Thoughts regarding a Ruger American Ranch in .223 for plinking out to 500metres?

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So the Ruger American Ranch in .223 (5.56 too) for around $650 Cdn. seems like a good buy for my needs.

With a 16", 1 in 8 twist barrel that comes threaded, a detachable #5 shot mag and picatinny scope rail it has what I'm looking for at a reasonable price.

Am I missing something, is it a poor shooter? Ruger claims Minute of Angle capability from it's free floated barrel.

If anyone has any experience or reliable intel. on this rifle please chime in as I'm looking to pull the trigger on one asap.

My goal is to add a decent Vortex scope, Harris bi-pod and some premium ammo. and enjoy plinking prone working my way out to 500Metres.

Cheers D
 
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kamlooky said:
Run Grasshopper..........

https://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php/1568349-Weatherby-Vanguard-223
Click to expand...

While I appreciate the effort it's not quite what Im looking for.

The Ruger in question has a compact 16.12" barrel which while perhaps not ideal for target shooting at greater instances, makes for a quick handling and light weigh package while shooting free hand...

This will be a rifle for shooting from all positions, saying that my goal is to see how precise it is out to five hundred metres; so bench and prone will be where it's most used...

Cheers D
 
Not much handling difference from 20 down to 16 in my opinion. I have 20" lever guns down to 18" and a 16" ruger scout, all handle the same to me in the bush.

Id look for a longer barrel if I was going to target shoot it mostly.
 
c.t.smith said:
Not much handling difference from 20 down to 16 in my opinion. I have 20" lever guns down to 18" and a 16" ruger scout, all handle the same to me in the bush.

Id look for a longer barrel if I was going to target shoot it mostly.
Click to expand...


Yes, I hear you regarding the longer barrel for accuracy (20" would have been my choice if I weren't concerned with compactness), but I do recognize a difference from moving down a few inches in barrel length (it's all a personal preference I suppose).

I had the 18" Ruger Gunsite Scout in .308 Win. and liked that rifle, but not enough to keep it.

This rifle sure seems like it will be a keeper as it checks off so many boxes on the list for me, but it's performance (meaning accuracy) will be the deciding factor.

Cheers D
 
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Only thing with the Ruger American is they are made like ####....tool marks everywhere, working the bolt sounds like a really loud zipper. I got sucked in when they were $400, at $650 I'd laugh and laugh until I puked all over the gun clerk trying to sell me one as a good buy.



The stock is made out of the cheapest plastic...think margarine container, and I actually cut myself on the stock by the barrel channel it was left that sharp, and the "power V bedding" was molded in crooked so the whole gun sat off center in the stock. The all plastic mags are also cheap garbage that retail for $60, might be 40 cents worth of molded material there if that. Trigger.... also garbage. Mushy and very "Ruger-like". Only good thing I could say about it was it was "light". Everything else was just poorly made and executed. Not worth $650.
 
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A few points regarding Ruger Americans and Ruger Firearms in General.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion.

Post count on the internet doesn't make you an expert, just means you post alot.

Just because one of the girl scouts on here had a bad example of one Ruger American Centerfire does not mean they are all junk.

An Example of ONE is not much of anything.

I've had 7 still have 5 . The finish is rougher then higher priced firearms , and not much different the others in the same range.

Accuracy is good/ great with some.

The Ruger Precsion Rifle is built on these actions, barrels and triggers an they are not recieving widespread negative reviews.

Ruger is one of the best Companies as far as customer support and that includes Canada.

They have NO implied warranty they simply look after their customers'

I've owned a couple of hundred Rugers since the 70's, there have been some problems, all were dealt with quickly.

Our poor dollar has changed the the value of all firearms.

Ruger Firearms are a good value for the money.

Other Firearms Companies offer value as well.

If they have the features you are looking for.

We as consumers are offered a variety .

I have/owned a fair representation of most modern (1900 forward) firearms .

Pre 1950 the quailty was at a whole different level .

A bargain made firearm then was not made to todays standards of a low end firearm . It was made to compare to the standards then.

Companies have to support their shareholders and make a profit or they are not in business , this applies to the large and small .

This remains true If they produce 5 million a year and employee hundreds of thousandsi of people or a single custom gunsmith.

Price point is also a huge issue.

There has to be something for eveyone budget.

Keep an open mind. Do your own research.

All the news is not factual or unbiased .

