Ruger American Ranch - 5.56 AR

I have the Varminter. People can complain about how they feel but they feed, fire, extract and group shockingly well for a rifle that costs less than I have spent on an AR barrel in the past .
 
jjohnwm said:
this particular one even offers the bonus of utilizing all those dusty AR mags we have lying around. Win/win.
Click to expand...

Pretty much the reason why I purchased mine. Happy to to blast my stash of .223 ammo using my "dust" collecting AR mags.

thegrandpoohbah said:
I found that clamping it in a vice made this much easier. I wasn't successful with just the screwdriver method. But maybe that's just me.
Click to expand...

Yes definitely the way to go if you have access to one. Just ensure you cover the clamp teeth....
 
RifleDude said:
I've done that mod. I used an old ballpoint spring cut to size. It made a significant improvement, pull weight is about 2lbs now. I've read that some have removed the spring entirely and reduced the pull weight to 1- 1.5lbs. For me, that a bit too light. And yes, it's super easy to do this mod.
Click to expand...

Beauty. I’ll add that to the to do list.
 
I’ve got mine down to slightly above 3 lbs or 1500 grams....

And that’s using the factory spring and set screw. Nothing else, well maybe some blue LocTite once that adjusting screw backed out entirely (as I saw you a YouTube video). I’ll leave things there at 3 pounds and a tad. That’s fine for me and my groundhog/coyote hunting. :cool:

Cheers, Barney
 
TacticalTeacher said:
I’ve got mine down to slightly above 3 lbs or 1500 grams....

And that’s using the factory spring and set screw. Nothing else, well maybe some blue LocTite once that adjusting screw backed out entirely (as I saw you a YouTube video). I’ll leave things there at 3 pounds and a tad. That’s fine for me and my groundhog/coyote hunting. :cool:

Cheers, Barney
Click to expand...

Did the exact thing and I'm happy with the ~3lb trigger. It feels a bit lighter when pulling with the tip of the trigger....

Those are some clear photos Barney!
 
I'd be interested to know if there are after market replacement stocks available. I saw someone selling their brand new factory take off stock on another site which got me thinking what might be out there.
 
jacotsmith said:
I'd be interested to know if there are after market replacement stocks available. I saw someone selling their brand new factory take off stock on another site which got me thinking what might be out there.
Click to expand...

There are lots of stocks available for the American, but most of them replace the entire stock, including the magazine well (a separate piece), so they lose the ability to use AR mags. There is apparently an MDT chassis that retains that ability.

I recently sold a Magpul Hunter stock that I used for awhile on mine. It used AICS mags, not AR ones, but the main reason I sold it was simply because it felt like I was putting lipstick on a pig. It turned the light, handy American into a heavier, much less handy rifle that no longer filled the niche for which I had purchased it. I have other rifles...heavier, perhaps more accurate, certainly less "carryable" than the Ruger. Dressing up the Ruger didn't make it better than those guns, but it certainly made it worse as a cheap knockaround gun than it was in stock form.
 
jjohnwm said:
There are lots of stocks available for the American, but most of them replace the entire stock, including the magazine well (a separate piece), so they lose the ability to use AR mags. There is apparently an MDT chassis that retains that ability.

I recently sold a Magpul Hunter stock that I used for awhile on mine. It used AICS mags, not AR ones, but the main reason I sold it was simply because it felt like I was putting lipstick on a pig. It turned the light, handy American into a heavier, much less handy rifle that no longer filled the niche for which I had purchased it. I have other rifles...heavier, perhaps more accurate, certainly less "carryable" than the Ruger. Dressing up the Ruger didn't make it better than those guns, but it certainly made it worse as a cheap knockaround gun than it was in stock form.
Click to expand...

This is the MDT LSS-XL Gen 2 chassis. In the Action dropdown there is a version for the Ruger SA AR.

h ttps://mdttac.com/ca_en/lss-xl-gen2-chassis-system.html
 
bigi said:
Can one improve the existing stock (not replacing it) cost effectively so the accuracy improves?
Click to expand...

There are articles out there about reinforcing the fore end of various rifles with carbon fibre arrow shafts to product a more stable fore end. May be more trouble than it's work - YMMV.
Also foam filling hollow tupperware stocks has been a thing to reinforce them.
 
BioPace said:
There are articles out there about reinforcing the fore end of various rifles with carbon fibre arrow shafts to product a more stable fore end. May be more trouble than it's work - YMMV.
Also foam filling hollow tupperware stocks has been a thing to reinforce them.
Click to expand...

