Ruger Single Six (and Single Ten) Bore Size for .22 LR?

[FrankenMauser]

I've been craving a .22 LR Ruger Single Six for quite some time.

However, I've been hesitant to buy one, since I can't find any real information about the bore diameter. I want an accurate .22. That means a .224" bore won't do. I've tried to ask, but Ruger won't respond to my email inquiries, or tell me by phone.

Does anybody here know what barrels Ruger is putting on the Single Six and Single Ten? Are they .223" or .224"?

Are the dedicated .22 LR models different?
I know they are only offering convertibles at the moment, but they did still offer the '.22 LR only' models just last year. (Which means some of them are still available.)

 

[Daryl]

My understanding is that they are all .224, no matter whether a convertible or a .22 LR only.

Daryl

 

[CajunBass]

I would think they use the same barrel blanks for the convertables they use for the non-convertable. It simply does not make good business sense to inventory two different size 22 barrels, with only a couple thousandths of an inch difference.

Yes in theory it might make a difference. In the real world, not so much.

I've got two Single-Six's made in 1958, before the 22 magnum was developed. I have no idea what the actual measurement of the barrel is. I also have a New Model convertable, so it's reasonable to assume it has the "compromise" barrel. I can't tell a dimes worth of difference. I don't shoot anything but 22 LR in them. Never fired a magnum round in my life.

No, a Single-Six is probably not the best choice for precise bullseye shooting. For most anything else, it's more than accurate enough.

 

[drail]

My wife owned a Single Six Convertible for a number of years and I never measured the bore but I can definitley say that it was far more accurate firing .22 Mags than LR s. Under 50 yards they were pretty close but past 50 yds the Magnums were incredibly consistent in accuracy. Clay pigeons at 100 yards didn't have a prayer.

 

[Crosshair]

That likely could be the fact that the 22 mags have a lot less freebore than the 22 LR in a revolver chamber. Or that the gun happened to live jacketed bullets vs lead. Still a useful observation you have and something to consider..

 

[DAnjet500]

One can make the assumption that OM Single Sixes made before s/n 150000 have the smaller diameter bore. That is the cutoff for Ruger to retro-fit a magnum cylinder. Higher s/n and they will not do it. However, most Single Sixes after that point were convertibles anyway.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Danjet500
That is interesting info.
But, you have me confused.
My SS convertible was purchased used in 1970.
It's serial # is 62-92XXX
Is that over or under 150000?

 

[FrankenMauser]

I would think they use the same barrel blanks for the convertables they use for the non-convertable. It simply does not make good business sense to inventory two different size 22 barrels, with only a couple thousandths of an inch difference.

And, that's precisely why I was asking. It doesn't make any sense, at all, for a a budget-minded company to stock two sizes of blanks, when most customers will never know the difference.

It's a safe bet to assume everything has had a .224" barrel, since the introduction of the convertible. ...But it never hurts to ask.

 

[ThomasT]

I have read this about the bore sizes on a dedicated 22 as opposed to a gun that will also fire a 22 mag. I don't really see the point. You are only talking about one thousanths of an inch. About one third the thickness of the average human hair.

I just measured some winchester power points and some federal bulk packaged 22s and both measured between .224 and .225 and not a single one I checked was any smaller.

You could use the Paco Kelly accurizer tool and bump up your 22 ammo for target work and use the regular bullets for plinking. I have owned several 22 convertables and never had any complaints at all with the accuracy of the guns.

I do own a wide variaty of 22 ammo and one day I took every different type of ammo I had for a shoot. I was amazing how different each load would shoot and how well different loads grouped. Try it sometime. You need to shoot your gun and find the load it likes. I didn't believe that until I tried it.

 

[DAnjet500]

Rifleman, your gun was made well after the 150000 s/n cutoff which occurred sometime in 1959. All Single Sixes from this point on use the larger bore.
I don't think your gun was bought in 1970 as it was not manufactured until 1974.
I am getting my information from John Dougan's "Ruger Pistols and Revolvers" and also from the RENE or Red Eagle News Exchange, a quarterly Ruger periodical.