Buying guide
Best Single-Action Revolvers for Cowboy Action, Plinking & Field Carry
Single actions are not a single category. A match revolver, a rimfire trainer and a field big-bore are three different machines that happen to share a loading gate, and buying across those lines is the most common way people end up with the wrong gun.
The short version
- Pick the column, then the gun. Match, trainer, field and pocket are four separate problems, and a gun that is excellent in one column is usually mediocre in another.
- If you are shooting a sanctioned game, the rulebook outranks every opinion here. Sight type, action type and calibre minimums are set by the organisation, and a gun that fails inspection is worthless to you regardless of quality.
- Buy the rimfire first. The manual of arms is identical, the ammunition costs a fraction, and the loading and unloading sequence is learned by repetition rather than by reading about it.
- Know whether yours has a transfer bar. On a traditional single action the firing pin rests on whatever is under the hammer. If you are not certain, load five.
Choose the column first
Ask ten people for the best single-action revolver and you will get ten answers that are all correct for questions nobody asked. The category spans rimfire plinkers that weigh under two pounds and field guns that need both hands and a firm intention. There is no ranking that runs across all of it.
So the useful first question is not which gun. It is which of these four sentences describes you: I am shooting a sanctioned cowboy action match; I want to learn the platform and shoot a lot without spending much; I want a field or hunting revolver; I want the smallest possible revolver. Answer that, and the field narrows to a handful of guns that are genuinely comparable.
The safety difference that decides everything
Before any recommendation, the mechanical distinction that matters more than anything else on this page.
A traditional single action carries its firing pin on the hammer. With the hammer down, that pin rests against whatever is in the chamber beneath it, so a sharp blow to the hammer spur — a drop onto a hard floor, for example — can drive the pin into a primer. These revolvers are loaded five, with the hammer down on an empty chamber.
A transfer-bar design puts the firing pin in the frame and interposes a bar between hammer and pin only when the trigger is held back. A dropped hammer strikes the frame, not the pin. These revolvers are designed to be carried loaded to capacity and the manual says so.
Ruger’s modern single actions use a transfer bar, but the pre-1973 Old Model three-screw guns do not, despite carrying the same name on the barrel. Clones of nineteenth-century designs vary by maker and by model, and some use a retracting or floating firing pin that is a different arrangement again. If you cannot positively identify the design, treat the gun as traditional and load five. Read this alongside the manual for your specific revolver, not instead of it.
Match and cowboy action guns
Cowboy action shooting is the largest organised game these guns are used in, and it is a rules-first purchase. The governing body sets what is legal: single action only, sight configuration by category, a calibre floor, and rules about finishes and modifications in the more traditional classes. Competitors shoot two revolvers, so you are buying a matched pair rather than a gun.
Practically that means fixed-sight guns in the traditional categories, and it means the clone market — reproductions of the 1873 pattern, made in Italy and imported under several brand names — is where most competitors shop, alongside fixed-sight Ruger single actions. Adjustable-sight guns like the Blackhawk sit in different categories or outside the game entirely depending on the class.
Download the current rulebook for the organisation whose matches you will actually attend, read the equipment section, and then go to a local match and watch. Categories, sight rules and calibre minimums change, and they differ between organisations. Borrowing a squad member’s guns for a stage will teach you more about what you want than any amount of reading.
1873-pattern clone revolvers (used and current)
- SightsFixed blade and frame groove
- ActionTraditional single action
- Bought asMatched pair for competition
- MarketLarge used supply, several importers
The default choice in traditional cowboy action categories, and the reason the used market is worth watching: competitors upgrade, and lightly used pairs come up constantly. Buy them as a pair from the same maker and generation if you can, because consistent trigger feel and identical loading motion across both guns matters more in a timed stage than either gun’s individual quality. Verify current category legality against the rulebook before purchase.
Bottom lineThe competitive standard, but only after you have read the rules for your own category.
