Ruger American 243

[ThomasT]

I just won this Ruger American off GB and sure hope its a shooter. I already have ammunition and a Leupold 3x9 scope to go on it. I have looked at one of these at Cabelas a couple of years ago and thought that for a budget rifle it felt pretty solid. Most of the reviews I have read have been postive except for some magazine issues. Anyone have experience with these guns?

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/836947147

 

[horsey300]

I just won this Ruger American off GB and sure hope its a shooter. I already have ammunition and a Leupold 3x9 scope to go on it. I have looked at one of these at Cabelas a couple of years ago and thought that for a budget rifle it felt pretty solid. Most of the reviews I have read have been postive except for some magazine issues. Anyone have experience with these guns?

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/836947147

Make sure she sits straight in the stock, I've seen em crooked so that the last couple inches of the fore end are pressed against one side and wide open on the other.
Otherwise a good rifle, I enjoy ruger's 9 twist barrel.

 

[ThomasT]

Make sure she sits straight in the stock, I've seen em crooked so that the last couple inches of the fore end are pressed against one side and wide open on the other.
Otherwise a good rifle, I enjoy ruger's 9 twist barrel.

The 1/9 twist was a selling point to me. I just a couple of months ago sold a Remington 243 with the ILS system and it had a 1/9 twist. That gun never shot that well for me. Sometimes it did and others it shot all over the paper. I hope this gun is better.

I have owned several 243s and like them but I really like a bigger round better. I love my model 7 in 7-08. A first run with walnut stock and 18.5" barrel. But I have a little girl who is around 22 but about 5'2" and this will be a gun for her to hunt with me with. I went with her on 2 youth hunts when she was in school and just loved it. She has me wrapped around her finger. She is the daughter I never had. And she is a stone cold killer. she has no problem dropping the hammer or getting out her knife and gutting a deer.

This rifle might just be a gift to her from her dutch uncle. Unless I like it too much.

 

[horsey300]

The 1/9 twist was a selling point to me. I just a couple of months ago sold a Remington 243 with the ILS system and it had a 1/9 twist. That gun never shot that well for me. Sometimes it did and others it shot all over the paper. I hope this gun is better.

I have owned several 243s and like them but I really like a bigger round better. I love my model 7 in 7-08. A first run with walnut stock and 18.5" barrel. But I have a little girl who is around 22 but about 5'2" and this will be a gun for her to hunt with me with. I went with her on 2 youth hunts when she was in school and just loved it. She has me wrapped around her finger. She is the daughter I never had. And she is a stone cold killer. she has no problem dropping the hammer or getting out her knife and gutting a deer.

This rifle might just be a gift to her from her dutch uncle. Unless I like it too much.

You absolutely have a great idea!!!

 

[Huntolive]

I have a Ruger American compact 243 that I bought with my daughter and son in mind.
I put a 2 by 7 by 32 redfield revolution scope on it. These redfield American made scopes are an excellent bang for the buck.
My daughter killed her first deer with it at age 10 and my eight year old son is already shooting softball sized groups at a hundred yards.I shoot half-dollar groups at a hundred yards.
This is a very versatile gun and caliber they can take small to large game in a very compact easy to shoot package for both kids and adults.
Just work the bolt and clean and oil it to get it to loosen up and you should have years of trouble free accurate shooting!

 

[Taurus 617 CCW]

I have a standard length Ruger American .243 with the exact same scope as you. Its definitely a shooter. The magazine issues seem to be fixes. I have two mags and have not had a problem with either one. I use 100 grain Hornady American Whitetail ammo. Good stuff. The deer I got last year went down without an issue.

 

[ThomasT]

I had heard about the magazines sometimes having issues but I figured Ruger would take care of it if I did. I used a 243 to make the only long range kill I have ever made. A shot on a whitetail at 250 yards. Instant dead. The deer just fell over on his side.

I have a Leupold 3x9x40 VXI that came off my other 243 that I will use on the gun. I have around 200 rounds loaded and plenty of brass and around 700 component bullets on hand. Shooting is going to be cheap for me. I feel like I got a decent deal on the gun. Around $275 from the dealer with shipping and $15 from my FFL when it gets here. $290 total so thats doable.

I looked at one of these at Cabelas a year or so ago. I thought for a plastic stocked rifle it felt pretty solid. A whole lot better than the plastic stock Remington I sold or the plastic stocked Savage junk I bought 5 years ago that I spent another $150 on to get a Boydes laminate stock for it..

 

[Boattale]

The 1/9 twist was a selling point to me. I just a couple of months ago sold a Remington 243 with the ILS system and it had a 1/9 twist. That gun never shot that well for me. Sometimes it did and others it shot all over the paper. I hope this gun is better.

I have owned several 243s and like them but I really like a bigger round better. I love my model 7 in 7-08. A first run with walnut stock and 18.5" barrel. But I have a little girl who is around 22 but about 5'2" and this will be a gun for her to hunt with me with. I went with her on 2 youth hunts when she was in school and just loved it. She has me wrapped around her finger. She is the daughter I never had. And she is a stone cold killer. she has no problem dropping the hammer or getting out her knife and gutting a deer.

This rifle might just be a gift to her from her dutch uncle. Unless I like it too much.

Few things feel better than gifting a young hunter a good rifle. Go for it.

 

[Picher]

Cleaning my Remington 700s, I've noticed that about 6" from the muzzle, they tighten up a bit. That used to be a trait of custom barrels, but didn't know that Remington did it too. That tends to make rifles shoot more accurately. I can't complain about the accuracy of any 700 I own.

