After 38 years of reaching across the gun and shooting right handed bolts, Ive decided to make the leap and purchase 3 or so left handed bolts. Im looking at the stainless Ruger american, the price is spot on, wondering about the quality and accuracy. My normal go to rifle manufacture is Savage, but at a couple hundred per gun, I thought the rugers were worth a look.

Ruger American rifles are good rifles for the money. It's rare anyone complains about theirs. Some have magazine issues, but Ruger has been taking care of that. The bolt has a kind of funny feel and sound when you work it, but it functions as designed. That's about the only gripes an those are minor. Most are very accurate. One of the best values out there.

I dont think you will be disappointed in accuracy. Action can be a little rough but cleans up easily with use or polishing. I never had a blued one but the finish and metal work on the stainless is good. Some complain about the stock but the dimensions are good and it works.

Its really a ton of gun for the money

I have two All Weather rifles, one in 223 and one in 243. Both were sub moa (3 shots) right out of the box. A lot of times way under moa. All I've done is lighten the triggers down as far as they will go, 3#, mount scopes and shoot. The comb is a little low, in my opinion, so I'm using the Ruger lace on cheek piece on both rifles. I compared the Tikka T3 and the American at a local shop. The bolt was smoother on the Tikka but I didn't like the squared off bottom on the stock, plus the magazine sticks down below the stock. The American felt better in my hands. I am not wild about the tongue sticking out of the trigger but I don't notice it much now. It's a lot of gun for the money. I'm not a big Savage fan after owning one. Ugly as sin and wouldn't shoot very well and it was a heavy barrel 223. Never again.

I just bought my second left hand American rifle. My .22-250 had feeding issues from the start. I called Ruger and they sent me a new mag free, even without me sending in the old mag. I think the issue was that they used a .243/.308 mag on the .22-250 and the .22-250 cartridge is a good bit shorter than the others. My .223 feeds perfectly. Both triggers are clean, but were a bit heavy out of the box. I snipped one coil off the trigger spring on the .22-250 and got a good 3# trigger. The .223 took a bit more work. Clipping one coil got it down to 4# and I turned the adjustment screw out about3/4 turn to get 3#. Accuracy is good. I did have to remove a bit off the left side of the stock at the forend .

My son has a right hand Predator in 6.5 CM. The last 3 shot group I shot with factory 129 Interlocks measured .418 CTC.

Sample of 1 here, but I was quite pleased with a blued .308 Win. Handled and pointed well, and shot Federal Blue Box 150's moa. You won't mistake it for a Blaser or a Sako, but it'll put bullets where you want them to go.

For the $449 the local stores ask for 'em, I'd call it a really good value. For the $250 I actually gave for it NIB on Gunbroker, I was far more than pleased.

If you're looking to indulge a whim, it's pretty hard to go wrong at those prices.

FC

I have a compact in 223 that I put a full size factory stock on. If the Ranch rifle had been available at the time I'd have bought it. My brother has the Ranch in 5.56. I've shot both with both 223 and 5.56 ammo. With decent ammo both consistently shoot well under 1". Cheap FMJ will be closer to 2".

I also have a Predator in 308 and my brother in 6.5 Creedmoor. Both are extremely accurate. My Predator in 308 is the most accurate rifle I own.

I did have issues with the original magazine in the 223, but Ruger sent me a new one. It and the 2 spares work perfectly. I also have 3 mags for the 308, never a bobble.

I'm seriously eyeballing one of these in 450 Bushmaster. Perfect gun for hunting in restricted zones in some states. I'm glad someone is building a quality bolt rifle that is chambered for a cartridge that addresses this issue. Tired of only having half assed shot guns, muzzle loaders and over grown pistols to choose from. Thank you Ruger. I may even forgive you for those piss poor 44 Mag carbines you built before.

good barrel, decent low-cost action that works, good simple bedding in a complete piece of s** floppy stock. trigger feels cheap beyond cheap.

very accurate, typically more so than a hawkeye.

the Ruger American .30-06 Dad gave me before he passed was a disappointment,=. I tried about 8 different factory loads in it and none of them shot acceptably - groups were 2-3" at 100 yards.

Finally sold the American and another rifle and bought a Hawkeye. No regrets at all.

