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Ruger New Model Single Six Convertible .22 LR/.22 WMR Revolver By Chuck Hawks  The traditional, single action (SA) Ruger Single Six .22 revolver was the second firearm Bill Ruger brought to market, following his Ruger .22 semi-automatic pistol. It has been in production for some 63 years as I write these words in 2016. The Single Six has been modified and improved over the years, but has remained a 7/8 size Peacemaker style revolver with a full size (Blackhawk) grip and, internally, an improved action using music wire springs. The Single Six was originally offered with fixed sights, but fully adjustable hunting/target sights were soon offered as the Super Single Six model. If purchased with both .22 LR and .22 WMR cylinders, the gun was called a Super Single Six Convertible, which became the most popular model. Bill Ruger redesigned the action in 1973 to incorporate a transfer bar ignition system, allowing safe carry with the cylinder fully loaded. Unlike virtually all earlier SA revolvers, it is not necessity to leave the hammer down on an empty chamber when carrying these revolvers. Transfer bar ignition guns were given the "New Model" designation and the old models became known as "three screw" guns, so called because of the three screws in the side of the frame. New Model guns only had two screws in the side of the frame and more recently the New Model's two screws were replaced by pins that will not loosen with a lot of shooting or dry firing. (Occasionally tightening the screws in the side of the frame is normal maintenance for most SA revolvers.) New Model guns do not have quarter-cock and half-cock hammer positions. Opening the loading gate retracts the cylinder bolt, allowing the cylinder to turn for loading and unloading. The hammer is not involved in loading. When cocking the hammer of a New Model Ruger, you only hear two clicks, which are the cylinder bolt clicking into place and the trigger catching the full cock notch. "New Model Ruger Super Single Six Convertible" is a bit of a mouthful, so lately the Ruger catalog has dropped the word "Super" from the name and "New Model" is used generically, covering all current Ruger SA cartridge revolvers, leaving the current nomenclature "Ruger Single Six Convertible." (All Single Six revolvers are now convertibles, supplied with two cylinders.) The .22 LR cylinder is fluted for easy identification, while the .22 Magnum cylinder is not fluted and ".22 Win. Magnum Cal." is roll stamped around the rear of the cylinder. The chambers of both cylinders are recessed to fully enclose the case rims. The cylinders are exchanged in New Model guns by simply opening the loading gate, then depressing the spring loaded cylinder latch pin and removing the cylinder pin. The cylinder then drops out of the frame through the open loading gate. What used to be called the "Super Single Six Convertible" with adjustable sights is the most popular model offered today, in either blued or stainless steel finish. Only two catalog numbers come with fixed sights, in blued finish only, with either a 5.5 inch or 6.5 inch barrel. Adjustable sight models are available with 4.62, 5.5, 6.5 and 9.0 inch barrels. In addition to the standard catalog models, one-off distributer exclusives are produced every year for big Ruger distributors, such as Lipsey's and Talo, often with added features, such as special grips, roll engraving and non-standard barrel lengths. The Single Six uses two piece grips. Grip panel material has varied over the years and included walnut, rosewood, hardwood, laminated hardwood and black plastic. Today, stainless finish guns come with laminated hardwood wood grips with silver and black Ruger medallions and blued models come with black plastic grips. The Single Six Convertible that is the subject of this review is Model 0626. This is the stainless steel, adjustable sight, 6.5 inch barrel version and my personal favorite configuration. Specifications
Ruger stainless steel revolvers have a particularly attractive satin external finish, not mirror bright like a Colt Ultimate, nor as dull as most matte stainless finishes. The rosewood stained, laminated grips nicely complement the metal finish. (Note photo above.) The test gun is a very attractive revolver! Externally, the stainless single six is as attractive as ever. However, it is no secret to long time Ruger revolver owners that the level of internal polish and fitting has decreased over the years and this is evident in the test gun. The actions are not as smooth as the old three screw models and small details are more likely to be overlooked. For example, the large frame pin protrudes about 1mm from the right side of the frame on my test gun. The slot in the ejector rod housing is so rough that the ejector rod does not slide smoothly. The square edges of the trigger guard are too sharp, especially at the rear where it abrades the middle finger of the strong hand during extended shooting sessions. Like all Ruger revolvers, the hammer (main) and trigger springs are far too heavy, making the gun more difficult than necessary or desirable to cock and fire. The grips do not perfectly fit the grip frame. At the front, the sharp leading edge of the grip panels protrude beyond the frame, which is uncomfortable. None of these problems are deal breakers and most can be resolved at home by anyone with a smidgen of mechanical aptitude. I simply sanded the front (inside