The Ruger Amercian 30-06 as a hunting rifle?

W

Why not?

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As most of you know, I am a blued steel and walnut guy, but have been trying out a couple of entry level rifles over the past couple of years, just to see what the fuss is all about. Have tried several Reminton 783s and three Mossberg Patriots. Been quite surprised at how accurate and functional they are.

Interested in your thoughts on the reliability of the Ruger American as a hunting rifle?

Ted
 
I like the American
The mags insert and drop like a charm (I lost a buck :( on a Savage mag not going in fully)
Mine never had any issues picking up the rounds.
And the hammer forged barrel does clean faster than my 30-06 Savage. Just did a side by side yesterday.
 
I have an American in .308 and I love it. Never had an issue with the mag and I’ve shot 125 to 180 grain. Bolt sounds a bit like a zipper but I can cycle it as fast as I want for quick follow up shots. Very accurate and reliable.
 
Better than the Axil.
Not as gooder as the S1 or S2.
Curious to know where they fall awn price point behind the S2?

Try one Ted, you may be pleasantly surprised.
 
kamlooky said:
Better than the Axil.
Not as gooder as the S1 or S2.
Curious to know where they fall awn price point behind the S2?

Try one Ted, you may be pleasantly surprised.
Click to expand...

It may be because the bolt lift is marketed @ 60 deg instead of 90 deg. Could make some believe "it's better"?
 
kamlooky said:
Better than the Axil.
Not as gooder as the S1 or S2.
Curious to know where they fall awn price point behind the S2?

Try one Ted, you may be pleasantly surprised.
Click to expand...

Funny thing, I had to return a Weatherby Vanguard S2 in 30-06 because it wouldn't group anywhere near the advertised 1MOA and instead I got the Ruger American.
Worked for me :)
 
The ruger americans ive seen at my local club have had issues cycling and not picking up rounds. Seemed all mag related. However the one was bragging his rifle was the most accurate rifle he owned and it was about a 3" group at 100m.
I played with the entry level guns and since the stevens 200 is no longer available i went with the rem 783 even though im no remington fan
 
The early ones had mag issues. Ruger was replacing them as a matter of course. The new ones have more metal in them.

If you aren't wedded to the 30-06, the 308 and 6.5 Creed rifles are available with AI pattern mags. I really wish every manf would get over the "not made here" BS and adopt industry standards.

I am very fond of my Ruger American Ranch. Sub MOA, fast cycling, flawless feeding. Light. Hard not to like it.

 
Had one for a bit...returned to seller as the exterior millwork made Norinco look like a champion.
Worst finished metal I have ever seen in my life, barrel looked like it went through a machine screw forming process, bolt had tooling rings that made it sound like a zipper when working it, stock is the cheapest plastic affair similar to an Axis, mags were $50+ at the time, all plastic and ultra cheaply made.
Out of all the budget rifles I've had, it was the most overpriced for what you get. Should be priced about half of what the cheapest Axis goes for.
 
I have one. It's been great. Mine is in 7-08 and it's a handy lightweight tack driver. I polished the bolt to get rid of the zipper noise. I've had no feeding issues other than it's hard to push the mag all the way in with 4 rounds in it and the bolt closed but other than that I like it a lot. Shot a 2.5" group at 500y with it last time out and that's with hunting ammo.
 
Why not? said:
As most of you know, I am a blued steel and walnut guy, but have been trying out a couple of entry level rifles over the past couple of years, just to see what the fuss is all about. Have tried several Reminton 783s and three Mossberg Patriots. Been quite surprised at how accurate and functional they are.

Interested in your thoughts on the reliability of the Ruger American as a hunting rifle?

Ted
Click to expand...

Spend a few more dollars and get an M77 MarkII Hawkeye. American is good for deadly accuracy,but,they look,feel and operate like any other "entry level" rifle. My motto has always been "buy the best,once,instead of several cheap ones two or three times."
 
One of our guys has it in -06 and thinks it's a great rifle. I've watched him shoot it, very accurate and reliable never had a failure to feed or fire. For what he paid 3-4 years ago I think it's a nice outfit.
 
My partner has the American Predator in .223 with a Boyd's stock. The magazine is definitely a bit too much plastic for my liking but since it's a range rifle we shoot it single shot anyway. She gets good accuracy .5"-1" groups with handloads. With practice I think those coudl be better.

Is there any aftermarket mag kits or modifications? Or even make it a single shot that feeds a bit better?
 
Ted, not sure if you played with an AB3, but for a budget rifle, similar to the American price wise, they are quite nice. Browning has $100 mail in rebates a few times a year as well. They come in synthetic or walnut ($100 more for the wood), pre-bedded, made in Japan so fit/finish is quite good, and the synthetic stocks are pretty decent. Have a 270 in synthetic, and a walnut in 308. Hell I'll ship it to you to play with if you want to try one before buying one.
 
I obtained my Ruger American Ranch in 7.62x39 in April of this year. As it came it was rather "dull" in finish but was solid and no nonsense. It sports a steel 5 round mag that interchanges with Ruger's Mini 30. I put a cheap scope on it (Bushnell 1.5 to 5 Banner) and took it out to shoot with some PRVI 123 grain soft points. Gun shoots sub MOA all day long. I did install a cheap muzzle break as I did not like the abrupt muzzle cap look of the 16" heavy contour barrel. Maybe the brake contributed to the accuracy I don't know as I have not shot it with the brake removed.

I continued to shoot the carbine (rifle) through the summer and found that with handloads it shot even better. Hornady 123 SST's grouped 1 hole at 25 metres. At 100 they were at 3/4" I can't shoot any better than that and I know the rifle can. I settled on 123 PRVI soft points pushed with a healthy dose of CFE BLK for a muzzle velocity of 2575 FPS. Not bad for a 16" barrel. Accuracy was still MOA at that speed.


Speed up to November. I opportunity (and permits) to shoot two yearling whitetails. Both at 125 yards. First one was behind the shoulder with a complete pass through. The deer dropped where it stood. The second was a facing quarter shot. Bullet penetrated from front shoulder and was recovered in flank hide on off side. Bang flop. Bullet had expanded to .575 and retained 113 grains.

Now I know a lot of this post is about the 7.62x39 cartridge and how it performs on deer. BUT the Ruger American platform was what made the shots go where I needed them and it worked flawlessly. Just my two cents.


A note. I feel the 60% bolt lift adds to the amount of effort required to open the action. It must have something to do with steeper cam cuts in the bolt. In any event it is only noticeable at the range and is not even felt in hunting situations. The rifle is rather low priced. It has a little less polish and finish care than others. It needs to be shot to smooth it out. But it shoots and shoots very accurate. It is up to you as to what you are looking for in a rifle and what you can afford. I feel the American (Ranch 7.62x39 version) is worth every penny.


Darryl
 
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