Ruger American?

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Praxidike

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Anyone own and/or have used the Ruger American for hunting? I'm taking up deer and, probably later, wild boar hunting for the first time, so I'm shopping for a hunting rifle in 30-06 (maybe .308).

I've researched the Ruger American, and I'm thinking of ordering it online. One of my concerns is that the build quality may not be up to pair. I've heard some say it "feels cheap." Is there anything else I should look for or be concerned about?

I'm wondering what some of you more experienced and seasoned rifle and hunting aficionado think about this rifle. I'm also open to other affordable suggestions as well.

Thanks!
 
The Ruger American and the Savage Axis are both excellent shooting 'for the money', the ones we set up and shoot-in for the customers have proven to be excellent shooters, many achieving the sacred 1"@100y or less with factory ammo!

Do they 'feel' cheap, my opinion, yes...why, because they are, but this does not mean they are junk, just cheaply built. They do shoot well, at least the majority of the ones we have delt with have.
Will they last, for the normal amount most folks use them, they will last a lifetime.

If you want a 'low cost' rifle that preforms to the likes of many more costly rifles, these may be your ticket. There are a lot of MIM parts on them, the stocks are somewhat 'flimsy' feeling and plastic abounds, but they for the most part, shoot very well.
If I wanted a lower cost rifle I would not hesitate to buy one of these models.
 
I have a Savage axis and a Ruger American. I think the American trumps the Axis in almost every way. The finish looks better. The action is smoother. The trigger is MUCH better. The bolt release is simpler. The magazine is better.

The trigger on my Axis is so bad I have a couple of old military surplus rifles with better triggers. Thats the real deal killer for me. My older Stevens 200 has a pretty good trigger in comparison.

I'll add that both are very light rifles to have in 30-06.
 
I like the Ruger as the "best buy" in a budget gun. I like it a lot better than the Axis. Both tend to be quite light. If you are new to shooting centerfire rifles a 30-06 might be a bit much on recoil. A 308 will give you about 95-96% of the bullet speed of a 30-06, but with only about 75% of the recoil. Something to consider.

A 243 will have more than enough power for deer and hog and give about 1/2 the recoil. With modern bullets available today the 243 is just about the perfect deer caliber and anything bigger is just a waste. It is now suitable for game up to elk. If you want to hunt much larger game such as elk on a regular basis the 30-06 starts to make more sense. But it is far more powerful than needed for your stated uses.
 
jmr40 said:
I like the Ruger as the "best buy" in a budget gun. I like it a lot better than the Axis. Both tend to be quite light. If you are new to shooting centerfire rifles a 30-06 might be a bit much on recoil. A 308 will give you about 95-96% of the bullet speed of a 30-06, but with only about 75% of the recoil. Something to consider.

A 243 will have more than enough power for deer and hog and give about 1/2 the recoil. With modern bullets available today the 243 is just about the perfect deer caliber and anything bigger is just a waste. It is now suitable for game up to elk. If you want to hunt much larger game such as elk on a regular basis the 30-06 starts to make more sense. But it is far more powerful than needed for your stated uses.
Click to expand...
Yes, in part I set my sites on the 30-06 because it was my understanding that, even though it had more recoil and had more power than needed, it gave the future option/flexibility of being able to be used on larger game if I ever decided to go that wrought. I also read that when the ammo shortage was at it's worse, .308 was hard to find while most stores still had 30-06 on hand. I don't know for sure, but I'm assuming that I can deal with the recoil, extra weight, and longer action in exchange for having the option of hunting larger game and having ammo at reasonable prices during the next storage. Other than what I've mentioned, are there any other downsides to the 30-06 vs the .308 that you know of?

I have another question for you though, if there's only a 4%-5% difference between the two calibers, why would the general consensus be that such a small difference would exclude the .308 from being used on large game?
 
I see a 06 American at Wally world last wk and even pointed it out to my father as he is "looking" for his first rifle. I have never bought a gun online because I prefer to pick up the gun im buying, look it over and feel it. My first gun was a Mossberg 500a 12ga and we pulled bout 4 of em before we found the best finish and you cant do that online.
 