curve) of the grip panels to fit the frame. I used a small file to smooth the inside of the ejector housing slot, so that the ejector rod slides smoothly. I replaced the hammer (main) spring with a reduced rate Wolff spring. The trigger pull weight is the easiest thing to fix on a New Model, as you just remove the grip panels and slip one arm of the trigger spring from its post. This cuts the trigger pull about in half, resulting in a 2-5/8 pound trigger pull in the test gun. The long frame pin and the sharp trigger guard edges I will have to live with for now, as I don't have the sort of fine grinder required to fix them. Someday, I'll get a little professional help with those. The test gun's barrel has a slight taper toward the muzzle. It measures 0.6105 at the muzzle and 0.6695 where it meets the frame. The six groove rifling is cold hammer forged. The muzzle is not crowned, but this does not seem to degrade the accuracy, as every Single Six I have owned, both Three Screw and New Models, has shot very well. The black, Patridge type sights on the Single Six are Ruger's standard (and excellent) adjustable sights. The front sight is a fast draw ramp screwed to the barrel. The rear sight is partially protected by the shape of the top strap and is screw adjustable for windage and elevation. These are hunting grade iron sights. Ruger Single Six frame revolvers are very strong, far stronger than really necessary for the .22 LR and .22 WMR cartridges. This has allowed them to be chambered for centerfire cartridges that are small enough to be accommodated in the Single Six diameter cylinder. Centerfire versions have been produced as a six shot .32 H&R Magnum and recently in the powerful .327 Magnum with a seven shot cylinder (Single Seven). The basic revolver is also offered in .22 LR as the Single Ten with a 10 shot cylinder (not convertible) and as a nine shot Single Nine in .22 WMR (also not convertible). Finally, the Single Six is chambered for the popular .17 HMR varmint cartridge. As an aside, it occurs to me that if the shoulder of the .17 WSM case were eliminated, leaving a straight case, and the case shortened by about 1/32 inch (or even as much as 1mm), it would be a dandy case for a .243 caliber rimfire cartridge for a Single Seven revolver. The bullet weight would be 50-60 grains in a JHP, truncated cone shape and the cartridge overall length would be 1.475 inches, the same as the .327 Mag. Such a cartridge (The .243 Ruger Magnum Rimfire?) should have about the same velocity and trajectory as the .22 WMR and other current magnum revolver cartridges, but hit harder than the .22 WMR, sell for less than any centerfire cartridge and kick much less than the .32 H&R or .327 Magnum centerfire cartridges. (See Proposed: The .243 Magnum Rimfire for more details.) Because the Single Six has been so popular for so long, there are many good holsters of various sorts available. Hunter, Uncle Mike's, Bianchi and Triple K come immediately to mind. Ruger offers Bianchi and Triple K holsters and belts on their website (www.ruger.com). I have owned several Single Six revolvers over the years and all have been good shooters. I fired the Model 0626 from a bench rest over sandbags at 25 yard small bore pistol targets. Five shot, 25 yard groups were fired using CCI Mini Mag 37 grain copper plated hollow point (HP), Federal Auto Match 40 grain lead round nose (RN) and Remington 36 grain Golden Bullet HP .22 LR ammo. In addition, CCI A22 35 grain Game Point JSP, Winchester Super-X 40 grain JHP and Hornady 30 grain V-Max .22 Magnum ammo was also tested. Shooting Results
The lightened hammer spring and 2-5/8 pound trigger pull certainly made shooting easier and more accurate than the stock spring rates. Ditto the excellent Ruger adjustable sights and the long sight radius provided by the 6.5 inch barrel. These factors made It relatively easy to get the best out of the Single Six. My impression of the CCI A22 load is it is best reserved for use in rifles. Its muzzle blast is noticeably louder than the other .22 Magnum loads and a long flame could be seen coming from the muzzle, even in bright sunlight. This indicates the use of a slower burning powder intended for use in rifle length barrels. Of course, the A22 load was developed specifically for the Savage A22 autoloading rifle. As you would expect from a SA revolver, and particularly a Ruger, there were no malfunctions. The Single Six is about as reliable as a .22 handgun can be. It is also (along with the other Ruger New Model SA revolvers) the safest handgun you can buy, in terms of preventing operator error. The Single Six Convertible is a fine small game and varmint hunting revolver, as well as a fun gun for informal target shooting and plinking. Use the .22 LR cylinder for most small game hunting, plinking and practice, and the .22 WMR cylinder for most varmint shooting or camp protection. Hollow point or plastic tipped bullets are the ticket for most hunting applications. The .22 WMR cartridge shoots as flat as any other magnum revolver cartridge over 100 yards (see The Magnum Pistol Cartridges from .22 WMR to .454 Casull for more on this) and its JHP bullet causes a nasty wound, so I have never felt particularly under-gunned when carrying a Single Six .22 Magnum in the field for protection against human predators. A Single Six Convertible is a great camp gun, since you can use the .22 LR cylinder for casual plinking and the .22 WMR cylinder for protection. |
