Ruger American Ranch in .223 for accuracy/precision...

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Zeroed-In

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So the Ruger American Ranch in .223 (includes .556 too) for around $650 Cdn. seems like a good buy for my needs.

With a 16", 1 in 8 twist barrel that comes threaded, a detachable #5 shot mag and picatinny scope rail it has what I'm looking for at a reasonable price.

Am I missing something, is it a poor shooter? Ruger claims Minute of Angle capability from it's free floated barrel.

If anyone has any experience or reliable intel. on this rifle please chime in as I'm looking to pull the trigger on one asap.

My goal is to add a decent Vortex scope, Harris bi-pod and some premium ammo. and enjoy plinking prone working my way out to 500Metres (Ido however want a shorter barrel for packing and off hand maneuverability... and recognize a longer barrel would likely be a better choice for reaching out).

Cheers D
 
Zeroed-In said:
So the Ruger American Ranch in .223 (includes .556 too) for around $650 Cdn. seems like a good buy for my needs.

With a 16", 1 in 8 twist barrel that comes threaded, a detachable #5 shot mag and picatinny scope rail it has what I'm looking for at a reasonable price.

Am I missing something, is it a poor shooter? Ruger claims Minute of Angle capability from it's free floated barrel.

If anyone has any experience or reliable intel. on this rifle please chime in as I'm looking to pull the trigger on one asap.

My goal is to add a decent Vortex scope, Harris bi-pod and some premium ammo. and enjoy plinking prone working my way out to 500Metres (Ido however want a shorter barrel for packing and off hand maneuverability... and recognize a longer barrel would likely be a better choice for reaching out).

Cheers D
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Pretty happy with mine. I have yet to do any real accuracy testing, I will try to slap up a target tonight. Only have a 1-4 scope on it though so it will probably be 50 yards. As far as maneuverability it's great and very easy to shoot standing. if the weather cooperates I'll probably be doing some gopher blasting, stay tuned I'll let you know how it works out.
 
Uisge said:
Pretty happy with mine. I have yet to do any real accuracy testing, I will try to slap up a target tonight. Only have a 1-4 scope on it though so it will probably be 50 yards. As far as maneuverability it's great and very easy to shoot standing. if the weather cooperates I'll probably be doing some gopher blasting, stay tuned I'll let you know how it works out.
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Thanks or the quick reply and I'll be looking forward to your posts regarding accuracy.

It seems a good rifle with a well thought and designed set-up for what I want as it checks a lot of the boxes for my wants/needs.

I plan to do some extensive accuracy testing over the summer on a lot of good ammo. I've been accumulating over the past year.

If it shoots half decent I'll put it into a MDT chassis come the fall.

Cheers D
 
Love mine, although it is a 583 series. Sub 2" groups at 150 yrds. They are more accurate than what their reputation seems to be for some reason, not sure why people can't realize they were modified years ago with heavier barrels.
 
laker415 said:
He is talking about the bolt action ruger, not the mini 14
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^ Correct, This rifle is the Ruger American Ranch in .223/5.56 and is a bolt action with #5rd. detachable rotary magazine, 16.12" Cold Hammer Forged Free Floated and threaded 1 and 8 twist Barrel, standard FDE (Flat Dark Earth) Synthetic rifle stock with an Adjustable 3lb.-5lb. trigger offering MOA accuracy (as described by the manufacturer) weighing in at about 6lbs.

Cheers D
 
Metal-Rider said:
I love mine. Accuracy out to 200-250 yards is sub-2", pushing some heavy bullets.
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Xippper said:
I have one and it's a tack driver accuracy wise with 75 gr bullets
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All good to hear, it almost seems to good to be true what with all the specifications this rifle has that align with what I'm looking for in my next rifle.


Compact,

Lightweight (6.1lbs.),

MOA (or better) Accuracy,

Free Floated and Hammer Forged barrel that's threaded with 1 & 8 twist,

Picatinny scope rail,

Detachable magazine,

Reliable/durable (still to be proven), but it is a Ruger Bolt gun...

Plus it's compatible with MDT chassis' and is reasonably affordable at around $600Cdn.

Cheers D
 
smokeater40 said:
Love mine, although it is a 583 series. Sub 2" groups at 150 yrds. They are more accurate than what their reputation seems to be for some reason, not sure why people can't realize they were modified years ago with heavier barrels.
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Not to get to far off topic (I am of course the OP).

What heavier barrel on the Ruger Mini-14 are you talking about?

As other then the Target model with it's huge and heavy sleeve I wasn't aware there was any noticeable change in barrel weight available on a Mini-14 in .223 (or any calibre).


Also many will argue your claim of accuracy, as stating a Mini-14 that is capable of close to MOA accuracy (especially a non target model, not sure what you have) will get many all riled up around these parts...

Generally most consider the Ruger Mni-14/30 to be Minute of Barn door for accuracy even if they are reliable as any semi. auto. available, accuracy is not their forte.

I personally know of a LGS that will no longer carry the Ruger Mini-14/30's due to so many complaints of poor accuracy it wasn't worth the trouble to sell them anymore, but I'm happy to hear yours is the exception...;)

Cheers D
 
They went to a heavier barrel profile for a standard model, it was shortly before the 583 series. I had a 583 and it has more of a medium tapered profile than the old light profile barrels. Didn't get the RARR out tonight got stuck working late. Will try again tomorrow.
 
