How Accuracte is Your Ruger Single Six?

[Racer X]

I have a 5-1/2" stainless version and the best groups have been in the 1-1/2" to 2" range at 15 (not 25) yards w/ Long Rifle ammo. I consider this level of accuracy mediocre. I have not tried the Magnum cylinder yet. I have heard it both ways; sometimes the LR cylinder shoots better, other times the WMR.

I would appreciate feedback on anyone's experience with Ruger Single Six accuracy? Short of sending it off to a smith for linebored cylinders and a new barrel, has anyone done any tinkering with theirs' that noticeably improved accuracy?

[OLDHandgunner]

Mine and all the other ones I have shot have there favorite 22 ammo. What shoots good in one may not shoot good in the other. You just have to play around with different ammo. Also make sure you have a nice trigger pull. This will make alot of difference.
The Ruger single actions weren't made to be target guns, mainly for hunting. But I've seen some that were very accurate.
My 22 LR shoots better group than my 22 Mag cylinder.

[Jerry Lester]

Installing a 30 or 40 ounce Wolff trigger spring makes a huge difference in the "shootability" of the Ruger SA revolvers.

What kind of ammo have you tried? They tend to shoot a lot better with the target grade ammo, but if you're like me, it's just not worth the extra money. I've found that most of the CCI loads shoot pretty good, except the Stingers sometimes aren't as good in some guns. The best all around that I've found in just about any 22 no matter if it's a rifle or handgun is the Federal 36g HP's. I buy them in 550 round bulk packs from Wal-Mart, and they shoot fantastic in every Single Six I've ever shot them in.

[Roudy]

Just wanted to echo what others have said about trying different brands of 22 LR ammo in your 22 LR firearms.  I usually keep a box of each of many different brands of 22's so I can try them in new firearms.  Recently was testing a Handi Rifle and used ten different brands and styles of ammo; it shot best with the most expensive 22 LR I had (Eley Standard) and with the least expensive (Federal Value Pack - 550 round pack).  I will be using the Federal in that rifle.

I also just got a Ruger Single Six (4 5/8" barrel) and have only shot six rounds through it so have some testing to do with a range of different brands.  During the first 5 rounds I was adjusting the sights but the 6th round went 'exactly' where I aimed......I think this is going to be a very accurate pistol.  Haven't tried the 22 magnum cylinder yet.

Roudy

[greener]

A great number of folks would be very happy to shoot sub 2" groups at 15 yards, unsupported and with open sights.  I've had strings where 90% are sub 1.5".  It would be great if it weren't for them pesky fliers.  Of course, I've also had strings that were sub tractor trailer tire also.  I think the single six is pretty consistent.  With adjustable sights, it should be pretty accurate.  The biggest problem mine has with proving that is the shooter has a consistency and accuracy problem.

[pathfinder]

Here is a 25 yard target picture
http://www.grovestreet.com/jsp/onepic.jsp?id=1061572

[ShooterToo]

If I am very careful about ammo choices and use very strict form off the bench at 25 yards I can get some pretty good 5" - 6" patterns.  My single six sucks.  I rarely even take it to range anymore.  I shoot a lot of 22s, P22, Sig Mosquito, K-22, MKII, S&W mod 49 and that wretched single six is the worst of all. 

[Jerry Lester]

If I am very careful about ammo choices and use very strict form off the bench at 25 yards I can get some pretty good 5" - 6" patterns.  My single six stinks.  I rarely even take it to range anymore.  I shoot a lot of 22s, P22, Sig Mosquito, K-22, MKII, S&W mod 49 and that wretched single six is the worst of all. 

 

There has to be something wrong with that gun! I've owned several Single Sixes, and have shot, or seen shot probably 75 or more others over the years. I've never seen one that shot that bad no matter what kind of ammo they were using. Even in worst cases about the poorest 25 yard accuracy I've seen "might" have been in the 3" range with very poor ammo.

[brutus]

Racer-X I have a Ruger Single Six with a 5.5 Bbl and fixed sights and use it for small game hunting. Most any brand of ammo give great groups. Rem. plain old milk carton LR are my first choice. Best little gun to carry around and plink with IMHO.

