Took my new ruger american out today. Not so good though.

I could not get it to group. Thought maybe i was pushing the Berry's plated to fast. I bought 2 boxes of factory ammo when i picked it up. Shot 5 rounds no good. Im leaning towards a defective scope. Im going to clean the bore well. And try again. I'll bring a spare scope along too if needed.

 

Maybe try remounting the scope before replacing it. For me when this happens it has always been scope mounts. It would be worth checking the rail screws too.

 

Sometimes the obvious is overlooked, make sure the scope is securely fastened down. Good luck!

 

I'll go over the scope rings and rail on the rifle 1st thanks. I did check the rings mid way through my session. The rail could have worked loose. I did check it before i mounted the scope.

Another thing too. The bolt is hard to lock down with a round in the chamber.

 

I have an a American Ranch in 7.62x39 that’s an absolute tack driver. I agree with checking the scope and mounting.

 

More info please. Saying no good doesn't tell much. What size groups and at what range. It doesn't have to be exact, just approximate group size. What cargridge is it and what type of ammo are you using?

And in my experience with several Ruger American's the chambers seem to be cut to pretty close tolerances and are often a little hard to close.

 

Agree. What I call hunting groups and target groups can be, and I assume often are, quite different. LOL, my " minute of coyote " groups with my Savage .223 Storm hunting rifle would never make it with a dedicated target shooter but a coyote would REALLY find them disagreeable !

 

I walked it in at 25 yards ok. At 50 i had to adjust again. When i thought i was ok. I went to a 100 yards. No good again. So i went back to the 50. And they were scattered again. I have Berry's 123 grain plated .311 loaded with 9 grains of Unique. i thought maybe i was pushing them to hard. Then i tried the 124 grain Sellar and Ballot ammo i bought when i picked up the rifle. Its 7.62x39. The groups were scattered about 6-8 inches apart.

 

Six to eight inches at fifty yards is too many inches. I would check every accessible screw, starting, like others mentioned, with scope mounts. Check the barrel channel also, to make sure no tension pushed the barrel.

How is the report with 7.62x39 from your rifle?

I am thinking about one, was looking at Ruger, then CZ is coming up with the 600 line, I think I like the Ergo, which can be pre-ordered now in Canada. There are still some brand new 527 carbines available here... They look better, but my best iron sights days are behind me and I believe the overall usability of a synthetic stocked rifle, easy to mount a scope on with a good shooting position, would satisfy me more than good looking wood and blue. It's just that I love wood and blue! Hope I won't regret not having bought one when it was still available.

 

Yep. That sounds like something’s loose. It doesn’t have to be much loose. A cellophane thickness of wobble will throw things way off.

 

Is the King Screw properly tightened?

 

The report was closer to .223 more than a 30/30 is the best way i can explain it. I never shot 7.62x39 before. I'll go over the whole gun then. I have the bore soaking in hoppes now. I'll check the King screw too. And the barrel float.

 

Me neither. Heard some just beside me at the range, old surplus semis spraying targets with lead. Inaccurate to say the least. Never the same as shooting one though. Thinking of replacing my .223 with a 7.62x39, or maybe just a beautiful and better .223. not decided. Might also just add to the family.

 

Mine shoots cloverleafs at 50 yds with a crappy used Banner on it. Only took about 10 rounds to get there. I only shoot factory ammo and do not reload. All the others I know of are the same. Something is wonky on yours for sure. Hope it is a simple fix.

 

On of my RAR rifles had a scope base that was barely tightened on- I'm sure it would have loosened badly after a few rounds if I had not checked it before I mounted a scope and tried to zero. Also make sure the 2 action screws that hold the action into the stock are right- I tighten mine to 65 inch pounds. Or you may have a defective scope. Or it may be QC issue with your ammo. I don't know what to recommend in that caliber- all my experience in that round are with second rate (at best) rifles from commieland, with ammo from similar sources. Maybe someone here with more experience can recommend a different round.

 

Wow was the bolts ever so sight way to tight IMO. I had to use a ratchet to crack them loose. I never used a ratchet on a gun before. Barrel free floats too. I adjusted the trigger while i had it apart. I put it back together with a Wheeler screw driver handle hand cranked tight. Frostbite if you can afford to keep your 223 and add a 7.62x39 i would go that route. Recoil is easy too. Im going to load the casings i shot with 16 grains of 2400 and compare them to the Unique loads.

 

The tightness might have been loctite. It is possible for loktite to lock the screws and still have a loose mount. Loktite keeps the screw from turning. It does not pull it tight.
When I mount a scope or have a problem like described I will look closely as I try to wiggle the scope and even lightly thump the scope at the ends with a fist. If that moves the scope *at all* there is a problem with the mount.
If the scope and/or mount cannot handle some side pressure or a light thump that’s another problem.

 

Yes i still have to take off the scope rail and redo the hold down screws. Im going a little at a time. I need to pace myself with my finger healing.

 

Yep. Go slow. Do it right. Tighten each screw a little at a time until you get to the desired torque.
Good is better than quick.

 

Got the rail done. It had quite a layer of oil under it. I wonder if it was floating on the oil. I cleaned the oil off the receiver and rail. Used blue Loc-tite to keep the screws tight. Trigger is at 4lbs now. Under that it ''fired'' just bumping the trigger. Not safe i feel. I have a 22 lr revolver that has a hair trigger and my MK3 does too. I don't let anyone handle them.

 

Definitely something not right with that grouping. I agree with others suggesting something off with the scope mount, glad you started there.

I don't get good groups with that S&B 7.62x39 ammo in either my AR or my Howa, but it isn't that bad. I haven't tried the berry's bullets for it yet, I honestly just got dies for 7.62x39 last week because I got such good results shooting steel case ammo and didn't feel a need to load for it. Now that the steel case stuff is getting hard to find, I decided it was finally time to start loading it. It was the only cartridge I shoot but don't (didn't) load for.

Once you get your issue sorted out, I will look forward to hearing how your Ruger does with those Berry's bullets over unique. I really like the 150 grain Berry's bullet over unique in my .30-30 for plinking.

Bottom line though, from my experience with a Howa in 7.62x39 that shoots MOA with steel case, and a Ruger American in 6.5CM that shoots MOA, something is off. If you are anything like me, once you find the problem, you are going to really like that cartridge in a bolt gun.

 

Im going to load the empty cases with 16 grains of 2400. See how that does too. I like the Berry's i run them in my Mosin too. My Argentine Mauser does not do well at all with them. It loves the Speer .311 150 grain. I run Berry's in my 30/30 too. It's nice to switch up from cast now and then. I run Accura outdoors plated 120 grain in my 30.06 too.

 

Some scope mounts have the horizontal bolts just press fit/epoxied on the side opposite the tightening nut. If they are over tightened, the horizontal bolts will pull loose from their press fit position. The tip will then be recessed a little. This yields very poor accuracy. The cure is to disassemble and push the bolts out, then re-epoxy with JB Weld and push them back into position. Then, don't overtighten, but do use a drop of blue LockTite.

Also, check the barrel for heavy leading.

 

I've never used Unique, but 9 grains sounds like not even enough to push it out of the barrel. Every other powder I've seen data for is at
around 18grs for starting charge.

 

It is a powderpuff load, but should be plenty to send the bullet downrange. I have used anywhere between 8 and 10 grains of unique under a 150 grain bullet in a .30-30 case, which has a higher case volume than the 7.62x39. The recoil is light, but it makes for a nice plinking round.

As soon as I see those 123gr .311 Berry's bullets pop up in stock somewhere I will definitely be grabbing some to play with.