Ruger Ranch or Howa ??

[Ganderite]

I use a Mossberg MVP in 223. It takes the AR-15 mags, a big plus.

A friend likes it, but they are no longer made. He is considering the Ruger Ranch and the Howa Mini. The Howa is advertised with a heavy 20" barrel and 2 mags.

Any comments on accuracy and general handling?

 

[Joel]

If hes one who feels a smoother action is important and doesn't like roughness, I'd go with the Howa.

The Rugers are shooters, solidly built, and beat the brakes off the Howa in the magazine department.

Have and have had several of both. Can't lose, IMO. There's no wrong answer.

 

[Butcherbill]

The Howa should be nicer in the fit and finish dept, it is in the .308 category with the rest of its price class.

The legacy mags that Howa use for box mag conversions are not terrible but they feel on the cheap side compared to an aics pattern mag or an ar/lar10 mag, they function fine and are light weight. A 10rd aics mag is shorter in height than a 10rd legacy mag, might be a consideration if it’s a hunting use rifle. In anything .308 that I hunt with that takes legacy mags I use the the 5rd in the rifle and have spare ammo in a 10rd mag on my belt on in my day pack, if it takes aics mags I use the 10rd as they aren’t much taller than the 5rd legacy mags.

 

[Joel]

Of two recent purchases, both in 6.5 Grendel, one had magazine issues, one worked perfectly. At least its solved by just buying a new magazine, but damn, paying $60+ for that cheap plastic piece of crap hurts haha. Their one piece bolt with M16 style extractor is nice too

Like the rifles enough to stick with one with different bottom metal though! And the others worked as well as Butcherbill said.

The Rugers roughness didn't/doesn't bother me and I actually like the stock on them. Between the AR mag and having a picatinny rail on top for the price, they have a lot going for them. And Gatehouse only put like 10,000 rounds through one before anything needed replacing lol

 

[Hitzy]

All my Howa/Vanguard rifles have been fantastic, accurate, very well built old school style of manufacturing, except my last Howa in 6.5PRC, it came with the famous Ruger American bolt zipper sound, but other then that still all the good stuff.
All my Ruger Americans have been super low grade on the fit/finish, just rough tool marks everywhere even the barrel exterior, also all with the zipper sound. Except my last one, the ceracote/camo go wild compact in 243, everything was good with it, it even shot very well but my brother scooped it from me for doing my basement flooring. Now I'm waiting for the 6.5cm version to go on sale at Tenda and I'll grab one of those.
But yes, the Howa mini bottom plastic floorplate, mag release, mags, are pretty crappy, but aftermarket aluminum replacement is very nice but not cheap.

 

[Sun_and_Steel_77]

Both serviceable and accurate guns...have owned and shot multiples of each.

I'll be the odd guy out on this one but I love the Ruger Rotary mags in .223, they feed flawlessly for me and allow single loading through the port and carry great in the hand.
The beautiful thing about the newer RAR's with the upgraded stocks is you can choose between three different magazine systems simply by swapping out the modules in the stock...awesome idea!

 

[Joel]

Heck yeah, nice to have the modularity

Never had a problem with rotary mags here either in 223 or 6.5 CM

 

[IvoB]

Howa or Weatherby for the win

 

[Butcherbill]

But yes, the Howa mini bottom plastic floorplate, mag release, mags, are pretty crappy, but aftermarket aluminum replacement is very nice but not cheap.

I wish someone would make a metal magwell version for the full size 1500’s, or if legacy made a metal version for the Hows or Rem 700’s.

 

[Hmatt]

Those howa hogue 1500 that prophet river is getting a shipment of has caught my eye. I think I’m gonna grab one in .223 if I’m fast enough off the draw. I also am very interested in the ruger ranch. 699.99 for those ones prophets getting are a great deal. Has bottom metal not bottom plastic ��

 

[DBeato]

My Ruger AR has been less than impressive on accuracy. That's with 55gr factory. I have next week off work and nothing to do so going to try and get this shooting with a variety of hand loads...stay tuned.
I like the design and feedback I get with working the bolt, AR mags a bonus.

