Ruger Precision Rifle... So what's the big deal anyway?

Hotwheels81

Hotwheels81

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First range trip, have a gopher safari booked next weekend just purchased the 6.5 Creedmoor version yesterday and 5 boxes of 140gr ELD-M factory ammo...

Got the rifle home and realized that my standard low 30mm rings while perfect height on a KF rail on top a savage clears my 56mm objective there is no waaaay it's going to clear the front FF hand guard on the RPR... I canabilized the 30mm cantalever mount off my RFB and torqued the big ole Sightron 8-32x56 down (yeah yeah I'll get some real rings next time I'm in the city)..

3 shots had me zeroed at 25 yards, 3 more and I found my mark at 100, rattled off a few groups in between feeding the mosquitoes and went for 200 yards... then 300...

My first impression:
Quite a boring cartridge to shoot really, not a lot of recoil, not a lot of noise, the stock has plenty of adjustment and if your not spoiled by previous knowledge of some super fancy Multi axis adjustable unit then it will be probably the single biggest reason you fall in love with these rifles (although a padded rest would be a BIG improvement)... Accuracy may be the second reason, It has some potential but I'll need to get an adapter for my Mpod and a set of dies to really wring er out..

The trigger has a very noticeable creep to it, I miss my tuned rifle basix already

10rnd mags eh? Anything past 8rnds I feel I'm going to start bending stuff... And no way in hedoublehockeysticks can I push rounds straight down thru the feed lips... And one mag seems to not like feeding when the bolt travels forward... Minor annoyance that will be solved with either some gentle polishing or some polymer mags (yay multi mag capability!!!).

I'm happy with it... The gophers around Lloyd next weekend? Maybe not so much... Still not quite sure what to use a 6.5 for tho... Guess we'll start with pest control and paper punching while saving up for a real long range target/hunting cartridge rebarrel... The mighty 7-08






















 
The mighty 7-08... So what's the big deal anyway?
Hotwheels81 said:
...
I'm happy with it... The gophers around Lloyd next weekend? Maybe not so much... Still not quite sure what to use a 6.5 for tho... Guess we'll start with pest control and paper punching while saving up for a real long range target/hunting cartridge rebarrel... The mighty 7-08
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Mystic Precision said:
I have the new Timney Ruger American triggers here... no idea if they will retrofit into the RPR.

Jerry
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Hmmmm I'll do some digging into the trigger and see what I can figure out...
I'm needing a pic rail adapter for my Mpod and the cant upgrade just be patient the oilfield overtime ain't what it used to be :-D

Have you shot one of these rifles yet? For something that weighs what it does it sure seems "twitchy" off my bags for lack of a better term...
 
grumpyold said:
Wow! 6.5 Creedmoor plus $44.00 a box for ammo... $2.20 a round per gopher.... you must really, really hate gophers.
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I'd argue that $2.20 per round to make a 6.5mm hole in a piece of paper or a 1.5" gray pock mark on a piece of steel is mighty expensive entertainment... What else are you supposed to do with a "precision" rifle but hit stuff way way way farther than you care to walk on a hot day?
 
It's not as satisfying popping a gopher at 300yards when they don't explode. I popped one with 185 berger hybrids out of my .308 and it didn't blow up. Not like a .223 with hornady vmax ammo. That was wayy more satisfying!
 
I was very tempted to pickup a .223 WSSM the local gun shop has... But not sure what to I'd do with it besides the odd gopher trip... And with a high end barrel life of 750rnds THAT would be some expensive gopher plinking...

I load 30-06 with the 110gr Vmax... Does wonders on coyotes at distance :)

Almost as well as the 168gr Amax on beavers 10' away...
 
Hotwheels81 said:
I was very tempted to pickup a .223 WSSM the local gun shop has... But not sure what to I'd do with it besides the odd gopher trip... And with a high end barrel life of 750rnds THAT would be some expensive gopher plinking...

