Ruger Wrangler vs. Heritage Rough Rider Quality Compare, Pros & Cons

[@Jbass74]

Excellent video.. just bought me a Wrangler. Now I want a Heritage as well.. love revolvers..

[@megatrends]

My older brother gifted me for Christmas a 1987 Tanfoglio SAA 22lr 6 shooter revolver, very good quality.I love 22 revolvers too, I own other revolvers as well.

[@megatrends]

Thank you very much for watching by the way ...

[@TechReviewbyIrdi]

We found that Colt was using little thin plastic washers through different revisions. Found someone on KZbin that made the point of what Colt was doing over their variants over time. I was using red Loctite on one of ours(still rocking after this long without a hitch or screws backing out) Loctite has a screw driver with a hot lead to remove them easily by resting it for 15 seconds. Our 4.75" we put the colt washers, and viola, same result. No backing out anymore. Also found out from Heritage that the rough rider was not a patent by them, but a carry over from a deal decades of the Colt Scout Frontier's patent from 1961 and on and so forth. I can use all those parts interchangeably. Neat, I didn't now it was so close that the parts were cast and 1215 steel barrel and 12L14 cold steel cylinder was the exact formula. The older Scouts had an aluminum frame but the zamak5 is stronger. Trick spinning is different on weight with both. We replaced the cylinder lock tongue with a solid one on Ebay that was in an older Colt. I like the Ruger as well. But had some difficulty on the transfer bar skewing a bit on one of ours. The newer Cerakote is neat. Like them both though. My first Heritage had that same front sight issue. Found a guy in CDL arms that used a heat gun on the frame and barrel with a leather strap, and moved it in a very,very slight clockwise turn using a leather strap and wood grip vise. He also pointed us to a colt clone ejector rod with an aluminum finger slide. Very nice. Cost about 20 bucks to do it. Anyways, he got it to be sighted true. Very neat stuff from the gun smith.

[@jerroldshelton9367]