 

[Sun_and_Steel_77]

My Ruger AR has been less than impressive on accuracy. That's with 55gr factory. I have next week off work and nothing to do so going to try and get this shooting with a variety of hand loads...stay tuned.
I like the design and feedback I get with working the bolt, AR mags a bonus.

Nearly any 55gr load with an FMJ bullet is 2-4 MOA "plinker" grade ammo at best, 6-8 MOA at worst.

 

[DBeato]

Nearly any 55gr load with an FMJ bullet is plinker grade ammo at best.

My AR's shot that stuff better than the Ruger American. That's how I base how crappy mine shoots

 

[Ganderite]

or me, the magazine is an important part of the equation. My Mossberg uses the AR mags and a mag swap is smooth.

My friend will have his own weighting system.

We typically bed new bolt rifles. If bedded, is the Howa and Ruger equally accurate? We load 75 &77 gr bullets and shoot mostly at 300 yds.

 

[Joel]

The Ruger has two steel V-blocks in the action that mate up with slots machined into the receiver for them. Fit has seemed good enough I never bothered bedding, tbh. My 7.62x39 and 6.5 Creed were both sub MOA without it and never wanted to experiment.

Will be bedding a Howa mini into a wood stock soon!

must be plenty of guys who do more and squeeze more out of their rifles!

 

[Ganderite]

I see Prophet River has these.

Would this model solve the poor bottom metal (plastic) issue?

 

[Sun_and_Steel_77]

or me, the magazine is an important part of the equation. My Mossberg uses the AR mags and a mag swap is smooth.

My friend will have his own weighting system.

We typically bed new bolt rifles. If bedded, is the Howa and Ruger equally accurate? We load 75 &77 gr bullets and shoot mostly at 300 yds.

If the STANAG magazine is what you want to roll with, the RAR is your huckleberry and it's only competition (the MVP) doesn't compare at all when we are talking smooth operation.
No need to bed the Ruger, when you have one in hand and remove the stock from the action you will see the dual recoil/pillar arrangement and it is actually a great design.
You'll definitely want to bed the Howa, but the biggest issue to get around is the plastic bottom metal and not being able to put any measurable torque on the two action bolts without breaking/crushing the polymer.
Ruger is rapidly gaining an aftermarket as well which is always nice.


A range buddy let me shoot his MVP some years back and the janky feeding with that weird little tit at the 6 O'clock position on the bolt left me unimpressed by Mossbergs execution.

 

[Hitzy]

or me, the magazine is an important part of the equation. My Mossberg uses the AR mags and a mag swap is smooth.

My friend will have his own weighting system.

We typically bed new bolt rifles. If bedded, is the Howa and Ruger equally accurate? We load 75 &77 gr bullets and shoot mostly at 300 yds.

Ruger has a Magpul Hunter version that takes AICS mags, not sure they come in 223 though.

 

[Joel]

Ruger has a Magpul Hunter version that takes AICS mags, not sure they come in 223 though.

You'd have to get em from MDT I think?

Would this model solve the poor bottom metal (plastic) issue?[/QUOTE]

That chassis itself is polymer. Trying to remember if it had metal inserts where the action sits or not, but I can't

 

[Butcherbill]

You'll definitely want to bed the Howa, but the biggest issue to get around is the plastic bottom metal and not being able to put any measurable torque on the two action bolts without breaking/crushing the polymer.

With the hogue stock you can torque the polymer legacy magwell to they’re recommended values, it gets interesting when you install it in a stock that requires higher factory torque values. I’ve got around it buy drilling out the action screw holes and deepening the hole depth to accommodate tapered stainless pillars, if you get the profiles correct in the holes and the pillars the exact length they take all the force and the plastic trigger guard/mag well is snuggly held in the stock inlet. I was able to torque a set to 65 in/lbs without crushing or breaking it and use the factory length action screws, there’s just enough thickness on the rear action screw hole of the polymer trigger guard to accommodate the pillar and get full thread engagement of the screw into the action. Plus it’s way cheaper to buy a legacy mag kit and multiple mags than any of the metal conversion kits, yes they’re cheap but they work well.