First day out with the Ruger American Magnum 7mm....

[LoonWulf]

So I got this rifle put together last week, and have been TRYING to get out to shoot it before I started tinkering...well I failed.
I polished the bolt with 1500grit oiled sandpaper and broke the edges on the ports of the action with 400. cleaned and greased everything. I suggest grease over oil on the bolt as it helps reduce some of the vibration of the bolt running in the reciever.
I also added a short section of Pic rail to the forend where the sling swivel goes, to attach the knock off Atlas bipod i picked up. I still need to drill and tap the rail to attach the sling swivel stud. While i was epoxying the rail (its screwed as well) to the forend i filled the inside with epoxy. This stock IS much stiffer than the standard American stocks tho and i honestly dont think it was necessary. I also removed the little lip at the front of the barrel channel that RAs have, i guess to make them look cleaner.
Removed cleaned and reattached the included scope rail with blue loctite.
Installed the new Argos 4-20x50 I purchased for the gun in Warne Maxima rings....I might, just possibly...maybe.... have gotten a little ahead of myself here.
I also installed a V6g Precision Gamma 762, cause well, i wanted to try a brake on the 7mm. I never had a brake on one of my personal guns (Besides the AR) before.

Anyway heres the rifle. My work bench is a huge mess right now........



Got out to shoot for a while today finally.
I shot 21 rounds thru the rifle, 6 Hornady Superformance 139ssts, and 15 162Amax over 74grns of Retumbo.....in about 30 Mins, So the gun was hot, and It was drizzling, and kinda cold so the barrel was steaming.

I was shooting of the knock off Atlas and sock full of rice at the rear. Im actually very happy with this bi pod, and when i can afford the real deal ill probably spring for an actual Atlas. I find the basic design much more user friendly than the Harris/harris type pods ive used. Its nice that i can also pull it off and shove it in my pocket as its much smaller in the cross section.

I also forgot my earmuffs so all i had were the Surefire earplugs i keep in all the cars. The brake does an excellent job of attenuating the recoil and muzzle jump. The gun still comes back and up enough that you cant see the bullet hit, .
Down side, the report is unpleasant even with the earplugs in. Even if i had more time, i dont think i would have fired too many more rounds just because of the noise.

After bore sighting the rifle using the look e see method, I settled in behind the gun and it aligned with the second target from the left, so thats where i started. The lower two rounds were the first shots, the group low and right of the bullseye were the next 5 after correction, all with factory 139 superformance....not stellar but not horrible for the first few rounds out of a new gun. I shot 5 rounds each on the other two targets to the right I corrected after the second group, and again after the third group....at this point im starting to wonder if my making fun of some of the forum guys about getting bad scopes really DID jinx me.
I resettled myself for the last target on the left and proceeded to deliver that group. which while very good, is not where my previous group was. I got up to take a break and notice my scope had slid forward under recoil. Im pretty sure that last group was fired after the scope had gone as far forward as it could.... I forgot to go back and torque the rings to spec after getting the scope leveled, even tho the torque wrench i just bought specifically for this was sitting on the bench... right... there.....so all 4 top screws were only finger tight.
Anyway, im gonna try get out for a little while tomorrow and shoot one or two more groups.

Oh the squres about about 1/4-1/3"


If all goes well tomorrow im going to be VERY pleased with this rig, it already feels good to shoot, so hopefully with the scope issue fixed it will turn in a few more groups like that one on the far left.

Ill also take along a wrench and pull the muzzle brake to see how poi changes. I like the light recoil, but I wont be too popular with my hunting buddies running that brake. My other thought is that a linear comp may keep the poi similar to the brake and be interchangeable...or it could just be that i want to try a linear comp...

 

[jmr40]

This is the 1st write up I've seen on one in a magnum cartridge. Seems pretty typical of the American's. The 7 mag normally doesn't have enough recoil to justify a muzzle brake in my opinion. But the Rugers are a little lighter than normal so maybe on this rifle.

