Heritage Rough Rider 22 Revolver : Budget or Bust? 

People complain about screws getting loose - when I purchased each of mine - I remove each screw 1 at a time & placed a drop of blue loctite on them - in 3 years & at over 500 rounds no issues - also bright finger nail polish on front sight - my very old eyes. Thank You !

This gun is worth EVERY SINGLE PENNY. Its only a 22 single action but its one of my favorite pieces.

As an instructor, I own 10 of these guns (each has about 800 rounds in them). I like using these as they slow the student down a bit and focus on the basics of shooting. GREAT GUNS.

I bought my first RR, a 6.5" about 4 years ago for $99.99. I liked it so much that when they went on sale again 6 months later, I bought another so my son and I could shoot together. I do have both cylinders. Mine have never failed once, and were very accurate. I've popped rabbits and squirrels with ease. This past "Black Friday" I bought the 4.75" with both cylinders for $79.99 after the Heritage $30.00 rebate. The first time I took it out to shoot, it would give me a light strike every cylinder or so, and was consistently shooting about 3" low, and 3" to the left. I contacted Heritage and sent my revolver in for repair, and explained my issues. Not only did I get it back in a week after they changed the hammer spring, they even put on a new barrel! It now shoots as well as my other 2. That's pretty fantastic service on a budget gun. I tell everyone they should pick one up as they're cheap, and fun to shoot.

This revolver will not function without a hat. That's a fact.

I bought this years ago to start educating my kids about firearms. I also used 22 LR COLIBRI, a powderless round. About as loud as a cap gun. The revolver never failed. For the money I paid, it was worth its weight in gold. Awesome revolver.

I bought one oh 30 years ago. Still like New . So far it's flawless. Worth every dollar.

In other word you just can’t beat the cost and fun you can have with this sweet shooting gun, my son absolutely loves shooting this little firearm

I bought the 4.75" model, and since the sights aren't adjustable, I took it to the range to see where I'd have to aim. To my surprise, the sights were dead on. Love the gun. Easy to shoot.

My gun store had a deal on these last year. If you bought a certain amount of ammo, you could get one of the Heritage’s cheap. I had always looked at these as something I thought was low quality, and I was a revolver snob, so I never wanted one. Because of the deal, I bought one. It’s the most fun I’ve ever had for the amount I spent. if you have ever looked down your nose at one of these, forget what you thought and buy one. You won’t regret it. Since then I purchased their Barkeep model which has the 2” barrel on it. They make an inexpensive laser that mounts on the trigger guard, and I put one on the Barkeep. That thing is so much fun and very accurate. I have also customized mine with their custom Buffalo Head Nickel grips and the 22WMR cylinder. It really looks neat. This foray into Heritage, also made me go out and purchase a Ruger Super Wrangler. If you have not played around with either the Heritage or Ruger 22 Revolvers, just do it. These are also a great firearm to use teach a person gun safety and shooting.

I have had my 22 rough rider for 15 years hundreds of rounds fired with no problems at all. Accurate and fun to shoot. I love it.

My heritage was passed down from a family member who passed. I love it. I definitely use it for my side arm when working around my property and it has saved me from copperheads and other critters. He, my family member, would want me to use it and not keep it in a drawer. You leave the world the way you came, with nothing. I will pass it down when I'm gone. Can't go wrong when investing in firearms. Especially a revolver like this.

I picked up 2 of them at a local pawn shop just for plinking. My biggest reason for them was when my sons and grandsons got out to do some plinking i can give my younger grandkids to shoot with us and I'm not worried about them breaking extremely cheap to repair. I never liked the finish on them so i stripped the finish and polished them to a nickeled finish. Customer service fit and finish not a fan of,but for what we use them for fits our needs.

I’ve had a heritage Roughrider with the magnum cylinder for $160 for many years. I can shoot walnut at 10 yards very accurate. Never had a problem totally recommended.😊

I've had my Heritage Rough Rider for almost three months and I absolutely love it. I carry it every time I'm out working or hiking on my property. Thankfully, all the pests here are smaller than me and don't require a large caliber to get rid of them. I haven't tried .22mag yet, but you got me excited to test it out.

I hate the damn safety BUT it is an accurate and reliable gun. The price can't be beat.

Absolutely love my heritage revolver. Got a fancier 22mag cylinder. Lot of fun and the click of that hammer is awesome.

There were great sales on these last Christmas. I picked up a 6” .22l / .22wmr combo for $119 plus Heritage had a $30 rebate…it’s a decent gun and very fun to shoot.