357
 
I've had good a accuracy with mine. Furthest I've shot it so far was around 300-350. No issues with it at that range. I was also firing steel cased Barnaul. I've been buying some different ammo brands, looking for the best compromise for price/ accuracy, but I haven't shot for groups with various brands yet...Yeah the machining is kinda rough. I don't mind at all. The bolt actually worked itself in quite nicely. The stock is quite comfortable also. No issues with mine there either. Another thing is magpul is supposed to be releasing a stock for the American rifles. I believe it will be able to accept ar pattern mags. I have nicer and more accurate.223 rifles but I really like the compact-ness of this gun. I'm not afraid to work it hard and use cheap ammo in it.
 
Magpul is making the Hunter chassis for the ruger American platform, I guess they like them. MDT makes the LSS and are planning an ESS for them as well. I like mine, noisy bolt and all. Sucker for cold hammer forged barrels I guess. I'd never trade mine for a weatherby vanguard, and I have owned one. Just my opinion.
 
Ive shot a 22" RAR in 223 and it was a good shooter right out of the box. I have a 16.1" Ruger Scout in 223 and it will generate sufficient velocity to get to 500m. I would look at the Hornady 73gr ELD ammo, should be in the 2500 fps @ muzzle from the 16" tube. Velocity @ 500m approx 1500 fps, which is well above transonic, meaning the trajectory of the bullet will be very predictable out to that distance. Another nice feature of this new 73gr ELD-Match bullet is the ogive is designed to allow the bullet to be seated short enough to function through 2.25" OAL mag boxes, like the AR15 and Ruger American.

As for Vortex scope maybe look at the Diamondback HP 3-12x42
 
357Maximum said:
A few points regarding Ruger Americans and Ruger Firearms in General.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion.

Post count on the internet doesn't make you an expert, just means you post alot.

Just because one of the girl scouts on here had a bad example of one Ruger American Centerfire does not mean they are all junk.

An Example of ONE is not much of anything.

I've had 7 still have 5 . The finish is rougher then higher priced firearms , and not much different the others in the same range.

Accuracy is good/ great with some.

The Ruger Precsion Rifle is built on these actions, barrels and triggers an they are not recieving widespread negative reviews.

Ruger is one of the best Companies as far as customer support and that includes Canada.

They have NO implied warranty they simply look after their customers'

I've owned a couple of hundred Rugers since the 70's, there have been some problems, all were dealt with quickly.

Our poor dollar has changed the the value of all firearms.

Ruger Firearms are a good value for the money.

Other Firearms Companies offer value as well.

If they have the features you are looking for.

We as consumers are offered a variety .

I have/owned a fair representation of most modern (1900 forward) firearms .

Pre 1950 the quailty was at a whole different level .

A bargain made firearm then was not made to todays standards of a low end firearm . It was made to compare to the standards then.

Companies have to support their shareholders and make a profit or they are not in business , this applies to the large and small .

This remains true If they produce 5 million a year and employee hundreds of thousandsi of people or a single custom gunsmith.

Price point is also a huge issue.

There has to be something for eveyone budget.

Keep an open mind. Do your own research.

All the news is not factual or unbiased .

357
Click to expand...

Well the poor machining I posted about are common factual issues it seems, not just opinion...2 posters below also have the same issues, they just don't care.
I realize not everyone has 200+ rifles to compare them to for QC. If people keep buying them and not caring how poorly they are produced, they will keep producing poorly made firearms.
If people are happy with that low level of quality for that high of a price, I can't change that. All I can do is point out several other companies make better fit and finished firearms for the same or less money....so why can't Ruger meet those standards?
The level of QC is what we are use to seeing on Chinese guns, not something made in USA.

Yeah the machining is kinda rough. I don't mind at all.
Click to expand...

I like mine, noisy bolt and all.
Click to expand...
 
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Hitzy said:
Well the poor machining I posted about are common factual issues it seems, not just opinion...2 posters below also have the same issues, they just don't care.
I realize not everyone has 200+ rifles to compare them to for QC. If people keep buying them and not caring how poorly they are produced, they will keep producing poorly made firearms.
If people are happy with that low level of quality for that high of a price, I can't change that. All I can do is point out several other companies make better fit and finished firearms for the same or less money....so why can't Ruger meet those standards?
The level of QC is what we are use to seeing on Chinese guns, not something made in USA.
Click to expand...


Hitzy hit the nail on the head. You can buy the Ruger American, it will likely perform fine for what you are looking for, as long as you can look past the fact that you could have had the same or better, in a much better fit and finish for the same money. The Vanguard for example is in the same price range and is a much, much better quality rifle overall.
 
+1 on the Vanguard S2 nice quality and shooter
Have one for over two years which is on EE right now because I want to get another Weatherby range certified with the heavy barrel

If had to would buy another Axis over the Ruger
 
Hitzy said:
Only thing with the Ruger American is they are made like ####....tool marks everywhere, working the bolt sounds like a really loud zipper. I got sucked in when they were $400, at $650 I'd laugh and laugh until I puked all over the gun clerk trying to sell me one as a good buy.



