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Reviews on this gun?


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You will see a lot of comments both for and against the Rough Rider. And, undoubtedly, someone will pipe in and tell you what you really want is a Ruger Single Six. Well, what I really wanted was a Ferrari, but I got a Toyota.

 

IN my opinion (I own a rough rider, so my opinion of this gun is at least more informed than the opinion of a non owner), it is a nice gun for the $119 I spent for it. It is reasonably accurate, though not a tack driver. It has never malfunctioned through many many boxes of various brands of ammo. Nice to have the magnum cylinder, though other than running a couple boxes through it when it was new, I probably won't ever use again (I guess I should never say never...). I bought it after having carpal tunnel surgery, I considered it part of my rehabilitation (like I needed an excuse to buy a new toy...). It is actually nicer than I had expected it would be. I have no illusions that it will be functional when I am 105 years old and passing them on to my great grandchildren, but I am sure my Rugers will be. But, in the intervening half century, it will be fun to shoot.

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The Jefferson Outlaws in PA have indoor .22 CAS matches in Jan. & Feb.; use two revolvers and a lever or pump rifle for six stages using paper targets (10" plates). They have folk's loan guns to avoid having to buy just for two matches.

 

I've begun experimenting with .22's at the Monocacy Irregulars in Frederick, MD. IMHO, they are slightly slower than my regular guns as there is no tuning on them, especially the rifle (Marlin 39A .22 vs. Codymatic .38). I use Ruger Single Sixes which are much lighter than my Blackhawks and move around more when being handled. If I were to do it over I'd been better off with the 6-1/2" Single Sixes for more weight. Also, there is no reloading when you jack one out of the rifle.

 

I've gone through multiple rifles before settling on a Marlin. A Browning was too small and had a very hard (but short) lever throw. A Taurus pump bounced way too much at speed to keep the front sight anywhere near a target. A Henry with the octagon barrel was a disappointment when it started seizing up after a couple of hundred rounds. Disassembled it and cleaned with brake cleaner; still a problem; sold to a pard who was going to return it to the factory. Finally settled on a Marlin.

 

That said, it might be something to consider for some folks with physical issues. There are no problems with spotting hits as the .22's are moving very fast and make nice clangs.

 

I'm probably going to start looking for a decent .410 SXS for additional testing.

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Picked up a pair of the 22/22mag convertibles with the 6" barrels to practice with, figuring they would closely mimic my regular match pistols in length & balance. At $120 each they've proven to be decent little pistols. A brick of .22 will last you all day at the range, and you'll probably run out of steam before you run out of ammo.

 

Just make sure you're getting the steel framed models and not the alloy ones. They'll probably hold up better over time.

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I bought a pair for my boys four years ago, and they are still doing good. I got them the birdshead models, and my daughter will start using them this year. The only problem I've found with them is remembering to take the safety off.

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.22 is not a legal caliber for adult shooters in most main matches. There are some side matches at larger shoots that are set up for 22 pistols.

 

Ammo reliability is rather poor with the cheaper 22 lines. CCI or Federal will have decent priming in the cheaper lines, but Rem and Winchester and lots of the imports - forget about reliability and sometimes good accuracy.

 

.22 guns CAN be tuned and slicked, but there are not "speed" parts available. It's mostly hand work, rahter than dropping speed parts and light springs in.

 

Good luck, GJ

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