A Pair of Ruger Americans

[TonyAngel]

Hey all. I finally got 'em all together the way I want them.



On the top is a Ruger American Ranch in 7.62x39. I swapped the Mini 30 magwell for an AR magwell and I'm using Duramags. I topped it with a Gen 1 1-4x Vortex PST. The magwell swap was well worth it at $25 and change. The mag fit is much better than it was with the Mini magwell. I also chopped 1.25" off of the stock and added a Limbsaver pad (the one intended for the compact model). It actually made a pretty big difference for me.

On the bottom is a Ruger American Predator in .308 with an 18" barrel. I swapped the detachable magazine magwell with the one for AICS pattern mags. Since my order from Ruger for their branded mags didn't get here, I grabbed a PMag from Academy. I had to take a few thousandths off of the top of the lips to get it to seat on a closed bolt and to keep the bolt from rubbing, but it runs great now. I topped it off with a Gen 2 Vortex PST 2-10x32.

These rifles are so easy to pack around and fun to shoot that I didn't even pack an AR on my last few range/field trips. I like the .308 a lot. I'm in love with the 7.62x39 Ranch. It's taken the place of my .357 levergun for the times when I want something light and easy to carry. I'm gonna chop the stock when the Limbsaver gets here.

 

[mongoslow]

the Ranch and the Predator are selling like wildfire, they are just very good all around easy handling rifles that shoot unbelievably well for their price

 

[Spats McGee]

Thanks for filling us in, OP. I've got a couple of RARs with which I'm very happy, and I've had my eye on a centerfire RA for a while now.

 

[CraigC]

I was always a blued/walnut snob but I love the Ruger American. I have three rimfires and four centerfires. Took a nice buck with the .300Blk a few years ago and another with the .450 since. Then a couple does last year with the 6.5Grendel.

 

[TonyAngel]

Yeah, I like 'em a lot. The only thing I'd change, if I could is the location of the scopes. I wish I could find a good scope with a BDC that had 5 or 6" of eye relief.

 

[mongoslow]

Yeah, I like 'em a lot. The only thing I'd change, if I could is the location of the scopes. I wish I could find a good scope with a BDC that had 5 or 6" of eye relief.

look at a Sig Sauer whiskey 3, they have a generous eye box

 

[Larry in wyoming]

Ooooohhhhh an RAR in 6.5 grendel......

 

[9x56MS]

I won a Ruger American on a raffle ticket in 30-06. I was going to sell it but decided I should shoot it first. It is the most accurate rifle I have ever shot. I have a serious dislike for black stocks. Started in the army in the 70’s. So I took the rifle and had it hydro dipped in a burlwood pattern.

 

[jmr40]

Hard to go wrong with those. If that is a 5 round MagPul in the 308 you can remove the follower and break off some tabs on the bottom. That will make it a 6 round mag. They sell them as 5 round mags for areas that don't allow over 5 for hunting but made it easy to convert to 6+1.

I prefer those to the Ruger mags.

 

[adcoch1]

Op, I love the pair, but I especially love the 7.62x39 with the ar pattern mag mod. I've only been able to play with one American in x39, but I was less than happy with the mini 30 mags, and have wondered from that day forward if an AR mag might be better. Thanks for answering my question!

 

[TonyAngel]

Hard to go wrong with those. If that is a 5 round MagPul in the 308 you can remove the follower and break off some tabs on the bottom. That will make it a 6 round mag. They sell them as 5 round mags for areas that don't allow over 5 for hunting but made it easy to convert to 6+1.

I prefer those to the Ruger mags.

Thanks for the heads up on the 5 rounders. I wonder if it will be that way with the Ruger mags.

 

[CraigC]

I won a Ruger American on a raffle ticket in 30-06. I was going to sell it but decided I should shoot it first. It is the most accurate rifle I have ever shot. I have a serious dislike for black stocks. Started in the army in the 70’s. So I took the rifle and had it hydro dipped in a burlwood pattern.View attachment 1176784

That looks great! I have actually given serious thought to getting an American with the deliberate intent of getting an upgraded Boyd's stock in fancy walnut.

 

[Hookeye]

Ive thought about a .450 BM dropped into a Magpul stock for a long time.
But my deer hunting days are less and less.

 

[CraigC]

I put the Magpul stock on my 6.5CM "Go Wild" model and to be honest, it's probably too heavy. I may consider putting some walnut on it instead.

 

[TonyAngel]

Ive thought about a .450 BM dropped into a Magpul stock for a long time.
But my deer hunting days are less and less.