@TechReviewbyIrdi "Also found out from Heritage that the rough rider was not a patent by them, but a carry over from a deal decades of the Colt Scout Frontier's patent " The Rough Rider is a U.S.A.-made copy of the Herbert Schmidt E-15 Buffalo Scout. The E-15 Buffalo Scout was a German copy of the 1957-1970 Colf Frontier Scout. The E-15 Buffalo Scout was imported by F.I.E. in Florida. F.I.E. went bankrupt in 1990. Jay Bernkrant, son of the CEO of F.I.E., believed in the basic design of the Colt Frontier Scout but believed that the Schmidt interpretation often left something to be desired and improving the quality of the finished product was one of Bernkrant's goals for Heritage Mfg. "I didn't now it was so close that the parts were cast and 1215 steel barrel and 12L14 cold steel cylinder was the exact formula." Heritage receive raw Zamak 5 frame castings from the same suppliers that Colt used to make the Frontier Scout. Colt didn't do their own die casting and Heritage doesn't, either. The high carbon steels used to make the barrels and the cylinders of the Rough Rider are indeed the same 12L14 and 1215 materials that Colt used. They use the same process to make the barrels that Colt used, too, but vastly improved the precision of the cylinder machining over what Colt or Schmidt achieved. "The older Scouts had an aluminum frame" The main frame of the Colt Frontier Scout was designed to be die cast from the same A380 aluminum alloy that Ruger use for the Wrangler frame. "but the zamak5 is stronger." Zamak 5 is at least 2.5 times stronger than A380 aluminum is, having superior tensile, yield, and shear strength, superior impact resistance, superior resistance to atmospheric corrosion, and a Brinell Hardness Number of 91 to 92, which is substantively better than that of aluminum alloys commonly used in die casting. It is a vastly superior material for die casting revolver frames out of than A380 aluminum is. "I like the Ruger as well" I don't. When Ruger announced the Wrangler, a lot of folks in the shooting sports industry believed it would "Kill" the Rough Rider. My counter argument was that no other company has done more to boost Rough Rider sales than Ruger has and their inability to make a more mechanically accurate smallbore single action revolver at seven times the retail price of a Rough Rider left no logical reason to assume they could make a better one at just two times the price. People say "The Single Six is a much better gun" but if that were factually true, I'd still be shooting the Single SIx Bisley I bought when they first came out with them. There wouldn't have been a subsequent Single Six in my future. If that second Single Six had been "better" than a Rough Rider, I'd be shooting it, instead, and I wouldn't have bought four Rough Riders so far. I want a smallbore handgun for two basic reasons: I want to get the maximum amount of range time that my ammo budget can yield and I want to be able to shoot small game for the pot while big game hunting. At the range, a gun that won't shoot where I point it isn't very much fun. In the field, a gun that won't shoot where I point it is useless. I'd rather than handgun be a revolver, which I can eject empties into my hands with, than a semi-auto pistol that sprays spent brass all over creation, because I like to pick up after myself, but don't like spending more time than necessary to do so. Every Rough Rider I've bought will keep six shots inside a 1.25" circle at 25 yards when fired from a Ransom Rest. That makes them accurate enough for me to shoot 300/300 on 25 yard B-25 targets or poke a hole in a bunny's brain bucket at 25 yards. All four have had light, crisp, creep-free triggers with no over-travel, right out of the box. My current one breaks at 2 lbs, even. Here's a testament to how good Heritage's cylinder machining is. I bought my boys each a Rough Rider for their respective birthdays back in March. When I put their cylinders in my gun, the barrel / cylinder gap is the same .003" it is with my original cylinder in it. There is no end shake or radial play. Changing the cylinders doesn't affect the gun in any way. It shoots equally accurately. As I often shoot with one or both of my boys, I wanted to be able to tell my gun apart from theirs, so I bling'd it up a bit with a set of checkered rosewood grips and a set of roll engraved cylinders in a nice floral scroll pattern. Those cylinders fit and function just as well as the one my gun shipped with, too. Ruger can't be bothered to blue the barrels of the Wrangler or give it a perfectly perpendicular radius crown. I've shot a half dozen Wranglers and frankly, I can't imagine why anyone but the most ardent Ruger fanboi would buy one. The average 5.6 pound trigger pull is atrocious. The lack of cylinder indexing when loading and unloading is a pain in the ass. The Cerakote finish makes them look as toy-like as any Fanner 50 cap gun that Matell ever made. Ruger's crowning of Wrangler barrels is nowhere close to being as good as the Rough Riders is and when I'm mostly shooting soft (BHN 5-6) lead heeled bullets out a gun, I"d rather that gun have a concentric bore that's button rifled and properly radius crowned. Then, there's the 6.5" Rough Rider having a substantively similar pointing feel to the '51 Navy Colt (on purpose, by design) and the Wrangler feeling not so much like that, at all (on purpose, by design.) Ruger is really good at making guns that LOOK good. Mini-14's. tang-safety M-77's. Two-screw Single Six's, P-85 9mm pistols, and Red Label shotguns all LOOK good, but whether they actually are or aren't is debatable by those whose main purpose for a gun is hitting what is being aimed or pointed at. The Wrangler apparently LOOKS "better built" than the Heritage Rough Rider to the average person, but it objectively isn't from an engineering standpoint. There's less "fit and finish" in a Wrangler where it really matters. The Wrangler is like spending $210.00 to get $125.00 worth of gun. The Rough Rider is like paying $129.99 for all of the engineering and functionality of a 1957-1970 Colt Frontier Scout which sold for the average equivalent of $435.00 in 2023 dollars during it's 13-year run. Viewed in that light, one is the clear winner in terms of value. There's a smallbore single action out there that the Wrangler will "kill" but it isn't going to be the Rough Rider. To their credit, Wranglers don't shoot any better or worse than the average late production Single Six does.. I suspect that's what the Wrangler is going to kill but given that Ruger can't seem to be bothered to make the Single Six as well today as they did in 1953, I won't be sorry to see them go.

[@johncarmichael4698]

@@jerroldshelton9367 so I just purchased a Heratage rough rider 4.75” all steel frame. Your insight was eye opening. I share your perception of common sense values. You gave good reasoning and backed it up with logic and knowledge . A thought-threw comment. That’s refreshing . Made me feel very good about my purchase. Love the gun so far. So much so I bought some mesquite wood to fashion a very nice new gun grip. Again appreciate you 😎

[@johncarmichael4698]

Quite interesting thanks much ❤️

[@jerroldshelton9367]

@@johncarmichael4698 Thank you for your kind words. If you enjoy your Rough Rider half as much as I enjoy mine, you'll still think it was money well spent.

