Ruger American

C

c1a1

CGN Regular
Rating - 99.5%
217   1   0
Location
Lower Nicola, B.C.
I have been looking for a light, short, handy, inexpensive rifle to carry on the quad. Bought a American from an advertiser on CGN. Rifle arrived today, $457 to my door. Caliber is 7-08 Rem. After mounting a scope, it was off to the range. Prior to getting the rifle, I hand loaded some Hornady 162gr. soft points. Also tried Hornady's Light Magnum ammo (139 gr. spire point). Rifle was not fussy, giving decent 3 shot groups with both weights. Rotary mag functioned well, no problems. Accuracy was good, best test load measured .518 at 50 meters. The hammer-forged barrel probably had a lot to do with the grouping. Recoil was mild, suitable for entry level shooters. Wife has just informed she would like to go to the range tomorrow ( there goes another one!!).
Reloading info- resized Norma .308 Win brass ( once-fired), H-414 sparked by a Fed.215. Will also be testing 120gr. bullets using Varget.
 
I love my RAR in .30-06. No problems so far, and it's more accurate than I am (not saying much there). Took a black bear with mine last weekend, and it did its job.
 
OP, you're on the right track.
If it's the first time out with the wife shooting, smaller bullets = less recoil.
Safety gear and good ear plugs/headphones.
 
Love my American in .243.Bought it when they first came to Canada. Might add a .223 compact and an all weather model in .7-08 or .308 when they start showing up here.Just a nice accurate and lightweight rifle that you won't care about scratching up in the woods.
 
Bought one out of curiosity in 30-06. Been shooting okay loads and some are spectacular. I think the stock is a but flimsy so I opened up the barrel channel a bit to give more clearance and it seems to have made it more consistent. Still want to do more shooting to make sure it is as consistent as I want but so far looking good!
 
I notice that Ruger has added the Predator line in different calibers to the American range which appears to have a heavier barrel, however only the 308 is available with an 18" barrel in the Predator line.
 
Last edited:
Bought one in 30-06 and had Vortex Diamondback scope mounted and is very accurate for the price with buying a used scope and rings I put together the package for less than $700.
 
I bought a Ruger American in a 7/08. As one previous poster noted, it shoots okay but based on what all the "gun guys" had to say about it, I'm a little disappointed. I was expecting moa groups with reloads but so far I'm not anywhere close to that with over a hundred down the tube. It shoots well enough for hunting but if you are looking for a tack driver, this is not it. It is a nice firearm: light, balanced and easy to point. Its
just not particularly accurate.
Having said that, I took the action off the stock, lightened the trigger pull, cleaned the mounting blocks and torqued everything to spec. Maybe that will improve accuracy.
 
My 17yr old son bought himself one in 30-06 He loves it, and it is as accurate as my Browning A-Bolt....which is very accurate.
Rifle was $339, plus a Nikon Prostaff scope. Total under $600 new.
 
haffordite2 said:
I bought a Ruger American in a 7/08. As one previous poster noted, it shoots okay but based on what all the "gun guys" had to say about it, I'm a little disappointed. I was expecting moa groups with reloads but so far I'm not anywhere close to that with over a hundred down the tube. It shoots well enough for hunting but if you are looking for a tack driver, this is not it. It is a nice firearm: light, balanced and easy to point. Its
just not particularly accurate.
Having said that, I took the action off the stock, lightened the trigger pull, cleaned the mounting blocks and torqued everything to spec. Maybe that will improve accuracy.
Click to expand...
I have only used one powder, H-414, primed with Fed.215's. Try different loads, 7-08 is a accurate cartridge. Good luck.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom