My Love Affair With The Ruger American Rifle

LoonWulf said:

Sorta par for the course these days.
I find it mildly frustrating in one sense but equally, I have no issue being an early adopter of stuff simply because I KNOW companies expect to have returns and deal with them promptly and effectively.

So far the only guns ive had be pretty much unuseable out of the box was one 700....and ive seen two others. That I can remember anyway.....

Admittedly id be curious what the "acceptable" rate of return on a product is for one of these big companies.

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I wonder, too. It seems worse with handguns, but I’m sure there are a fair number of long guns that go back to be made right, too.

Of all the rifles I have in the safe, only one has ever gone back for repairs; my stainless 10/22 International had a wonky screw holding the nose cap on the stock that wouldn’t unscrew and let me pull the action out. A phone call, one pre-paid label, ten days back and forth to New Hampshire and all is good. (I even enclosed the BX trigger I was intending on installing and they put it in for me while they had it ).

Outside of a couple of home-assembled Anderson lower/ various upper AR’s I have to kick around with, my only true “budget” rifle is the American Rimfire. With this limited circle of first hand experience, I can’t legitimately compare it to similar price-point rimfire offerings.

Stay safe.

I had a 6mm American, I found the stock fit poor for me and the accuracy sub par. Because I have four M77s in different flavors that shoot as good or better, really no reason to have an American around.

They're decent, but for what they cost these days they aren't spectacular. I think Savage offers better value for the money.

I'm a fan of synthetic stocks.
They take a beating better than any wooden stock (even laminated) I've ever seen.
They move and bed better as well.

They just don't look or feel as good.

I sold my sought after Ruger M77 boat paddle rifle in .30-06 for $800 and bought a Ruger American Predator in .308 for $400.

I really am impressed by it. It is light, handy, and very accurate. I added the Ruger AI magazine conversion kit for $28, a muzzle brake for $30, and a few bucks worth of camo paint and ended up with a rifle that will shoot half-MOA and has a 3 lb trigger.

While they are certainly decent budget guns that shoot well, I just don't see the point in the American when you can get a Savage 110/112, etc. for not much more money. They are a significantly better gun.

The problem is that Savage has the cheap Axis line to compete with the American, while the numbered series are their nicer rifles. If you're comparing an Axis to an American, the American wins hands down. However, for an extra $50 or so, you can get one of the numbered series from Walmart of Cabela's. The American isn't in the same class. Seems like a no brainer to me.

My Walmart Savage 10 .243 averages .4" groups at 100 yards with handloads using a 95 Grain SST bullet. That's with the factory barrel.

slowr1der said:

While they are certainly decent budget guns that shoot well, I just don't see the point in the American when you can get a Savage 110/112, etc. for not much more money. They are a significantly better gun.

The problem is that Savage has the cheap Axis line to compete with the American, while the numbered series are their nicer rifles. If you're comparing an Axis to an American, the American wins hands down. However, for an extra $50 or so, you can get one of the numbered series from Walmart of Cabela's. The American isn't in the same class. Seems like a no brainer to me.

My Walmart Savage 10 .243 averages .4" groups at 100 yards with handloads using a 95 Grain SST bullet. That's with the factory barrel.

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I dont necessarily disagree, but i go the other way personally.
Ive had a fair pile of both and in terms of feel I prefer the Americans in general....IF we ignore the stocks.
Ive run aftermarket stocks on all of my Americans and Savages as im not a fan of either, but the savages (besides the axis) fit and feel better to me.

Accuracy in the guns ive had has been pretty even, my best stock savage was about a .75 gun, where my best Americans were closer to .5s, but anything under 1moa is all I ask of any of my guns, and so far only a couple have failed to provide that.

What really kills Savages for me is the Accutrigger since its uses a sear block instead of a trigger blocking blade. This allows side pressure to drop the sear on the safety blade when side pressure is applied to the trigger.....my crooked trigger finger always applies side pressure.

Again thats all personal preference, and I happily recommend Savages.

Also and IMO both the Howa 1500s and the Mauser M18s are nicer and generally about as accurate for the same cost.

LoonWulf said:

Also and IMO both the Howa 1500s and the Mauser M18s are nicer and generally about as accurate for the same cost.

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I'm glad to hear you say that. I just won this Howa Ranchland 243 on gunbroker and it will replace my Ruger American 243.

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/905567501

My Ruger American shoots 1" or sometimes a little less groups with my handloads and if I hadn't won this new gun selling the Ruger wouldn't even be a consideration. But I don't need two 243 caliber guns. One is plenty. And I agree with the other positive post on the American rifles. I wish I could find one in 7.62x39 that wasn't priced north of $700. Maybe when things get caught up they will come down in price.

ThomasT said:

I'm glad to hear you say that. I just won this Howa Ranchland 243 on gunbroker and it will replace my Ruger American 243.

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/905567501

My Ruger American shoots 1" or sometimes a little less groups with my handloads and if I hadn't won this new gun selling the Ruger wouldn't even be a consideration. But I don't need two 243 caliber guns. One is plenty. And I agree with the other positive post on the American rifles. I wish I could find one in 7.62x39 that wasn't priced north of $700. Maybe when things get caught up they will come down in price.

