Ruger Precision Rifle...In a Caliber For Which I Have No Familiarity

thegazelle

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One guy from whom I have bought many things previously gave me a heads up of a rifle he is listing...I don't quite have the budget for yet another rifle, but I'm a sucker for a deal and something new, so I asked him what it was. He said Ruger Precision Rifle. I said ooohhhh...I was looking at one of those previously. I have a Tikka precision, was considering a Sig Cross. Previously I had a Savage Axis 2 Precision (I know it's entry level, but I'm an entry level kind of guy). He told me what it was, sent me some photos and I immediately thought I'd be interested...until I looked more closely. I thought it was a 6.5 Creedmoor, for which I have SOME ammo for it, but upon closer inspection it was a 6mm Creedmoor.

I don't have the faintest idea what this is - I assume it's not the same as a 6.5 creedmoor. I went and took a look at the ammo prices online at retailers and almost had a heart attack. Really hard to justify spend on a rifle for which ammo is pretty pricy. I did a quick gander online and it appears this is a long range varmint round. He used it for target shooting, so clearly he has deep pockets (probably from selling me so much stuff) - but I am contemplating whether it is worth getting . If it was a 6.5cm, decision would be easy. But getting a caliber I don't think is as widely available (maybe it is, and I am just misinformed) gives me room for pause.

Anyone have experience with a 6mm Creedmoor out of a precision rifle for target shooting only?
 
6 Creedmoor is an amazing target round. I gave up on 6.5 creedmoor after getting my 6 creed barrel. I will never not have a 6 creedmoor on the bench. I can't speak on ammo cost as I don't shoot factory ammo.
 
laker415 said:
6 Creedmoor is an amazing target round. I gave up on 6.5 creedmoor after getting my 6 creed barrel. I will never not have a 6 creedmoor on the bench. I can't speak on ammo cost as I don't shoot factory ammo.
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Thanks. He shoots in competitions, and is not a hunter, but since I am fairly ignorant on anything other than the typical mainstream calibers, I confess that I don't have much knowledge or experience with this and thought I'd ask. Thanks for the reply.
 
laker415 said:
If you have a tac A1 I'm not sure why you'd want the Ruger?
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Great price and I am a sucker for a deal. I love my tact a1 even though the magazines are north of $200 a piece

Certainly I am not expecting the ruger to be comparable in quality to the Tikka.
 
thegazelle said:
Great price and I am a sucker for a deal. I love my tact a1 even though the magazines are north of $200 a piece

Certainly I am not expecting the ruger to be comparable in quality to the Tikka.
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I've got a RPR take off barrel in 6.5 Creedmoor if you are interested...probably 250 rds through it.
 
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Barrels on a RPR can be changed without needing a smith, they have a barrel nut. Everyone makes prefits for them if you want to change it up
I've had a gen 2 RPR since they came out. Can't reallt find anything to complain about it considering i only paid $1200 new for it. Wish i had grabbed a 6 creed RPR as covid was starting when retailers were selling them under $1k.
Nothing fancy about a RPR, the bolt raceway has machine marks that can be felt when cycling the bolt and some of the edges are a bit sharp. And the rear stock is a little clunky to adjust. But they tend to shoot pretty well the trigger is decent and they're reliable.
For long range the 6 creed is considerably faster and flatter shooting than the 6.5. The heavy 6s have similar BCs to the heavy 6.5s so you're not losing anything there. And the 6 has less recoil.
Biggest negative to the 6 creed is barrel life, alot of people only get 1200-1500 rounds. But that's the price you pay for high performance.
 
Unholysavage said:
Barrels on a RPR can be changed without needing a smith, they have a barrel nut. Everyone makes prefits for them if you want to change it up
I've had a gen 2 RPR since they came out. Can't reallt find anything to complain about it considering i only paid $1200 new for it. Wish i had grabbed a 6 creed RPR as covid was starting when retailers were selling them under $1k.
Nothing fancy about a RPR, the bolt raceway has machine marks that can be felt when cycling the bolt and some of the edges are a bit sharp. And the rear stock is a little clunky to adjust. But they tend to shoot pretty well the trigger is decent and they're reliable.
For long range the 6 creed is considerably faster and flatter shooting than the 6.5. The heavy 6s have similar BCs to the heavy 6.5s so you're not losing anything there. And the 6 has less recoil.
Biggest negative to the 6 creed is barrel life, alot of people only get 1200-1500 rounds. But that's the price you pay for high performance.
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Thanks for the colour on this. Hmm...expensive cost of ammo just to plink (non-competition) plus limited barrel life. I will assume that is the same for 6mm cm and 6.5cm. Certainly lessens the compelling nature of the deal.

