Ruger American Gen II

zdc1775 said:
Anyone else see this announcement?

https://ruger.com/products/americanRifleGenII/overview.html

Looks like some good upgrades to the current American line.

Cerakote finish, spiral fluted barrel, and a stock that is supposedly more sturdy than the current ones without adding too much weight.

Have to admit I'm looking forward to seeing them in person.
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Thanks for the link. They made some improvements, but they still have that awful stock forend configuration.
 
Watched the Lipsey's preview on YouTube. Looks very interesting. Glad they're all threaded now. Not sure about the three position safety. Do like the new stocks and finishes.

As far as prices, everything is higher nowadays. Rugers have always gone for 75-80% of MSRP.

sparkyv said:
Seems to move out of the very affordable shooter category, and no Predator offerings, at least not yet. And fluted barrel? Really?
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Supposedly so they can use the Predator barrel contour but keep the weight down.
 
I see this as a competitor to Tikka T3X Lite Veil Alpine/Wideland models with the Cerakote finish, graphic-colored stocks, fluted barrels, and threaded muzzles. Those were selling for over $1100, close to $1200 actual retail last year, but Sportsmans bumped them up to $1449 in the new money. The RAR Gen 2 has comparable features and is undercutting Tikka by quite a bit. The Gen 2 is not a cheap rifle anymore, but it's less costly than a Tikka.
 
westernrover said:
Why do the RAR's of either gen have a pic rail instead of the Ruger ring mounts?
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Extra milling cost to put those in and having the pic rail is easier for a lot of folks.....dont think there is enough draw for them to be worth the added cost.

Comparing them to the Tikkas......I LIKED Tikkas when they were 300-400 dollars, not willing to pay 700+ for one now. Same thing will likely happen with the Americans.....once Im spending 700-900 I might as well spend 1000-1200 and get something closer to a factory custom.

In regards to the updated rifles. I think the updates are good, tho I find the stocks particularly ugly and the barrels (on the initial offerings) too short to appeal to me. BUT those are MY opinions, I expect they sell VERY well especially if they run in the 600 dollar range.
 
The screwed-on rail ruins it for me. I like the Ruger ring mounts. I like the Tikka bevels.

I think the short barrels are appealing to people shooting with a suppressor. That's what the reviewer for OL did with their Gen 2. I just can't justify the expense of a can for a hunting rifle that I'll fire less than a box of ammo in a year. I would absolutely hunt with one, but I figure it would cost me about a thousand bucks and the benefits just aren't worth it to me. I'd rather spend the money on more days hunting. Even for a practice rifle that I would shoot more frequently, I would still rather spend the money on ammo/reloading or just save it for more days hunting. Without a suppressor, I'll take the extra barrel length.
 
westernrover said:
The screwed-on rail ruins it for me. I like the Ruger ring mounts. I like the Tikka bevels.

I think the short barrels are appealing to people shooting with a suppressor. That's what the reviewer for OL did with their Gen 2. I just can't justify the expense of a can for a hunting rifle that I'll fire less than a box of ammo in a year. I would absolutely hunt with one, but I figure it would cost me about a thousand bucks and the benefits just aren't worth it to me. I'd rather spend the money on more days hunting. Even for a practice rifle that I would shoot more frequently, I would still rather spend the money on ammo/reloading or just save it for more days hunting. Without a suppressor, I'll take the extra barrel length.
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Rover,

I just got the 1st generation Predator in 22-250, delivered today. I like the Pic-rail. Man, is it ever muzzle heavy and heavy in general with the 4.5-14 Burris FFII I had sitting around.

I sold hundreds of Ruger 77s back in the day when we ran them for $139.50 on sale, onward and up over the years. Mini 14s were the same price, and the 10-22 went for $59.00 on sale. We mounted scopes for the customers as a courtesy, and I hated the Ruger mounts. Scope height and bell spacing were an endless problem, especially when we had to get a bunch done while waiting on other customers. I bet I had several hundred little red felt bags. ;) The rail on my new Predator is a snap to mount a scope onto.

I did like the 77s and the "square bridge" concept as done mass production. It had a certain class. That's been lost completely in the age of fugly plastic guns...sad.
 
