Ruger Precision Rifle

[Jayph]

Picked up a 6.5 creedmoor today. initial feelings are that it's a good rifle that has some great options at it's price point. Mounted a Vortex PST 4-16x50mm and grabbed s variety of factory ammo to try.

The Good
Balances really nice.
Has some great options
Seems well thought out
I really like the trigger it's on par with my Timeny on my Remingtons and way better feel than my accutriggers

The Bad
Fit and finish. If you bought this hoping to be better than a savage you are going to be disappointed. It offerers great options at a great price but it's not a miracle gun, You are getting a rifle that is worth the asking price but not more.
The Action is not as smooth as my remington from the 70's but is smoother than my savages. But the weird part is when you run it hard in a position behind the rifle it's actually the smoothest and quickest of the bunch. It's only on slow running of the action you notice the rough cycling. Likely smooth out after a few hundred rounds.

All that means nothing if it can't shoot, I will hopefully get to the range tomorrow to try some groups after a morning of taking the wife hunting. I will post the groups if I get a chance.

Overall I really like this rifle and if it doesn't shoot I will likely order a barrel and screw it on myself and have a really good rifle for minimal investment. I will also be contacting LRI to see about a longer bolt knob and aluminium shroud as the plastic one feels cheap.

My photo's won't load into photobucket so I will try tomorrow and hopefully have target pics aswell.

Looking forward to other people's opinions of the rifle.

Jason

 

[1899]

Where did you find it? Did they have any in .243? How long is the magazine (i.e. max COAL)?

 

[Jayph]

Where did you find it? Did they have any in .243? How long is the magazine (i.e. max COAL)?

North pro sports. All were pre sold but this one 6.5 and a .308. Got lucky and called in when they were getting there order through the door. It can use a ton of different magazines from AR-10, M14, and AICS. Maybe more I don't know. Thanks to Canada's ridiculous laws on magazines they don't ship with the pmags like the states you get a pair of Ruger Scout Rifle Mags. They seem solid though. They are the AICS style. I am not around my Caliper at the moment but if you are really interested in the factory mag length I can measure tomorrow.

 

[1899]

Thanks. I'm wondering what COAL because I'd be interested in trying 115's in the .243

I'm really behind the curve on this rifle as I just found out, embarrassingly, about its existence.

 

[Jayph]

Thanks. I'm wondering what COAL because I'd be interested in trying 115's in the .243

I'm really behind the curve on this rifle as I just found out, embarrassingly, about its existence.

Honestly my brain told me to wait for gen 2 when they work the kinks out but I am a terrible impulse buyer. I will post the measurement tomorrow when I get home from the hunt if no one else has by then. If it helps I know there is a good chunk of room in front of the the factory loaded 140gr A-max in factory 6.5 creedmoor.

 

[Jayph]

Ok I checked quick (don't know if this will help) Took a ruler to it and I got 75mm from front to back internally if that helps for now.

 

[1899]

Thanks - that is 2.95" so about 0.2" longer than SAAMI spec. Now all I need to do is find one. I'd be much obliged if someone could PM me with the whereabouts of one in .243

 

[Forest1488]

I have a 243 coming from Wanstalls. I was told I was the only one in the pre order group that requested a 243 so there might be a chance they have another one. Give them a call and ask.

I look forward to hearing Jay's report. I am waffling on scope choices and am leaning towards the Viper PST as well.

 

[Jayph]

Well it's going to work out so I am just going to eat lunch and head to the range. conditions aren't great but I am too excited not to go. I will post back good or bad. I will say this thought I don't expect a one hole consistant rifle for the price paid, I will be thrilled with MOA performance consistently. I also don't know how well it's going to go for the first groups as it's a completely different feel behind this rifle than my traditional style stock or a a5 ect. So I should have a post in about two hours and hopefully it's good news.

 

[kombayotch]

So, it will take an AICS mag with the front plate removed without the rounds hanging up under the feed ramp?

I had to elongate the notch in my Surgeon receivers because they weren't long enough.



It's annoying because companies like Accurate Mag and Alpha Industries sell mags off the shelf that don't have the front plate, which allows you to load to 2.950" and still feed from the mag.

 

[Jayph]

Sorry Folks no hero groups and no magical 1/2 moa rifle

Good and Bad on the rifle on range day
Good
Butt stock is super adjustable in many different ways
comfortable
when I did my part the recoil was predictable
The action has already smoothed out ten fold and is much better now. Feeding was slick.

Bad
that plastic grip is crap in the cold. if you plan to hunt or shoot in winter it gets super slippery. I will be ordering a ergo one after I am done this write up. Also prefer more palm swell than it offered.
I liked the trigger dry firing it a couple times to check pull weight and function but after a day at the range not sure how I feel about there use of the blade

As to the scope. It was decent clarity and tracked predictable when I set a zero from the borescope. For the price I have no complaints and I think that I will like the fine reticle after some more use.