[jh45gun]

Jerry and I in years past have had this arguement before. I think Ruger makes a robust gun in either pistol or rifle but in the accuracy dept it is a crap shoot. The first single six I had which I traded off in the 70's I could hit anything the last one I had sucked it shot for crap. Same with a couple of blackhawks in 44 I had one was good the other poor. I think Ruger could go a long way with their quality control. Ever notice if you buy a Government model semi auto or an other target  ruger pistol they send a target with it. You never see that with their single actions why because then they would have to make them all shoot before they left the factory. I will not own an other Single action Ruger or a 10/22 both are a crap shoot getting an accurate one and I think it is funny that a Marlin Semi auto out of the box will shoot rings around most 10/22's for those that want to argue that fact if they were accurate out of the box their would not be a cottage industry with after market barrels and accessories to make them accurate.

[Tom C.]

Single Sixes have slightly over size barrels. They are slightly undersize for .22 mag. They are sensitive to for both sizes of ammo. Adding insult to injury, the bore of mine was a little rough and the forcing cone was bad. I corrected the forcing cone and shot a bunch of .22 mag stuff to smooth out the barrel. It now shoots much better, but there are conditions on that. When I shoot wax coated lead match stuff or subsonic stuff, the first shots out of a clean gun aren’t that good. After 10 or 15 rds. when the wax puts down a coating on the barrel, accuracy improves substantially. It will eventually lead up the forcing cone a little and accuracy drops off. When I shot some .22 mag with a dirty barrel, the bullets keyholed into a 3 or 4” group at 15 yds. After cleaning, it was ok again.
Don’t expect it to be a match gun. My MK II Comp is a very accurate match gun. Different guns for different purposes.

[jh45gun]

Single Sixes have slightly over size barrels. They are slightly undersize for .22 mag. They are sensitive to for both sizes of ammo. Adding insult to injury, the bore of mine was a little rough and the forcing cone was bad. I corrected the forcing cone and shot a bunch of .22 mag stuff to smooth out the barrel. It now shoots much better, but there are conditions on that. When I shoot wax coated lead match stuff or subsonic stuff, the first shots out of a clean gun aren’t that good. After 10 or 15 rds. when the wax puts down a coating on the barrel, accuracy improves substantially. It will eventually lead up the forcing cone a little and accuracy drops off. When I shot some .22 mag with a dirty barrel, the bullets keyholed into a 3 or 4” group at 15 yds. After cleaning, it was ok again.
Don’t expect it to be a match gun. My MK II Comp is a very accurate match gun. Different guns for different purposes.

When I was young and had good eyes I once shot at a empty cigarette carton (not the one pack but the carton the packs come in) between 80 and a 100 yards and hit it 6 times out of 6 with the magnum cylinder. IF you have a good one they will shoot well. My issue with them is gettting a good one. I wish I would have never sold my good one to a friend so I could buy a 357. I next one I had years later was a 5.5 stainless and it was junk accuracy wise. I had the same issues with a couple of blackhawks too one was great and the other terrible. I really do think Ruger needs to get with it. When they are good they are great guns, I really do not want to buy another to find out it needs to be sent back to the factory. If you buy a Ruger Target Pistol they send you a target to show it shoots well. They should do that with all their guns, I bet then their would be less clunkers coming from the factory. Before some one says it was just my eyes maybe with the later ones after I got rid if the Stainless one I traded for a Navy Arms TT Olympia Target Pistol which is a well made chinese copy of the Walther pistol that won the olympics for Germany before WWII. This gun has smaller finer sights than the Ruger did yet I can hit the bull target shooting at 25 yards and bounceing a can around is almost boreing so my eyes are still ok yet enough I can still manage open sights some what even with bifocals. 

[Bullseye]

I do not remember the exact group sizes from the Single Six and Bisley Single Six I had.  The main word here is had.  Neither of mine ever shot good enough that I enjoyed shooting them.  Sold them both and replaced them with a double action 22 revolver which shoots much better and is fun to shoot.

I have also sent a Ruger Bisley 41Mag and a Super Redhawk down the road because the accuracy was not much and their replacement of another brand were much better.  I did however have a GP100 at one time that was one of the most accurate revolvers that I have ever owned.

[jh45gun]

I do not remember the exact group sizes from the Single Six and Bisley Single Six I had.  The main word here is had.  Neither of mine ever shot good enough that I enjoyed shooting them.  Sold them both and replaced them with a double action 22 revolver which shoots much better and is fun to shoot.

I have also sent a Ruger Bisley 41Mag and a Super Redhawk down the road because the accuracy was not much and their replacement of another brand were much better.  I did however have a GP100 at one time that was one of the most accurate revolvers that I have ever owned.