Yeah, one of the things that attracted me to the Americans was the weight, or the lack of it. Mine are staying in the stocks they came with. I've already put a gouge in the stock on the Ranch and when it happened, I didn't even think twice. The Magpul stock adds 2 pounds. Shoot, if I was willing to add 2 pounds, I'd rather add more glass.

I'm just getting back into hunting after a long hiatus. I have other rifles, but they are all geared toward some sort of precision or for speed and they are on the heavy side. I have no wish to turn my Rugers into one of those.

 

[9x56MS]

That looks great! I have actually given serious thought to getting an American with the deliberate intent of getting an upgraded Boyd's stock in fancy walnut.

That was my initial thought until I shot it. It is so accurate that I didn’t want to change anything. I went to see about hydro dipping and when they showed me this burlwood pattern I said that’s the one.

 

[sparkyv]

I'm an early adopter. I had 3, now I'm down to one, a Predator.
That's the one thing I don't like about mine, the rotary magazine.

Hard to go wrong with those. If that is a 5 round MagPul in the 308 you can remove the follower and break off some tabs on the bottom. That will make it a 6 round mag. They sell them as 5 round mags for areas that don't allow over 5 for hunting but made it easy to convert to 6+1.

I prefer those to the Ruger mags.

 

[TonyAngel]

I'm an early adopter. I had 3, now I'm down to one, a Predator.
That's the one thing I don't like about mine, the rotary magazine.

The upgrade to the AICS mags was well worth the cost and the Mags arents expensive. Just call Rugers customer service with your serial no. I ran 100 rounds through a PMag this weekend without a hitch.

 

[sparkyv]

I read up on this, but I understood that mine were such early editions that the upgrade to the stock that accepted AICS mags was not an option.

The upgrade to the AICS mags was well worth the cost and the Mags arents expensive. Just call Rugers customer service with your serial no. I ran 100 rounds through a PMag this weekend without a hitch.

 

[FL-NC]

I have the ranch in 300 BLK and the pred in 6.5 CM. Both excellent rifles.

 

[TonyAngel]

I read up on this, but I understood that mine were such early editions that the upgrade to the stock that accepted AICS mags was not an option.

That's too bad. It's one of the attributes that attracted me to the Ruger Americans. All I wanted out if them was practical accuracy. I other have stuff that's intended to be more accurate than most would need them to be. Still, the fact that the Americans shoot as well as they do is a good perk.

I can remember a time, it feels like a lifetime ago, when going to AICS pattern mags, or any detachable mag system, was a big deal. You either had to buy a $1000 stock, or you had to take your stock to a smith to have it cut for the bottom metal AND you had to buy the bottom metal, which wasn't cheap either. The fact that it only cost me $30 kinda blew my mind.

I'm seriously thinking about getting a Ranch in 5.56 as well. I'm only hesitant because reports on accuracy aren't as good as they are for the .30 cals. I might grab one anyway. I always keep a good stock of 55 gr V-max rounds on hand for my woods AR. It should shoot at least as well as my AR in a more compact form factor.

BTW, if any if you do have one in 5.56, check out Black Dot Ammo. They are a licensed remanufacturer and their 55 gr vmax loads have consistently been sub MOA for me out of my criterion barreled ARs. At under 60 cents a round, they're a good deal.

 

[greyling22]

I was always a blued/walnut snob but I love the Ruger American. I have three rimfires and four centerfires. Took a nice buck with the .300Blk a few years ago and another with the .450 since. Then a couple does last year with the 6.5Grendel.

I want a left handed american in 6.5 grendel SO bad.

 

[.45Coltguy]

I won a Ruger American on a raffle ticket in 30-06. I was going to sell it but decided I should shoot it first. It is the most accurate rifle I have ever shot. I have a serious dislike for black stocks. Started in the army in the 70’s. So I took the rifle and had it hydro dipped in a burlwood pattern.View attachment 1176784

If you would, who did the burlwood dip? Looks fantastic. Thanks.

 

[9x56MS]

If you would, who did the burlwood dip? Looks fantastic. Thanks.

GT hydro graphics in Corning NY. They are on Facebook. They have several wood patterns and literally dozens of camp patterns.

 

[sparkyv]

My Predator is a .223. A few of my reloads are sub-MOA and I'm still using components I've had for several years, and my loads cost average $0.23. Probably won't ever need to buy more components.

BTW, if any if you do have one in 5.56, check out Black Dot Ammo. They are a licensed remanufacturer and their 55 gr vmax loads have consistently been sub MOA for me out of my criterion barreled ARs. At under 60 cents a round, they're a good deal.