I thought "kit gun" was something you make or put together yourself. Like maybe an 80% thing, or a bunch of revolver parts. Makes more sense than what was said immediately before this post. Only thing that comes to mind is "drum kit" or something like that, but it just doesn't make sense and is not a natural way to talk.
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New Ruger Wrangler
- Thread starter Knob Creek
- Start date
roccoracer
NES Member
I am going to look at one lf these and probably buy it. I have the cheapest of cheap .22 single action revolvers and enjoy shooting it. My Rohm RG66 was a whopping $60 but has worked well for several hundred rounds. This Ruger looks perfect to replace it.
Kit gun brings to mind all the Jim Kjelgaard books I devoured as a kid. Invariably the loner hero woodsman would be forced to survive against a pack of evil wolves or a particularly mean man eating cougar with only his .22 short “kit gun” (that he only carried to dispatch muskrats in his trap line) and his trusty dog, that only he was able to form a bond with...
As for those of you that want a 9 shot aluminum frame plinker .22, they only made about a million of them in the 50s and 60s.
This one is a High Standard. Looks like your average cowboy wannabe, until you realize that the extractor lever is a cleverly designed swing out cylinder release, revealing a 9 round lazy Susan. And she's double action to boot. Only set me back $125 at GFA in Natick about 5 years ago, and it's my 10yo son's favorite.
A gun like this would make a whole lot more sense for Ruger, but they'd need to rework their tooling I'd imagine. So they'd have to make it more expensive. I'm guessing they did this b/c they are already set up to mass produce single sixes.
This one is a High Standard. Looks like your average cowboy wannabe, until you realize that the extractor lever is a cleverly designed swing out cylinder release, revealing a 9 round lazy Susan. And she's double action to boot. Only set me back $125 at GFA in Natick about 5 years ago, and it's my 10yo son's favorite.
A gun like this would make a whole lot more sense for Ruger, but they'd need to rework their tooling I'd imagine. So they'd have to make it more expensive. I'm guessing they did this b/c they are already set up to mass produce single sixes.
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(wiki)
Kit gun:
A kit gun is a small lightweight handgun, usually but not always .22LR caliber, and generally but not necessarily a revolver,
which is intended to be carried in a kit bag by campers, hunters, trappers, and fishermen.
This Ruger 4.2" SP101, in .357 mag was marketed as a "Kit Gun"...
It's tiny as far as .357's go.
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Best kit gun I've found so far. 10oz loaded, adj. sights, .22LR/.22Mag. Accurate after you learn the trigger. $300 and worth every cent.(wiki)
Kit gun:
A kit gun is a small lightweight handgun, usually but not always .22LR caliber, and generally but not necessarily a revolver,
which is intended to be carried in a kit bag by campers, hunters, trappers, and fishermen.
This Ruger 4.2" SP101, in .357 mag was marketed as a "Kit Gun"...
It's tiny as far as .357's go.
If that's the definition of a kit gun it definitely does not need to be 22lr. The guide I hunt snowshoe here with in Maine keeps a ruger Redhawk 44 mag in his bag. Last February one of his dogs went still on the GPS for about 45 minutes.....he strapped up with the 44 mag to go find him because they have lost a few dogs to coyotes the last couple of years.(wiki)
Kit gun:
A kit gun is a small lightweight handgun, usually but not always .22LR caliber, and generally but not necessarily a revolver,
which is intended to be carried in a kit bag by campers, hunters, trappers, and fishermen.
This Ruger 4.2" SP101, in .357 mag was marketed as a "Kit Gun"...
It's tiny as far as .357's go.
I LIKE IT!!!!!
Can these still be found? Why doesn't somebody bring this back into production. Would be a sure winner.
I think the last time anyone stored a pistol in a tacklebox, the tacklebox looked like this...
What's wrong with that?
I keep mine in a plastic Home Depot toolbox with a padlock.
![[rofl2]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/035.gif "ROFL2 [rofl2]")
I coughed up the money and bought a stainless single six convertible with 4 5/8" barrel and fixed sights. Came with some very dark grips which lend it a ton of appeal, and the finish is so good I can literally see the reflection of my fingertips in it, a dead ringer for a well polished linseed oil finish. By now you can tell I'm a gun guy and my knowledge isn't based off of video games. I'm a sucker for the nickel look, so I hand polished every part of her to a flawless mirror finish, and believe me it took some time. Her name is Rosie.. 
The high luster finish is much easier cleaned and maintained, far more corrosion resistant as well. In any case, before buying her for 479.00 + shipping, I had really contemplated whether or not I was wise to spend so much money on "just a .22", seeing as I work for mine, and they're (unconstitutional law/statutes/regulation) making it harder on us all the time. Well in the end I'd decided that I'd probably be shooting .22 far more than all my other beloved center fires combined, and thus it occurred to me that the premium was worth it,- so that my regularly used piece would be every bit as nice as any center fire I own and then some. I did look at the Heritage, as saving money appeals to us all, however, upon handling one just once, I knew this junk gun would never do. Sure it probably would do what it was meant to, and might even aggravate me by lasting longer while doing it than I expected it to...ummmmm nah.. Not doing that to myself.. Waiting for junk to die so I can justify doing what I should have from the beginning.