I picked one up over half a decade ago to use on my traplines for $125 with both cylinders. I cant say that I regret it. Truelly a great little plinker with some dependability. I just wish it had an adjustable rear sight instead of the strap groove. Still one of my favorite pews to play with.

I bought one 10 years ago and never had any issues. I used it to train new shooters using colibries. I have shot thousands of rounds through it and still going.

I've had 2 of these for the past 15 years. It's a total classic fun pistol to just do some plinking with.

I have owned one of these for years and it's still going strong, I want to say I think I got it in the 80s late 80s

Owned them for years now and love em

I own this gun & it is a great gun in both 22 lr & 22 magnum

I have four Rough Riders in various styles and configurations. Love them all. Lots of fun at the range, and I have found them to be a perfect beginners/training gun as it requires the new shooters to think a bit before pulling the trigger. Personally I have found that they fit my hand much better than the Ruger does. That is something for each individual to weigh for themselves.

I really appreciate you describin the difference in 22LR and 22Magnum ammunition. I don’t have anyone to ask knowledge about other than the gunsmith so thank you kindly! Can’t wait till Friday to pick her up!!! My first revolver 🤠

Have 2 of for many years now. No issues. Great guns

Bought mine after checking these out at a local show and I tell you this is by far the nicest trigger you'll ever squeeze on a gun under $200!

I own one. The 4 3/4" version. I gotta say, I really love it! I have both the 22 and the 22 mag version. Its really fun to shoot. Sights are not adjustable....but mine shoots perfectly. Just don't expect a perfect finish on it. It is just pure fun to plink with! Really enjoy this revolver. Totally don't regret the purchase. For the price, its a no brainer.

Bought one around 2011 and still have it. It’s a great little gun. Probably around 2,000 rounds through it of lr and magnum no issues. Looking forward to my son to start shooting soon.

Owner of several different SA .22 revolvers, both of these in your video. I've put thousands of rounds through my revolvers and my Heritage is as reliable as any of the others. It's not the prettiest gal at the rodeo but if I'm going out in bad weather or doing work that's just plain dirty, the Heritage is the gun that goes with me 100% of the time. It's easy to disassemble and clean and it's never failed to shoot straight. It's not just for plinking.

Had my RR for 5 yrs now and love it. It allows one to shoot short-long and long rifle, plus 22 mag and snake shot. Awesome gun and doesnt break the bank.

Had one for 10 years with the mag cylinder. Fantastic pistol, and great carry during hunting season for the occasional table fare and dispatching whatever!

Have had mine for 26 years and still shoots fine when I get it out to use. When I was younger I use to carry it all the time when we went to our land, even slept with it lol, but have shot literally thousands or rounds through it and is still chuggen along.

I appreciate that Sootch usually coordinates his hats with his guns

Awesome introduction to handguns for young shooters.

This thing is great for extending your time at the range! I love taking my time with it.

Bought mine in 1996. Tough durable. Have shot. 22magnum cylinder only. Good trigger. Underrated undervalued. Nothing like a long barrel revolver. Hits hard.

I purchased a HRR 2 years ago and love it. Never thought or knew I would be into cowboy shooting. After getting into firearms 3 years ago and quickly adding to my collection I was told I needed a .22 caliber anything to have cheap fun plinking and practicing skills. I was also intrigued about revolvers (not really a revolver guy, but interested in the platform.) So I figured I would kill 2 birds with 1 stone. After doing some research I settled on either the HRR or Ruger Wrangler. Both felt and looked good to me, but I liked the Rough Rider more, due to the crowned barrel, the indexed cylinders, the option of the WMR cylinder and I even like the safety. To me the HRR’s have more options from barrel lengths of 1 inch to 16 inches, more grip options & accessories, and they even now have offerings that are cerokoted, faux case hardening and tactical versions with adjustable sights and threaded barrels! I liked mine so much in 6.5”, that I purchased another one recently and my spouse too liked mine so much, that they also now own 2 themselves; all of ours have the WMR cylinders. It would be nice if you could do a comparison one day of the Super Wrangler and the Tactical Heritage Rough Rider version.🙏🏾

Agreed. Yours is a great review. I've really enjoyed shooting and holstering both the Rough Rider and the Wrangler. And the ammo for both six shooters is very reasonably priced.

Very fair review. I've seen people both love and hate these revolvers. I picked up that exact model a few years ago and really fell in love with the action. I was also impressed with it, expecting it to be a little hunk of junk I figured might just be a range toy. Turns out to be very accurate and reliable. I worked the safety into some training drills and no longer forget it. More recently I picked up the barkeep model with the mock "case color hardened" frame. Not as accurate at distance obviously but wow, a really nice little rimfire wheel gun. I'll pick up the rifle version eventually. Maybe this summer.