[@johncarmichael4698]

Thanks you helps a lot, I’m going for the Heritage has a lot of potential for tweaking a good gun into a very special custom yours. 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

[@BePatient888]

I have them both. But I only bought one Ruger Wrangler. Since that time, I bought about 10 more Heritage Rough Riders, including the 9 shot varieties, the 22 WMR cylinders, all the different sizes (including the 16" barrel model), and some birds head grips for one of my Barkeeps. I like the Heritage WAY more, because it's more traditional and has way more options. It's also so much more affordable, and you can order repair parts.

[@glenn1035]

At 09:23 Actually showed a design feature without realizing it's purpose, the loading slot in the Ruger frame is sized to guide the round into the chamber. Simply place a new round with the bullet just inside the chamber, notice with the rim laying in the channel the round is perfectly lined up to go straight into the chamber. Just lay it in the channel and push it in quick and easy. If you rotate the HRR cylinder a little too far you have to go all the way around to get back to that empty chamber, the Ruger free spins either way to line up as needed. Of course the Ruger loading gate is stiff because its not just a gate it also drops the bolt and frees up the cylinder. Since he was mentioned watch how Hickock 45 handles a single action revolver, hold the firearm in your left hand with the loading gate up so you can see to line up the ejection rod with the chamber and catch the brass as they pop out in your left hand. Just line up the rod with the cylinder stop notches. Oh, and use snapcaps when dry firing any rimfire.

[@alexleal1216]

Thank you J Beau for this review comparing both revolvers. I had been wanting an affordable single-action revolver for quite some time. I narrowed my choices down to these two revolvers. After watching your video, I decided to purchase the Ruger Wrangler mainly due to the fact that I value safety and reliability in the guns that I purchase. I'm glad to hear that the Heritage Rough Rider is an extremely well-priced and fun revolver to shoot. Both great guns! Your video helped me decide which one to choose. Thanks again!

[@megatrends]

That's awesome, have fun .... they're great shooters. Thank you for watching, it is very much appreciated.

[@slotcarfan]

I agree with just about all your comments, including that I enjoy shooting the Heritage more than the Wrangler. I also shoot the Heritage more accurately due in part to lighter trigger.

[@tannershumway3030]

Great comparison! Learned some new things I didn’t know

[@megatrends]

Wow, that's super ... that means I did what I was supposed to. Thank you so much for coming by and giving a watch. Much appreciated.

[@HOOSIERDADDY385]

Thanks for the video. I agree the Wrangler is better quality. But that being said,, i shoot better with the HRR. Not sure why. I have two of the HRR ,, a 4.75 and a 6.5 inch. I have found that the shorter one works better than the long one right out of the box. The 6.5 has had hammer spring problems. This has been the case with two of them. Making for lite strikes and miss-fires. So i have wedged the spring and it now works better. Would you have a better fix for this problem? Thanks.

[@megatrends]

Ther's a KZbinr that had the same problem and h replaced the hammer spring. He calld Heritag through their contact info and didnt car for the service and also stated he never heard back from them. He took the hammer spring from another HRR he owned and it worked fin., The heritag website sells parts ... if under warrante still HRR should snd you on .... if they gt around to not forgetting you exist after you call them. I just buy parts on thir website because my warrantees ran out after 1 year. Go to thir website and choose their shop, you will find parts. They're all cheap too ...

[@HOOSIERDADDY385]

@@megatrends thanks

[@PetuniaIii-pd1ww]

Several years ago I watched a lot of video comparisons of these two guns...as you note both have pros and cons...we ended up going with the Heritage primarily because the magnum cylinder was offered...so several years, several thousand rounds downrange later I gotta say everything you say about the Heritage is correct...our gun shows the wear and tear (we actually like that worn out look), and the screws demand constant attention...but, we feel the gun paid for its self long ago, and would buy another one if ever need be...nothing wrong with the wrangler, the gun is tighter (I am on the fence about loose vs tight guns), and is a smidgen more accurate...it also is that bit more cumbersome to load/unload (repetition does help)...Ruger really rushed coming out with the wrangler after reading the sales numbers, when another 6-12 months thinking the gun through would have meant better sales today...good video...

