Heritage Arms 22LR revolver: beginner's best!

Okay, I know we covered Heritage Arms last week, but I want one last suck-up of singe action revolvers before we move to our next topic on the blog. The Heritage Arms - in my humble non-expert opinion - is THE best handgun for your teenager coming-of-age, or the adult newcomer to firearms.  And here's why. 

Firstly, its cheap as beans: this matters because spending anything over a weeks pay on a weapon is going to make you overly precious about your new acquisition, afraid to scratch it and fearful of taking it apart.  Secondly, its shoots well: this is critical because it allows the newbie the gratification of actually hitting their intended target and is thusly rewarded. Thirdly, it utilizes the least expensive and most readily found ammo (thankfully now the ammo shortages have passed) that's also highly effective against tin cans, procurement of small game snacks and self defense in a pinch. I say "in a pinch" but I doubt anyone would stand unperturbed at the barrel end of a 22LR weapon regardless how much of a caliber snob they were - well-placed, a 22LR bullet is as deadly as anything else.  

I think it was Thoreau who said, "You don't know a land until you walk it" and the same is true of firearms. When you can strip a firearm down to it's essentials you're going to know it. Appreciating the mechanics of your weapon is akin to zen, it's the way of the Samurai. Okay, a tad fanciful maybe but the Heritage Rough Rider 22 allows you to tackle dismemberment with aplomb and enables mastery of the tool. The workings are just not that complex and so long as you're conducting surgery on a tray so you don't lose any of the pieces, you're unlikely to get into any trouble. And if you do, or if you scratch something, it's not catastrophic and the process will be so educational that it'll instill in you a confidence for every subsequent weapon you purchase. Indeed, you're new found interest in the guts of a gun will probably be a decisive factor in the weapons you choose to purchase henceforth.

And why will you need to take apart a Heritage 22 revolver? Because you're going to break it. It's highly likely the cylinder hand spring (https://www.gunpartscorp.com/ad/79150.htm#79150R) is going to snap off as you sit nights in front the TV cocking the pistol repeatedly (because it's so darned satisfying) and pew-pewing at baddies (unloaded of course). But therein lies your opportunity to learn the way of your weapon. Don't be that ignoramus who doesn't know how to maintain his tools, be the fearless owner of great engineering fetes and know intimately what MAKES them so great. The single action revolver is the grandaddy of all modern cartridge firearms and by starting here you'll discover a whole new interest in the precision industry we're so lucky to have here in America. Why do you think we're the envy of sportsmen and shooting enthusiasts worldwide? 

Ed.