 

[horsey300]

So I got this rifle put together last week, and have been TRYING to get out to shoot it before I started tinkering...well I failed.
I polished the bolt with 1500grit oiled sandpaper and broke the edges on the ports of the action with 400. cleaned and greased everything. I suggest grease over oil on the bolt as it helps reduce some of the vibration of the bolt running in the reciever.
I also added a short section of Pic rail to the forend where the sling swivel goes, to attach the knock off Atlas bipod i picked up. I still need to drill and tap the rail to attach the sling swivel stud. While i was epoxying the rail (its screwed as well) to the forend i filled the inside with epoxy. This stock IS much stiffer than the standard American stocks tho and i honestly dont think it was necessary. I also removed the little lip at the front of the barrel channel that RAs have, i guess to make them look cleaner.
Removed cleaned and reattached the included scope rail with blue loctite.
Installed the new Argos 4-20x50 I purchased for the gun in Warne Maxima rings....I might, just possibly...maybe.... have gotten a little ahead of myself here.
I also installed a V6g Precision Gamma 762, cause well, i wanted to try a brake on the 7mm. I never had a brake on one of my personal guns (Besides the AR) before.

Anyway heres the rifle. My work bench is a huge mess right now........
View attachment 780454
View attachment 780455 View attachment 780456

Got out to shoot for a while today finally.
I shot 21 rounds thru the rifle, 6 Hornady Superformance 139ssts, and 15 162Amax over 74grns of Retumbo.....in about 30 Mins, So the gun was hot, and It was drizzling, and kinda cold so the barrel was steaming.

I was shooting of the knock off Atlas and sock full of rice at the rear. Im actually very happy with this bi pod, and when i can afford the real deal ill probably spring for an actual Atlas. I find the basic design much more user friendly than the Harris/harris type pods ive used. Its nice that i can also pull it off and shove it in my pocket as its much smaller in the cross section.

I also forgot my earmuffs so all i had were the Surefire earplugs i keep in all the cars. The brake does an excellent job of attenuating the recoil and muzzle jump. The gun still comes back and up enough that you cant see the bullet hit, .
Down side, the report is unpleasant even with the earplugs in. Even if i had more time, i dont think i would have fired too many more rounds just because of the noise.

After bore sighting the rifle using the look e see method, I settled in behind the gun and it aligned with the second target from the left, so thats where i started. The lower two rounds were the first shots, the group low and right of the bullseye were the next 5 after correction, all with factory 139 superformance....not stellar but not horrible for the first few rounds out of a new gun. I shot 5 rounds each on the other two targets to the right I corrected after the second group, and again after the third group....at this point im starting to wonder if my making fun of some of the forum guys about getting bad scopes really DID jinx me.
I resettled myself for the last target on the left and proceeded to deliver that group. which while very good, is not where my previous group was. I got up to take a break and notice my scope had slid forward under recoil. Im pretty sure that last group was fired after the scope had gone as far forward as it could.... I forgot to go back and torque the rings to spec after getting the scope leveled, even tho the torque wrench i just bought specifically for this was sitting on the bench... right... there.....so all 4 top screws were only finger tight.
Anyway, im gonna try get out for a little while tomorrow and shoot one or two more groups.

Oh the squres about about 1/4-1/3"
View attachment 780457

If all goes well tomorrow im going to be VERY pleased with this rig, it already feels good to shoot, so hopefully with the scope issue fixed it will turn in a few more groups like that one on the far left.

Ill also take along a wrench and pull the muzzle brake to see how poi changes. I like the light recoil, but I wont be too popular with my hunting buddies running that brake. My other thought is that a linear comp may keep the poi similar to the brake and be interchangeable...or it could just be that i want to try a linear comp...

The scope ain't off, the paper is! I look forward to hearing about the differences without a brake too!!!

 

[LoonWulf]

This is the 1st write up I've seen on one in a magnum cartridge. Seems pretty typical of the American's. The 7 mag normally doesn't have enough recoil to justify a muzzle brake in my opinion. But the Rugers are a little lighter than normal so maybe on this rifle.

Id have to agree.
Recoil with the brake on IS significantly reduced, but as it isnt really heavy enough to hurt to begin with, its not worth the extra blast.
Actually gun/optics this rifle is about 9lbs 6oz, which is pretty heavy for a sporter, especially an American. That was before the bipod and filling the forend, tho i doubt those add more than another 1/2pound.