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Ruger Blackhawk .357 Magnum, 6.5 in
- ActionSingle action, transfer bar
- Chambering.357 Magnum
- Capacity6 rounds
- SightsAdjustable rear
The most useful single action for someone who is not bound by match rules. Adjustable sights mean you can actually zero it for the load you shoot rather than accepting where a fixed sight happens to put the bullet, and the .357 chambering lets you shoot cheap .38 Special for practice and step up when it matters. The transfer bar means it is designed to carry loaded to capacity. Those adjustable sights are exactly what excludes it from traditional cowboy categories, so check before you buy it for that purpose.
Bottom lineThe best single action for general use, and the wrong one for traditional match categories.
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Rimfire trainers
This is the recommendation people skip and then wish they had taken. A rimfire single action has the same loading gate, the same half-cock or loading position, the same ejector rod stroke and the same one-chamber-at-a-time rhythm as a centrefire gun. Everything you need to build into muscle memory is present, and the ammunition costs a small fraction as much.
The specific thing a rimfire trainer buys you is repetitions. Loading a single action is a sequence, and sequences are learned by doing them a few hundred times, not by understanding them. Doing that on a gun you do not mind scratching, with ammunition you do not mind spending, is simply the efficient path.
Ruger Wrangler .22 LR, 6.5 in
- Chambering.22 LR
- Capacity6 rounds
- Barrel6.5 in
- FinishCerakote
The obvious first single action for most people. It carries Ruger’s transfer-bar lockwork, so the manual of arms transfers directly to the company’s centrefire single actions, and the Cerakote finish means field use does not produce the wincing that a blued gun does. It is cheap enough that you will actually take it out and shoot it, which is the entire point of a trainer.
Bottom lineBuy this before the expensive gun, and shoot it enough that the loading sequence stops requiring thought.
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Heritage Rough Rider .22 LR, 6.5 in
- Chambering.22 LR
- Capacity6 rounds
- Barrel6.5 in
- FeatureManual safety on the frame
The other end of the trainer market and, importantly, a different mechanical design — it is a traditional-pattern gun with a manual safety rather than a transfer-bar gun, which makes it a useful object lesson in exactly the distinction this article opened with. Read its manual carefully and follow its loading instructions specifically, rather than assuming the procedure you learned on a different revolver applies. Variants with case-hardened and laminate treatments cost slightly more and look a great deal better.
Bottom lineCheapest way into the platform, with the caveat that its handling rules are its own.
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Field and hunting single actions
Field guns are chosen against different criteria entirely: sights you can adjust and see, a frame and grip that manage recoil across a whole day, a barrel length that balances sight radius against how the gun carries, and a chambering matched to the job rather than to tradition.
The grip shape deserves more attention than it gets. A traditional plough-handle grip rolls in the hand under recoil, which is precisely what makes heavy loads tolerable, but it also means the gun repositions between shots. Squared-off hunting grip frames hold position better and transmit more directly. Neither is correct; they are different trades, and you should handle both before deciding.
| Configuration | Suits | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| .357 Magnum, 6-plus inch, adjustable | General field carry, small and medium game where legal | Least capable of the field chamberings for larger game |
| .44 Special, mid-length barrel | Comfortable carry and shooting, moderate recoil | Narrower ammunition selection than .44 Magnum |
| .45 Colt, long barrel | Traditionalists, large-frame handloads | Load data varies enormously by firearm strength |
| .44 Magnum and up, heavy frame | Handgun hunting, backcountry carry | Recoil limits practice volume for most shooters |
Ruger Super Blackhawk .44 Special, 4.63 in
- Chambering.44 Special
- Capacity6 rounds
- Barrel4.63 in
- ActionSingle action, transfer bar
The configuration people talk themselves out of and then eventually buy anyway. A large-frame gun in a moderate chambering with a short barrel carries far better than a long-barrelled magnum, recoils gently enough that you will practise with it, and is entirely adequate for the field roles most people actually have. If you have been assuming you need a magnum because magnums are what get discussed, handle one of these first.
