I need it to be small, light, accurate, and tough as all heck.

With the exception of being light your requirement sum the single six. They are also accurate and reliable.

 

Ive carried a stainless single six coon hunting for three years now. Never let me down. Its very accurate and especially tough for wading through thick brush and u don't need to worry about rust. I'd recommend it any day. Good choice.

 

Yeah I was looking at the stainless model. Great looking gun, and I figure holster wear will be a non issue. Dont suppose you're the same houndsman thats on youtube are ya?

 

I have one for my SHTF survival plan and was looking at getting another or possibly the Bearcat, although i think im just gonna go with the single six in stainless even though i do not like the adjustable sights i wish you could get a stainless in the fixed blade sights but oh well. My plan is to have a 10/22, single six and a Marlin 918TS so that way i will have a semi, bolt and pistol to round out my small game needs

 

Yeah a fixed sighted stainless model would be sweet! Small game hunting is where its at in my opinion.

 

Let me tell you why you picked the wrong gun for your needs.........................Oh..........sorry, can't think of anything bad about them.

IMHO: Excellent choice for your pack.

 

Carried one for years, but the .22m has too much penetration. I've retrieved pristine solids from 12" deep in a frozen waterfall. As a SD round I personally think it would be an extremely poor choice. Better than a stick, but not by much.
While its still a relative wimp, compared to other 'man stoppers', the .32H&R is a much better round than the .22m. I've used a Ruger birdhead on the trap line for 7yr and can't think of a better combo of gun/caliber. The option to shoot the .32SWL is a real boon, healthy thump without over penetration.
And if you were so inclined, this round is re loadable.

 

I'm not really too worried about SD purposes. It would onlu be put in that role if my .40 or .357 bit the dust for whatever reason. I've never shot a .32H&R before, but I used to hava a .32acp. Is it anything like that? And how hard is ammo to come by, I've never seen any for sale anywhere, not that I've looked. I do like the looks of the birdshead guns.

 

Much more powerful than the .32acp, low to mid range .38Spl power wise.
I order my ammo, you can occasionally find it on the shelves but not just anywhere.

 

If its comparable to the .38spl, then why use the .32H&R over the more common, and widely available .38? I'm certainly not bashing your caliber choice, I'm just curious why you picked it over the .38. Is it just to be different? Because I can totally respect that.

 

Hunting Plinking - LIGHT WEIGHT

Ruger Mk III LW (22 oz)
SR22 (17 oz)

Ruger MKIII Target (42 oz)

Single Six (Min 33 oz)

Add the additional cylinder, you have increased weight, have multiple rounds to deal with, complicate loading speed and have reduced capacity.

Makes sense.

 

thanks for the stats man. I've considered the sr22 and the new 22/45 lite. I know they would be faster, and much better for SD, but there is just somethin' about a single action revolver, and the durabilty of the single six has my interest. Five years down the road, if the sr22 is still going strong, I will definitely pick one up.

 

Hornady makes some 22mag self defense ammo. It suppose to be comparable to 32acp or 380, i forget which.

As long as you don't mind the extra weight as listed above (dont forget to add extra cylinder weight too), the single six is your best bet. I mean you aren't going to be able to take a squirrel at 100 yards with any 22lr pistol but 50 should be doable.

 

Hornady makes some 22mag self defense ammo. It suppose to be comparable to 32acp or 380, i forget which.

As long as you don't mind the extra weight as listed above (dont forget to add extra cylinder weight too), the single six is your best bet. I mean you aren't going to be able to take a squirrel at 100 yards with any 22lr pistol but 50 should be doable.

Debatable with a scoped Mk III.

 

Shot last summer at 25 yards with a 1976 vintage Ruger single 6 (22 LR) using Remington Golden bullets. The gun shoots better than I do, it's hard for me to see the fine sights anymore but it don't care what I shoot in it as long as it goes bang. I always recommend this gun as a starter for new shooters because it just keeps going and going and going...

(11) 22 caliber guns in the house half of them a lot newer and this one is still a favorite. For a woods gun you can't hardly beat it as a rabbit/squirrel/ pigeon gun.

 

Looks plenty accurate to me. Both YOU, and the ruger. Thanks man.

 

The single six is always a good choice. I bought my first one 40 years ago and have never been without one since. I may add a Bearcat just because it is so easy to carry or hide.

 

I love a single six. I keep the mag cylinder in mine. I hear all the stuff about the mag not being very good in a handgun, but from personal experience, a .22 mag hp of most any brand from my single six will scramble the insides of an armadillo about twice as well as a .22lr round. I prefer it to .38 special for armadillo patrol. It is more effective for some reason. I believe the .22 mag round is very underrated. Even in a handgun, but especially in a rifle.

 

If you like it and comfortable with it, carry it! If someone says all youll do is make someone/somthing mad if ya shoot it, tellem you will make em mad ten times then!

 

I've killed a deer and a small wild boar with a 22mag 6 inch stainless Single Six. I would carry it with just the 22 mag tho, the LR's aren't as accurate out of the mag barrel. this is a very great and accurate pistol, and not too many people could take a 40 grain CCI maxi mag to the chest or head and not be completely incapacitated.

 

Or if you're worried, carry a brace of pistols like the so-called Border Ruffians.They seemed to get along just fine.3 or 4 single action Rugers would make any threat nervous.

 

GunsAreEssential1975, nope not on YouTube as of yet.

 

I was just curious. I'm subbed to a guy with the same name. When you start making videos, let me know. I go by the same name on youtube, and I have a few videos on there. Not trying to plug my channel or anything..

 

The single six would be excellent for all of the reasons you mentioned. In fact thats exactly why I chose it over the MkIII!!! My single six will eat anything you can get it to chamber, quiet literally. Look at the Hornady Critical Defense loads in the 22 WRM. In gelitin it had a wound channel that was hot on the heels of Hornady's 380 Critical Defense load and was shot from a pistol length barrel as well. That ammo is pretty pricey at about 17.00 per a box but I am kinda thinking you arent going to be facing waves of zombies either with a 22 single action revolver.

Mine goes with me in my truck or camping always. It has put many a tree rat or rabbit on a camping trip over the the camp fire for dinner. Its one of the funniest guns I have in my collection and the one that gets the dawg **** shot out of it every year. I am sure it has digested at least a 100k over the last 25 years without a breakage of any kind. My only regret is I didnt get the stainless version.

 

Yeah man, I love my mkIII target, but the weight kinda sucks, and it won't shoot anything like a wheelgun. Good to hear yours has lasted so long. Mine will no doubt be SS.

 

.22 ammo is still dirt cheap. Any ruger single action is still tank tough. There is no reason not to consider one for a sthf/survival situation.

 

Get the stainless hunter model with the built-in scope mounts. I have the stainless adustable sighted standard and it's built like a tank. Mounted a red dot on it and its a shooter!

 

I've had my single six over 20 years, swapped of cylinders regularly. My expirence is that the mag seems to throw it's self of just a little .
Had issues with the transfir bar and swing out loading door, but no doubt a fun gun to shoot . However it is a single action weapon.
Having had a Remington .117HMR rifle a while and enjoying it's flat shooting and fine accuricy, I have been expolring the Smith and wesson .117 HMR.
It is a double action weapon, so the fallow up shots have little disturbance by comparison to single action weapons. You can keep the signts on the target at all times, like a semi auto.
The .117 HMR is so flat shooting that say a rabbit is running from you , it is unlikely ,you would need to alter your aim as you would the inferrior .22 mag.
.117 HMR now ar boasting 2550 FPS ,and their rising popularity is keeping the price of ammo reasonable ,about $13.for 50 rounds.@ wall mart
While this is not for plinking like a .22, the penitration depending on the ammo you select can fragment or penitrate all the way through.
Decidedly it is not a stopper for big game but I know folk that have successfully illegally taken deer with head shots and dropped in their tracks.
You zero this round at 100 yards on a rifle, emagine what you could do with a hand gun.
I am not fond of smith and prefir ruger , but smith is the only one I see fits my criteria.
Oh one major difference too, loading and unloading are a world different,the single is far more time consuming, having to ramrod every single shell out one at a time.
Something to think about, for your worst case senario.

 

i want to go this route also.
single six would go real good with my marlin 336, 30-30.
And with the 22 mag cylinder, it will do it all.
Retired Texas Ranger Joaquin Jackson preferred the 22 mag over the 38 special, more powerful he said.

 

Just as any serious rifleman should have a 30-30 lever, any serious pistolero should have a Ruger Single Six.
I am lucky, I have two, so one has the LR cylinder and my daily farm carry has the magnum cylinder. Winchester Super X 40 grain JHP is what's in the old gal at this moment.

