Ruger American Ranch 7.62x39 Follow up

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Armored farmer said:
I traded a sks and an old Spanish mauser that I had never fired for the one I ordered.
I bought a Nikon 3x9 bdc and a 10rd mini 30 mag to go with.
.....you're killing my billfold THR....really.
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You just helped me decide what I'm going to shoot tomorrow. I just pulled mine out of the safe and it's ready to go. It wears a 2x7 leupold freedom scope and an m16 birdcage flash hider I picked up at PSA. It really does cut down the muzzle flash/ fireball.

I tried red army but had a few light primer strikes. Monarch has been reliable and accurate enough for me. I have chronographed 3 rounds at 2409 fps average from about 9' from the muzzle. StdDev was 10.68... not bad at all.
 
I picked one up last year 7.62 x 39
Put a 3 - 9 X 40 scope on it
I could not believe how accurate this rifle is out of the box.
I have loaded 3000 rds for it & can't wait until the weather is warmer. I don't do good in the cold anymore.
Have fun,
HJ
 
<*(((>< said:
@ECVMatt, the picture with the two rifles leaning against the tire it looks like the magazine well area are different between the two, is that the case and if so what is the difference.
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The mag wells are the same, but my son's rifle has a black insert. My rifle, that was produced a bit later, is all FDE. Ruger must have made the change after I bought my son's rifle. Other than that the rifles are pretty much the same. Good Eye!

LUCKYDAWG13 said:
You were standing and shot those groups Wow good shooting
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We were absolutely NOT standing when we shot those groups! That is well beyond our capabilities. We used a rest off the hood of the truck for shooting at paper. My son was shooting at a rock about 150 yards away in that picture. Once we confirmed our zeros, we spent the afternoon just plinking. The rifles are very accurate though...
 
Armored farmer said:
I traded a sks and an old Spanish mauser that I had never fired for the one I ordered.
I bought a Nikon 3x9 bdc and a 10rd mini 30 mag to go with.
.....you're killing my billfold THR....really.
Click to expand...

I can't tell you how much THR has cost me over the years! I do truly value the information shared here though and have rarely had a bad purchase. I hope you enjoy your rifle!
 
ECVMatt said:
I can't tell you how much THR has cost me over the years! I do truly value the information shared here though and have rarely had a bad purchase. I hope you enjoy your rifle!
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I have a large amount of 7.62x39 ammo on hand, and wanted a short rifle to ride in the tractor or combine with me. I never did warm up to the sks.
Your posts convinced me to give it a try.
 
I really want a rifle in this caliber and the Ruger is just perfect. I just can't see what it will do that my 30-30 won't do. Ya'll help me out here and talk me into buying one. And I have about 3500 rounds already on hand for my two SKS rifles. See? I am already starting to cave.:uhoh:
 
Ratshooter said:
I really want a rifle in this caliber and the Ruger is just perfect. I just can't see what it will do that my 30-30 won't do. Ya'll help me out here and talk me into buying one. And I have about 3500 rounds already on hand for my two SKS rifles. See? I am already starting to cave.:uhoh:
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20 cents a round sub moa with steel. then you can join the bolt 7.62 club lol.
 
Ratshooter said:
I really want a rifle in this caliber and the Ruger is just perfect. I just can't see what it will do that my 30-30 won't do. Ya'll help me out here and talk me into buying one. And I have about 3500 rounds already on hand for my two SKS rifles. See? I am already starting to cave.:uhoh:
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So here is my justification for you. How much is 308 ammo? Even surplus is about 50cents a piece. Now, how cheap is 7.62x39? 20 to 23 cents? You only have to shoot a case and a half of ammo to completely pay for the rifle if it is a 7.62x39 vs a 308. you're welcome.
 
I love my Marlins and Winchesters, but I see this as the modern iteration of the lever action 30/30. It has a decent amount of power for most things, is short/light/handy, accurate, and affordable to own and shoot. Like most I folks I have a good stash of 7.62x39 left over from a failed experiment with the AK 47 and liking the SKS but finding it slightly porcine. The Ruger checks most of my boxes for a truck gun in just about the perfect package.

If you don't have one, you should!
 
This was the first 5 rounds out of my 7.62x39 AR15 with Wolf hp's. The high shot was the first round, and the other 4 was after adjusting the scope. I guess we can forget load development lol.

4282CE3A-4115-402D-AE86-FF977EF12F82.jpg

935D874D-97A2-401F-A07C-FAD2C09C2DD9.jpg

If you don't have an accurate 7.62x39 rifle your missing out. I would be all over one of these if I didn't already have the AR.
 
someguy2800 said:
This was the first 5 rounds out of my 7.62x39 AR15 with Wolf hp's. The high shot was the first round, and the other 4 was after adjusting the scope. I guess we can forget load development lol.

View attachment 819715

View attachment 819716

If you don't have an accurate 7.62x39 rifle your missing out. I would be all over one of these if I didn't already have the AR.
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I would argue that even having the ar, the bolt gun is still really usefull. Btw I love your ar.
 
If you hand load, the 7.62x39 in a bolt gun will actually give you more range than a 30-30 because you can use pointed bullets. And the added accuracy of a bolt action allows you to take advantage of that fact. I love my 60 year-old Winchester, but even with a scope it's no match for my 7.62x39 bolt actions at 200 yards.
 
I was able to shoot my new RAR 7.62x39 today.
No pictures of targets, but accuracy was acceptable. I was using an empty 209 primer box (4"x4") as a bullseye stapled to my cardboard backer. No problem staying inside the bull. I'm hoping to have better results with some better ammo. I was burning up some old Rooskie non-corrosive 122gr hp.
The gun is light and handy. I think it will fill the role of truck/tractor/combine gun.
I mounted a Nikon 3x9 bdc on it. I have had good luck with them.
 
Is the 7.62x39 so close to .30-30 performance on deer that one would part with the later to replace it by this handy little rifle and not loose a tiny bit of end performance? Asking seriously here, no experience with 7.62x39 at all.
 
I bought a RAR in 7.62x39 last summer. I have finally found some decent cast loads that perform well. An Accurate 150TG cast with gascheck and hitek finish gets me almost 2K fps and 2 inch groups at 100 yards. Wolf factory does almost as well. The Cast load in an AR kills feral pigs very decisively.

It took several months and dozens different loads to find the sweet spot in terms of bullet, powder and velocity. But it was fun.
 
Congrats on the RA ranch! I'm keeping my eye out for a 10 round mag. I did find a 20 rounder but it doesnt suite the gun or my taste.

I think a BDC nikon is a great way to scope this rifle. I've shot mine out to 300 yards. While the duplex reticle is familiar it might be nice to have additional hold points given the trajectory of the cartridge. For me, with a 100 yards zero my rifle is about 20" low at 300. That's fun stuff right there.
 
Frostbite said:
Is the 7.62x39 so close to .30-30 performance on deer that one would part with the later to replace it by this handy little rifle and not loose a tiny bit of end performance? Asking seriously here, no experience with 7.62x39 at all.
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On paper they are pretty close, but having taken deer with both I would personally rank the 30-30 a notch up on the ladder due to being able to handle heavier bullets and because the soft flat wide nose bullets in the 30-30 are more terminally effective than the numbers would leed you to believe. Both are perfectly adequate within their range when properly loaded.
 
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