I load 30-06 with the 110gr Vmax... Does wonders on coyotes at distance :)

Almost as well as the 168gr Amax on beavers 10' away...
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Can you put a price on happiness?! Didn't think so!
 
dahs said:
Does it not use an AR-15 trigger? Should be easy to find one you like.
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While it does have comparability with the AR pistol grip and butt stock it has a unique trigger assembly to the rifle, the ruger American trigger is similar but the RPR having a safety unique to the rifle makes it its own animal... Jard has a drop that runs around $250 American green backs... For that price I'll live with it or find a talented smith who wants to corner the market in RPR trigger tuning and be the beta tester for him...

Although.... I did see a post on the hide that said the creep tends to go away a little if you play with the pull weight adjustment a little... I'll give it a shot...

I'm actually running out of ammo... Down to 2 boxes now... Sucks having a 750 yard range 10min from home :(....

;)
 
Hotwheels81 said:
Hmmmm I'll do some digging into the trigger and see what I can figure out...
I'm needing a pic rail adapter for my Mpod and the cant upgrade just be patient the oilfield overtime ain't what it used to be :-D

Have you shot one of these rifles yet? For something that weighs what it does it sure seems "twitchy" off my bags for lack of a better term...
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MPOD pic rail mount possible... but I would suggest mounting the T slot rail. Drill and tap the forend. More stable and better geometry but either way it will work. See my Facebook for pics of Ruger PR and MPOD. Not how I would have mounted the rail but it is on the rifle.

I have shot a customers rifle. It didn't feed anywhere as smooth as the hunting American which really surprised me. Didn't cycle as easily or as smoothly but that could be that one rifle...?????

Accuracy was Meh.. similar to what you got. Clusters and then flyers. maybe handloads can resolve.

handling during recoil was not bad... not a fan of chassis over a bouncy pod. Pretty much what you would expect from the species. If you are used to shooting a rigid conventional target stock and better bipod, these chassis set up may not make you warm and fuzzy. I expect mounting an MPOD will help tame things down.

The comb and scope set up didn't fit me one bit but again, not my rifle so....

Trigger however wasn't half bad... again, my hunting American was much nicer.

I was really impressed with the Ruger American hunting rifle and considered building a tactical rifle with the action. Now that the RPR is out, work is done but they certainly didn't improve on the breed... which really has surprised me.

YMMV

Jerry
 
I actually called the 2 fliers in both groups as soon as the shot broke... They were round #9 and #11 (had to break position to figure out why the mag was not feeding properly and had the same thing happen in the next string.. I was shooting prone off my eberlstock pack with a rear bag or off the bench with the same setup, not ideal for accuracy testing but it's a practical representation of how I do most of my shooting afield... but now you have me curious and I'll actually shoot a few intentional groups this evening to see if it's throwing shots...


As for cycling? Yet again I miss my Savage... Heck I have an old #1 mk3 that runs smoother than this... I can hear a pronounced zing as I run the bolt empty... Someone should of polished up the raceway with some 120 grit after it came off the lathe...

I did look at a Ruger American with a few foolish ideas in my head... If it gains any more aftermarket support it could be the new sleeper rig...


I'll do some tweaking... An let everyone know how it turns out.
 
We have had a pile of emails and questions on a Muzzle brake designed to fit the barrel contour of the RPR
We have run the prototype on a 338 for the last few weeks and it has performed very well
Our next run on the Heathen 0.885 diameter will be ready to shipin approx 3 weeks - It will be available in 6.5mm and 30 cal to start...Liquid Nitride finish black
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Insite Arms said:
We have had a pile of emails and questions on a Muzzle brake designed to fit the barrel contour of the RPR
We have run the prototype on a 338 for the last few weeks and it has performed very well
Our next run on the Heathen 0.885 diameter will be ready to shipin approx 3 weeks - It will be available in 6.5mm and 30 cal to start...Liquid Nitride finish black
IMG_7107.jpg
[/URL][/IMG]
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Yup your #1 on my call list when funds allow...

Is the 6.5 Heathen actually bored for the 6.5 or is it a generic .30ish cal hole? And if it is smaller than .30cal is it possible to ream it out somewhat easily if/when I change caliber? I have access to a lathe and a very talented machinist.
 
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