Have had mine (4" barrel) for a few months, and I love it. Very accurate and cheap to shoot.

HELLO, I Have 4" & 6" - only use 22WMR cylinder - 6" for hunting small game - Enjoy them both very much - never had any issues - 4" - converted to birds head grip - WOW - totally different feel & grip - AS ALWAYS - GREAT VIDEO SIR !! THANK YOU !!

I have a couple Rough Riders an love them. The gun is absoultely worth the asking price.

Love my RR. I got the 9 shot 22 lr / mag combo for $129 and have shot the hell out of it. No complaints for the price. I have a 6 shot model of the same pistol from the 90's and still looks and shoots like new.

I saw one of these at Cabela's and am glad to see you did a review on this. We start enjoying 22 plinking. It is a lot of fun and your video convinced me to go get one.

@Sootch- I really enjoy your videos. Thanks for all the time and effort you put into doing these videos. I've currently got 3 RR's. A 6.5 barrel with both cylinders (it's my fishing revolver), a 4.75 barrel and a Barkeep with the 2.5 barrel. Just great cowboy 22's. They are alot of gun for the money. Great for plinking, hunting, field guns and even for some people - self defense. And not to hack on you Sootch- I noticed both times you removed and replaced the cylinder- you forgot to put the hammer in the 2nd notch ! Lol ! That's the reason you were fighting it the 2nd time you demonstrated how to do it.

I've had one for a couple years and love it.

Yep I knew nothing about these and local gun shop recommended when I was picking up some lever guns a while back. For ~$100 on sale can't beat. Esp with the .22 mag option. Their custom grips (and cylinders) are very impressive as well. Happy with the purchase. These would be particularly good for new shooters too.. which is one of the reasons I picked up.

I bought my Rough Rider about 20 or so years ago for $129 w.both cylinders, and for mostly rodent control in my chicken houses, thus mostly rat shot the ammo. Absolute perfect gun for that plus great fun plinking or practicing my wild west quick draw. Best money I ever spent on a piece--fun and practical on the cheap.

Lol I won one for 5 bucks at a wild game dinner. It is awesome. Taught both kids how to shoot with it. And now my wife uses it with the magnum cylinder at the cabin for critters. It is a great gun.

Love this little guy for poping soda cans. Check your screws out of the box and periodically with use. Had to use the little piece of credit card trick on the spring but has run flawlessly ever since

Those of us that enjoy the rough rider know to lock tight the screws. I polished the cylinders for trouble-free ejection. It's a fun shooter.

Great review! You're one of the best reviewe'sr of firearms on RU-vid that I've ever watched! You always do a full review! Thank you

I've purchased 2 of them sold one to a friend. Awesome guns 10 years no problem with either one. A really fun & sweet shooting! Also p/u an .17 HMR with glo sights stainless color trigger & hammer. Beautiful walnut gripes. Fired alot of rounds through them all, no failures great guns😛

I bought one 3 weeks ago and was disappointed because of light strikes. Saw a RU-vid video of how to put a shim next to the spring to fix it. I have not taken it out since then but I can tell it increases the tension and increases hammer impact. I love the gun and have dispatched many a desperado out my backyard window !

My Wife has 2 of these and she loves them!

Thank you for a complete and honest review, which you alays do! I am thinking of buying one of these. This video helped me.

I've had 2 for several years and love the mag cylinder. Used a lot and never a problem. Reminds me of the H&R I had back in the 70's.

Just ordered the same one with stag grips. Always wanted one and it was on sale, with my coupon through my gun store, got it for 90 bucks. This was a well done video with all the details man. Thanks.

I've had one for years now.I bought 2 more since for family.Great little gun for fun at the range.

Wife bought me one for Christmas, 4.75 in with the flag grips, about $120 in .22lr.. The $30 rebate covered the cost of ordering the magnum cylinder. Their website store has all kinds of accessories for very reasonable prices. Love it, and yeah, that safety is easy to forget.

I bought a heritage with the uppgrades a couple years ago for my wife. The upgrades include 9 round cylinders in both 22 and 22 mag, and the fiberoptic sights. It was so accurate and fun my sister in law wanted one as well. The fit and finish is fair. The materials are fair, the strap above the forcing cone is slowly eroding from the hot gases and powder escaping from the cylinder gap. The screw that holds the ejector rod cover comes loose. The paint on the light frame alloy scratches easily and the black is wearing off the barrel and cylinder. Having said all that, it has been reliable for at least a thousand rounds, no springs have broken, the action locks up well still. It is a great gun for teaching people the basics of shooting. It is still a fun gun to shoot and the upgrade of the adjustable sight will let you truly sight in the gun. The trigger is sweet. It is close to a competition single action for about twice the price of the 6 round without the fiber optic sights. I think I'll talk my wife into going shooting this week..see if she can still hit spent brass at ten yards with this gun.

