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Ruger Wrangler - The Perfect Gun For New Shooters & Trainers?

Maksim

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A number of community members know that last month, I attended a private media event sponsored by Ruger which was co-sponsored with Leupold and Hornady.   

During this event, Ruger showed off and let us play with the new products which were set to be announced around the 2019 NRA show which just wrapped up.  

While the central products of focus were the three Ruger long range rifles, the Ruger Precision Rifles in 6.5 PRC and 300 PRC, and the Ruger Hawkeye Long Range Target, the company did showcase 3 of their new pistols, including the Ruger Wrangler.

The Ruger Wrangler is a 6 shot, single action revolver, chambered for the 22 long rifle cartridge.  The gun is precisely what you would expect to see at a local Single Action Society match or in a western movie.  It was created to compete with the Heritage Arms Rough Rider revolver at the very low price point of under $200.

Based on that information alone, can you blame a North East run and gun guy of overlooking the gun?

While I had no doubts it would be commercially successful, I passed up the opportunity to take one home with me for further testing.  After all, the Ruger PC Carbine with the Free Float Rail and the two new rocket launchers capable for shooting 2,000 yards plus were certainly more exciting?  Right?

In the real world however, the one filled with many new gun buyers, people with a budget and a geography where the vast majority of the time spent shooting is at indoor ranges at under 15 yards, the Ruger Wrangler is really an easy purchase to justify.  It is then further reaffirmed by the simple fact that Heritage Arms sells hundreds of thousands of pistols!  

With it's $249 MSRP and a real world street price of around $200, the Wrangler offers an unparalleled value for a pistol. Combined with Ruger's casting experience and a cold hammer forged barrel, the gun buyer is sure to have a gun that is both durable and reliable for many years to come.  With Ruger's lifetime warranty, the gun can easily be a generational product!

For New Jersey gun owners, the Ruger Wrangler has another position.  It is a pistol that you should buy if you have pistol permits that are due to expire and you do not want to let them go to waste!  This brilliant idea was brought up by our very own Steve at Monmouth Arms, aka @remixer.

So are you planning on buying a Ruger Wrangler?  In which color?

 



24 Comments


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I knew i was Brilliant .....just a matter of time until the rest of you to realize it :)

 

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I want to get a  black one.   I think this would be the perfect handgun for introducing children to shooting.  

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3 hours ago, Underdog said:

I want a black one.   

That would be my choice of color too. 

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7 hours ago, Underdog said:

I want a black one.   

We can take this to an entire different thread :)  but i'll just leave this alone.

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On 4/29/2019 at 10:13 AM, remixer said:

I knew i was Brilliant .....just a matter of time until the rest of you to realize it :)

 

sweet

 

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meh.....buy the heritage rough rider.  It's cheaper, same function, reliable and safe. 

 

$200 vs $100, no brainer

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1 hour ago, RUTGERS95 said:

meh.....buy the heritage rough rider.  It's cheaper, same function, reliable and safe. 

 

$200 vs $100, no brainer

I've never seen the rough rider for under $100.  $150 sure...  I'm happy with the Wrangler though.

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Just now, RUTGERS95 said:

they go on sale all the time, just over the fathers day break I saw 109

+transfer + nics....

So your savings are $50 tops.

There is a big difference between them... lifetime warranty and actually reliable and safe. =)

 

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????  are you not paying that on the ruger?  I just saw the ruger for 199 at shooters. It's nice, not 100% nicer than the rough rider when on sale

just curious, you say reliable and safe and big difference, based on what?  how many rounds behind a rough rider do you have?  the reviews are pretty good save loose screws. 

I have 2, one for each boy and they've held up to a 11 and 8 yr old abuse and a LOT of rounds downrange.  outstanding little guns for the price and there is no rocket science to making these things tic so I ask, based on what?

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2 minutes ago, RUTGERS95 said:

????  are you not paying that on the ruger?  I just saw the ruger for 199 at shooters. 

You can buy that for around $200 at FFLs... they are NOT charging you the transfer fee... just NICS.

And I think once availability gets better, you will see these for around $175.

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13 minutes ago, Maksim said:

You can buy that for around $200 at FFLs... they are NOT charging you the transfer fee... just NICS.

And I think once availability gets better, you will see these for around $175.

bs they are not!  I was just there!  just stop, you really are behind the curve on this one. 

 

I amended my post before, what are you basing your view on?

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Just now, RUTGERS95 said:

bs they are not!  I was just there!  just stop, you really are behind the curve on this one. 

 

I amended my post before, what are you basing your view on?

lol.

I know of a few people who bought theirs for $200 from local vendors here.  Maybe they will post here. 

Beyond that, Ruger is targeting a $200 price point on these.