Bottom lineThe most under-rated field single action on the market.
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Ruger Blackhawk .45 Colt, 7.5 in
- Chambering.45 Colt
- Capacity6 rounds
- Barrel7.5 in
- SightsAdjustable rear
The long sight radius makes it noticeably easier to shoot precisely than the short-barrelled guns, and .45 Colt in a modern strong-framed revolver is a genuinely versatile chambering. One firm caution: .45 Colt load data spans an enormous range because the cartridge is chambered in everything from nineteenth-century designs to modern heavy frames. Use only data published for your specific firearm, and never exceed it.
Bottom lineExcellent shooter, with a chambering that demands you read the load data carefully.
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Pocket minis
Mini revolvers are a category unto themselves. They exist because they disappear — and everything else about them is a consequence of that. Sights are vestigial, the sight radius is nothing, capacity is low, and reloading is a deliberate, unhurried process involving removing the cylinder pin.
They also have handling requirements of their own. Many use safety notches machined between the chambers, where the hammer is lowered to rest, rather than the empty-chamber convention. That system works only if the hammer is fully seated in the notch, and it is a different procedure from the five-round rule. Read the manual for the specific gun, twice.
NAA Mini-Revolver .22 Magnum, 1.63 in
- Chambering.22 WMR
- Capacity5 rounds
- Barrel1.63 in
- ActionSingle action
Bought for one property: it is small enough to carry when the honest alternative is carrying nothing. Nobody should mistake it for a general-purpose defensive handgun, and its own maker’s handling instructions — particularly the between-chamber safety notch procedure — are specific to it and must be read rather than assumed. Practise the loading and unloading sequence at home with the gun verified empty before you carry it anywhere.
Bottom lineA niche answer to a real question, and not a substitute for a proper handgun.
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NAA Hogleg 6 in .22 WMR
- Chambering.22 WMR
- Barrel6 in
- FrameStainless, wood grip
- CategoryMini-revolver frame, long barrel
A mini-revolver action wearing a six-inch barrel, which sounds like a joke and is actually a surprisingly shootable small-game and plinking gun — the long barrel gives it a sight radius the pocket versions completely lack. Included here mainly because people meet one at a range, have no idea what they are looking at, and want to know. Same handling rules as the rest of the family.
Bottom lineNot a carry gun. A genuinely entertaining trail and plinking gun.
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Heritage Barkeep .22 LR, short barrel
- Chambering.22 LR
- Capacity6 rounds
- BarrelShort, ejector-less pattern
- LoadingCylinder pin removal to unload
A short-barrelled traditional-pattern rimfire without an ejector rod, which changes the unloading procedure entirely — you remove the cylinder pin and push the cases out. It is a cheap, characterful plinker and a good way to appreciate how much work an ejector rod actually does. The even shorter Boot variant exists for people who want the format taken to its logical conclusion.
Bottom lineBought for character, not capability, and honest about it.
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Leather, and why it is not an afterthought
Single actions are long, and the ones worth owning are heavy. A belt holster that works for a compact semi-auto simply will not carry a seven-and-a-half-inch revolver in any tolerable way, and the difference between a proper rig and a compromise is the difference between carrying the gun and leaving it at home.
Three things to get right. The belt must be a gunbelt — stiff, thick and sized for the holster slots — because a dress belt will collapse under the weight and let the whole rig sag and rotate. The holster must fit the specific barrel length, since single-action holsters are cut to length rather than adjustable. And the retention must be appropriate to how you move: a simple open-top is fine for a range belt and a poor idea on horseback or on steep ground.
