Heritage Rough Rider Rancher Carbines showing up in Canada

It has taken a few months, but the Heritage Rough Rider Rancher Carbine (aka, "that revolver rifle thingie"), is finally showing up at Canadian firearms dealers. Despite being introduced in 2020, the 1-2 punch of COVID-19 and the resulting supply chain difficulties meant it wasn't widely available here. Now, it seems we're finally getting a few in our market.

This new firearm is based on a very old idea, one that goes all the way back to the 1850s. In the days of cap-and-ball military weapons, some soldiers realized a repeating rifle would offer advantages over a front-stuffer musket. Designers at Colt took their existing percussion revolvers, replaced the handle with a shoulder stock and then added a longer barrel. While the resulting revolving carbines had their drawbacks, they offered much quicker firepower than a muzzleloading rifle. The US military used them in conflict with Indian tribes; later, the carbines appeared in the Civil War, before being replaced by the Spencer repeater, and then the onslaught of Henry/Winchester lever-action rifles.

Film armorers also sneaked revolving carbines into western films sometimes, with Lee Van Cleef using one in his bounty hunter role in For A Few Dollars More. You can spot them in other westerns and cowboy-themed comic books of the era as well.

In the past few decades, blackpowder reproduction companies have built replicas of the old cap-and-ball revolving carbines, based off old percussion designs, but the Heritage carbine is based off its much newer single-action rimfire revolver design. Fans of budget six-shooters will immediately see the family resemblance to the Rough Rider revolvers, even if that part wasn't in the gun's name.

However, unlike the Rough Rider revolver, the new Rancher Carbine (as it's officially called) is non-restricted in Canada, meaning you can plink to your heart's content without being restricted to an official gun range.

It's true that there are other revolving long arms on the market, but as it's chambered in .22 Long Rifle, the Rancher Carbine should be the most affordable to shoot. MSRP seems to be $450ish, looking at the Canadian dealers who have it advertised. Alas, it seems it's mostly out-of-stock, but if you stay on top of your search, there's supposed to be a re-stock coming soon.

Word on the street is that Canadians may also have access to .22 magnum cylinders for this rifle, which will increase its hitting power, although it's hard to imagine many people will buy this for varmint hunting. Considering the single-action Rancher Carbine should be practically jam-proof, it might actually prove to be a pretty fun rimfire repeater, though, as long as you can figure out how to hold it properly. Lead shavings, unburnt powder and hot gasses spraying out the cylinder gap may make this not-so-enjoyable to shoot if held incorrectly.

Heritage offers two versions of this rifle on its website; the standard model has a rear sight notch in the topstrap, like a classic single-action revolver. There's also a more expensive model with an adjustable rear sight and a sling attachment point as well, with leather sling included. This seems to be the model coming into Canada. Both versions come with a six-shot cylinder and checkered walnut stock.

Interested? Find more deets at Heritage's website. If you want one, ask your local dealer about availability; if they can't help, use your Google-Fu to find another Canadian dealer with one in stock.