The stock is made out of the cheapest plastic...think margarine container, and I actually cut myself on the stock by the barrel channel it was left that sharp, and the "power V bedding" was molded in crooked so the whole gun sat off center in the stock. The all plastic mags are also cheap garbage that retail for $60, might be 40 cents worth of molded material there if that. Trigger.... also garbage. Mushy and very "Ruger-like". Only good thing I could say about it was it was "light". Everything else was just poorly made and executed. Not worth $650.
Click to expand...

This was also my experience with a Ruger American, plus the fact that 3 additional magazines were supplied as the original one would not feed without jamming (every time). All to no avail as the 3 new ones all would not work either.The other thing was the fit and finish, there was none-basically a piece of crap. Good news is, bought for $399 and sold for $425
(with 4 magazines to a "Hunter" with special rights who told me he needed it for night hunting because it was light and handled nice.
 
Uisge said:
Magpul is making the Hunter chassis for the ruger American platform, I guess they like them. MDT makes the LSS and are planning an ESS for them as well. I like mine, noisy bolt and all. Sucker for cold hammer forged barrels I guess. I'd never trade mine for a weatherby vanguard, and I have owned one. Just my opinion.
Click to expand...


That's good news, as I wasn't aware the Hunter was available for the RARR (will likely be my choice instead of the MDT for my budget minded build).

I do appreciate all views and opinions regarding this rifle and thank all for their posts.

Cheers D
 
Well I picked up a Ruger American Ranch with the 16.12" barrel, 1 and 8 twist in .223 for $639 from a local CGN sponsor.

It's not a premium rifle by any means, then again it's not priced like one. The Tikka Tactical in .223 that I would have preferred is over three times the cost of this rifle and a CZ527 is around double the price, which gives one a little perspective, both good and bad.
My whole budget for a decent optic, bi-pod and chassis (Hunter stock?) isn't even close to the cost of just the Tikka Tac. for example. This will leave funds for whats most important to allow for good accuracy, lots and lots of ammo. to practice with.

Speaking of ammo., I've been hoarding away a lot of premium .223/5.56 rounds (every time I went to the LGS over the past year or more I bought a box or two of decent ammo. and many times premium match ammo.) so once I get this set-up Zeroed-In I'll post up some accuracy results (pic.'s too once the Vortex scope, Colt flash suppressor and Harris bi-pod I bought over a year ago in anticipation of a .223 rifle are mounted-up), but it may take awhile as I just moved and am still unpacking...

Now the rifle does make a slight zipper sound when the bolt is worked quickly (it's faint but there), although I'm hoping the sound might lesson as it's broken in with many, many rounds spent. It isn't a problem for me personally as the bolt feels solid w/o any slop (which is more then I can say about a Mossberg MVP, which was a rifle I was contemplating instead, but couldn't get past the sloppy bolt personally).
The trigger feels light and crisp and (the manufacturer claims) is adjustable from 3-5lbs.

The stock fits well w/o any part touching the free floated barrel and while it is far from a premium material it'll do until I swap it out for a Magpul Hunter stock (or possibly a MDT LSS chassis if this becomes a very good shooter) sooner then later.

Thanks to all for their replys both good and bad, as it does help one make a more informed choice. Ultimately this rifle had many (almost all) of the attributes I wanted in a rifle for what is now a more budget price (mainly due to our weak dollar?) which is a sign of the times I suppose.

Anyways it is a Ruger and while being a budget rifle the overall look and feel are acceptable to me and again it just had so many aspects of what I wanted in my next rifle.

Compact barrel (16.12"),
Detachable (#5 shot) magazine,
Picatinny (scope mount) rail,
Threaded barrel,
1 in 8 twist,
Light weight (6.1lbs.),
Relatively low price $639,
ability to fit into an aftermarket chassis (Magpul & MDT both make replacements which was another significant factor as not all the comparable candidates offered this) and
chambering for .223 & 5.56Rds.

Bonus: Cold Hammer Forged barrel and adjustable trigger plus available locally to try for fit/finish before buying.

Cheers D
 
Zeroed-In said:
It's not a premium rifle by any means, then again it's not priced like one. The Tikka Tactical in .223 that I would have preferred is over three times the cost of this rifle and a CZ527 is around double the price, which gives one a little perspective, both good and bad.
Click to expand...


As my Papi has always told me - "Buy once, cry once".

It's a bit of advice that has served me well so far.
 
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