Phew - I'm just happy I took my TACT A1 in .223 REM instead of 6.5cm
 
6mm Creedmoor is a really popular round for target and competition shooting - specifically PRS style comps.

It's a 6.5 Creedmoor necked down to 6mm. That's essentially it.

People like it because it has the excellent ballistics and recoil characteristics typical of 6mm cartridge. You don't need to do anything special to get it to feed from a magazine, and there's quality factory ammo available for it.

The downside is barrel life. It's definitely on the overbore size. You are pushing a lot of powder through a 6mm aperture, much more so than the BR variants. Barrel life is pretty short at around ~1,200-1,500 rounds.
 
I like 6mm CM, ammo is cheaper than 6.5 CM, 6mm can be had for $50 a box for good match ammo. 6.5 is $75 a box if you can find it. Barrels are cheap so dont let that be a factor.

Reloading it is where the magic happens though
 
If you already have a Tikka Precision rifle , why bother buying the Ruger if the ammo is going to be excessively expensive as it will probably become a Safe Queen . If the Ruger is a hot buy , you may be able to flip it , but it is always easier to buy than it is to sell . Just my two cents worth .......
 
Midnight Rider said:
If you already have a Tikka Precision rifle , why bother buying the Ruger if the ammo is going to be excessively expensive as it will probably become a Safe Queen . If the Ruger is a hot buy , you may be able to flip it , but it is always easier to buy than it is to sell . Just my two cents worth .......
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I completely agree with you, and the other posters. What seemed like a good deal initially is starting to lose some lustre, based on all the other considerations. Buying it at a cheap price is offset by the high (to me) ammo costs, short barrel life, etc. I certainly have no desire to shoot competitively so it's probably like buying a sports car if I am just going to drive back and forth to church or work or shopping within the speed limit.

This is why I am glad this community is here - to talk some sense into me!
 
kthomas said:
6mm Creedmoor is a really popular round for target and competition shooting - specifically PRS style comps.

It's a 6.5 Creedmoor necked down to 6mm. That's essentially it.

People like it because it has the excellent ballistics and recoil characteristics typical of 6mm cartridge. You don't need to do anything special to get it to feed from a magazine, and there's quality factory ammo available for it.

The downside is barrel life. It's definitely on the overbore size. You are pushing a lot of powder through a 6mm aperture, much more so than the BR variants. Barrel life is pretty short at around ~1,200-1,500 rounds.
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I was going to post on this thread but this explanation nails it.
 
I have a gen 2 RPR in 6.5CM which is on its second barrel. Gun has served me well and offers a lot for the price.

I built a custom 6mm and went 6BR. When I was deciding which 6mm variant to get I did a bunch of research and three things stick in my mind:

1) I listened to a podcast with two top PRS guys who mentioned that they went from 6BR > 6CM > 6BR. Why? They said that at the higher speeds 6CM was pushing at it was much harder to see bullet trace so they felt the speed of a 6BR (2800 - 2850) was the sweet spot.

2) The PRS guys made the point that the barrel erosion on a 6CM was so extreme that they found that the throat could erode so dramatically over the course of a match that the rifle was no longer in the sweet spot by the end.

3) Everyone says that 6BR is easy and it truly is. With decent components if the gun isn't minimum 1/2" MOA (I would honestly say less) with 30 grains Varget (*disclaimer - always start low and work up - YMMV) then there is something very wrong.

I will mention that 6BRA is another great choice, I debated between 6BR & 6BRA and went 6BR in the end due to what I purchased (already built barrel & action) but I may switch next time however both are great choices.
 
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