Yes, you may have a few dealers charging more... because they can... there is a huge demand for them and short supply for now, distributors are not giving out too many.  MSRP is $249.

@Krdshrk

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again, nics and transfer is standard.  You are not walking out sub 200 on them but rough riders are routinely in the sub 125 area and often at the c mark.

 

that said, based on what?  you made a bold claim and I suspect based on nothing so I ask, based on what? 

the ruger is nice but it's not 100% more nice and you are paying for name here.  these may be the simplest firearms to produce in today's market save the derringers.  Nothing intensive about it.  Now you price the Ruger 125 area and we are talking

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5 minutes ago, Maksim said:

lol.

I know of a few people who bought theirs for $200 from local vendors here.  Maybe they will post here. 

Beyond that, Ruger is targeting a $200 price point on these.

Yes, you may have a few dealers charging more... because they can... there is a huge demand for them and short supply for now, distributors are not giving out too many.  MSRP is $249.

@Krdshrk

Correct.  I got mine for $220 OTD including NICS and Tax.

Ok so $119.99

https://www.classicfirearms.com/heritage-mfg-rr22b6-gold-usa-usflag-rough-rider/

+ $40 transfer and $15 NICS (not including tax) you're at $175.

I'd rather have a new cool gun that looks pretty modern and a lifetime warranty for $45 more.  Heritage only has a 1 year warranty.... That one there also looks a helluva lot worse than my wrangler.  

I also love how Heritage says "Fanning the hammer" voids their warranty... hahaha....

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1 minute ago, Krdshrk said:

Correct.  I got mine for $220 OTD including NICS and Tax.

Ok so $119.99

https://www.classicfirearms.com/heritage-mfg-rr22b6-gold-usa-usflag-rough-rider/

+ $40 transfer and $15 NICS (not including tax) you're at $175.

I'd rather have a new cool gun that looks pretty modern and a lifetime warranty for $45 more.  Heritage only has a 1 year warranty.... That one there also looks a helluva lot worse than my wrangler.  

I also love how Heritage says "Fanning the hammer" voids their warranty... hahaha....

again, they were just 109 for fathers' day so that shoots the price point  We are talking close to 100% differential here

again, disparage it all you want but the reviews online are excellent save the loose screws and I'll ask you as well, how many rounds downrange do you have on one?  The problem here is the psychology of price to value we place on things with higher dollar values. 

I handled the Ruger, played around with it and while it 'feels' beefier, I couldn't tell how it was better or worth $100 more.  Now Ruger makes great revolvers and I'll certainly amend to that but no way it's 'better' at these prices considerations.  How do I know, we've abused not one but 2 rough riders.  Now I did loctite all the screws before shooting prior to the first range trip but never had an issue on the rough riders, not a single and the boys have almost gone through a half case of thunderbolt so yeah, they work.

 

Ruger has plastic grips, soft metal and mim....like the roughrider save the wood grips

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half a case?  So how many rounds?

The thing is... it is not $100 more... you are comparing an "on sale" price of a Heritage and not taking into account the transfer fees, and comparing it to a full sticker firearm.  

The difference between the two today is about $50.

For the $50 you are getting a lifetime warranty, a USA made gun, much better finish on the gun and a better brand.

Is that worth $50?  YOU BET!  It is even worth $100 or more difference.

What other 22lr quality revolver are you going to get for under $300?

Btw, I hope you shoot the Heritage in 22lr only.  In some independent testing, with 22 WMR the guns started cracking cylinders around 5,000 rounds.

Literally, the price difference is two bricks of ammo.  This is partly why every FFL/distributor is begging to get more guns in. 

The heritage is a great value for $150... but the Wrangler is a MUCH BETTER value for just a few bucks more.

We are not comparing a Heritage vs a $600 Smith 617. =)  

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Was that price shipped?  Even still - $55 difference then... Honestly - I'm not impressed.  I'd rather not have to tighten screws out of the box... I'm ok with paying a bit more out of the box for the new hotness.  The price will drop on the Wrangler later on too... 

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24 minutes ago, Krdshrk said:

Was that price shipped?  Even still - $55 difference then... Honestly - I'm not impressed.  I'd rather not have to tighten screws out of the box... I'm ok with paying a bit more out of the box for the new hotness.  The price will drop on the Wrangler later on too... 

apparently, per the reviews, you are tightening the screws on the wrangler too.  Frames are almost identical, screws are in the same spot only difference is Ruger has some hex screws.  the barrel on the ruger is screw on vs heritage press so that is an advantage should you need to time the barrel

shipping was included...no contest, RR wins this bout on durability, price, safety, and 4 clicks......

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The fact of the matter is, it all comes down to perceived value here.

There is a reason Nighthawk and Rock Island can coexist and both be successful.

I like to spend my money with companies I know and trust, regardless of price (unless completely unreasonable).

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