From what i can see so far there isnt much difference between this and a long action RA besides the barrel being heavier (bout .735 behind the threads), and the stock being made from a stiffer, heavier, material.
The stocks a good change imo, its much stiffer than the stock i had on my .300blk RAR, or on my buddies 30-06 RA.
The downside to the changes is the guns quite barrel heavy. For those that like to carry with one hand under the belly of the rifle, this means the balance point is forward of the stickey out magazine. Shouldering and shooting the gun free hand, it makes it feel heavy and slow to swing. Tho again my scopes fairly large, and weighs 22oz if i remeber correctly, a more normal 3-9 would cut some of that weight and forward heft a bit.
Ill probably be filling the butt with pour foam to see how that evens out the balance, and if that helps with handling.
This isnt to say the guns unwieldy, but it does feel slower more deliberate than a shorter lighter barreled rifle.

The scope ain't off, the paper is! I look forward to hearing about the differences without a brake too!!!

Yeah, i dunno who hung those.......

Im actually hoping the poi with the brake is pretty close. It does make for a pleasant experience when blasting at the range (with proper protection from the muzzle blast). If its close ill probably just make a note on the stock where zero is with it on and set my scope turrets to zero with it off. That way adjusting isnt too hard.

 

[LoonWulf]

Got out this afternoon, but forgot my wrench so didnt try sans brake.
Anyway heres a 10rnd group, or 2 3s and 4.
The shot to he left was the first shot on the second reload. More likely than not that was my fault, but even with it groups only slightly over 1". The big hole is 7, the 2 lower shots could have been me as well.





I had my 6.5-284 and 30-06 out today also. I still have to put rails on the botom of those so i shot them off of my regular rifle rests, just off the ground. Took me a while to figgure out how to keep the rifle coming straight back, but eventually i managed to deliver a couple decent groups with each rifle. I still find the bipod much easier to use.

Recoil from the 7 with the brake, was noticeably less than my 6.5-284. the x284 weighs about 1/2lb less, but its also launching about 40grn less bullet and powder about 150fps slower (if the 7mm loads generate what they have in the other 4 7mms ive used it in. I havent chrono'd them yet, i keep forgetting it).

 

[Mosin Bubba]

This is the 1st write up I've seen on one in a magnum cartridge. Seems pretty typical of the American's. The 7 mag normally doesn't have enough recoil to justify a muzzle brake in my opinion. But the Rugers are a little lighter than normal so maybe on this rifle.

For the amount of juice you get, 7 mags don't kick bad at all.

 

[LoonWulf]

For the amount of juice you get, 7 mags don't kick bad at all.

Agreed, part of what makes them my favorite cartridge to date.

 

[LoonWulf]

Quick update!
looks like removing the brake dosent change the point too horribly. Groups are also still hovering right around 1"
The higher group was fired with one full mag from the gun sans brake (3 rounds, 2 went through the same hole, which shows better in the picture of the back of the box), I then got up installed the brake hand tight and shot the last two shots. I corrected poi from the first group which was fired without the brake on. I wasn't paying enough attention to how many clicks I spun the turret and over corrected.




The 5 round group at the very top was from my b-14 30-06, and measure .81ish.
I've been short changing this rifle.
It shot 1.5 to 1.75 with a couple factory loads and my own handloads. I never looked into it as that's about what my other 06s have done (except the 1903 which shot sub 1" with 180ssts) .
For some reason, last night I noticed the magazine box was pinched right at the front. So I bedded the bottom metal to give the box some relief.
That seems to have worked to get this rifle shooting much better.
The ammo I used was Federal Nontypical 150grn sp. This stuff shot 1.75ish originally, so I'm hoping my 178eld handloads, that shot just over 1" do better.

 

[dieselchief]

tell me about the Athlon scope compared to any other scope you might have. I am familiar with bushnell, made in japan weaver, made in usa burris and some of the newer vx1 luepolds. I did get a couple of entry level vortex stuff recently to compare to.....thanks dc

 

[LoonWulf]

tell me about the Athlon scope compared to any other scope you might have. I am familiar with bushnell, made in japan weaver, made in usa burris and some of the newer vx1 luepolds. I did get a couple of entry level vortex stuff recently to compare to.....thanks dc

So far ive been very impressed with the two Athlon scopes I own (both Argos series). Both of which were on the rifles used today.

as a quick over view this is what ive noticed.

