hows the ruger american in 7.62x39mm?

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Any time I get a new rifle I tend to take them apart to inspect all the pieces. The same goes for mounting an optic; I usually start from the bottom floor and work my way up. I have found that most factory rifles are not assembled with the same care I like to give them once they are mine. I would alway suggest checking the optics rail from any factory rifle. With that said, I have two of these rifles in 7.62x39 and they are great! I blue loctited the bases and they have been good to go.
 
I know, I know, lm the idiot. Like i said, i guess i just expected more from a ruger...
Other than that minor hitch the gun is awesome. Also Ive had to file on the 20 round mags a little to get them to feed reliably.
 
Alaskan Ironworker said:
I know, I know, lm the idiot. Like i said, i guess i just expected more from a ruger...
Other than that minor hitch the gun is awesome. Also Ive had to file on the 20 round mags a little to get them to feed reliably.
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Well just don't ask me how I learned that one......the hard way and on a hunt. Thankfully there was a local gunsmith nearby that loaned me his tools the properly remount my scope. Surprisingly it only needed minor readjustment and I was back on and back at it.

I have only tried the 10 rounders and they have been flawless for me so far. This rifle has earned a pretty constant spot on my 4x4 desert and mountain trips. I am really liking it.

EDIT:

I just found this article with some good reloading data:
http://www.shootingtimes.com/rifles/review-ruger-american-rifle-ranch-model-in-7-62x39mm/
 
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Alaskan Ironworker said:
Hey guys, i got about 250 rounds through my ruger american in 7.62x39, and the factory picatinny rail came loose on me. Not a huge deal, but i expected more from ruger. Just a thought, if you buy a new one you may consider degreasing and reinstalling it with loctite. Anyone else have this issue?
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Did you bother to read post # 5?
 
I never expect the factory mounted anything to be reliable. When I buy a gun, I'm buying the gun. Not the add-on accessories that go with it. I'll take care of those. If they are included, and of good quality, I'll use them. But most of the time I am chunking them and replacing them with higher quality bases, rings, etc.

This is just part of preparing your equipment IMO.
 
beeenbag said:
I have one and have only shot the cheap steel case ammo in it. Your mileage may vary, but mine shoots sub MOA with wolf polyformance and just barely over an inch with the "red army" stuff.

I have yet to try any premium brass ammo in it, hard to justify when it shoots the cheap stuff this good.

I will throw in that I'm using a 3x9 Nikon and a bipod on it, and find it to be one of the most fun guns in the stable.
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I show the same results with my cz 527 and my Ruger american ranch bolt in .556

s
steve
 
nutin fancy showed the ruger american 7.62x39 was getting a few rounds(russian steel case) not going off the first time. has ruger made the firing pin hit harder for these russian rounds?
 
bullseyebob47 said:
nutin fancy showed the ruger american 7.62x39 was getting a few rounds(russian steel case) not going off the first time. has ruger made the firing pin hit harder for these russian rounds?
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I haven't heard of this being a common issue. My sample size of 1 (same as his) has had zero failures with right under 600 rounds fired.
 
My two are 100% with Golden Tiger. I an not sure of the exact round count, but we have a few hundred through them for sure.
 
Here is mine with handloads. I did have to send the rifle back for extractor and headspace issues.

target RAR SP reload best.JPG
 
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I have one with a cheap Center Point 3-9x40 scope on it. I shoot, depending on brand of steel case, 1" - 2" groups @ 100 yards. I have never had any problems or bad fliers out of any of it. With factory brass ammo, I am shooting sub 1" groups @ 100 yards. Ammo of choice has been Federal Fusion 123gr JSP and Hornady Black Ammo 123gr SST. I use it for deer and coyotes. Hope to go hog hunting soon.
 
20 rounds of monarch ar 100 yards. Not bad at all. Roughly 200 rounds of monach without issue. I did have 1 or 2 (not sure now) of Red Army FTF out of 60. I dont buy it anymore.

20181001_181813.jpg
 
Can Ruger American top feeding rounds into mag from receiver opening like blind mag rifles without removing magazine? If not, can you drop a round in receiver on top of mag follower and feed into chamber?
 
The bolt hold open feature of the Mini 30 magazine prevents the bolt from closing unless it is depressed. I have pushed a round down into the magazine to see if it could be done and it can. It is not fun for my big fingers, but possible. You can also drop a round into the chamber, push down the follower and close the bolt. Again, it is not a smooth operation for me. It was much faster for me just to change magazines.

Hope this helps,

Matt

I should add that this is only for the 7.62x39, the 5.56/AR mag model might be easier.
 
Alaskan Ironworker said:
Hey guys, i got about 250 rounds through my ruger american in 7.62x39, and the factory picatinny rail came loose on me. Not a huge deal, but i expected more from ruger. Just a thought, if you buy a new one you may consider degreasing and reinstalling it with loctite. Anyone else have this issue?
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With all due respect, I have no idea why anyone wouldn't loc-tite and hand tighten "factory" mounted rails on any gun. I never, ever expect the factory to mount any accessory properly and sure as heck don't rely on "factory" bore sighting.

This is not a Ruger issue. Every manufacturer's accessories should be hand checked by the owner, every time IMO.
 
If find this thread tempting me to pick up one of these rifles. I have a mini-30 and mags, so it is very tempting to get the x39 version. But I also shoot 450B and find that very tempting as well.

FWIW, I have an AR chambered in x39 that I took out this past weekend, with the purpose of testing accuracy with various factory ammo. It is a cheap, carbine length gas system, non free-floated barrel. I am convinced that x39 is a reasonably accurate round, I was getting 2 - 2.5 MOA out of several steel-cased that I tried (Golden Tiger seemed to be the best, Tula was second). I had some Fiocchi brass cased that gave me almost 1.5 MOA and was the best of anything that I tried. I had some Tula 154gn that I had read somewhere was accurate, but it is not accurate in my AR. I don't know if the twist rate is wrong for that weight, I have not run the stability calculation yet, but my rifle did not like it. It was over 4 MOA.

I can only imagine how much the accuracy would improve with a good bolt-action rifle.
 
That one (Ranch) and the CZ 527 in 762x39 are the Winchester 94s of the 21st century. Light, handy, fast, powerful enough for most anything you need to do out to medium ranges. Would rather have the CZ though, for sure.
 
DannyLandrum said:
That one (Ranch) and the CZ 527 in 762x39 are the Winchester 94s of the 21st century. Light, handy, fast, powerful enough for most anything you need to do out to medium ranges. Would rather have the CZ though, for sure.
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Except that the 7.62x39 is only capable of deer sized game.
 
CraigC said:
Except that the 7.62x39 is only capable of deer sized game.
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Yeah, the x39 is just a little weaker than I would like. Another 200fps would do that round a world of good - although I guess that cartridge is called the 30-30.

Can the x39 work for hogs though, aside from head shots? I have a CZ I just got as a plinker, and I'd feel comfortable hunting the dinky little Southern deer around me with it, but I'm in hog country, and if I ever get a chance to go hogging, I don't know if they'd put a hog down without a bunch of squealing and bleeding first.
 
It's not the velocity, it's the bullet weight. The .30WCF is capable of much heavier bullets and that makes a big difference on bigger game like elk and moose. Not to mention that the 94 is available in bigger cartridges like the .307, .356, .375, .38-55, .444 and .450Marlin.

With the right bullet, I'm sure the 7.62x39 is perfect for hogs.
 
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