My son very kindly purchased me a used Ruger American .308 in very fine condition - almost no wear at all, especially on the bolt.
Serial Number 694-699xx
Model # 06903
Product Line AMERICAN CENTERFIRE RIFLE
Caliber 308 Win
Shipped In 2015
The first photo below (as purchased) shows that a scope is the only sight that can be used without incurring great expense.
I mounted a known-good scope and proceeded to bore sight at 100 yards so that I would be on paper when I went to the range. I ran out of (left) windage adjustment as I reached acceptable bore sighting. WTF? Bore is very straight (visually) and factory Weaver rail sections were visually aligned with receiver.
It was at this point that the light bulb went off. When I received the rifle, the barrel was touching the left furthermost end of the black plastic stock - i.e. NOT a floating barrel. I put this down to it being a "cheap plastic factory stock" and I ordered a Magpul Hunter stock from Wolverine Supplies to replace it. The Magpul Stock arrived and suffers exactly the same issue. This would explain why a 5+ year old rifle was in such remarkably good condition with no signs of wear...
I then removed the action and set up a simple jig so that I could accurately observe and measure what was going on - see photos 2 and 3 below. (Action is inverted in photos)
The barrel cants 2.5mm to the left of center over a 22" barrel length. This equates to approx. 16 MOA @ 100 yd.
This would appear to be a Ruger factory defect that somehow missed Quality Control (and test firing)
My best guess is that the problem lies in the way that the receiver was machined/threaded and not the barrel
What are my options?
Is there a possibility that Ruger will take responsibility for this problem and repair or replace at no charge?
If not, what are my alternatives?
Thank you in advance for your valuable feedback!
As received
Barrel Alignment measuring method (simple jig)
Closeup of clamping method (simple jig)
Offset barrel in both stocks
Serial Number 694-699xx
Model # 06903
Product Line AMERICAN CENTERFIRE RIFLE
Caliber 308 Win
Shipped In 2015
The first photo below (as purchased) shows that a scope is the only sight that can be used without incurring great expense.
I mounted a known-good scope and proceeded to bore sight at 100 yards so that I would be on paper when I went to the range. I ran out of (left) windage adjustment as I reached acceptable bore sighting. WTF? Bore is very straight (visually) and factory Weaver rail sections were visually aligned with receiver.
It was at this point that the light bulb went off. When I received the rifle, the barrel was touching the left furthermost end of the black plastic stock - i.e. NOT a floating barrel. I put this down to it being a "cheap plastic factory stock" and I ordered a Magpul Hunter stock from Wolverine Supplies to replace it. The Magpul Stock arrived and suffers exactly the same issue. This would explain why a 5+ year old rifle was in such remarkably good condition with no signs of wear...
I then removed the action and set up a simple jig so that I could accurately observe and measure what was going on - see photos 2 and 3 below. (Action is inverted in photos)
The barrel cants 2.5mm to the left of center over a 22" barrel length. This equates to approx. 16 MOA @ 100 yd.
This would appear to be a Ruger factory defect that somehow missed Quality Control (and test firing)
My best guess is that the problem lies in the way that the receiver was machined/threaded and not the barrel
What are my options?
Is there a possibility that Ruger will take responsibility for this problem and repair or replace at no charge?
If not, what are my alternatives?
Thank you in advance for your valuable feedback!
As received
Barrel Alignment measuring method (simple jig)
Closeup of clamping method (simple jig)
Offset barrel in both stocks
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