The optics are very good, resolution is excellent, color correctness is quite good, brightness/vividness is good.
Adjustments seem to track well, tho again Ive had no opportunity to "shoot the box" or do a tall target test yet.
The scopes both wear "target" turrets under the caps, this makes adjustments easy, but i also dislike how high those caps stuck up. The clicks are not horribly positive, but enough to know youve moved the turret. They have a short "valley" so settling them in it isnt hard, but they also have a soft "backwall" (using archery terms here cause thats sorta what it feels like to me). This i attribute to the low "click?" force, and the fact that i bet they use a fairly tight soft oring for sealing.
The scopes are pretty average in terms of weight, tho lighter than most in the power range.
Size wise both are fairly short. The Objective bell on the 50mms is larger than some of the other 50s ive owned, larger than the V10 weaver for instance. The objective on the 40 is about average.
The occular lenses are larger than average, but not so much as to cause issues with bolt clearance, unless your handle sticks way up.

Compared to the other scopes I own/owned/used enough to have an opinion....

Leupold...
Optically i put them on par with any of the vx2+ leupolds Ive owned or used, at least in terms of clarity and resolution. Leupolds always seem to have a funny shading in color for me, my eye perhaps picks up more of the red light, as everything has kind of a brown hue, they are also less vivid, I think because of this. Generally I dislike trying to compare stuff optically to Leupold scopes because of this.
If were talking vx-1 or older vx-II, then I would consider the Athlons better.
Mechanically the Athlons have so far equaled the Leupolds ive owned, the turrets are not as precise feeling, but again so far adjustments seem to have put bullets where they are supposed to go.

Nikon...
Optically they are both better, and not as good as the Nikon Buckmasters (not the v2s) I own.
They are not as good as the very nice Monarchs ive used.
They ARE better than the PreMonarch Ive got in pretty much every respect. Ill include the Japan made "Classic" weavers here, which are better than the old steel weavers. Ive never used a Grand Slam enough to be able to give an opinion on those or any of the other weaver lines.
They are NOT as vivid as my Nikon Buckmasters (most expensive scopes i currently own). They DO seem to have better resolution. The little white center of that target circle by the word "brake" (bout 1/8") was clearly visible from the 15x Argos, where as from a 14.5x Buckmasters I dont think i could have differentiated it from the target dot. This could also be related to color correctness, and blending, I would really have to go with a black and white grid target to say for sure.
Tracking on one of my Nikons is kinda spotty, Once its set its been good, but sometimes clicks just dont move, and others they move double (erector assembly is probably sticky, its old). But compared to the ones that work (and work very well) I feel the same as i did about the Leupolds, adjustments just "feel" better on them. Again tho the Athlons adjustments are so far accurate, they just dont have the finality of the others.

Burris...
Personally I rate the old American made Burris right along with the older roman numeral Leupolds, but their glass (or more specifically their coatings) worked better with my eyes. So the same comments apply, tho Id say they mid level Burris would be about on par with the Argos optically, but have cleaner adjustments. I had an old Black Diamond from the late 90s? i think, on loan for a few years. That has been my favorite American made scope to date, I should have bought it from the owner when i had the chance.
I havent used any of the newer Philippines made Fullfields enough to have an opinion, beyond that i like looking thru them.

In terms of other random scopes i own/used....These i dont have enough experience with to offer any insight, just my own preference.

Vortex Crossfire < Athlon Argos (Ive only used one higher end Vortex, a Viper PST, and besides clicks id put it on par with the Argos. Were i buying a scope to use as a turret spinner, theres NO contest there tho. Again a different model of Athlon is a better comparison, but i dont own any others)

Bushnell UltraHD < Athlon Argos (I own a 4.5-14x44 HD, and its a good scope but lags in resolution, noticeably)

Simmons Whitetail Extreme / Aetec < Athlon Argos (Ive owned both, among numerous others) and these were probably the best scopes Simmons has ever produced. The aspherical lenses were used in both series, and coatings were top notch. That said they are old tech, and have more distortion at the edges, and colors are not as correct)

Bushnell Elites 3200 < Athlon Argos

Bushnell Elite 4200+ > Athlon Argos (these are some of my favorite optics, its still a mystery to me why i dont buy more of them, Ive just gave away the last two 4200s i owned recently so i dont have any on hand)

I have/had a plethora of other random scopes, including a S&W made by Hakko in Japan (which is actually very good), but none id chose over the Athlon Argos or Nikon Buckmasters bassed on combined features.