My son bought one of these for pest control on a horse farm where he worked att the time years ago right after they first came out and he asked me to go along to give him my opinion. I looked at the floor model and had him special order one with adjustable true glow sights and the magnum cylinder. Not one person who has ever laid their hands on it hasn't left wanting one of their own. It's been a wonderful little revolver right from the day he picked it up. And the true glow sights added a whole different feel to this gun than the built-in frame sights. We all just love to shoot it.

Thank you for the review. I also had wondered about the quality. After watching your review, I might be willing to buy one.

Picked one up the other day just for a backpack/snake gun. I remember seeing these back when I was a kid. A Ruger p85 was the first pistol I shot, but the heritage was the first and one of the few revolvers I’ve fired. Nostalgic

I bought a bird head model with the extra cylinder. Sootch is right -- it's just a very fun, inexpensive, and satisfying gun to shoot. Those of my kids who don't care much for the recoil of center-fire pistols always enjoy shooting the Rough Rider at the range.

I have a Heritage 'Barkeep' and a 4 1/2" Rought Rider! Love these reliable revolvers. If I can ever afford them, I'll get the rifle and the Rough Rider Tactical. Thanks for this video.

4 years ago, I picked up an older version, with wood grips, in a soft zipper-case, for $50. Had to fabricate the missing cylinder axis-pin from hardened steel 'music-wire'. Shoots perfectly!

I picked up one of these about 3 years ago, in the Buntline barrel length. I added an engraved .22 WMR cylinder and red laminated grips, and it looks great. I agree about the zinc frame finish...it's really prone to wear and tear. Cerakoting that might not be a bad idea. I watched a comparison video on YT with these guns (don't recall the channel) and the ballistics testing showed the 4" (ish) barrel the most accurate. I think the tests were only .22 LR, though. I would be interested in seeing someone test that with the .22 WMR. I think the longer barrels would give better ballistic perfomance in that caliber. At any rate, fun guns that you can customize the hell out of and not break the bank. Great review, Brother.

Looking forward to getting out and plinking with my Heritage Rough Rider. I was gifted it brand new from my F-I-L. Had to go through all of the New York State permit course and waiting period. Now I just have to get out and learning what it can do. This was an excellent review.

These are great 22's, had them for ever seems like. Have a newer birds grip, 3.5 barrel when walking wood, camping great kit gun for sure. Ruger are also good at least newer one with magnum cyclinder but for a 22 i stay with herritage hands down. Thanks greatly apprecate your review/opinions. Take care from an old floridacracker!

I've had buddies over the past couple of decades that have owned these and they've been flawless. I recently got one for myself and it's been a fun gun. Something that eats .22lr and doesn't break the bank. Great for teaching fundamentals to (my son) new shooters. And then there's just the nostalgia factor of having an old fashion cowboy gun. I'm very happy with my purchase and have nothing bad to say about it. It's a good buy imho.

I got a 6.5" model this past winter, on sale and the $30 rebate, so well below $100. Fun to shoot, zero recoil of note and zero misfires. Just recently went ahead and got the .22WMR cylinder for it and will take it to the range soon to see how it does. BTW, I got the Indian head/buffalo imprinted cylinder for the WMR since I already had the buffalo nickel grips, tried color filling the imprints, but they are so shallow that the paint didn't really do too well. It does make the shadowing stand out a bit, so there's that. All in all, I still have less than $200 in a sweet little range gun. Fun times! Long live the Republic!

I bought my first one in 2005. It has been used for snakes and varmints. It has been used to teach kids to shoot and I have no idea how many rounds have been through it but it's a lot. About 2009 ish it had a timing issue and I think it cost me $30 to repair but it's been sold since.

I had one a few years ago used. it was well used, a little loose a little wabbly. but the darn thing shot where you pointed it. amazing little guy

The camo annodizing (green and yellow) looks awesome too plus the laminated grip option knocks it out of the park for second kind of cool.

Review come out at a good time. I have seen that kr similar in stores and thought about getting one. Now im actually going to pick one up really soon. Thanks.

Mine had a little trouble with light strikes when I first got it. They fixed it quickly and now it works fine. It's as accurate as I am.

My wife wanted a pistol to carry at the ranch when i was traveling for work. She has a EDC 38 but a 22 was perfect for snakes and such. I ended up getting one to match and we love them.

