Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Hog "Wrangler"!

So, was thinking, which is dangerous for me, that as of late, I have been assisting one of my Technicians with his Hog Trapping, and as such I didn't really want to be packing either of my beautiful S&W K frames in .22LR & .22 WMR, nor my old Colt Woodsman as we bounced around the Swamp.....just in case we had occasion to flip, or wrasslin with a Hog I lost my grip on said Heirlooms.....so I stopped by an LGS on the way to Gainesville to see what they had in the case.

I was looking for nexpensive, but not junk. I was hopeing to find a good, used .22 LR handgun, but they had none in stock, except for a Ruger Bearcat that was more than I wanted to part with (Scottish heritage, can't help it!), and they had about 10 various configurations of the Heritage Rough Rider....but all had gaudy stocks of some sort, instead of plain wood....Hard PASS.

They had one, lone Ruger Wrangler in stock, at an elevated price, so I haggled, and horse traded, and finally got them down to about $30 over what the big box stores charge for them.....so I said I'd think about it and started walking out the door. After 30 seconds of tabulating the information that it was the only one they had, that said big box stores (Rural King) had NONE in stock, and that I had no qualms about purchasing at a LGS versus the Big store....I turned aorund and plunked my information down for the NICS check and said I'd be back after I finished doing the district chores I was on.

So, I am the new owner of a Ruger Wrangler in Stone Grey color, and I found an old El Paso cross draw holster that I had for it to ride in.....it's a little loose in there, but it does have a retaining strap. I will try some different fodder in it today to see where it lands accuracy wise. Has a 4 5/8" barrel, free spinning cylinder, and feels tight when thumbing back the hammer. First impression is that it's a solid little gun. I would estimate 3/4 size of my Ruger Vaquero, but still manageable. I'm hoping it has sufficient accuracy to be minute o Hog Brain at reasonable distance and coupled with the fact that at $229, if I were to drop it in the Swamp, I wouldn't be as heartbroken as say it were my S&W 48 No Dash .22 WMR.....


Will update after I try some of the rimfire rounds I have on hand.....Automatch, CCI, Federal Bulk, Armscore, Wildcat, Thunderbolts, etc.....

Y'all enjoy your weekend....

Frog----OUT!

Enjoy your new wrangler. I’ve been eyeing one myself, but my single six won’t let me add another one to the party...not yet anyways.

I feel bad taking my blues single six on the trapline, I think the wrangler would fill that niche nicely.

I have two Wranglers.

They are pretty solid little handguns. Loading gate is stiff on one of them.

Keep both loaded with CCI shotshells for copperheads. One at the house, one at the shop. Both shoot well with solid bullets too.

I have also thought about a wrangler. My heritage rough rider is still hanging in there though so unless I wear that one out I probably won't get a wrangler. I like the ceracote on them though

For $199.99, I should buy one too. Maybe next pay day.

For what you're talking about, I think you got the right thing. I always found the Bearcat too small to use well in a hurry. Same with any S&W J-frame.


Okie John

My general, knocking around/trap line .22 for years was an old model Single Six convertible (Muzzle blast and insignificant advantage in a 6” revolver tended to keep the Winmag cylinder in the red velvet Ruger bag it came in when I bought it from an acquaintance some time ago for $150.) One morning I handed it to my brother to calm down a very large coyote before I took the MB 650 C off its foot. It’s pretty much been his ever since. No big deal to me, I also have a Colt New Frontier convertible with both cylinders, but the Ruger is a better knocking around gun,IMO. Any more, my “just to have a .22 handy” revolver tends to be a S&W 317 3”.

I've got a Wrangler and a Single Six. My Wrangler won't shoot anywhere close to the sights with HS ammo, it hits closer with SV or subsonics, or Quiets or Shorts, but still not "dead on". 3" high, 3" left at 25 yards with HS stuff.

That's where the Single Six has a strong advantage, really, with their adjustable sights. I've got a couple of the newer pistols, too, an M&P Compact and a 4.5" SR-22, with adjustable sights, too. I find them handy, at least they hit to the sights, as does the 617 4" gun.