[@megatrends]

yes, agreed 100% ... I love how mine look worn out from use. I'd say get both because both are affordable and lt the dust settle where it may. I bring the Wrangler with the Roughriders sometimes and I do shoot it but not as much as the RR. Mostly though thank you for watching ... very much appreciated.

[@SlammingEDdog]

Very well explain video I’m looking into getting one of these colt peacemaker wanna be for plinking and ammo cost practice for my bigger, caliber pistols, my favorite part of the video the two guys who designed the pistols I was laughing so hard 😅but great video. Thanks.

[@larrypeterson8710]

The cylinder axle on the ruger is spring loaded due to its having transfer bar ignition.

[@megatrends]

Yes, good point ...

[@agustinequihua936]

Great video my friend I bought the Ruger Wrangler and I'm really happy with it, but for the price of the hrr you can not go wrong, the only thing stoping me to buy one is if a internal part brakes I have to send it back or pay a gunsmith to fix it, that's my only complaint other than that I like the classic look of the revolver.take care and stay safe.

[@megatrends]

The RR is very easy to replace parts yourself using a flat head screw driver. The Wrangler quite possibly won't need a repair for several years.

[@agustinequihua936]

@@megatrends I just decided to buy the heritage my friend.i figured for the price you can not go wrong, you video help me make the decision,I will learn to work on it, thank you,god bless you and stay safe.

[@megatrends]

@@agustinequihua936 Nice, enjoy! they are tons of fun!

[@ralphcarroll5090]

I have the Ruger Wrangler and Heritage Rough Rider also. I actually shoot (at seven yards) the Rough Rider more accurately and precise than the Wrangler. My Rough Rider (for me) shoots point of aim and a much smaller group size than my Wrangler. My Rough Rider's trigger pull weight and the crispness of its break is far superior to the Wrangler's trigger. Now of course the Wrangler will out last the Heritage Rough Rider and be more reliable for a longer time. For survival use where reliability is essential and spare parts are no where to found, the Ruger Wrangler is the winner. For range use, plinking, and having fun then the winner is the Heritage Rough Rider. I also shoot my Rough Rider much more than the Wrangler. The "mission statement" of the Wrangler is reliability and endurance. The key feature of the Heritage Rough Rider is FUN!!!! Even fixing it is fun.

[@megatrends]

Awesome, they're fun little things! Nice to see so many enjoying them too.

[@jamiegrove5628]

I had both. Sold my Ruger. The Rough Rider is a better gun in my opinion.

[@twolak1972]

HAHAHA, YEAH OK. COMPARING QUALITY ( WRANGLER) TO JUNK,( ROUGH RIDER). AND YOU PICK THE CHEAP JUNK . TELLS ME ALL I NEED TO KNOW.

[@jamiegrove5628]

@@twolak1972 Does it? I doubt you know much buddy.

[@twolak1972]

@@jamiegrove5628 Hey it ain't my fault you pick junk over a well made gun. Some people like hamburger, some like prime rib.

[@twolak1972]

@@jamiegrove5628 AHHH YOU NEED TO GET SOME.E NEW MEDS, YOU DEFINITELY DON,T DESERVE TO BE AROUND GUNS, HAHAHAHA WHAT A TOOL

[@paulp.6399]

The wrangler a well made gun? Surely you jest. Silly fanboy.@@twolak1972

[@nicholaspetre1]

