pisces-guy
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- West Kelowna, B.C.
At this point I'll just say I'm glad you don't own a 10 gauge shotgun...:-D
Ruger American....wow, what a piece of crap!
- Thread starter Hitzy
- Start date
At this point I'll just say I'm glad you don't own a 10 gauge shotgun...:-D
pisces-guy
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- West Kelowna, B.C.
Aye, it is cheap...but I understand Boyd's and other aftermarket stock makers have stepped up and that will be another gift for my son in future! :-D
pisces-guy
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- West Kelowna, B.C.
One of the top five options in shooting today...I have a 1956 Husky 1600 in 30.06, had it glass bedded into a Boyd's stock and it shoots .4 MOA...same hole with a tiny bit of clover-leafing at 100 yards. They're amazing rifles.
A good stock would make it into a dam good all-round rifle. Ruger came close, but they still need to find a away to strengthen and stiffen that stock a bit and it will be as good or better than anything in the price range.
nomad 68
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
I bedded 2 carbon fibre arrow segments in my original and spray foamed the butt. It is rock solid now. I also have a new upgraded stock Ruger sent me free a couple months ago.when I bedded the original, I wrapped tape around barrel in 3 locations to spread and align the stock til the bedding set.
I think I'm up to the 5th time I've said this...
The other budget guns at this price point (well cheaper actually) are not this poorly finished, not even remotely close to as bad as the RAR.
Hence my surprise and disappointment and the reason I started this thread...
The RAR is more expensive then an Axis or 783, so I should have expected a much poorer finished rifle? Makes sense....
While your rifle is maybe not as nice as 783s, the general impression I have is rather positive for a budget rifle. Machining marks? Well, Ruger is using the forged steel receiver, bolt and cold hammer forged barrel. You can't say the same about the other, budget rifles. If finish is your prime concern - than yes, by all means it may be lacking. I however, basing on my own gun counter experience, believe that 90% of the people shopping for a cheap rifle are not concern with that. They want something that work and will last a bit while providing the user with decent accuracy, so they can harvest a deer or two every season. For this role, Ruger American offers a lot of value for the money, even when compared with similar rifles on the market.
On paper it looked like a good rifle. Lots of features the other budget guns didn't have...
70-degree throw, 3 lug dual cam bolt, new bedding system, rotary mag, that is what drew me to it as well.
If someone had said in many of the various reviews I read that it had an Axis stock, that would have given me some reservations. I was also expecting a rotary mag something like the 10/22 where each round is held in place by the follower, not a plastic flap and AR15 dust cover spring scooping loose rounds up to feed. Maybe some aftermarket companies will make a better staggered mag, because the Ruger one is not very confidence inspiring.
It could be a great rifle if the build quality was higher, better mags, better stock. Again I don't see why they can't do this at the given price as other makers pull it off just fine for the most part.
The only rifles with somehow better stocks are Browning AB3 and maybe...just maybe Remington 783. Yup, stock feels cheap, but it works. This is what a purpose built rifle that was made to a price point looks like. Ruger gives you better quality materials than the competition when it comes to the action. That's why they cut down the cost on machining and stock. Don't forget that it's all about the profit too. If it won't sell well...they may just stop this project and offer something even cheaper.
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So the mag's I had ordered from Brownells showed up for this (more #### to send back), and oddly enough one of them felt heavier. Checked it out and it has a steel follower opposed to the plastic card type, and also a stiffer spring. Are these steel follower mags a new design, or left over from previous years? They certainly appear like they would function better, much more positive getting the rounds up to feed...
Also took a last look at the only Ruger American I will likely ever own, RMA is in, going back to get melted down, or more likely sold to some other sucker like me.
The stock does touch the barrel on the left side, while lots of clearance on the right side. I thought just a warped plastic stock because of how junky it is, but I traced it down to the front V block being molded in crooked, visibly crooked...rear one was OK. "Power bedding" was a good idea, foiled by shoddy workmanship. I don't even know how you would correct that... You would have to reduce one side of the V and build up the other I guess. Should have just pillar bedded these goddamn things, at least that can be home remedied if the manufacturer ####s it up.
Next I played around with the trigger...again, I find myself comparing it to the Axis accu-trigger. The feel is basically identical, and what I'll call a "3-stage" trigger. The safety tab plunger gets taken up, then the ridiculous amount of creep, then it stops and you are now ready to fire. It's like a Glock trigger on a rifle. Terrible, but at least just as bad as the accu-trigger. For the record my Axis doesn't have the accu-trigger and I consider that superior with minor tuning.
I see the rifle they were trying to make and I like it, really. I just think they rush these things out way too fast, and cut too many corners, and the end product shows that. Maybe they will improve on it over time, add a little more QC in there, spend a couple extra bucks making these things right...who knows. Certainly not worth owning one if it's anything like I got.... Pile o crap lol
Also took a last look at the only Ruger American I will likely ever own, RMA is in, going back to get melted down, or more likely sold to some other sucker like me.
The stock does touch the barrel on the left side, while lots of clearance on the right side. I thought just a warped plastic stock because of how junky it is, but I traced it down to the front V block being molded in crooked, visibly crooked...rear one was OK. "Power bedding" was a good idea, foiled by shoddy workmanship. I don't even know how you would correct that... You would have to reduce one side of the V and build up the other I guess. Should have just pillar bedded these goddamn things, at least that can be home remedied if the manufacturer ####s it up.
Next I played around with the trigger...again, I find myself comparing it to the Axis accu-trigger. The feel is basically identical, and what I'll call a "3-stage" trigger. The safety tab plunger gets taken up, then the ridiculous amount of creep, then it stops and you are now ready to fire. It's like a Glock trigger on a rifle. Terrible, but at least just as bad as the accu-trigger. For the record my Axis doesn't have the accu-trigger and I consider that superior with minor tuning.
I see the rifle they were trying to make and I like it, really. I just think they rush these things out way too fast, and cut too many corners, and the end product shows that. Maybe they will improve on it over time, add a little more QC in there, spend a couple extra bucks making these things right...who knows. Certainly not worth owning one if it's anything like I got.... Pile o crap lol
Sorry to hear you are so disappointed with your Ruger American which from the pictures you posted leaves an awful lot to be desired and represents a total quality control fail!. I recently received a Ruger American Predator in 308 with the heavier barrel and the finishing on it was greatly improved compared to the one you received. (i.e no tool marks on the bolt or barrel)
I'll check on Saturday. So far all of them were plastic as far as I can remember.
Yup. At least 783 comes with the detachable magazine that is decent.
