Ruger .22 SA - not a good show

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JHZR2

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I've owned a Ruger Single six for a long while now. Took it out today along with a 6.5" S&W 617. Set a cheap target (garbage pull because it was minimally used and the diagonal opposite targets were unused) at 25yds. CCI mini mag round nose 40gr. Not good with the Ruger.
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Then the 617.

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Nothing to be proud of, but I did shoot about half DA, they all generally went where they should (it was a windy day fwiw).

It's been almost a year since I had time to shoot. It was the second time with the 617, and I haven't fired the Ruger in years. Both were cleaned and lined the same.

I know I can get good groups with my M1917, 686, 15-3. I'm most practiced with the M1917 and can hit all in the small circle on that type of target, at my outdoor range, with consistently in reasonably tight groups, running Federal Syntech. I use that as a basis because it has similar (not very good) sights to my Ruger. All of this is standing freehand too, fwiw.

The grip is obviously different... is the Ruger suspect or am I?
 
Some of the .22 revolvers that have convertible cylinders (like our Single Sixes) don't do well at all with .22LR... The bore is a thousandth or two bigger to allow 22 magnum, so they often do much better with .22 Mag.

Try it with the magnum cylinder and magnum ammo. I think you'll see a big difference in accuracy.
 
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you can never judge any .22 from one type of round. all 22 rimfires have preferences, and some are downright picky. standard velocity should always be used for trying to get accuracy, unless you have a reason for using high velocity, usually hunting or pest control.

of course the single action ruger has a much different grip that most pistols..and i would bet that s&w has a nicer trigger.
 
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Originally Posted by Astro14
Some of the .22 revolvers that have convertible cylinders (like our Single Sixes) don't do well at all with .22LR... The bore is a thousandth or two bigger to allow 22 magnum, so they often do much better with .22 Mag.

Try it with the magnum cylinder and magnum ammo. I think you'll see a big difference in accuracy.


I recall reading about that long ago. Great idea, thanks!
 
Originally Posted by justintendo
you can never judge any .22 from one type of round. all 22 rimfires have preferences, and some are downright picky. standard velocity should always be used for trying to get accuracy, unless you have a reason for using high velocity, usually hunting or pest control.

of course the single action ruger has a much different grip that most pistols..and i would bet that s&w has a nicer trigger.


Yeah, it was literally a half-used 100 round box I had sitting in my trunk for a while. Got it.

I'd actually like to try the poly-coated 22LR.
 
Originally Posted by Astro14
Some of the .22 revolvers that have convertible cylinders (like our Single Sixes) don't do well at all with .22LR... The bore is a thousandth or two bigger to allow 22 magnum, so they often do much better with .22 Mag.

Try it with the magnum cylinder and magnum ammo. I think you'll see a big difference in accuracy.


I have the same issue with the novelty heritage arms.22 with the 16 inch barrel. It is high and right with .22lr. I'm going to buy the 22wmr cylinder for it.
 
Originally Posted by JHZR2
Originally Posted by justintendo
you can never judge any .22 from one type of round. all 22 rimfires have preferences, and some are downright picky. standard velocity should always be used for trying to get accuracy, unless you have a reason for using high velocity, usually hunting or pest control.

of course the single action ruger has a much different grip that most pistols..and i would bet that s&w has a nicer trigger.


Yeah, it was literally a half-used 100 round box I had sitting in my trunk for a while. Got it.

I'd actually like to try the poly-coated 22LR.


If you want accurate ammo, forget the poly coating. Get yourself some standard velocity. 22
 
Originally Posted by CourierDriver
Set your targets at 7 yards, you will do fine...


I can shoot fine at 7 yards. But I'd like to work on skill at longer distances.
 
Originally Posted by Slick17601
Originally Posted by JHZR2
Originally Posted by justintendo
you can never judge any .22 from one type of round. all 22 rimfires have preferences, and some are downright picky. standard velocity should always be used for trying to get accuracy, unless you have a reason for using high velocity, usually hunting or pest control.

of course the single action ruger has a much different grip that most pistols..and i would bet that s&w has a nicer trigger.