thank you for the detailed review. According to feedback I collected from multiple users, Ruger is definitely a better quality revolver, there is no argue in that. But that's about it. There is no more features that makes Ruger excel Heritage Revolver. The cerakote finish looks ugly, I am sorry. Just go with a basic blued finish or smth similar. Why to make a revolver look like it is made of plastic?! Rough Rider has better accuracy that is the most important firearm feature after reliability. Who needs a non-accurate gun, raise your hands?! 22 caliber gun has to be accurate as you are about to shoot smth small with it. It is a small game firearm. Nobody's gonna shoot elephants or horses with it. It needs to be as precise as possible so you could hit smaller targets. Other features Rough Rider possesses are a better look with a blue finish, better trigger, cool clicking cylinder mechanism with easier shell extraction, ability to swap cylinders for 22WMR, 9 round cylinder availability, wider ability to customize and access for aftermarket parts etc. Well yeah, you need to tighten those screws once in a while. How often? How many? The are only 3 visible screws, no biggie. Ruger actually introduced a Super Wrangler model with ability to swap cylinders between 22lr and 22WMR, and that is a good thing, but what about 6 + rounds capacity? Once Ruger fix accuracy in their revolvers, add more rounds capacity choice and change the finish to more real - and all this at reasonable cost less than $300, only then their revolver will have chance to beat Rough Rider. Until then, Rough Rider remains a better option at a better price.

[@megatrends]

Yes, I like the Heritage better ... the screws that loosen isn't a big deal as they are the same issue you get with actual vintage civil war era firearms. "Check 'em before you go" is the proper method Hickock45 says since he owns original vintage revolvers.

[@nicholaspetre1]

@@megatrends Yeah, I got you. Thank you for the feedback. Much appreciated!

[@drjwthomas]

I'm not crazy about Rutgers I own a mini 14 before it was junk . As well as a Ruger Blackhawk a security six and a 41 Magnum Blackhawk. I had problems with them all so I got rid of them. The rough riders revolvers seem to last my one brother had a rough Rider 22 for years and shot thousands around out of it never had a problem I will go with the roughrider every time.

[@megatrends]

I'm a fan of the RoughRiders too .. thank you for watching especially. Much appreciated.

[@DisHammerhand]

I've never had a Heritage. People who have them seem to like them. I just couldn't get past how they looked. They looked cheap and there was this hideous plastic thing on the recoil shield. I think the ejector rod was plastic. I did get a Wrangler. I'm used to how it works. I really like it. Went and got a second one last year. Now they have a Super Wrangler which has a WMR cylinder.

[@CliffordWebster-l2k]

Here is a video of where not only the ejector rod broke, but the barrel even came off kzbin.info/www/bejne/jaTCgqFvlsqIjKM

[@DisHammerhand]

@@CliffordWebster-l2k I've heard of barrels coming loose on those before. Maybe the pressures of the magnums hurried it along.

[@megatrends]

Ive not any issues after what has to be over a thousand rounds. Interesting ...

[@megatrends]

The ejector rod is metal, the lever handle for the rod is plastic. ASs for the barrel "falling off" it can't as they are threaded into the receiver, it would have top make a few revolutions to loosen enough to "fall off" so it must have fractured and broke off. That shouldn't happen so yeah, that is not good.

[@CliffordWebster-l2k]

@@megatrends On the video, the barrel is already JB Welded back on, so it didn't show it prior to the repair. He mentioned pressure from being in a holster, so it was probably snapped on when the holster was leaned on.

[@JerryCphoto]

I usually Hate to comment but just had to. The cylinder rotation comments on the Ruger is a defiant PLUS for me. (Being defensive of Ruger I guess). The reset of your commentary are very interesting. 🧐

[@megatrends]

Thank you for commenting, watching and giving your opinion. It is why I was sure to state that they're both good and it comes down to which format one prefers. I love Ruger, I own a few Ruger firearms. The Wrangler is a better quality revolver, will not break down like the Heritage Rough Rider and is arguably more accurate than the Heritage as well. "For me" it isnt as much fun shooting it. Thank you very much for watching, much appreciated. have a great day!

[@kenrickforde2309]

Outstanding video!

[@megatrends]

Thank you very much! Thank you for watching, it means a lot .... much appreciated.

[@brendangriffin1791]

I thought you said you don't dryfire

[@megatrends]

The Ruger Wrangler manual says dry firing their 22 revolver is safe. The cylinder has recessed pockets for the rim of the rimfire according to the manual it is safe. Dont dry fire the Heritage Roughrider.

[@brianpersin3028]

Best 22 revolver ever. Heritage sucks.

[@megatrends]

Thanks for watching ... really appreciate it. Cheers.

[@paulp.6399]

OK, Ruger bot. Whatever you say.

[@brianpersin3028]

@paulp.6399 Just my opinion brother.