So I bit the bullet so to speak and ante'd up given there was no choice other than premium quality or junk. I chose quality. Others, those who don't particularly care about quality when it comes to guns, and are just out for a good time, would choose differently, and of course there is nothing wrong with that, but that isn't me. Had the wrangler been around I may well have chosen it, as it is clearly a single six made to cheaper specifications than had been offered hitherto. This is a quality piece, absolutely no doubt in my mind whatsoever, and all three will be in my collection for sure. Ruger can absolutely cast their own parts for far cheaper than heritage can import theirs seeing as they have no manufacturing capability. In addition to reduced cost to manufacture, Ruger still charges 50 odd dollars more per piece, hence they are realizing substantially more profit from this gun than it would, at first seem. There is plenty in it for them to ensure the quality is there. Plus when the magnum cylinder becomes offered, that will add 20-30 each in my estimation, so roughly around 210 - 230 street price - still a steal. These aren't the beauties found for twice the price or more, but they are solid well built pieces which are pleasing to the eye. All of which a Heritage will never be for a guy like me.
The high luster finish is much easier cleaned and maintained, far more corrosion resistant as well. In any case, before buying her for 479.00 + shipping, I had really contemplated whether or not I was wise to spend so much money on "just a .22", seeing as I work for mine, and they're (unconstitutional law/statutes/regulation) making it harder on us all the time. Well in the end I'd decided that I'd probably be shooting .22 far more than all my other beloved center fires combined, and thus it occurred to me that the premium was worth it,- so that my regularly used piece would be every bit as nice as any center fire I own and then some. I did look at the Heritage, as saving money appeals to us all, however, upon handling one just once, I knew this junk gun would never do. Sure it probably would do what it was meant to, and might even aggravate me by lasting longer while doing it than I expected it to...ummmmm nah.. Not doing that to myself.. Waiting for junk to die so I can justify doing what I should have from the beginning.
So I bit the bullet so to speak and ante'd up given there was no choice other than premium quality or junk. I chose quality. Others, those who don't particularly care about quality when it comes to guns, and are just out for a good time, would choose differently, and of course there is nothing wrong with that, but that isn't me. Had the wrangler been around I may well have chosen it, as it is clearly a single six made to cheaper specifications than had been offered hitherto. This is a quality piece, absolutely no doubt in my mind whatsoever, and all three will be in my collection for sure. Ruger can absolutely cast their own parts for far cheaper than heritage can import theirs seeing as they have no manufacturing capability. In addition to reduced cost to manufacture, Ruger still charges 50 odd dollars more per piece, hence they are realizing substantially more profit from this gun than it would, at first seem. There is plenty in it for them to ensure the quality is there. Plus when the magnum cylinder becomes offered, that will add 20-30 each in my estimation, so roughly around 210 - 230 street price - still a steal. These aren't the beauties found for twice the price or more, but they are solid well built pieces which are pleasing to the eye. All of which a Heritage will never be for a guy like me.
Wow! I'm a bit surprised at all the hate for revolvers in general and single action ones in particular. I've been shooting SA revolvers in competition for over 8 years now and they're far from what many of you think. They can be very fast and very reliable, particularly Rugers. I have a set of Ruger Vaqueros in .357 and I have put at least 17,000 rounds through each in competition with zero failures. With practice they can be run very quickly and .357 is certainly not a round to be taken lightly. Just my two cents.
Yeah. They have been known to break, particularly given a high volume of usage and dry firing. I’ve put about 17,000 rounds through each of these and probably dry fired them at least 100,000 times each. So transfer bars removed, hammers welded up so they reach the firing pins and a half cock notch so they can be loaded without the firing pin dragging on the primers. Widened rear sight channel and overtravel stops to.
These are NOT for carry. Competition only!
Jimmy Spurs work on those? Nice rigs.
No. Big fan of six shooters since the 80's. Have posted about Jimmy here many times after meeting him at Chester a long time ago. A few members here have had him work on their rigs. Thanks for sharing.
ETA: So people know who we are talking about.
Cowboy Gun Works
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![[smile]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/001.gif "Smile [smile]")
Both rigs look great!
I'd own one, but I'm no princess...
I bought this exact model a few weeks ago for $199 at Renaissance in Rochester NH.
I've owned many single action revolvers over the years, and I'm actually quite impressed with this one, especially for the price. The trigger action and fit & finish was much better than expected, and the accuracy of the fixed sights is better than my Vaqueros.
It's about the size of a Bearcat, but lighter, and it already has a free spin pawl from the factory, which is something I usually have to buy aftermarket and install myself.
If you're looking for an inexpensive little plinker, you may be pleasantly surprised by one of these.