Uisge said:
They went to a heavier barrel profile for a standard model, it was shortly before the 583 series. I had a 583 and it has more of a medium tapered profile than the old light profile barrels. Didn't get the RARR out tonight got stuck working late. Will try again tomorrow.
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Thanks for the info. on the Mini's as I guess I'm one that wasn't aware of the difference or upgrade to their barrels. So is it all of the 582's and later models, or only the late release 582's ( and later models) that have the heavier (i.e.. Better barrel).

I'll be looking forward to your range results as I'll be picking one of these RARR up real soon.

Cheers D
 
I had one back in the 80's, stainless. 100 yards with a good scope, regardless of the ammo; 6" groups. 3 of my friends also had them, the first guy that got one, his shot like a laser; the rest of us not so (we used them for fox an coyote). I would hope that they are doing better now. I traded it for a remington .223, and it really shoots!
 
Have an american ranch 223/556. Great compact rifle, 1.25" at 100 yards with AE/ar223 off a bipod. Only issue with mine was plastic forend was touching barrel on left side, clamped stock in vise (wrapped in towel) and used a heat gun and piece of pipe to remold to get clearance. Did it slow as not to melt anything, had about 4-5 goes at it, left pipe in while wrapping stock with cold wet rag to cool. Probably could use a little more.
Also opened up end of magazine where rounds exit, occasionaly would hang up when racking another round.
For me functions good otherwise.
 
Well I picked up a Ruger American Ranch with the 16.12" barrel, 1 and 8 twist in .223 for $639 from a local CGN sponsor.

It's not a premium rifle by any means, then again it's not priced like one. The Tikka Tactical in .223 that I would have preferred is over three times the cost of this rifle and a CZ527 is around double the price, which gives one a little perspective, both good and bad.
My whole budget for a decent optic, bi-pod and chassis (Hunter stock?) is close to the cost of just the Tikka Tac. rifle alone for example. This will leave funds for what's most important to allow for good accuracy, lots and lots of ammo. to practice with.

Speaking of ammo., I've been hoarding away a lot of premium .223/5.56 rounds (every time I went to the LGS over the past year or more I bought a box or two of decent ammo. and many times premium match ammo.) so once I get this set-up Zeroed-In I'll post up some accuracy results (pic.'s too once the Vortex scope, Colt flash suppressor and Harris bi-pod I bought over a year ago in anticipation of a .223 rifle are mounted-up), but it may take awhile as I just moved and am still unpacking...

Now the rifle does make a slight zipper sound when the bolt is worked quickly (it's faint but there), although I'm hoping the sound might lesson as it's broken in with many, many rounds spent. It isn't a problem for me personally as the bolt feels solid w/o any slop (which is more then I can say about a Mossberg MVP, which was a rifle I was contemplating instead, but couldn't get past the sloppy bolt personally).
The trigger feels light and crisp and (the manufacturer claims) is adjustable from 3-5lbs.

The stock fits well w/o any part touching the free floated barrel and while it is far from a premium material it'll do until I swap it out for a Magpul Hunter stock (or possibly a MDT LSS chassis if this becomes a very good shooter) sooner then later.

Thanks to all for their replys both good and bad, as it does help one make a more informed choice. Ultimately this rifle had many (almost all) of the attributes I wanted in a rifle for what is now a more budget price (mainly due to our weak dollar?) which is a sign of the times I suppose.

Anyways it is a Ruger and while being a budget rifle the overall look and feel are acceptable to me and again it just had so many aspects of what I wanted in my next rifle.

Compact barrel (16.12"),
Detachable (#5 shot) magazine,
Picatinny (scope mount) rail,
Threaded barrel,
1 in 8 twist,
Light weight (6.1lbs.),
Relatively low price $639,
ability to fit into an aftermarket chassis (Magpul & MDT both make replacements which was another significant factor as not all the comparable candidates offered this) and
chambering for .223 & 5.56Rds.

Bonus: Cold Hammer Forged barrel and adjustable trigger plus available locally to try for fit/finish before buying.

Cheers D
 
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Well I failed at getting some accuracy testing done, work has me hopping pretty good. So I did the next best thing. Shot it for fun, shot some random scrap metal, a squirrel, a BBQ, an old dryer (my friend has an old scrap pile on his property so we added some lead for good measure) and finally a bucket. Couple bad pulls there but I'm happy with the results, shot at 150yrd with at 4.5 mag (max on that scope). Is it a good representative of the accuracy potential? No, scientific? No, a lot of fun? Darn right! For the record I didn't notice the "noisy" bolt at all.

 
Thanks for posting up some shooting results, decent shots, were they off hand or from a rest?

Good to here the bolt isn't a bother. A Mossberg MVP I looked at before buying my RARR had a very loose and sloppy bolt which I didn't like at all, however the RARR bolt doesn't bother me at all as it feels good to action, and the noise isn't a concern and really wouldn't have even been a subject for myself if it weren't until it was brought up here at CGN.

Hoping to get my scope mounted and go shooting, but the Honey do list is long from just having moved.

Cheers D
 
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