 

I believe that would be the perfect setup.
30-30 and ruger single six with spare 22 mag cylinder.
that combo will do it all.
If I had to live in deep woods survival, those two are what I would want.
30-30 big game, 22 for small game, perfect for rabbits, squirrel.
Can just taste that roasted rotisserie rabbit now.
People down below killing each other over garbage, and I will be setting up in the heavy woods, feasting and living.
cleaning my single six while roasting my rabbit.

 

Just as any serious rifleman should have a 30-30 lever, any serious pistolero should have a Ruger Single Six.

Few truer words have been spoken before. There are just certian fire arms that one should consider "Must Haves" and these should probably be the first 2!

 

I have several .22 pistols. My ruger bearcat is accurate but slow on the reload. But since combat is not an issue, its fine. I don't see much need for the .22 cyl. You can add 50 rds of Remington viper or yellow jacket and get good preformance. I also like the 60 gr. subsonic rounds. I'll take flak but the last deer that I shot was with a remington viper. One shot in the spine. dropped in his tracks. It's all about shot placement. A .22 in the brain pan beats a .44 in a leg any day.

 

i have been thinking about the ruger blackhawk 327 fed. as my walk around the farm gun.any thoughts?

 

If you don't get a single six in 22lr - I would go with the Blackhawk in 357Magnum/38Special. You could use 38special, 38Special Plus P or 357Magnum in it. You might find it easier to buy and FIND ammo in that caliber than you would in the other one that you mentioned. Plus if you do reload - you can really TWEAK your load to suit you. I am not talking about hot loads here.

I never shot a 327Federal and it personally never interested me but I have read about it ONLINE. Plus it got some really good reviews from what I have read. In my circle of friends, baby boomers, I do not know anyone who has bought that caliber.

Best wishes to you no matter what you decide to buy.

Catherine

 

Great firearm~~~

A Ruger super single six - convertible (22lr/22wmr) is a fantastic firearm in my not so humble opinion. (Adjustable rear sight.)

There is ALWAYS a super single six revolver loaded IN my house or ON my body. I open carry every day even on my own land here in town - Western Montana. There are 2 guns by my side of the bed and one of them is the single six. If I am not packing my single six - I am packing a Ruger Blackhawk in a Triple K western leather belt and holster/holsters.

I have owned 2 super single sixes (22lr/22wmr) and 1 Bisley single six (22lr only) since the late 1990's. 'New model' ones - transfer bar, bought NIB and they were all outstanding firearms. I shot 22lr the most and only a BIT of 22wmr since the late 1990's.

The one that I have now looks like this:

http://www.ruger.com/products/newModelSingleSixConvertible/specSheets/10622.html

Blued, black grips, adjustable sight, 6.5 inch barrel, 22lr/22wmr.

All of my Rugers had wooden grips except for this newer one and the newer Blackhawk in 357Magnum/38Special. (You can get some other grips from other companies that will fit any Ruger just as you can for a Smith and Wesson firearm, etc.)

I PREFER the 6.5 inch barrel myself. The Blackhawk that I gifted to my husband that I had owned since the late 90's in 45Colt aka long colt has a 7.5 inch barrel.

ALL of my/our Ruger s/a revolvers in ALL calibers have been TACK DRIVERS. NO kidding! They shot as well as the S&W Model 686 that I bought back in the late 90's. They shoot as well as the Glock Model 19C - 9mm too.

My husband has owned/owns blued and stainless Rugers. I have only owned blued Rugers - I have had no problems there even when I lived in a super humid climate back east. I take very good care of my guns as I do with anything else that I own. They are my self defense tools. I rely on them.

Since I shoot single action revolvers on such a regular basis - I shoot them just as well as I do shooting a sweet S&W d/a revolver and a Glock semi automatic pistol.

Side note here: I have shot the Bearcat - old model style. It belonged to my husband and he wanted to give it to me. It fit me well but I decided that I wanted something else.

So he sold that gun when we consolidated a whole bunch of our firearm calibers and sold a bunch of his/her firearms.

I use Federal bulk ammunition the most in ALL of my (His too.) 22lr firearms. I do use some American Eagle - red box made by Federal too.

I have been praising Ruger single action revolvers since I first discovered them and got into buying/shooting my own guns circa 1998.

If I had to choose ONLY 1 handgun due to my hand arthritis and for any other reason - it would be the Ruger single six - 22lr. I already made that decision!

If I had to choose ONLY 1 rifle due to ANY reason - it would be in a 22lr. My second choice AFTER a 22lr rifle would be in a classic 30-30 caliber. Both of those rifle calibers are here now anyway. His and hers.

Catherine