Like L. Ross, I don’t wish to rain on anyone’s parade. If you have a Wrangle and like it, that’s great.
Ruger isn’t the first company to find innovative materials and manufacturing methods to reduce costs. There are many examples of companies finding ways to build firearms with non-traditional but totally acceptable materials and methods. The Remington Nylon 66 comes to mind. H&K made the P9 and P9S pistols with a pressed steel and plastic-coated receiver. It also had a pressed steel slide. The roller delayed action with a separate bolt made this possible without sacrificing strength. The SIG P220 (P-75) and later 225 (P6), P226 and P228 all had pressed steel slides with separate breach blocks. Those pressed steel slides ran on aluminum frames. Those pistols are extremely reliable. The Glock pistols are probably the most well-known use of an innovative material for a pistol frame (although the H&K VP70, circa 1970 was the first pistol with a polymer frame). Polymer framed pistols are now extraordinarily common and certainly well proven.
However, Ruger is one of the best-known companies when it comes to using innovative manufacturing techniques. The Ruger Standard Pistol, later to become the Mark II and subsequent variants, used two stamped steel shells welded together to form the grip frame. This was coupled with a tubular steel receiver screwed to the barrel with a reciprocating internal bolt in place of a slide. This made for an extremely good pistol at a low price point.
Ruger later made EXTENSIVE use of cast steel to reduce manufacturing costs while making very strong and durable guns such as the Service-Six, GP-100, SP101 and many others. Ruger used investment cast steel processes in many firearms, and they have proven to be very strong. The P-85 and later P-series pistols used cost saving materials for multiple components. Ruger has used aluminum grip frames on SA revolvers for decades. The Ruger LCR revolver is a newer example of modern materials used to reduce both weight and cost.
So, the Wrangler series of SA revolvers are simply the latest examples of Ruger using non-traditional materials where possible to lower the price point of a product. The cast aluminum receiver and cast zinc grip frame of the Wrangler revolvers is certainly in line with Ruger’s history of innovative manufacturing. The use of MIM parts to further reduce manufacturing costs is another method to hold costs down while making adequate parts. The Cerakote type finish allows for a durable but inexpensive finish with lots of variations in colors. The stresses on the receiver, grip frame and small parts of a .22 rimfire, single action revolver are rather low. The Wranglers are inexpensive, lightweight, and largely rust-resistant. Overall, I understand Ruger’s course with the Wrangler series.
However (you knew this was coming), I question just how low does the price point need to be? Do we really need to shave every penny possible off the production cost to remain competitive?