They feel cheap because they are cheap, but as Uncle Mike pointed out, that doesn't mean they are crap. The Ruger would be my pick of the two, but if a Stevens 200 is thrown into the mix I will take the Stevens.
 
Well, I would have considered that Stevens too until I found out that Savage is now shipping them with the same crappy trigger that is on the Axis. The older Stevens Trigger was adjustable to an extent, and wasn't bad at all. The axis trigger is non adjustable and bad enough to be detrimental to your accuracy.

Another thing I find annoying about the Axis is the placement of the firing hand grip. The stock's rear grip is placed so far back away from the trigger that I can either have my hand around the grip properly, or on the trigger correctly, but I can't do both at once. I end up firing with my hand just sort of dangling there in the space between the grip and trigger guard. The American allows me to have my hand on the grip and trigger while firing.
 
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I was shopping for a new "budget" deer rifle this year, and seriously considering the Ruger American. Instead I bought what I think is about the best deal going on a rifle package...a Walmart Remington 700 with scope for $417. Last year the Ruger was $330 at a local gun store. This year, I couldn't find one locally under $350-$370. By the time I would have bought the rings, and scope it would have cost at least as much as the Remington at $417. With that said, I really like the Ruger American, and am still planning to pick one up sometime. Everything I've read about them seems to be good. I wouldn't be afraid to buy one. I've had problems with weak ejection on Savage rifles in the past, and saw a review of the Axis where the reviewer was having to literally remove the fired casings by hand. That turned me off of the Savage, but as pointed out, they generally get very good reviews also.
 
If you shoot a 30-06, no one is going to wonder why. Accord to the Alaska DNR, the 30-06 is the best round outside of really big magnums to stop a brown bear. That is by a big margin over other non magnums and some smaller magnums. But the .308 is a good round especially of you can't take the recoil of the 06. Most critters won't feel insulted if you shoot them with the .308, it is one of the most accurate popular cartridges ever designed. The .308, 30-06, and 7 mm are easily the best big game roads in this half of the world as they are accurate to 1000 yards or more, supersonic at any reasonable hunting range, have great bullet selection, and readily available. I give a slight edge to 30-06 in my world. But I am also thinking of a cheap .308 rifle just cause I want one.
 
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I am a .22LR person and from what I am reading for accuracy at 100 yds. The Ruger American would be a good beginner rifle for SB Metallic Silhouette to compete with CZ452/455 American. The price is nice on the Ruger, that's for sure.
 
Savage Axis trigger

I am also considering a Savage Axis for my first rifle (larger caliber than 22LR). To solve the trigger issue couldn't you just get a trigger job done. couldn't a competent local gunsmith do a trigger job for you. Then you would still have a nice rifle cheaper than what the ones with accutrigger or other adjustable triggers would cost? Asking because never had a trigger job done. No idea what it costs.
 
I picked up my Ruger American in 308 2 weeks ago.
Took it out and sited it in.
Consistently shooting MOA groups.
Problems with the cheap magazine.
It will not consistently feed the rounds up to the gun.
Called Ruger they sent me a free new mag in 4 days.
Problem the second one was no better than the first one.
I shot some Hornady One Shot lube into it and it works better but it still jams at times.
The second one I took apart its just plastic clips holding it together.
I wound the feeder bar around one more turn to get greater spring tension.
It is now working but for how long? Who knows.
I absolutely love the gun and caliber and the price is right at $400 out the door.
It will be a super brush gun for hiking the mountains at 6 lbs.
I would suggest someone start making after market mags for it at a reasonable price and they could make some nice coin selling them to the public and maybe to Ruger because they need to change there current supplier.
 
Ruger American
One other suggestion is to get there compact model in the 308 caliber as you have a shorter barrel,shorter pull and a little lighter.
 
I've got an American in .308 and other than the afore mentioned; it feels cheap, I have not had a single problem with it. I've shot nothing but factory ammo in it and with the exception of a few old corlokts that I had around, everything has been right at or just below moa. It particularly likes Fusion 150s(what Ruger uses in them, according to their c/s). One small concern was that the stock did not feel quite grippy enough. I cleaned it really well and shot it with Rustoleum Multi-colored textured in forest green and then sealed it with matte clear. It has the feel of really tiny sand grains and actually has a slightly better grip to it now than my B&C Medalists.
 
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