 

[dieselchief]

thank you for covering it well. back to the rifle. congrats. I am on my second RAR. a third is in my sights! thanks,dc

 

[Geno]

Nice rig; nice write-up! Thanks for sharing.

Geno

 

[Mr. Hill]

Cool rifle, I’d probably leave the brake off, but I suppose that’s a matter of personal preference.

Sorry if I missed it, but is the trigger stock, and how do you like it?

 

[LoonWulf]

Cool rifle, I’d probably leave the brake off, but I suppose that’s a matter of personal preference.

Sorry if I missed it, but is the trigger stock, and how do you like it?

I'll probably leave the rifle sighted sans brake, but when I'm doing dedicated target shooting or plinking I'll put it on. It looks like it only shifts poi about 2 clicks left.

The trigger is still stock. This one wasn't as smooth as the trigger on my 300aac RAR, or my Buddies RA 30-06, but it certainly wasn't bad. Pull weight went down to right at 3lbs at lightest, and 5mins of honing the contact surfaces with 1500grit oiled paper on a sheet of glass took all the grit out.
One thing I've found with all the American triggers I've used, is that they almost always have noticeable pretravel. But the others have been smooth enough it's HARD to notice. This one's trigger has more pretravel and was rougher (again not rough like a bad trigger, or even an average AR trigger), so i actually felt the need to modify this one.
Compared to the excellent trigger on my Bergara (which I have set too light right now, gonna take it back to 3lbs) the polished American trigger isn't quite as pleasant, but still plenty nice enough.

Made another modification this afternoon, I added an adjustable comb riser.
I have the ati risers for my AR stock, but with the rear charging handle they aren't useable.
So I decided to just modify the extra high one to go on the RAM.
I put 6-32 brass inserst in the stock.
I also had to sand the ridges out of the ati riser, as cutting a channel in the stock would have been alot of work.
I still need to make a set of plates to go from screw to screw to apply better clamping force.

 

[LoonWulf]

Got the plates made, used aluminum threshold molding I think....bargin bin at Ace.
Thought about buying thumb screws so I could lower the riser to get the bolt out without tools, and I may still do it, but I like how clean everything is right now.
I may end up painting the whole rifle eventually, if I can ever decide on a color scheme.
For now tho I think I'm done.

 

[adcoch1]

Lava camo.

 

[horsey300]

Or something "magnum" themed.....
https://goo.gl/images/4UV1Jr

 

[LoonWulf]

That has to be the worst aloha shirt I've ever seen......no, wait, no it's not....still no blue feathers on my gun.

I actually owned an orange/black acid wash Racegun Autococker, and a orange/red acid wash Phantom pump, paintball guns. Those were pretty lavaesque. Still want to do an AR with all aluminum hardware done up like that....custom anoed leupold scope and all.

Honestly any of that would be beyond my artistic capability (and patience)....I was thinking more along the lines of grass and fern camo...as in grab grass and ferns, toss it on there, and go to town with the krylon

 

[adcoch1]

When I get my RAR it'll meet some krylon! Crab grass is a good idea, just don't set the rifle down and lose it!

 

[LoonWulf]

Done it.....

Miss placed a rifle that is.

If y'all anymore suggestions for easy cammo patterns, I'm all ears. I usually just do stripes, well I always do stripes, cause it's hard to screw up crooked lines

 

[1KPerDay]

That's a slick-looking setup already.

 

[horsey300]

Done it.....

Miss placed a rifle that is.

If y'all anymore suggestions for easy cammo patterns, I'm all ears. I usually just do stripes, well I always do stripes, cause it's hard to screw up crooked lines

Pineapple leaves make a decent pattern too.

 

[LoonWulf]

Thanks guys!

Pineapple leaves make a decent pattern too.

The Ruger Phoenix does look kinda like a mongoose popping out of a pinapple patch.....
That's actually a good suggestion tho, that should work well with fern fronds.
Since I work for my landlord who has pineapples I'll snag some leaves to practice with, got a spare mossy 802 stock....among others

 

[horsey300]

Thanks guys!


The Ruger Phoenix does look kinda like a mongoose popping out of a pinapple patch.....
That's actually a good suggestion tho, that should work well with fern fronds.
Since I work for my landlord who has pineapples I'll snag some leaves to practice with, got a spare mossy 802 stock....among others

Haha, ya, mine are always MUCH less fresh!

 

[LoonWulf]

LOL, ill fed ex you some next season