I have a sampling of one in .300 BLK. Neat little rifle and the accuracy is pretty good if I'm doing a decent job of pulling the trigger. I might get a different scope for it as I don't like the reticle in the one I have that much, but it'll get the job done at the ranges the .300 BLK is designed to shoot.

Here is a link to my rifle. I've only taken it out to 300 yards with factory ammunition but it seems to do well. The stock isn't all that great, but it is functional.

I'd pick the Ruger over the Savage 10 times out of 10. And the savage is a decent gun.

I like those RAR's quite a bit.

Actually I was able to fix the trigger on my .223 American to be very acceptable, and I'm REALLY picky about my triggers. There's a fix for them and it works, it's now about 2.5 lbs. with absolutely no creep. You need to shorten the spring from the factory length. From the factory the trigger's terrible just like most rifles, but they can be fixed easily at home.

Ruger American Trigger Fix

I wanted a 223 that was stainless, cheap, light, accurate, and twisted right. The american was the only thing that fit the bill out there, otherwise I was going to have to build it and there went the cheap part. It shoots very well and gets used all the time. I have steel gongs hung in the distance on my land and the ruger gets shot off the porch at them. It's super easy to grab it, walk out on the porch, and bang away at the gongs. I have it set up similar to my big game rifles and it makes for a great practice rifle.

A word about the stocks. The original rifles were pretty flexible in the forend. The 1st photo is of my 223 Compact stock. I later ordered a full length stock from Ruger @ about $80 and it is the newer design and much more rigid.




The old stocks shot just fine, but often needed a generous free float to prevent the barrel from touching the stock. The new stock is rigid enough to not be an issue.

The action never touches any part of the plastic stock. You can see the metal "V" block on the left of the photos. While the stock is cheap, the bedding design prevents it from being a negative.

That photo nicely illustrates the changes Ruger made in the American stock. Thanks.

Yeah, I'm thinking about stopping reaching over the stock too. Might get a LH Americanl

Being left-handed, your options are limited, but even so, the RAR is a good choice lefty or righty. I have several RAR-Predators and all except the 22-250 have proven themselves capable of shooting groups MOA or better, but I'm still working on the 22-250.

CDNN currently has left-handed RARs in a few different calibers on sale.

www.cdnnsports.com

Thanks guys!! Now I have to make a trip to Shydas and see how one feels.

Yep Mike, I sat down the other day, took a hard look at all my rifles, I used to think I would have to change them all out, but after careful consideration I realized that if I picked up 3 possibly 4 lefties it would cover all my big game hunting needs. So in the next few months Ill be picking up a 7mm-08, 270 WSM and either a 284 or 7WSM heck maybe both, the 284 in a lefty bolt is probably going to have to be blued, unless I make it myself.

Shydas? Funny. I've been shopping there my whole life. Small world. I do prefer Encks Gun Barn now that they got the new shop.

Now if Ruger would just lengthen the .223 magazine

I was on gallery of guns last night, one of the cheapest places to pick one up is in pine grove, at Dutchman brass, Encks Gun Barn is 23 bucks more. Shydas didnt even come up

I see you are from Lebanon PA. Is Shirk"s still in business. Bought a Ruger 77 7 mag about 1979 there for $189.00. More mail order than walk in.

Well I thought they closed the store years ago and were just wholesale to dealers, but a quick google search makes me think they still deal with the general public.

picked up a RARR two yrs ago..300 BLK...to go along with my 300 BLK

Aero Precision AR....trigger was easy to tweak..easily added a

bird cage flash hider to protect recrowned barrel...I carry it

muzzle down in truck...added a Glade tacticool bolt handle..OEM

handle just too small...Vortex DB HP 2-8 fits purfect...handload

1680 & 110 gr Nozlers..9/Bluedot & 110 's make a nice around the

house quiet load.....nuthin' fancy..but an easy to carry/portable

rifle...purty darn accurate too.......

I'm not in Lebanon, PA, but I have an account with Ron Shirk's and still buy from them if they have an extra good deal.

Do you have an FFL?

Well I stand corrected Shirks does sell to the public.

Yes, Shirks deals with the public. He was shut down by the Feds for years, then he was allowed to distribute to dealers, now he's dealing with the public again to some degree. I guess his punishment for keeping two sets of books is over.

tikkanut,

Cool rifle and a great pic. Where abouts was that picture taken if you don't mind my asking?

near here........... 1981 Marlin Mountie......