Glad to see I am not the only one who has issues with ruger single actions.

[Tom C.]

I think one of the dirty little secrets of Rugers, particularly their revolvers, is that they come from the factory as a work in progress. Now the .44 SBH I got a year ago is the best Ruger I have seen. It just needed a little trigger work and a spring kit, but most of them required work to bring them up to their full potential. My .45s have usually required reaming of the cylinder throats, recutting the barrel forcing cone, and smoothing the barrel bore, in addition to the usual trigger work. I also put Belt Mountain base pins in. I consider it fun to work with them and get the most I can out of them. Not everyone feels that way.

[jh45gun]

I think one of the dirty little secrets of Rugers, particularly their revolvers, is that they come from the factory as a work in progress. Now the .44 SBH I got a year ago is the best Ruger I have seen. It just needed a little trigger work and a spring kit, but most of them required work to bring them up to their full potential. My .45s have usually required reaming of the cylinder throats, recutting the barrel forcing cone, and smoothing the barrel bore, in addition to the usual trigger work. I also put Belt Mountain base pins in. I consider it fun to work with them and get the most I can out of them. Not everyone feels that way.

Your post reveals what I have said all along that ticks me off about Ruger single actions. IF they are going to do that then sell them at KIT prices!!! My attitude with them is for the money you pay you should get a gun that needs no work fresh from the factory and is accuarate.  To have to do spring work and forceing cone work ect ect ect is wrong. Trigger work even ticks me off but due to the lawyer issues I know most gun companies have made the triggers less user friendly. Still the guns should be accurate and not need forceing cone work, bore work, spring work, better pins ect ect ect. 

[Tom C.]

They can do better. I got a pair of 50th Anniversary Blackhawks for my wife. They are very well made. I still smoothed up the triggers, but the chambers were smooth and they shot well. I just think Ruger has gotten a little sloppy with the Blackhawks over they years.
I actually don’t mind that when I get a new NMBH, it is a work in progress. I have definite ideas about how I want them set up, and I don’t have to undo anything from the factory to make them what I want them to be. I spend quite a bit of time dialing them in until I get them just the way I want them. If I had to pay the factory to do this, the price would be doubled, at least. Look at Freedom Arms. They make beautiful guns, but I sure can’t afford that.

[Almtnman]

My single six is very accurate and I have been well pleased with the accuracy of it. Bought it new in 1976.

[jh45gun]

Altman the vintage of my first one that was the good one was about 73 I do agree with the post above that Ruger has gotten sloppy. Now some folks who do not shoot a pistol much or not well may get a handgun that is so so and be happy with it as they do not know any better. I think Ruger gets by a lot with these sort of owners. For those that do shoot well they may not be as happy if you get a so so one like I did several times. I do think the older ones were better and now it is a crap shoot. you may or may not get a good one. For those that do not mind and figure they are going to "fix" them up thats great if you know how to do it. If not and you take it to a gunsmith then it is going to be a costly single action which I feel is BS. You should get a good one from the factory every time. Yea there may an occasional lemon all companies have that. In Rugers case occasional is far from the norm. I will also say I take no delight in complaining about this as I wish I had a good Ruger single action again but I am not willing to take the chance on getting a bad one again.

[Almtnman]

I didn't know that Ruger's quality had went down. I mentioned that I bought mine in 1976 and it has been a good one, very accurate and I've killed a lot of game with it, squirrels, rabbits, beaver, rattlesnakes(one of  those rattler's had 12 rattles and a button) etc. I shot that one right through the head when it was trying to make a strike. I'm glad I saw it first before it went into the strike mode. I once had a road rage dude that jumped out of his car and came at me with a claw hammer and I jumped out of my Landcruiser and drawed a bead on him with my single six. Last time I saw him he was still burning rubber trying to find some other part of the county to go too. I called the police about that incident and they came and told me that I probably had enough of an affect on him that he would give up his road rage habits for a while and thanked me for being a good citizen. On the barrel of mine it has the words "Made in the 200th year of American Liberty". I carry it around in a leather Bianci #1 SA holster and it has rode on my side so much that the front of the trigger guard has been worn down some by riding in the holster. I have had a Pachmayr grip on it since right after I bought it which makes it fit my hands better. I refer to my single six as my "Woods Walking" gun.

