Bubba’d or Modernized? Heritage Rough Rider Tactical Cowboy Revolver Review

A Rough Rider for the 21st Century

Today, we are going to be discussing Heritage Rough Rider Tactical Cowboy. Is this revolver a Bubba special (but from the factory) or is it a modern update on a classic pistol? We’ll find out.

More than a Meme Gun?

The heritage rough rider line is an absolute classic.

For fans of westerns like myself, I just had to buy one. I’m always game for a meme gun, so when Heritage came out with the Tactical Cowboy, I knew this was the rough rider for me.

Price (4 out of 5)

The tactical cowboy retails for $219 MSRP aka 2.2 Highpoints, or $40 more than the MSRP of the traditional rough rider. Now mind you, that is the MSRP, and rough riders go on sale frequently, so take it for what its worth and definitely consider waiting for a sale to pick one of these up.

Innovative Features (5 out of 5)

Heritage’s own website states “The new Heritage Rough Rider Tactical Cowboy features modern day technology into an old clasic world.” I guess that’s one way to put it.

These features are very modern to Heritage however so we have to give props for that.

It features a few upgrades over a standard rough rider including

• Threaded barrel
• Fiber optic front sight
• Perhaps its most over the top feature, pun intended, a pic rail for optics mounting
• A very nice and sharp looking carbon fiber grip

Note that It’s also compatible with heritage’s 22WMR cylinder, which is pretty dang cool if you want more oomph out of the thing.

Capacity (3 out of 5)

The single action only tactical cowboy has a 6 round capacity, and it loads and unloads much like any other rough rider, that is very slowly and with much difficulty. I would have loved to see them update this respect of the pistol, at least potentially in the way the loading mechanics work as this thing is a pain in the butt to reload.

Build Quality (4 out of 5)

Being made of steel with a zinc hammer, it weighs in at a hefty 32.1 ounces unloaded, with a barrel length of 6.5 inches. Because of the weight, It has basically zero recoil with 22LR ammo, making it a blast for plinking. The pic rail is attached to the top of a standard rough rider housing, unfortunately not forged into it, but it is very secure still. The carbon fiber grips definitely feel high quality. Overall its a well built cheap revolver.

Accuracy (5 out of 5)

The long barrel also makes for a very straight shooter, it’s not hard at all to get tight groups at 15 to 25 yards, making this thing super fun to shoot. Its at least as accurate if not more than my Taurus TX22 Competition model, so I’m a big fan here.

Ability to Mount Optics (5 out of 5)

Optics cuts on 22 Pistols are very rare, let alone on a 22 revolver, and this is the biggest draw of this pistol. I put a Sightron SRS-2 red dot on mine, which has a C-more footprint but comes with a pic rail adapter.

Mounting was easy and very solid.

One of the nice things about the design of the rail is that it is cut in such a way that you have visibility to the front sight and can use the rail itself like an iron sight. This is a great backup when you have an optic that eats batteries for breakfast like the Sightron.

The fiber optic front sight post is plenty bright and very easy to pickup.

Threaded Barrel (Neutral)

I can’t comment on the threaded barrel from a suppressor perspective as I don’t have a can. The revolver’s chamber doesn’t have a tight seal, so I doubt it suppresses that effectively but your mileage may vary.

A compensator is a equally pointless as this thing already has near 0 recoil. Its still cool to be able to say my rough rider has a threaded barrel though.

For this reason, I don’t think the threaded barrel adds or takes anything away from this pistol.

Able to be Dryfired (5 out of 5)

Like other rough riders, this model has a bar safety that blocks the hammer from striking a primer. An added benefit of this is with the bar safety engaged, the pistol is safe to dryfire, where most 22LR pistols, and especially revolvers, cannot be dryfired.

So let’s have a little dryfire fun. I’ll use a modified sound activated laserlyte laser for this. I have to shamelessly plug my baby, Project MARS, which I’ll be formally announcing soon, but have a sneak peak at its western shooting gallery mode for this test.

The rough rider is perfect for shooting virtual glass bottles.

Of course a real tactical cowboy has to practice dueling with it. It also holds its own in a virtual shootout, those steel targets didn’t stand a chance. Hats off to Heritage for making a BA 22 revolver for the 21st century.

Conclusion

It may not be ultra practical, but its a super fun gun, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Overall I love this revolver. It’s definitely a keeper. I often bring this one to the range with new shooters as its both hilarious in how over the top it is and it helps ease the tension of anyone whose nervous around guns. For that reason alone it was an excellent add to my collection.

Overall this is one of the most interesting and fun guns I own, so I have to thank Heritage for helping me become a Tactical Cowboy.