More Than A Wrangler, It's A Super Wrangler!..!!

Well, I probably picked the wrong firearm to debut the pictures from the new camera. Satin black bluing and matte black Cerakote®is like photography’s proverbial black cat in a coal bin… at midnight. I know, “What’s a coal bin?”. A half stop less and the Wrangler would appear as an incorrect shade of gray. A half stop more would result in a black smudge with no detail.

The thing that I like about the new body is a full frame 24.3 MP Exmor CMOS sensor that provides a 14 stop dynamic range so it picks up detail in the black areas, as well as detail in the bright areas without playing digital darkroom. Yes, lots of other very useful features, but I don’t want to resort to spewing anymore tedium than I think you can tolerate. The salient points, for those who dozed through my non doctorate dissertation, are that the Nikons are out to pasture at Real Guns, I am trying to learn new gear and change is traumatic.

An industry friend is exiting the company they represent. The company is relocating south and they want to remain in the northeast with family and friends. I admire the decision. These days it takes courage to prioritize family above career opportunity. By the same token, I dread the replacement. They get ever younger, I get ever older, and they only bond with others who look, sound and live like them. They talk to me like a disrespected grandparent and I bite my tongue, remember doting parents raised them, and still manage to violate their delicate sensibilities. It’s a “lose – this sucks ” situation.

I seek people within organizations that actually like firearms, are not bored by table data and have expended percentages of their lives being aggressive, assertive and possibly a rascal at some point in time. God bless people with a personality. They tolerate my bullshit, I more or less tolerate theirs so, when they leave, it matters.

I think there is one industry person I work with, a friend, who is not expendable. I made up my mind that when they go, I will retire… maybe go to work on a shrimp boat. Thanks for the therapy.

What is a “Super Wrangler”… besides an internal focus group name consensus?

The Ruger Super Wrangler is, from what can see, the company’s answer for those customers who really like the idea of a 22 LR/22 WMR capable single action revolver, but cannot quite get their budget to stretch to $799 for a classic Single Six Convertible.

With the Super Wrangler, the customer gets all of the function, reliability and accuracy of the Single Six, but less material finesse and less finer aesthetics. What does that mean, Joe? Gees, I don’t know. Let me replay what I was thinking, and we’ll figure it out.

Yes, the Super Wrangler is a lot of gun for the money… So is the Single Six

Pictured above, my stainless Ruger Single Six convertible in contrast to the Super Wrangler. The Single Six pictured is all stainless, from grip frame to barrel. The grip are hardwood. The Super Wrangler has a cast zinc grip frame, checkered polymer grips. The barrel, cylinder and cylinder frame are alloy steel. Unlike the Single Six, the Super Wrangler has a MIM hammer and trigger and an aluminum ejector guide.

If the Single Six was a 22 LR only revolver, it would have an aluminum grip frame and the rest would be blued alloy steel. All versions of the Wrangler have a Cerakote finish. If the Wrangler was the 22 LR only version, it would have the cast zinc grip frame and an aluminum cylinder frame. The Single Six and Wrangler are two quite different types of firearms.

So what type of gun is the Wrangler?

A good one… and I should have known that from personal experience. Ruger doesn’t make substandard firearms, regardless the price point. I own a stainless Single Six because I am a gun snob and I like excellent materials and workmanship because I appreciate them and I like to buy firearms that will last for three or four generations. But what if one or two generations are enough? What if I wanted to carry a single action revolver for pest disposal, or to take out in an abusive environment when small game hunting? What if I wanted to train a young shooter? What if I didn’t want to worry about shooting bench scuffs or holster wear?

The Wrangler is a safe single action revolver. The transfer bar removes concerns with a dropped firearm discharge and permits carry with all chambers loaded.

The cylinder free rotates in both directions when loading, so if you miss the chamber at the loading gate it can be brought back into alignment.

The Wrangler is as accurate as the Single Six. It shares an alloy steel frame with the blued version of the Single Six and it has hammer forged rifling.

This convertible configuration is supplied with both a 22 LR and a 22 WMR cylinder. Swapping takes a few second for changing in the field or at the range. The difference in performance between the two rounds is not minor, nor is the cost difference.

Performance

Over the chronograph, 40 grain 22 LR Remington Target ammo averaged 922 fps. Hornady 30 grain WMR averaged 1,649 fps and the magnum ammo utilizes lead core, copper jacketed V-Max bullets. There are 101 other 22 LR rimfire tyoes to choose from and 32 WMR types. You could do a lot of shooting at 8¢ per round with 22 LR ammo and, maybe, a little less with 38¢ per round magnum ammunition.

Cocking the hammer is smooth, trigger pull is light and… crisp. Like snapping a raw carrot. I’m hungry. Dumping empties with the ejector is easy, no sticky 22 LR or magnum empties. Recoil is nothing with the 22 LR loads and nearly nothing with the 22 WMR. Noise levels are notably higher with the magnum rounds, but not objectionable.

At 25 yards, rested, the Ruger Super Wrangler is a 5 shot in 2 1/2″ revolver, LR and Mag cylinders. In my experience, this is about where I have been able to place the Single Six. Both feel balance in the hand and I really like the adjustable sights. So glad they didn’t go Vaquero on the sights for us non cowboys. It is difficult to put it down after a shooting session.

Don’t like black hats or black guns? The Super Wrangler is available in black, silver and bronze Cerakote finishes. All have black polymer grips and blued cylinders. It’s a change I can appreciate.

Still struggling with the new camera a bit. It seems to see studio light differently than the old set up. Think I will tear down the photo area and use the opportunity to change things up a bit.