ACADEMY: Heritage Rough Rider Flagship 22 LR Rimfire Revolver

[Aries]

Maybe I got a lemon but my Rough Rider was not very accurate at all and I tried 5 different kinds of ammo in it.
If I was 75 feet from a rabbit i could not hit it.
My Phoenix 22 semi auto would hit it though.

Friend had a 12" barrel .22 pistol back in the late 80's that was his grandfathers and that thing would knock cans over at 100 yards
Maybe I expect better accuracy than most.
My Ruger 10-22 rifle I purchased new was a disappointment also.

Am I getting lemons or is this just an issue with me expecting more from new stuff?

The Rough Riders seem to vary considerably on accuracy, one review will say accuracy was pretty good out of the box, another will say accuracy was very poor.

The common denominator seems to be crowning on the barrel. A lot of people complaining about accuracy said they re-crowned the barrel and accuracy improved to normal.

I've had two Rough Riders, and accuracy was decent on both for guns in that price range. But they're cheap guns. If I was going to get another one, I'd probably try the Ruger Wrangler, I would imagine quality is considerably better for just a little more money. They just need to come out with an interchangeable .22 mag cylinder.

 

[RugersGR8]

I want to try the Ruger wrangler

Academy has the nicer Wrangler with wood grips and holster for $229 through today as well.

https://www.academy.com/shop/pdp/ruger-wrangler-22lr-rimfire-revolver-with-holster-combo?sku=22-lr

 

[R D Harmon]

My Rough Rider Bbl needs to be tweeked in just a hare. It shoots to the left no matter which ammo I use. The ejector rod hangs on the side of the cyl just a hair. I put a Bbl bore sight tool on it to comferm my suspicions. I have not turned in the Bbl as of yet. I am dragging my feet so to speak.
But on another note, the thing will put them in a ragged hole 3 in left of center at 50 ft.

 

[druryj]

The Rough Riders seem to vary considerably on accuracy, one review will say accuracy was pretty good out of the box, another will say accuracy was very poor...

I bought one, just for shizz and grins, and I can't hit the floor with it unless I drop the dang thing. Still; good to keep the grandkids occupied.

 

[MilitantBEEMER]

I got to shoot a wrangler today and was very impressed. Reliable and accurate if you do your part. I was shooting Remington Golden Bullet

 

[dennishoddy]

I had a rough rider. One of the safety pads that prevent the pistol from firing came unsoldered and made the gun not safe for firing so I junked it.
Drury got the grips and another person in Tulsa got the rest to rebuild their sons trigger assembly that had some issues.
Fun plinker, but that's all it is.

 

[retrieverman]

Ruger Single Six 22/22 mag was the first pistol I bought with my own money back in the 80’s, and I still have it. My brother bought a Wrangler from Atwoods and really likes it.

I have no experience with the Rough Rider, but I would bet you get exactly what you pay for.

 

[OK Corgi Rancher]

I'm on my second Rough Rider. Both have been fun and reliable and accurate enough for what they're for. The first one I had was a .22/.22Mag. I sold it and bought a second with a shorter barrel. I kept the .22Mag cylinder from the first and it drops right in and works well on the second gun. Now that the Wrangler is out and can often be found for around $189 or $199, I'd say (on paper, anyway) the extra $$ would be worth it to get the Ruger. You do lose the capability to shoot .22Mag, though.

 

[joegrizzy]

while the sights on the rough rider are probably luck of the draw, i must have gotten lucky. i drill empty shotgun shells at 10-15 yards consistently and have a few buddies that shoot it way better than i do.

i will say i haven't quite found the point of impact shift when switching to .22 mag, but i haven't shot that as much.

if the rough rider is going for $150+ and the ruger is under two hundo i would likely grab it. but it was hard to beat the $99 rough riders imo. it's certainly nothing fancy, but i don't expect a hunnard dollar aluminum plinker to be.

 

[dlbleak]

I think the earlier ones were better. We were ringing steel plates at 40 yards when they first came out. I’ve not heard many good things the last couple years though. I’ll keep one around as a cheap plinker.