[Racer X]

I too agree Ruger's quality has dropped. Their customer service is great, as they will fix these problems. The last two new Rugers I bought got sent back; my special order Distributors Exclusive SBH Hunter in 45 Colt had more dings and tool marks on the grip frame than I was willing to accept in a new gun so I sent it back and made them replace the grip frame. My 5-1/2" stainless Single Six came from the factory with the barrel installed cock-eyed. I sent it back and they turned the barrel.

[petepaaz]

      I agree that Ruger's single actions can vary in quality and accuracy... a bit nerve racking when laying out hard-earned cash. Fortunately, I recently purchased a Single-Six Hunter in .22LR/.22WMR. It was initially disappointing as I tried a number of different LR cartridges with sub-par success....until I hit upon the Fed. Hi-Vel HP....all of a sudden I was getting 1&1/2" grps at 25 yds (sometimes 1"). At 50yds was around 2&1/2"....all this was with a Bushnell 2-7x scope, which helped my aging eyes. I believe this is a great hunting piece. Wish my 2 previous single-sixes would have been so good.

[Questor]

Before I sold it, mine was very accurate at 25 yards with high velocity LR ammo, but I could never shoot well with it using 22 magnum.

The real issue with the gun was not its inherent accuracy, it was that it was ergonomically poor and I could never get a consistent grip on it for good field shooting. Replaced the gun and that problem went away.

[Almtnman]

The real issue with the gun was not its inherent accuracy, it was that it was ergonomically poor and I could never get a consistent grip on it for good field shooting. Replaced the gun and that problem went away.

That was a problem for me also until I installed a Pachmayr grip on mine and the problem went away immediately. 

[solocam72]

I have the single six hunter .22-.22 mag, my gun shoots the .22 better than the magnum, I shoot a 1" group at 25 yrds, and about a 2" group @ 25 yrds with the magnum cylinder. Overall I really like my gun, I think the ruger hunter models are a very nice looking SA revolver, JMO   

[azmark]

I just had to weigh in on this one.  I had a single six last year and had to sell it due to budgetary reasons.  Here's the rub...I LOVED that gun; the way it looked, the way it felt, etc. but It wouldn't shoot for me.  Even when I used an improvised rest, it would shoot high and left.  And that was up close, like 10 yards.  Adjusting the sights wouldn't do enough.  Maybe it was me, maybe the trigger needed work, maybe I didn't try enough types of ammo, I don't know.  I got a GP100 and it shot great for me.  Unfortunately, that one's gone now too for the same reason as the single six .  Part of me wants to get another single six, but I don't feel real confident.

[greener]

Only one poster has mentioned POI versus POA in the accuracy discussions.  Has anyone looked at group size with the revolver from a rest?  That would be an indication of the consistency of the revolver and the ammunition. Group size, freehand, would be a combination of the revolver, ammo and shooter consistency.  On another forum folks are posting "accuracy" results for the Walther P22.  A good number of the groups posted are way off target, but tight groups, indicating that they can shoot the pistol consistently, but I'd question accuracy.  I've been pretty satisfied with my single six.  If I've adjusted the sights for the ammo I'm using POI is about POA.  I seem to be able to group rounds around the POA.  I'm not sure that the single six is the most accurate rimfire handgun I own, but I attribute most of that to the shooter.  I'm satisfied that the single six I have is a pretty accurate handgun.  I seem to be able to put the rounds about where I intended them to go at 15-25 yards with, for me, reasonable groups.

[His lordship.]

I have the Bisley modell, nice gun, but not as accurate as my Browning Buckmark, although it shoots decent.  I Have not installed a spring kit in it yet.  It is different enough that I am happy with it so far.  Very robust for a rimfire handgun.   

[greener]

2" groups at 25 yards.  Don't know how accurate the single six is, but I managed this today with a single six.

[Ruger4Me]

I have a stainless Bisley 4 5/8” with fixed sites, it’s on its way back to Ruger this week. Sprays crap all over anyone standing next to me when I shoot it, I can feel stuff hitting me from time to time and it has one He$$ of a bark. My Bearcat doesn’t even bark like the Bisley, I feel the gap between the cylinder and the barrel is excessive, it’s a very loose .008” but cant get the .009” all the way under. Almost hate to send it back the gun shoots POA on a good day when I can see the sites I can usually get 2” to 2 ½” at 20 yards good enough to blast a bunny, but I will never buy a fixed site stainless model again though, them sites are just about imposable to see in bright sun light.