I'll still keep the Wrangler, though, the slower ammo is still fun to shoot, and who knows, the next batch of ammo might actually hit closer to the sights. I like it's handy-ness, and don't have to worry about knocking the sights around..I'll figure something out.

I have the grey Wrangler also. The action was a bit stiff so I installed a Wolf spring kit, and now it is as smooth as butter. The loading gate does open stiffly still, though, because I didn't want to tear the gun down enough to replace the spring. My gun shot dead center for windage, but about 5 inches high at 25 yards. I carefully filed the front sight down until it was at a perfect zero. They are nice little guns and a great choice for your swamp work. Mine shoots everything I have tried quite accurately, and I have no complaints. I got mine early, for about $185.00 out the door.

Yeah. Leave that 48 no dash at home, Froggie.

Why would you want 22lr or 22mag instead of a 38 sp?

Have had an OD Green Wrangler for a year or so. Replaced a POS Heritage I had as my trapline gun. Only other 22 revolver I own is a minty Single Six convertible that I wouldnt subject to trapping duty. Mine shots well enough with Mini Mags. At the price point and with the cerakote finish it is a good choice for a trapline gun etc.

Bought one a couple of months back. Great little gun for the money. Congrats on your purchase.

Well, as stated previously, this will be used running around the Oak Mott's and Swamps checking Feral Hog traps. One side of the equation is that as part of this is Federal area, and as it's all regulated by license, they require a rimfire be used. Secondly, if theres a hog that needs to be dispatched, you don't want to use a lot of horsepower and have that bullet go rattling around a metal cage, or trap where a ricochet may hurt someone else, or damage the trap. Just pop them in the noggin and the piggie goes to sleep.

Thank you gentlemen, I do believe it will be a handy little tool for this purpose. Tried three barnds yesterday....while the Federal Automatch and Armscor did alright, the gun showed a prefernece for the Federal Bulk package Hollow Points I had along. Today I will try out the CCI SV solid nose......hopefully they work as well as the Federal Bulk. Would prefer a solid nose for this work I believe.

Was able to keep 6 rounds in aloose group the size of a styrfoam coffee cup at about 7 yards that I used as an impromptu target. That should work well enough for minute of Hog. Plus as others have stated, the cerakote finish should be a good thing.

LD, absolutley, no way I'm taking that 48 No Dash out into the swamp and losing it! LOL

Y'all be well and enjoy your Sunday!


Frog----OUT!

ruger wrangler for a $229 hands-on purchase these days is decent enough. the stiff loading gate has a purpose-it controls the otherwise free spinning cylinder, which makes reloading easier. my only complaint about the wrangler is that ruger could have made it with an eight shot cylinder, alot of wasted emply room on its six shot cylinder.

I have an old High Standard double nine I use for trapped piggies. It works great

I was just looking at the Ruger Wrangler at my LGS on Wednesday. Thinking about picking one up for a snake gun like that too Barry. They had about every finish and variation in stock for $219, I think.

Guess Great Minds think alike ! 🤠

Governor for the win on sneaky snakes. Wrangler for the win anyway. They're a nice little gun. For half or even a third the price of a Single Six, what not? Wish they made the WMR cylinder to go with it. I think I paid $209 at the Farm Store back in January or so. I'd say $219 in today's market is right in there.

Got mine a month or so ago. It was to validate a Simply Rugged holster I had for a Ruger single seven in .327 Federal and updated the sights which would not fit at all. First time for me I would not let a holster go to the old holster bin mostly because the Simply Rugged are brilliantly made.

So I ordered a Wrangler from Cabelas on points. So cool when you don't have to pay for a gun.

So far so good. A little stiff but there's no safety on a single action like a Heritage. Only shot it a bit but I couldn't let a Simply Rugged holster go to the bin of unused holsters.














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EE,
The S&W Governor is definitely the ultimate “snake gun” and also works well on hogs and other varmints. I had one and shot it quite a bit when they first came out.
But for now, I have a lot of .22 cal rat shot on hand, and the Ruger Wrangler should work well for snakes and rats in the barn.