Conditions
COLD Haven't adjusted yet
Wind left to right gusty from 17-25 kph
Atlas bipod front
Rear bag slash mitten combo

Things to consider before you look at the pics below.
1 I am an average shooter I have rifles that group well and consider my self a good shooter but I don't do matches and I don't compete my technique is far from refined and perfect.
2 This is a brand new rifle that was literally cleaned and shot. I have no time dry firing or practice before hand. Not going to lie there was a learning curve from what I was use to shooting and I am sure that affected the groups. If you shoot Ar's there would likely be a more natural transition.
3 I hate shooting groups with gloves, so I went bare hand on my shooting hand. By shot 4 and 5 of each group I was fighting a numb trigger finger and likely didn't help.
4 I didn't mark any fliers as I don't believe in them. Even thought there was more than one occasion I knew it was on me, a group is a group including fliers to me.
5 It appears to me that the one scope base nut had moved at some point however the best group I shot was the last one and after I noticed it so I might be crazy on that one.
6 Did I mention it was cold. there was minimal down time between groups.
7 The gusty wind did me in a few times, I would think I had it timed perfect only to have it gust and move me and the rifle just enough to cause an issue.


So I feel with that list above that I see no reason why the rifle can't be a MOA consistent performer when I get more time behind the rifle and the conditions are better. I don't like the vertical I saw in the 120gr so I will likely go ahead and order a case of the 140gr for now to play. The last group fired was the 200 yard 140 gr a-max target and shot four is the one to the far right that blew a 1" 200 yard group. I saw the crosshairs move as I was pulling the trigger and my brain couldn't get the message to my finger in time I almost cried out NOOOOO after the gun went off. I was going to shoot a 6th shot and cover up that guy but hey it is what it is.

So Below you will see the targets in the order of group 1 then group 2 at 100 meters and then group 3 that was shot at 200 meters. All groups are five shots the blue marker is 120gr the orange is 140gr both hornady factory a-max. It's ok to mock them I am a big boy and can take it

 

[Jayph]

Forgot to mention that I thought it was awesome that the 140gr had almost no drift in the wind at 200 meters.

 

[Jayph]

So, it will take an AICS mag with the front plate removed without the rounds hanging up under the feed ramp?

I had to elongate the notch in my Surgeon receivers because they weren't long enough.



It's annoying because companies like Accurate Mag and Alpha Industries sell mags off the shelf that don't have the front plate, which allows you to load to 2.950" and still feed from the mag.

I am sorry but Iam not sure what you are asking me. If it helps the rifle comes with two Accurate branded AICS style mags and feeding was flawless with the factory ammo.

 

[Jayph]

So I have a savage 10 TR that shoots lights out and has since the first day out. This was the first groups of the rifle at 100 meters with Hornady 155gr amax factory ammo. Granted on a much better day conditions wise. There is two 10 shot groups and one hero 3 shot group I wasn't willing to ruin. Gosh I wish it was a month ago so I could have compared them on a level playing field. I think I will likely keep the Ruger and sell the savage because I like the Ruger more based on the action, trigger, and stock. I also like what the 6.5 offers ballistically.

 

[kombayotch]

Two Accurate Mag AICS clones. Left one does not have the front plate and can accept rounds up to 2.950" COAL. Right one has the plate, as the AI ones to and can only accept rounds that are 2.850" long.

My pic above shows the inside of the one on the left inserted into the magwell on my Surgeon action before I relieved the feed ramp notch to work with it. If I didn't cut the notch deeper, the tips of the rounds would catch under the feed rap and jam. Accurate Mag and Alpha Industries both sell mags without the front plate as a standard offering. So, I'm wondering if Ruger was smart enough to design their action to accept the mags that don't have the front plate.

 

[Jayph]

Two Accurate Mag AICS clones. Left one does not have the front plate and can accept rounds up to 2.950" COAL. Right one has the plate, as the AI ones to and can only accept rounds that are 2.850" long.

My pic above shows the inside of the one on the left inserted into the magwell on my Surgeon action before I relieved the feed ramp notch to work with it. If I didn't cut the notch deeper, the tips of the rounds would catch under the feed rap and jam. Accurate Mag and Alpha Industries both sell mags without the front plate as a standard offering. So, I'm wondering if Ruger was smart enough to design their action to accept the mags that don't have the front plate.

The Magazines that come with the rifle have the plate. Can't let you know if they will feed without it.

 

[Jayph]

Where did you find it? Did they have any in .243? How long is the magazine (i.e. max COAL)?

The calliper on the inside of the factory magazine is 2.895 as per my best attempt to measure it that was back to front plate might have to take a bit off that to get the rounds to feed reliable.

 

[kombayotch]

Insert a mag, look into the port and see if you can see the top edge of the mag body or just the front plate.

People running 243 with 105 Hybrids or 115 DTAC benefit from using the mags without the plate. It allows you to chase the lands for longer with other calibers as well, which means more rounds on the barrel feeding from the mag.

 

[Jayph]

Insert a mag, look into the port and see if you can see the top edge of the mag body or just the front plate.

People running 243 with 105 Hybrids or 115 DTAC benefit from using the mags without the plate. It allows you to chase the lands for longer with other calibers as well, which means more rounds on the barrel feeding from the mag.

It looks like the top edge sits flush under the feed ramp and the feed ramp follows the curve of the front of the mag. I tried my best to get a photo but it's not easy. Best I could do below. Now quit making me run up and down the stairs

 

[Father Hood]

My RPR in .243 is on route and should be in my hands by Wednesday. I have found some 107g SMK and know where some 105g Amaxs are, but could someone let me know where you get the 115 DTAC's?? Thanks.