero fatigue, the investment-cast frame suffered no cracks, and the firing pin assembly sustained no headspace damage.

• The NRA stunt sent shockwaves through the firearms industry for two main reasons:
  1. The $57 Price Point: By proving investment casting was stronger than traditional forged-steel methods, Ruger was able to launch the Single-Six at an incredibly affordable retail price of $57 (roughly equivalent to $680 today), capturing the entire market.
  2. Force-Multiplying Success: The extreme publicity from the show generated massive backorders, funding Sturm, Ruger & Co.'s growth and prompting Colt to frantically resurrect the Single Action Army in 1956 to try and compete.
     

 

[JAYDAWG]

A thread about one of my favorites........click on the pics and zoom in. Amazing what some one did to keep this one shooting.

https://www.rugerforum.com/threads/the-most-worn-out-revolver-ever.315375/

 

[Hondo44]

That's a real prize, I remember that thread.
Were you ever able to determine if the rifling is actually worn away or leaded up?.

Thx for the great story of the NRA show!

 

[JAYDAWG]

That's a real prize, I remember that thread.
Were you ever able to determine if the rifling is actually worn away or leaded up?.

Thx for the great story of the NRA show!

I never tried to figure it out........although, I really should. Maybe this winter when I need something to do.

Ya, that NRA stunt really put Ruger on the map! Great marketing.

 

[Joey]

What's to like about'em? Well made, easy to work on, a blast to shoot, and easy to change the appearance with stags or custom grips. Nah, I wouldn't have one in my house. At least, not just one...........

Several of these are refurbs, none are collector grade, but I like'em all!

 

[contender]

Gee Joey,, only 16 of them? A good start,, since there are over 200 "variations" of just the Old Models.

(At least that's what my faded memory recalls about collecting them.)

 

[Joey]

If I had the resources, Contender, I would need a small warehouse to keep what I would love to have! Alas, I will just live vicariously off the fantastic members and collectors on this forum!

 

[gunzo]

As indicated I passed them over in my earlier years of the hobby & when I finally decided to get one I chose stainless & my fave 5.5" barrel. My bud pulls out a bl 6.5" one & I decided I shot it better, so found a cheap one & bought it. Shot it a lot & sold the 5.5.
That one turned up a year or 2 later at a group shoot & I shot it much better than I remembered,, so had to find another. Then a bl 4.6" turned up at a very reasonable price so I grabbed thinking I wouldn't hit with it well due to the shorter sight radius. I was wrong, I love the thing. Guess I'd finally learned to halfway shoot a SS.

Later found a cheap Single 10 & wound up having to do a lot of work on it, likely the reason it was priced low. I haven't bonded with that one.

Guess I got them covered now & mending past mistakes. Have had OM's in SS & cf but decided to use all NM's. They're all good.

 

[drycreek]

I only have two, a NM and a OM Super, but I appreciate them both for what they are.

 

[Ale-8(1)]

Yes, you have a good start, Joey.

 

[gunman42782]

I have four, a Flatgate, a old model roundgate, a Old Model Super, and a NM stainless Super. I love them all.