Perfect low cost upgrade for this class of rifle, IMHO. It's very easy to do and does make the stock stiffer (epoxy + carbon arrow shaft).

Just using foam alone doesn't stiffen the stock much if any, just makes it a bit quieter and removes that hollow ping-pong ball sound.
 
jjohnwm said:
Just using foam alone doesn't stiffen the stock much if any, just makes it a bit quieter and removes that hollow ping-pong ball sound.
Click to expand...

I thought I'd read that it can remove some vibration and improve harmonics, but I've never tried it. There is also structural spray foam that I know can be sprayed to fill hollow carbon tubes to provide reinforcement.
 
Arugess said:
This is the MDT LSS-XL Gen 2 chassis. In the Action dropdown there is a version for the Ruger SA AR.

h ttps://mdttac.com/ca_en/lss-xl-gen2-chassis-system.html
Click to expand...

Thanks. I was more thinking about something in hardwood, though a Magpul Hunter might be nice too.
 
I'm certain that using just foam would alter the harmonics and the vibration of a cheap plastic stock. That wouldn't do much good when today's typical shooter loads the bipod with many pounds of force, bending the fore-end in the process. Are there foam sprays that will be so solid that they prevent the bending? Maybe. Are they the cheap-yet-magical solution to this issue? Maybe...but I tend to doubt it.

Lots of guys are out in the field with low-budget rifles like this, trying to fool themselves into believing that the cheapest budget-grade foam from Crappy Tire will turn them into Carlos Hathcock. It won't. If you find some high-quality foam that is so stiff that it bears up under the kind of stress that is imposed when you lean heavily on the forearm of the rifle...if such even exists...maybe it will help. But if you just want the cheapest solution, which most do, then just use the structural foam to embed the arrow shafts in the fore-end to really stiffen it up. Then, to really get the most out of your low-budget tweak, accept the fact that you still can't reliably load the bipod with large amounts of downforce. Even if the shafts keep it rigid, the foam may or may not adhere perfectly to the interior of the stock if you didn't perfectly clean the surface ahead of time. It may not even stick properly if you did! It's not intended or designed to adhere to cheap-ass molded plastic. Load it too much and it will just let go...ask me how I know. Accept that if you buy a sow's ear, you can improve it to get a really nice sow's ear...but if you simply must have the silk purse, don't go looking at the butcher shop for the ingredients to make it.

The Ruger stock, like other cheap-ass molded stocks, is the proverbial sow's ear. No amount of tweaking and caressing and manipulation will change that. You can improve it, but it will never be the equal of a proper fibreglass stock with an aluminum bedding block, and you shouldn't expect it to be.

Personally, I can accept that and work with it. In the field, chasing coyotes, I probably take 3 or 4 shots from improvised rests like fenceposts or trees, for every one that I get from a bipod. Since the rests are so varied and inconsistent, the best results...i.e. most consistent... are had by barely resting the stock on the object, just enough to steady it; no loading of the front end, no bending or twisting forces applied to the stock at all. Off a bipod...usually the same thing. If you happen to get your cheap-ass molded-plastic factory stock set up so that it shoots the same way from a loaded bipod as it does from a lightly-rested improvised field support...congrats! Don't hold your breath looking for that happy state of affairs.
 
Brought mine out to the range for the first time yesterday. Best group at 100 meters was 2" with bulk Federal msr 5.56 ammo, not bad.

cKYUk9I.jpg
 
Overlander2018 said:
Brought mine out to the range for the first time yesterday. Best group at 100 meters was 2" with bulk Federal msr 5.56 ammo, not bad.
Click to expand...

I think the scope looks great on the RAR! Same look I was going for with mine.
These RAR aren't precision rifles and I don't expect mine to be one but apparently they perform a bit better with heavier weight ammo.
 
johNTO said:
I think the scope looks great on the RAR! Same look I was going for with mine.
These RAR aren't precision rifles and I don't expect mine to be one but apparently they perform a bit better with heavier weight ammo.
Click to expand...

Don't underestimate the accuracy potential. While I wouldn't say it's a precision rifle, it is plenty accurate for practical shooting. Here are some of my load work up results, all under 1 MOA:

uU3dQAJl.jpg


hcUJanWl.jpg


Interestingly, the bulk 55gr Hornady soft points performed as well as the Sierra 69gr Match Kings.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom