Hello and welcome to another edition of The Rimfire Report! This ongoing series is about the rimfire firearm world and its many types of firearms, shooting sports, ammunition, and history! Last week we had fellow writer Nic L fill in to talk about the Winchester Xpert rifle. While I personally haven’t had a whole lot of time with the rifle myself, I can say that I think its most significant selling point might simply be that it accepts commonly used, widely available, and relatively inexpensive Ruger 10/22 magazines. Speaking of Ruger, this week we’ll start diving into my first impressions of the recently released Super Wrangler. The Ruger Super Wrangler blends the affordability and ruggedness of the Wrangler series, with some of the features from the Single Six series of single-action revolvers to give customers a middle ground that might just cover all of their bases. So is the new Ruger Super Wrangler really adding something of value to Ruger’s single-action rimfire revolver line or was this move an unnecessary addition? Let’s find out!

More Rimfire Report @ TFB:

• The Rimfire Report: The Winchester Xpert 22 LR Rifle
• The Rimfire Report: The Ranger Model 103-8 – A Blast From The Past
• The Rimfire Report: Italy’s Chiappa Little Badger 22LR Survival Rifle

The Rimfire Report: First Impressions from the New Ruger Super Wrangler

As was mentioned in a previous edition of Wheelgun Wednesday, TFB can take a little bit of pride in predicting the release of the Super Wrangler – even if it did take 3 whole years to come to fruition. Much like the other “Supers” in the series, the Super Wrangler features several upgrades over its vanilla namesake and in the case of the Wrangler, adjustable/replaceable sights, replaceable grips, and of course two cylinders are included giving you an increased value over the standard 22LR only Wrangler.

• Grips: Checkered Synthetic
• Sights: Ramp Front & Adjustable Rear
• Barrel Length: 5.5″ with 6-Groove Rifling & 1:14″ Right-Hand Twist
• Overall Length: 11″
• Weight: 37.7 oz.
• Capacity: 6 Rounds
• Finish: Bronze, Black, or Silver Cerakote®
• Material: Alloy Steel
• MSRP: $329

The attractive price, combined with the affordability of rimfire ammunition, make this revolver ideal for learning to shoot, introducing friends or family to the sport, or just experiencing the fun of single-action shooting.

-Ruger Press Release on the Super Wrangler

I think the best part about the Ruger Super Wrangler’s release is its MSRP of $329.00. While that might sound a bit high for a 22 caliber single-action revolver, don’t forget you’re getting the capabilities of 22WMR packed in there and also that Ruger’s products typically sell for much less than their advertised MSRP. I did a quick search in the lead-up to the release of this review and you can already find them on various websites for around $260.00.

First Impressions

Fit/Finish

Like I’ve said before, the Ruger Super Wrangler fits somewhere in between the ruggedness and value of the Wrangler line and more premium features of the Single Six line, like the adjustable sights and swappable cylinders. While the Wagnler line certainly lacks the sheer beauty of the blued or satin stainless steel finish Single Six’s, the Black and Silver Cerakote finishes of the Wrangler line are beautiful in their own right, and also have the added benefit of being much more weather resistant.

Just in case you were wondering, you can’t simply take the 22WMR or even the 22LR cylinder meant for the Super Wrangler and fit it into a regular Wrangler, nor can you do the reverse. The parts, I think, are intentionally incompatible to avoid any catastrophic mistakes. One neat feature carried over from other Ruger single-actions is the cylinder’s ability to be rotated in either direction so that unloading and loading are accomplished much easier.

Mechanical Assembly

As with my other Ruger revolvers, I’ve had nothing but a worry-free experience in terms of reliability out of the new Super Wrangler. Advancing to the next chamber on the cylinder is always accompanied by a nice simple symphony of clicks. Fellow TFB writer Lucas D accompanied me on one of my range trips with the revolver and together we ran nearly every type of 22LR and 22WMR ammunition I had available through the revolver and neither one of us experienced a single failure to fire or any other malfunctions from the firearm. After the first couple of range sessions, I didn’t notice any of the screws attempting to work themselves loose or any signs that the lockup between the swappable cylinders and the pawl was beginning to go out of time.

Like other Ruger single action revolvers, the Super Wrangler features a transfer bar safety which means that, yes, you can carry this thing around with a full cylinder without worry. This is fortunate because Ruger still hasn’t learned that everyone wants 9-shot cylinders these days, so at least we aren’t being shorted one round because of safety concerns.

Accuracy

I’m not sure if this is a feature of the new Super Wrangler or simply a one-off fluke but one of the first things I did before heading out to the range with the revolver was to test the out-of-the-box trigger pull. There is just a tiny bit of creep that is almost predictable in its nature right before a clean 2lb 11oz trigger pull (average over 10 pulls on my Lyman trigger scale). This certainly aids in the accuracy potential of the revolver.

I had a few concerns about the 22LR being slightly less accurate out of the revolver than the 22 WMR and this assumption might have been proven true with both my shooting performance and Lucas’ – we had virtually the same results with the 22WMR grouping very tightly compared to the 22LR. On that note, however, while 22WMR across the board seemed to group quite nicely regardless of the brand or type of ammunition selected, the Super Wrangler definitely plays much better with high-velocity 22LR loads like Aguila Super Extra, CCI Mini Mags, and Federal 36-grain hollow points. The plan is to put more stabilized shots on paper but I think it’s not a stretch to say that this particular pistol is probably more accurate than I am when shooting unsupported.

My one complaint isn’t really a new one, but one that exists throughout nearly the entire Ruger rimfire revolver lineup – lackluster sights. Yes, the adjustable sights are a vast improvement over the fixed trench/post sights of the regular Wrangler lineup, however, even the Ruger’s Single Six line suffers from having a very wide plastic front sight. The sights are fairly accurate for shooting at a distance of 10 yards, but if you’re trying to nail something, say a rabbit, at 25 yards, I think you’ll want sights that are not only a bit more refined, but perhaps even more visible. I know Ruger makes models of the Single Six with fiber optic front sights, my question is: How come Ruger doesn’t offer the Super Wrangler with them from the factory?

Closing Thoughts

The Ruger Super Wrangler is somewhat of a compromise option for those who either can’t decide on which features are more important to them or perhaps are truly looking for something that’s rugged and can be taken with them in the woods to hunt varmints or small game with. The Single Six line definitely adds a bit of beauty to the design, but I personally feel like the Super Wrangler does it better simply because I already happen to like Cerakote, and I’m also notoriously hard on my guns. That plus access to better sights and the spare 22WMR cylinder is what I think customers have been after since the beginning – this one is a no-brainer if you’ve been waiting for a more affordable version of the Single Six.

My next goal for the Super Wrangler is to test it out on some simulated game targets to see how effective it really is at being both a plinker and a hunting implement. Stay tuned to next week’s edition of The Rimfire Report where we’ll test Ruger’s new Super Wrangler to see if it can win you dinner on the frontier. Thanks as always for stopping by to read and we’ll see you all next week!

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