Heritage's Single-Action Rancher Revolver Carbine: Review

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The Heritage Rancher .22LR small-bore carbine is one of the most unique rimfires on the market. Its Old West style is a head turner, and the 16-inch barrel and adjustable buckhorn sights give it a practical reach and accuracy. It’s lightweight, accurate, and affordable. The wood stock is warm and beautiful, and the checkering and wood-to-metal fit is handsome. Its slim design carries easily and fits nicely in a scabbard.

This little carbine added fun and variety to our Sunday afternoon shoots at the range, and everybody that saw it wanted a turn. The buckhorn rear and fixed blade front sight is how the cowboys of old aimed their rifles. The barrel band is a classic feature of days gone by too. The Rancher comes with a handy leather sling that looks good and is practical. All Heritage revolvers will also accept a .22 WMR cylinder. I jumped on their website and was delighted to see they sell cylinders with unique engravings from cowboy boots to steer skulls. Just for fun, I ordered my cylinder with a rattlesnake. Bumping the Rancher’s power level up to .22 WMR gives it extra thump and reach for the larger varmints like coyotes, which have been terrifying the livestock around the ranch.

On any revolver, there is a small space between the end of the cylinder and the forcing cone. At the shot, hot gases and sometimes debris are ejected out of this gap. A shooter must be careful not to put their hand or any part of their body near that forcing cone on the Rancher or they are in for a world of pain. The jacketed .22LR bullets that I tried sprayed out bits of material from the forcing cone so bad that I quit shooting them. The softer, lead round nose found in Federal’s AutoMatch didn’t do this and was accurate, so I am sticking with it from here forward. One must be extra careful about this with the Rancher as that long barrel and forward metal is inviting for one’s off hand.

At the range and the campsite, the Rancher provided a lot of fun poking holes in soda cans. The .22 WMR’s extra power was accurate enough to be effective at close range for putting meat on the table or for defense of the garden. Plinking with the Rancher is a blast with its buckhorn sights, half-cock pawl (“hammer” for the city slickers), and single-action operation. We perforated targets of opportunity up at the lake when we were camping, and it seems like an obvious choice to grab when the skunks are in the chicken coop. If you like having a firearm that turns heads, gives a tip of the hat to the Old West, and is fun to shoot, then the Rancher might just be for you.

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