Hope they fixed the sloppy bolt and feeding. That's the only complaint I ever had with my predator. Since it was accurate I put up with it. Well the stock also but it was a budget gun and after I found out it would shoot a decent stock was justified.

Some may think the twisted barrel is niffty. Same with bolts. Short barrels on supersonic firearms don't make sense. Bullets on target is what matters. High end or budget - if it won't shoot it's just an image of a real gun and a disapointment to the buyer.

A reputation of being accurate and the price point is what sold the American series. The correct rifling, twist rate, and a proper barrel length for the chambering is why I bought the predator.

Time will tell...
 
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OS/N said:
Short barrels on supersonic firearms don't make sen
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As @westernrover noted, for the suppressor guys they make a ton of sense, but for those of us uninterested or living in restricted states......kinda a personal preference thing.
20" is a hard nope for me. I dont like or have any use for a barrel that short....I've owned a few, mostly smaller centerfires with 16-20" tubes.

I do expect to see longer tubes before too long, and if i decide to swap out my Patriot in 7PRC ill likely try one of these G2s.
 
A short barrel with a muffler on a 22rf, 38spl, 9mm, 45colt, or 45acp makes sense or even w/o a muffler sense they a simply quiter in a 16" carbine. If you want a 300 BO and don't mind shooting slow bullets with little energy then I guess that works within its limitations. I haven't looked but I would be surprized if the gen2 is offered in any of those subsonic chamberings.

A 200 grain bullet at 1100fps only has 537ft lbs of energy at zero feet range so has little use in deer or med game hunting - may as well just use a 4" barreled 357mag handgun to deer hunt with.

IMO the average buyer is not going to have or use a muffler so is just giving up velocity and is going to have extra damage to the ears.
 
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Not a fan of the fluted barrels at all. From an aesthetics standpoint, they’re just ugly. It may sound petty, but that’s a non-starter for me.

Also disappointed to see that they didn’t correct what many feel is the major shortcoming with the American-series, which is the lack of an easy option for iron sights.

Meh.
 
I’m glad everyone seems to hate them for different reasons, caliber, barrel, barrel length, cost. I should have no problem picking one up in 300 blk since no one wants one. And at sub-500 FFL price, I shouldn’t have to pay MSRP with such low demand. 😁 As you can see, I’m a fan IMG_1064.jpeg
 
Frulk said:
Year and a half (maybe) ago I bought a 5.56 Ranch for $450.00 new.
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Buzznrose said:
That’s gonna be the first caliber I get (may add a 7.62*39 later).

How does your shoot? Is it picky with ammo?
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Not speaking for Frulk but mine is a pretty good shooter. With my 55gr plinker reloads and cheap factory ammo it holds 1 1/4" groups at 100yds consistently. Steel cased ammo runs fine.

I like the looks of the gen2.
 
Count me in the group that prefers shorter barrels. Where I hunt a longer 24" barrel is too much of a pain and I've never had any problems with accuracy or bullet performance with a 18-20" barrel. I think that the standard in .223 or 6 ARC would be a good compliment to the AR's I have in those calibers.
 
Price is higher, but its quite a bit more rifle that the Gen1. The adjustability built into the stock (added cost to do so), cerakote, threaded muzzle, fluted barrel all adds cost. It'll be interesting to see what the street price is. If its closer to $600 It'll be a hit I predict. What is the Predator street price today Low $5xx ? I'd say the new one may be worth $100 more.

I'd like to see one in person.

-Jeff
 
I'll want to see one in person before I have much of an opinion. It appears they are all using AI style magazines which should improve feeding reliability. I've had some minor issues with the standard mags.

I like the shorter 20" barrels on the standard rifle. In those cartridges you might lose 30 fps compared to a 22" barrel and it is entirely possible that they could shoot faster than some 22" barreled guns. My 20" Tikka 308 shoots faster than any of my 22" guns. For the cartridges they are offering 20" is probably ideal. Remember, the original 308 Predator has an 18" barrel which I felt was a little too short. You'd have to go to 28-30" barrels in those cartridges to see any significant gains in velocity and for what most people do that is just too long.

And I like fluted barrels too, the fluting serves an important purpose. It reduces weight while keeping the larger diameter barrel. The new Gen II in 308 is only 1/10 lb heavier than the standard 308 American. Assuming the listed weights are accurate, sometimes they are not, especially on new models.
 
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