Yeah, it was literally a half-used 100 round box I had sitting in my trunk for a while. Got it.

I'd actually like to try the poly-coated 22LR.


If you want accurate ammo, forget the poly coating. Get yourself some standard velocity. 22


The blue poly coated is 1070 FPS, same as standard velocity. Supposedly much cleaner.

I heavily use Federal Syntech for 9/45 and am a believer.
 
Originally Posted by JHZR2
I've owned a Ruger Single six for a long while now. Took it out today along with a 6.5" S&W 617.


What's the barrel length on the Ruger Single Six? Shorter sight radius perhaps?
 
Trigger pull and the ammo play a big part of it with that gun. You're going to have to experiment a bit.
 
Originally Posted by Mainia
The Ruger looks like it has a 25lb trigger pull.


It's single action - so, I'm guessing it's a bit below that...

Mine breaks at about 2-3 lbs (never put a scale on it). Very easy pistol to shoot accurately.

I suppose that I got lucky with my Single Six. At ten yards (my usual pistol shooting range), it prints about 3/4" groups with regular .22 LR ammo. A couple of cylinders of shooting, and there is just a ragged hole where the bullseye used to be. One of the things I like about that little pistol (aside from the fact that it was a gift from Mrs. Astro) is how accurate it is.
 
Originally Posted by Astro14
Originally Posted by Mainia
The Ruger looks like it has a 25lb trigger pull.


It's single action - so, I'm guessing it's a bit below that...

Mine breaks at about 2-3 lbs (never put a scale on it). Very easy pistol to shoot accurately.

I suppose that I got lucky with my Single Six. At ten yards (my usual pistol shooting range), it prints about 3/4" groups with regular .22 LR ammo. A couple of cylinders of shooting, and there is just a ragged hole where the bullseye used to be. One of the things I like about that little pistol (aside from the fact that it was a gift from Mrs. Astro) is how accurate it is.


It might not be fair that I showed something at 25yds, on a reasonably windy day.

Still, the fact that my 617 produced different results, I think, indicates that something is not quite right.


Originally Posted by ZeeOSix

What's the barrel length on the Ruger Single Six? Shorter sight radius perhaps?


5.5". Mine is the 629 model with integral sights, not adjustable. Though I'm not sure that the sight type is salient here as it's not a consistent error shooting one way from a bench rest. It's just all over.

Originally Posted by demarpaint
Trigger pull and the ammo play a big part of it with that gun. You're going to have to experiment a bit.


Agree. I'm going to stock up on cci standard velocity to try next time...
 
The Ruger group isn't all that much larger than the Smith. Sights, trigger, and more familiar gun could account for it. 25 yards is a pretty good ways with an iron sighted revolver and someone that doesn't shoot on a regular basis.
 
Originally Posted by hatt
The Ruger group isn't all that much larger than the Smith. Sights, trigger, and more familiar gun could account for it. 25 yards is a pretty good ways with an iron sighted revolver and someone that doesn't shoot on a regular basis.


Lol, the thing is, what group? And the thing is more, I got the circle, which is maybe 3" across, a good number of times with the Smith, and none with the Ruger.

I can hit the circle all day long with my M1917, 1911, etc. at 25.
 
Originally Posted by JHZR2
Originally Posted by hatt
The Ruger group isn't all that much larger than the Smith. Sights, trigger, and more familiar gun could account for it. 25 yards is a pretty good ways with an iron sighted revolver and someone that doesn't shoot on a regular basis.


Lol, the thing is, what group? And the thing is more, I got the circle, which is maybe 3" across, a good number of times with the Smith, and none with the Ruger.

I can hit the circle all day long with my M1917, 1911, etc. at 25.

A "group" measures from the widest points. Not where some of the rounds went. If you can eat up the center circle with your other guns I suggest offloading both of those .22s into the ocean.
 
Originally Posted by HangFire
Try different ammo. MiniMags are rarely the most accurate round.


This. I usually get my best accuracy with Federal Economy pack or 7-11B or Winchester power point,.
 
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