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I was very happy with both the Howa 1500 lightning (their cheapest model at the time) and the Weatherby Vanguard Sporter I had.
Accuracy with the Vanguard was sub moa, the Lightning was a consistent 1-1 1/4 moa gun with most ammo. With one specific hand load it easily did under minute of angle.

Thanks Loon. I would have preferred the Ranchland in 7-08 or 308 but the prices on those are quite a bit higher. I didn't expect to win this rifle for $376. I was sure I would have been outbid so I'm happy with the bargain. I have looked at the Ranchlands for a couple of years or more and most were selling for $450 and up pre covid. Now you don't even see many for sale. A 243 will work fine for our small Texas deer.

Olympus said:

You have a sample size of one though. So making an opinion that all Ruger Americans don’t work solely on experience from a sample size of one isn’t exactly saying much. It’s also not exactly accurate either.

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Ive heard of plenty of others having similar problems which gave me pause to buy the rifle in the first place. However, I couldn’t pass up a limited production non-catalog lefty Ranch in 450 BM. The reputation of Rugers customer service eased my mind but that reputation can be interpreted in opposite ways if one chooses.

There is a lot to like about the gun though. The tang safety, 3 lug bolt which makes for a shorter bolt lift, and the extreme light weight are all factors I cannot ignore and will not as it is going to be my primary rifle this year.

I'm still waiting on the Ruger American LH rifles to start making it back into my LGS.

Did a poll in April 2020. Still looking with all of the past years craziness.

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?misc/quick-navigation-menu&selected=node-6

My 350 Legend is a shooter! The fit and finish is not the best, but it’s a budget meat gun.

Every Ruger American rifle I've seen so far is a real shooter. Was just in the LGS today wondering about the availability of one in 7mm-08. I've been downsizing in my retirement but now I have open spaces in the gun safe and it seems to create an intense desire to buy another rifle or shotgun. It won't break the bank and even if it becomes a part of my estate, then my son can either keep it or sell it.

I have very few complaints about my .243 American standard. The only think I can think of is the stock which everyone mentions. I bought it used unfired a number of years (5 or so) ago for $300. It's the best $300 I've ever spent on a rifle. Initially the intent was to just have a spare rifle capable of taking deer sized game as I used my M70 30-06 most of the time. The past few years I find myself carrying it more than the M70. I've stiffened up the stock a little with fiberglass resin, and maybe someday it will get something new. It shoots factory 100gr ammo around 1" - 1.5" at 100, and my handloads a little better. Really for the money spent I do not know how you could do any better.

-Jeff

I am off the fence , I bought a Ruger American.243 today . Out the box I like it . Nice smooth bolt and good trigger . I can’t wait for it to cool down some so I will feel like shooting it .

I almost didn’t buy it today the customer service was so bad at the LGS . I don’t feel bad for buying guns online after today . I am still a little irritated thinking about it writing this .

My main purpose for this rifle is coyote and bobcats . I got it in .243 because I don’t have a 200 yard deer rifle . I rarely hunt deer with a rifle because they are unlawful in the counties that I deer hunt in . But if figured that I would get a .243 just in case I get invited on a deer hunt where I can use a rifle , .223 is also unlawful for deer in my state . Other wise I would have gotten it in .223 for the ammo and I already reload for that caliber .

Olympus , do you mind sharing your pet loads ?

I too like the Ruger American rifles. Very good guns for the money, they make great truck guns.

LoonWulf said:

Ya know.....i just realized whats being said in this thread is what i used to say about the Tikkas when they were 400-450 dollar guns.
I wonder if the RAs will get to the point I start looking elsewhere also....

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You are probably right. Ruger has had a habit of raising prices about 7% annually and I think that it may be more after this fiasco. Look at the prices of the 10/22's. It wasn't long ago that you could buy the standard carbine with a wood stock for $200.

I looked for some 4350 today and they didn’t have any . No big surprise there .
I see there are a lot of flavors of 4350 .

red rick said:

I looked for some 4350 today and they didn’t have any . No big surprise there .
I see there are a lot of flavors of 4350 .

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I managed to score 3 lb of h4350 yesterday morning... About the only positive to the day.
Until that I was down to 2 lb of varget and 1 lb of reloader 17..... Feeding the creedmoors, the 7-08, and my 375 Ruger will chew through powder pretty bloody quick.

I had a 22 that didn't cut it. Didn't shoot to suit me and the trigger had some creep that I could not quill. That said, the 6.5CM in the predator model was one of the most accurate rifles that I have owned. It didn't care what I fed it and was deadly on whitetails with 130gr Accubonds. I sold it to a friend who took it to Texas on a hog hunt. He shot through a hog and accidently hit a goat in the brush behind the hog. Cost him an extra $2000. He blames me.

Captcurt said:

I had a 22 that didn't cut it. Didn't shoot to suit me and the trigger had some creep that I could not quill. That said, the 6.5CM in the predator model was one of the most accurate rifles that I have owned. It didn't care what I fed it and was deadly on whitetails with 130gr Accubonds. I sold it to a friend who took it to Texas on a hog hunt. He shot through a hog and accidently hit a goat in the brush behind the hog. Cost him an extra $2000. He blames me.

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Was it a nice goat?