 

[ThomasT]

At the risk of raising my own thread I did receive the rifle today. I like it. No it doesn't have the heft and solidness of a model 700 with a walnut stock but its not too bad. I need to clean the bore and mount the scope. And remove those tell tell Ruger stickers so my wife doesn't go, "is that a new gun"? And then I don't have to explain that "no it not new, I just had the stickers".

She really doesn't care. Its my money and I spend it like I want. Plus she got a new faucet in the kitchen yesterday. So were even.

 

[LoonWulf]

Cleaning my Remington 700s, I've noticed that about 6" from the muzzle, they tighten up a bit. That used to be a trait of custom barrels, but didn't know that Remington did it too. That tends to make rifles shoot more accurately. I can't complain about the accuracy of any 700 I own.

that's likely sheer luck. I've swapped out enough Remington tubes and never found one that was choked. equally tho, I've also never seen a Remington that didn't shoot....other problems yes, accuracy...not so much.

 

[LoonWulf]

At the risk of raising my own thread I did receive the rifle today. I like it. No it doesn't have the heft and solidness of a model 700 with a walnut stock but its not too bad. I need to clean the bore and mount the scope. And remove those tell tell Ruger stickers so my wife doesn't go, "is that a new gun"? And then I don't have to explain that "no it not new, I just had the stickers".

She really doesn't care. Its my money and I spend it like I want. Plus she got a new faucet in the kitchen yesterday. So were even.

If it's not the newest version of stock, it would likely benefit from having it's forend filled with epoxy. that is if you don't mind the extra weight.

 

[jmr40]

I've never seen one of the Ruger Americans that wouldn't shoot well with quality ammo. The original stocks had horizontal supports inside, newer stocks use supports in an "X" pattern making them stiffer. Either way will be plenty accurate. The simplest fix, and what I'd recommend with either stock is to use sand paper wrapped around a dowel, deep well socket, or other cylinder and sand out the barrel channel making for a generous free float. As long as the stock doesn't touch the barrel they will shoot. Having a stiffer fore end just means the gap between the barrel and stock can be closer. Adding epoxy etc. to the fore end will make it stiffer, but isn't necessary.

The 243 has proven to be about perfect for any deer or deer size game and adequate for game as large as elk with proper bullets. Good choice.

There is no such thing as a 3X9 or 3X9X40 scope. They do make 3-9X scopes and if the front objective is listed 3-9X40 scopes.

 

[ThomasT]

There is no such thing as a 3X9 or 3X9X40 scope. They do make 3-9X scopes and if the front objective is listed 3-9X40 scopes.

OK. Word games but I bet you knew what I meant.

I now have my 3-9 scope with a 40mm objective mounted on the gun. I don't like the magazine. It feels cheap and feels like the spring is weak. And I found this gun has a very tight chamber. About 100 of my reloads won't chamber. The rest are tight. Factory ammo drops right in. Thats OK because I have 80 100gr Nosler Partions left and I want to load a couple of boxes of those. I am not looking for absolute top speed. I may try to keep them around 2850-2900 fps just to keep from blowing them up when they hit meat. Where I hunt I would have to work hard to get a 150 yard shot. Most are around 50-80 yards.

 

[roo_ster]

I own the Ruger American Compact Rifle in .243Win. First thing to do is dump the stock. Even the newer factory stocks are awful. You can play around with epoxy, aluminum rods, etc., but you'll spend as much as a new Boyd's stock. And bed it, too. Find how-tos on youtube.

With the old stock, you needed perfect benchrest consistency or the forestock would cause a flyer. It is too noodley. And no way to use a sling as a firing aid. With perfect consistency, I had trouble finding a heavy-for-.243Win commercial load that was not sub-MOA. But if shot from a field position or with any presure on the forearm, flyers were all too common.

Good luck with at 100yards 3 shot:
Hornady 95gr SST 0.75MOA (great whitetail broad side choice)
Federal 100gr Nosler Partition 0.9MOA (and my choice vs hogs)
Winchester 100gr cup & core spitzer 1.2MOA (cheaper practice)

The Boyd's stock did not improve on the factory stock's best performance, but it is now consistent. No flyers and can now use a sling to aid in marksmanship.

RAR+Boyd's is about the best cheap centerfire rifle deal going.

Oh, the 2-7x33 scopes are the perfect size for hte compact rifle. I went with the VX-1 Leupold.

 

[ThomasT]

I own the Ruger American Compact Rifle in .243Win. First thing to do is dump the stock. Even the newer factory stocks are awful. You can play around with epoxy, aluminum rods, etc., but you'll spend as much as a new Boyd's stock. And bed it, too. Find how-tos on youtube.

If I had of found a compact for the same price I may have bought that instead. But I am happy with what I got. And you have to push really hard to get the forend to touch the barrel on this gun. Mine has the newer multiple X pattern in the forearm. Spending another $100+ dollars for a new stock is not gonna happen.

But when I shoot it this week I will take some target pics and post them. I am tumbling about 80 cases right now. I have about 4 loads to test and what ever shoots best is what I will load a few boxes of and call it good. I have around 700 component bullets on hand so lots of choices but I hope the Noslers shoot good because thats what I want to load.

 

[Bartojc]

I have the same rifle with a Leupold VX1 scope. I've never shot factory ammo through it. I can get 1 MOA or so with Sierra Pro-Hunter 100gr bullets. Good enough for hunting. It's really all I've used. Decision based mostly on price. I did reinforce the stock forearm with some fiberglass resin which helped. I toyed with the idea if a Boyds but so far never messed with it. Maybe someday if I get bored. I really like the rifle for what it is. Great hunting rifle that I do not have a lot invested into. Shoots just as well as any other rifle I own. I don't think the deer care what it looks like.

-Jeff