I purchased my Ruger American Ranch 6968 about a year ago and have done a bunch to it since. When I received the rifle the first thing I noticed was the barrel touching the end of the stock. I removed the action from the stock and tried to re-seat it but it still touched. So I broke out a dowel and some sandpaper and fixed that issue promptly. Then while I was cleaning it for the first time I noticed some metal flakes in a hole on the bolt from poor machining. I cleaned them out by disassembling the bolt and had to knock off a shard that was still attached. During my first range trip I had several soft primer strikes with Hornady ammo. I chalked all this up to it just being a cheap rifle.
On come the mods.
First was the install of a Glades Armory bolt handle. The install was relatively simple and looks and feels great.
Then I did the trigger job that requires removing some coils on the trigger spring and some light polishing. This made a phenomenal difference from an already nice 4-5 pound pull down to a crisp 2 pounds.
Then came the biggest chore. Stiffening the stock with Bondo (metal re-enforced) and topped with JB Weld (Plastic Bonder). I roughed up the inside of the stock with a Dremel tool and ground small grooves for the Bondo to hold. I had read story's of it popping out like ice cubes. Then I topped the Bondo off with a layer of JB Weld, I did observe that it didn't seem to get a great bond to the stock. I will see how it holds up over time.
Lastly, the paint job. I ordered some digital camo stencils from Amazon, Krylon Camo paint and primer. I taped off the glass, chamber and a few other areas. Then I cleaned the surfaces with 0000 steel wool and isopropyl alcohol and then primed the rifle in matte grey, then a solid coat of olive, then my first attempt at using stencils. I had tried some kakhi but didn't like how it looked. I plan on repainting when summer comes around and then finishing with a matte clear paint to seal it all up.
So far this is just a target rifle and it does quite well at 100 yards. Best factory ammo so far has been Remington UMC 120gr believe it or not.
On come the mods.
First was the install of a Glades Armory bolt handle. The install was relatively simple and looks and feels great.
Then I did the trigger job that requires removing some coils on the trigger spring and some light polishing. This made a phenomenal difference from an already nice 4-5 pound pull down to a crisp 2 pounds.
Then came the biggest chore. Stiffening the stock with Bondo (metal re-enforced) and topped with JB Weld (Plastic Bonder). I roughed up the inside of the stock with a Dremel tool and ground small grooves for the Bondo to hold. I had read story's of it popping out like ice cubes. Then I topped the Bondo off with a layer of JB Weld, I did observe that it didn't seem to get a great bond to the stock. I will see how it holds up over time.
Lastly, the paint job. I ordered some digital camo stencils from Amazon, Krylon Camo paint and primer. I taped off the glass, chamber and a few other areas. Then I cleaned the surfaces with 0000 steel wool and isopropyl alcohol and then primed the rifle in matte grey, then a solid coat of olive, then my first attempt at using stencils. I had tried some kakhi but didn't like how it looked. I plan on repainting when summer comes around and then finishing with a matte clear paint to seal it all up.
So far this is just a target rifle and it does quite well at 100 yards. Best factory ammo so far has been Remington UMC 120gr believe it or not.
