Heritage Rough Rider .22LR/.22WMR Single-Action
Hello.
I stopped by the local hock shop and picked up a .22 that my younger son has had his eye on for a while... a more-or-less copy of a Colt SAA in .22 caliber, NIB. It's a Heritage Rough Rider, a fixed-sight cowboy gun (although you can get these with adjustables, this particular one didn't have them). Finish is a black coating on the alloy frame, and bluing on the barrel and other parts.
I gather from the online reviews of these that they are a good value for the price (just over two bills in this case), an effective plinking and trail gun of the same order of quality as, say, a Charter Arms.
My progeny will wear the finish off this thing in short order, as long as I can keep him in ammo.
Any of y'all have any experience with these?
-AaronB
I've shot, I think, four of them...
by Sarge 
, Central Misery, Monday, June 10, 2013, 23:32 (4188 days ago) @ AaronB
all were capable of overlapping holes at 10-15 yards if I did my part. All of them shot a little low which is easily corrected. Most were pretty good for windage with one maybe 2" off. Triggers weren't bad. I don't care for the latch safety, but it wouldn't keep me from buying one.
The Latch Safety
I'm divided over the latch safety. Yes, it craps up an otherwise clean design, and I don't like a plastic piece on an otherwise steel-and-wood gun. On the other hand, absent that safety one would be obligated to keep an empty chamber under the hammer, as the gun would run just like an old-school SAA.
If it were totally for me I would prefer it to not have the safety. Considering my son will be handling and shooting it a fair amount, however, I think I prefer having it. Of course the safety is no substitute for responsible gun handling, but I don't object to a belt-and-suspenders approach where safety is concerned.
-AaronB
The old Hawes 22 Peacemaker copy...
by Sarge , Central Misery, Tuesday, June 11, 2013, 06:48 (4187 days ago) @ AaronB
had a safety just like the one on Heritage. I know this because when I was 15, a friend had one. He thought it too 'un-Colt' and removed it. He also scoffed at me for carrying my OM Single Six with the hammer down on an empty chamber.
He finally managed to shoot himself down the thigh one day, right in my living room. The bullet stopped halfway down the muscle and they elected to leave it in. I still remember watching him squirm when the Doc ran that long, Betadine-soaked Q-Tip down the hole in his leg.
So yes, extra layers of safety are a good thing. Particularly when you're dealing with kids/novices.