I picked up mine (.22LR only) last holiday season...You can usually find them on sale + a factory rebate. $79.99 can't be beat! I picked up a .22WMR cylinder off the website...fired fine, but the casings would only eject about 1/8" and were stuck so badly I needed pliers (no issues wih the LR cylinder). Turned out the chambers were undersized...Heritage sent me new cylinder and they eject super smoothly!

I saw this revolver way back in 1996. it wasn't until 2018 that went out and bought one. a good buy with both cylinders.

Great review! I bought mine several years ago love it just looks n sounds awesome puts me back in time. I gave 175.00 for mine but Just saw it had to have it. Just ordered a Rossi 22 lever action to complement this little pistol. Thanks for sharing be safe have fun enjoy

I used to have one of these. It was really good for what I paid. If I remember correctly, it was around $160. I eventually sold it and bought a stainless Ruger Single Six because I wanted something nicer. I’ll keep that one forever. But the HRR was great for the price.

So I picked one up because of all the glowing reviews and cause tbh I wanted to live out my Clint Eastwood good bad and the ugly fantasy. So for $174.99 I purchased the heritage 9 shot 22lr with a 4inch barrel. What I received was a broken gun right out of the box, litteraly never even stepped out of the ffl much less fired a round thru it, and it came broken, if any of you know how a colt single action is supposed to work then u know it should have 4 clicks of the hammer. Mine came with an extra surprise 5th click of the hammer, it wouldn't lock up right, so I sent it back to heritage. To their credit the customer service was quick and concise. Before I sent it off for repair I took a video of how the gun functioned with its 5 distinct and very audible clicks of the hammer. I got the gun back at my ffl in maybe 3 weeks so decent turn around time. However it came back with the same issue that I had sent it in with. When I had litteraly left a typed up note explaining the issue in detail in the box with the gun, 1 copy on top of the gun, another in the plastic with the gun. So in my experience spend the extra money go for the ruger at minimum your guaranteed a functional gun out of the box.

Own a Ruger Single Six, Super Single Six, Wrangler, Heritage Rough Rider, and a Heritage barkeep. After the chores are done (feed out, water tanks filled, it’s always revolver time. Slow is smooth and fun. Everyone at our deer lease owns at least one Heritage. Great review. Heritage, like Henry, has really moved the firearms industry

I look forward to having one, or even two. Thank you for the review. Take care.

The last one I bought had a issue sent it back they fixed it pretty quickly the others I have no problems great company

It’s funny you did I review on one as I personally never looked twice at one but a big gun collector I knew pulled out couple he had the other day. I liked the fit and finish way more than I ever thought I would, just ordered the 9 round variant

I bought a Rough Rider a few years ago and I'm very impressed by the quality it has for the price point. Paid $120 for it at a local gun show and then ordered the .22 magnum cylinder from Heritage for $30. An excellent budget-priced single action that is very easy to practice with at the range, plus the magnum cylinder provides more versatility. I would definitely recommend this for anyone who is looking for an excellent quality .22 revolver without breaking their piggy bank!

"Long Live The Republic!" Love it... wise words! Great review of this revolver... I don't need another .22, but if I wanted an .22mag, I'd take this review into account.. Thanks for posting... God bless!

I had the 9 shot 22 LR & 22 WMR. I bought it in 1983. Excellent no compromise weapon.

I got two of them for free when I bought some AR's. Love it. Bought a hiolster and second cylinder for mine and gave away the second.

Very helpful review. I too have been looking at these for years and wondering if they were junk. Based on the review and comments, I’m going to grab one of the Rough Rider carbines. Too cool looking to pass up.

got mine back in 2016 as my first gun still love it today. got the 5 inch with the pearl grip, very basic. .22 is so fun mine came with the .22 mag cylinder too. good price too

I’ve had mine for a long time . Love it

Amazing value. I bought mine as a bogo at Academy Sports & Outdoors. Purchased the magnum cylinder after the fact directly from Heritage. No better home and general property firearm. .22 LR, Magnum, and shot shells. What more could anyone want for around $100! Footnote - I relocate my snakes. However if you want a .22 snake gun go with the Magnum shot shells. Please consider relocation first. Even our local venomous snakes ( largely Copperheads where I live in Upstate SC ) are pretty chill and offer little or no resistance when moved with a “Hook”. Another great video👍

Sincere thanks for sharing this informative video. The very best to you and your family. Stay safe out there. 🤗

I have the exact same pistol with both cylinders. The 22 win mags are awesome. The win mags are actually a rifle round by design. Deadly accurate with the 22 lr or the 22 win mags. I love mine, and have never had anyone come close to out shooting me, from 125 yards or closer. Great firearm.

Once again thank you for a excellent review of a good firearm.really enjoy your videos