Single-action gunbelt and holster rigs
- Fit toSpecific barrel length
- BeltStiff gunbelt, not a dress belt
- PatternsCowboy rigs, field and crossdraw
- MarketDeep used and maker-direct supply
Single-action leather is one of the few gear categories where the secondary market is genuinely better than buying new blind, because well-made rigs last decades and cowboy action competitors cycle through them constantly. Match the holster to your barrel length exactly — these are not adjustable — and check the belt slot width against the belt you actually intend to wear. Inspect used leather for a dry, cracked mouth band, which is the part that fails.
Bottom lineBuy the belt and the holster together, sized to the gun you own.
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How to buy without a regret
A short checklist that prevents most of the disappointment in this category.
- Confirm the column. Match, trainer, field or pocket. Write it down before you look at any listings.
- If it is a sanctioned game, check the rulebook for sight type, action type and calibre minimum in your specific category.
- Establish whether the design has a transfer bar and read that gun’s manual for its own loading and carry procedure.
- Handle the grip frame before buying. Plough-handle and squared hunting grips feel entirely different under recoil, and photographs tell you nothing.
- Match barrel length to purpose, then buy leather cut for that length rather than hoping.
- Budget the rimfire in. A trainer plus a good centrefire gun beats one expensive gun you shoot rarely.
- Check timing and lockup on any used gun at every chamber before money changes hands.
Firearms bought online ship to a licensed FFL for transfer, not to your door, and that transfer is subject to federal, state and local requirements that differ by jurisdiction — waiting periods, permits, roster or compliance lists, and feature restrictions among them. Ammunition shipping is separately restricted or banned outright in several states and many municipalities, and some require a permit or an FFL as the delivery point. Rules change often and retailers enforce them at checkout, not before. Confirm your own state and city requirements with the retailer, your transferring dealer and your state attorney general’s office before you order. Nothing here is legal advice.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best single-action revolver for a beginner?
A .22 LR single action, almost without exception. The loading gate, the hammer positions, the ejector rod stroke and the one-chamber-at-a-time rhythm are identical to a centrefire gun, and rimfire ammunition costs little enough that you will actually shoot the hundreds of rounds it takes for the sequence to become automatic. Buy the centrefire gun afterwards, when you know what you want from it.
Can I use a Ruger Blackhawk for cowboy action shooting?
It depends entirely on the category. The Blackhawk’s adjustable rear sight excludes it from traditional fixed-sight categories in most rulebooks, though some classes permit adjustable sights. Fixed-sight Ruger single actions and 1873-pattern clones are what most competitors run. Read the current rulebook for the organisation whose matches you will attend, because the categories differ between organisations and change over time.
Do I still need to load only five rounds?
In a traditional single action with a hammer-mounted firing pin, yes — the pin rests against whatever is under it, so an empty chamber under the hammer is what makes the gun safe to carry. In a transfer-bar design the hammer cannot reach the frame-mounted pin unless the trigger is held, and the maker states the gun may be carried loaded to capacity. If you cannot positively identify which design you have, load five.
Is .357 Magnum or .45 Colt better in a single action?
Different jobs. .357 lets you practise cheaply with .38 Special and step up when needed, which makes it the more practical general-purpose choice. .45 Colt offers heavier bullets in a large-frame gun and appeals to traditionalists, but its published load data spans an enormous range because the cartridge is chambered in everything from antique designs to modern heavy frames — use only data published for your specific firearm.
Are mini revolvers practical for carry?
They are practical only in the narrow sense that they can be carried when nothing else will be. Capacity is low, the sights are token, reloading is slow and deliberate, and several models use a between-chamber safety notch rather than the empty-chamber convention, which is a different procedure that has to be learned from that gun’s own manual. Treat one as a last-resort object, not as a substitute for a proper handgun.
Why does single-action leather have to match the barrel length?
Because the holster pocket is cut to the barrel, not adjusted to it. A holster made for a shorter barrel will not accept a longer gun, and one made for a longer barrel lets a shorter gun sit too deep and shift under movement. Buy the holster for the exact barrel length you own, and buy a stiff gunbelt to carry it — a dress belt collapses under the weight of a large-frame single action.