Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Ruger American in 243 or 7mm-08

Anyone shooting one? 1 in 9 twist in 243 is nice. looks like a future truck gun.

I have one in 243....very accurate.Good trigger.Great price.

I know I'll get flamed for this, but, $700 less than my Montana and almost the same weight and more accurate.

Hmmm

A few Ruger Americans have popped up at my range, and the owners have all seemed quite pleased with them so far.

I already have .308 and .22 Long Rifle Americans, and they shoot so well I could not resist the stainless model .243, so one is on the way.

David,

The American is ~1 lb heavier than your Montana, no? What sort of groups are you getting from the Kimber?

Jason

I've got a .223 compact on the way, should make a nice deer rifle for the boy, and a nice multi-purpose rifle for me as well.

Haven't fired the Montana yet. Been killer busy.

The 7mm-08 compact is 6 lbs

The Montana is 5-1/4 lbs.

SAUM,

Where did you get your compact Ruger American? I been thinking about getting a 243 for my 11 y/o son but they are not found around here...only the long actions. Figure I'd have to order it...

Yep, BudsGunShop online, good prices, free shipping, you can even do layaway if you want, my local store pissed me off recently. Just copy and paste this:

Ruger AMER-C 243 18 MTBLK

Comparing an American to a Montana is apples to oranges....and I'm a fan of both.

Bench accuracy out of the box goes to the American. Refinement goes to the Montana. Hunting accuracy is a toss-up. For those inclined, twist goes to the American.

Although I'm an American fan, no way I ever see it being my primary hunting rifle. I guess it's pride of ownership?

There are lots of good rifles currently on the market.

Yeah I just looked at Budsgunshop. They had it and price includes shipping which they have offered for a while. My local Dicks did not have it and I would have bought from them and paid taxes but they were like $379 and did not have the Youth or compact model so they had to order it.

I been thinking on this. I shot my M700 CRF 243 rifle and recoil was very mild and think this would be good for my son's first rifle (he has the CZ Scout). But my rifle has the 24" barrel and this Ruger American Compact has a 18" barrel. (I have a 788 243 with a 18" barrel and when shooting the rifle has a vicious blast and this got me thinking if the Ruger Compact is the same?)

Have you shot your compact yet?

And its surprising that Buds has the 7-08 for the same price as the 243 but I am reminded this is for my boy and the 7-08 would likely be too much for my boy's first CF rifle...

And not only that Bud has this Ruger rifle but they also have the Howa youth for like $500 which is $160 more than the American. But they everyone is saying the American shoots lights out while I do not hear anyone praising Howa rifles...

Let's not hijack this thread, I'll pm you.

That's the kind of endorsement I'm looking for.

I understand the pride of ownership argument, but I'm a sl*t for accurate rifles.

My compact 223 weighs 7 lbs 1 oz scoped. My Kimber 308 5 lbs 15 oz scoped. I'm picking up a Ruger 308 tomorrow, going full size on it.

Not as light as the Kimber, and 3/4-1 lb is significant, but 7 lbs scoped for around $350 is pretty good. Especially as well as they shoot. If the 308 even matches the 223 I'll be thrilled.

David,

Yeah, I know what you're talking about--and have an article coming out soon that addresses the issue of "affordable" rifles.

However, one thing I've noticed is that a lot of people who prefer "nice" rifles become very interested when they discover Americans shoot as well as many of their "customs"--for the price of a custom barrel, before fitting and chambering.

JB, do you think Ruger should have raised the comb a bit?

I will be getting the compact in 708 for my wife before fall

Tally lightweights and a good piece if glass should make her one hell of a deer rifle

Not JB...but I think it should be a little higher. The free cheek piece you get when completing the warranty registration makes it perfect with Talley LW lows for me.

The comb height on the compact needs to be addressed for shooters of small stature. My two older kids (10 & 7) struggle with the height. Their cheeks are off the comb when they have the scope in clear view. They did it with the rimfire, so it should be an easy modification for the centerfire line.

I'm still a fan of the rifle. Lots of bang for the buck...