Ruger Ranch or Howa ??

Ganderite said:
^^^

Is that a Howa?
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No it’s a Rem 700 in a HS Precision stock, It was a bit of an experiment I was wondering about.

I have a Howa 1500 in a Houge stock with the same mag conversion that I’ve been mulling over putting back into its factory APC chassis and I’d like to up the torque values above what Legacy recommends. Seeing as I already had the Howa with the mag conversion and I figured for the price of the Rem kit if it failed at least I’d have extra .308 mags for the Howa, turns out there’s enough material on the trigger guard for it to work. I’ve range tested it and hunted this season with the 700 and it’s held up and functioned without issues.

At some point I might bite the bullet and buy the Wyatt or HS detachable mag conversion for the 700 as it deserves better quality, but for now it’s fine and I’m not forced to use the hinged floor plate it came with originally. I’m not a fan of a hinged floor plate.
 
Butcherbill said:
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.
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Oh, thats cool! Way to make it work!!

Went with their factory hinged floorplate option here but its more about seating depth/COAL than just ditching the bottom plastic and detachable mag.
 
If you're looking for a non-semiauto .223 that takes STANAG mags, the Maple Ridge Renegade is an option too. The straight-pull bolt is a bit of a thing to get used to, but it's accurate enough with good ammunition.
 
old303 said:
If you're looking for a non-semiauto .223 that takes STANAG mags, the Maple Ridge Renegade is an option too. The straight-pull bolt is a bit of a thing to get used to, but it's accurate enough with good ammunition.
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Yeah, I kind of forgot about those myself...even have one so I could make use of my AR barrels and parts. No limit to what you can turn one of these into.
 
Hitzy said:
Yeah, I kind of forgot about those myself...even have one so I could make use of my AR barrels and parts. No limit to what you can turn one of these into.
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And WAY cheaper and easier to rebarrel than a bolt gun if you change your mind!
 
old303 said:
If you're looking for a non-semiauto .223 that takes STANAG mags, the Maple Ridge Renegade is an option too. The straight-pull bolt is a bit of a thing to get used to, but it's accurate enough with good ammunition.
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We will look into that.. We have 7 ARs with a variety of barrels, including a heavy.
 
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Friend is crazy for my CZ 527 in 7.62x39 for his 13 year old daughter ....NFS ... Since it's no longer made should he go Ruger American Ranch or Howa mini-action ? Most important weight and ease of handling. Gun will transfer to younger daughter at some point.

Thanks !!!
 
Francois_ said:
Friend is crazy for my CZ 527 in 7.62x39 for his 13 year old daughter ....NFS ... Since it's no longer made should he go Ruger American Ranch or Howa mini-action ? Most important weight and ease of handling. Gun will transfer to younger daughter at some point.

Thanks !!!
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Tell him to handle both and choose the one he likes. Between the two it's a wash.
 
Ganderite said:
The Maple Ridge Renegade sounds interesting, but can't find a dealer with one to sell. ???
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Victory Ridge Sports in Barrie ought to have them, since they're the retail arm of the folks who make the rifle ... Looks like they have it listed in stock, as a complete rifle or just the receiver kit if you have an AR to strip.
 
I think the Howa is probably going to be slightly better in “quality” but both rifles are in the budget category.

For me, I will always pick the Ruger as it uses AR magazines. I have lots of experience with the Ruger Americans but only in .223. Can’t comment on a 308/6.5 Creed etc.

I have 5 of the 16” Ruger Ranch rifles and 2 of the 20” Ruger predator models. Same gun, different barrels. They are range guns so get used A LOT! Although we use the Ranch way more just as the shorter barrels are easier to transport.

They are all very accurate.

I have over 10k rounds on several of them. I mostly use the MFT 10 round mags in them but they work fine with other mags too. No problem with the Cross mags which I also use.

After about 15k rounds 2 of them broke the bolt release which is an easy $25 repair. That’s my only real complaint.

Actions are smooth enough that new shooters can easily manipulate them. And if smoothness is a thing for you it’s not hard to polish them with a bit of bolt manipulation.

We mostly use them for 100-300 yard shooting but have stretched the predator models out to 625, no problem hitting a 10” gong there. Although if the wind picks up 55gr bullets are hit and miss but the 75gr ELDM are solid.

The Ruger Americans are nothing close in quality to a Ruger77 or Hawkeye. But they do serve a purpose and for many purposes they are great.
 
Heck, if after 15,000 rounds the bolt stop breaks, at least its still useable if it happens on a hunt lol

For something cheap, they're durable enough.
 
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