By R.K. Campbell | Contributing Editor
The revolver featured in this report is a handgun with considerable appeal, because I am never happier than when firing “cowboy” guns.
Recently a well-meaning media rep asked if I could not use the term cowboy gun as often, as the firearms her company offers are suitable for hunting, hiking, and personal defense. I realized I was using a common term and well, I like it. Sure these handguns are useful modern firearms but the great appeal is a sense of nostalgia.
The Heritage Rough Rider is an affordable .22-caliber handgun selling for less than $200. It is a true single action revolver that works the same way such sixguns have functioned for nearly 150 years. Place the hammer on half cock and open the loading gate to load the six chambers. The hammer must be cocked for each shot. The trigger does only one thing, releases the hammer, hence the term single action.
After firing, the revolver is placed on half cock and the cylinder moved into position as each spent cartridge case is manually ejected one at a time, as the ejector rod is operated to unload the individual chambers.
An offbeat feature of the Rough Rider is a manual safety, located on the left side facing the sights, on the recoil shield. This safety is pressed down for fire and up for safe. A red dot tells us the safety is in the fire position.
The revolver may be operated and loaded with the safety in the on position. If the hammer is cocked and then released the revolver does not fire as the safety blocks the firing pin. This safety allows carrying the revolver with all six chambers loaded. I prefer simply keeping an empty chamber under the firing pin. This isn’t a handgun for critical use so the safety isn’t particularly important, but it works as designed.
The latest variant from Heritage is the Barkeep. This is a very neat and likeable little revolver, reminiscent of the old Colt Sheriff’s or Storekeeper model. The Barkeep features a three-inch barrel, a full size firing grip, and a nice contrasting finish in my example. A black finished example with plastic grips is also offered. The one significant feature because of its absence is an ejector rod inside a housing on the lower right side of the barrel.
The grips on my test revolver are nicely laser engraved. I like this setup very much because the grips fill the hand comfortably and the engraving creates a good gripping surface. The revolver features the standard groove in the receiver and blade front sight for fixed sight revolvers. While the sights are not large they are not difficult to use. When properly lined up they offer good accuracy potential. The sights are properly regulated for 40 grain loads to 15 yards.
I used a good mix of Federal, Remington and Winchester loads in firing the Barkeep. A good thing about .22 revolvers is that they may be fired with shotshell, .22 short, long, or long rifle loads and even CB caps without any fear of malfunction.
This is a friendly firearm to fire and use. The Barkeep’s short sight radius is friendly to aging eyes. As with traditional single-actions, the grip is very comfortable. All in all, this is a shootable combination that gets on target quickly and offers plenty of fun time at the range.
If you own a single action revolver in .357 or .45 Colt this is a fine understudy. For field and trail use or carried in the field kit for just in case this is a fine choice. As for absolute accuracy I fired several 2.5 inch groups at 25 yards and some a tad smaller. This revolver is more than accurate enough for .22 rimfire missions. It is affordable and may just be the fun gun of the year.
