My hunting partner recently picked up a Ruger American Ranch Rifle in 300 BLK. It is a nice handy package with a suppressor on it and is plenty accurate, however I found the action to be quite clunky (technical term...) and didn't care for the stock at all. Seems functional but somehow felt cheap and don't like the way it looks (subjective I know).
I thought our Tikka T3Xs (we have several between us) felt better finished and seemed in a different class. If it was a choice between the Ruger or the Tikka I would choose the Tikka hands down.
Maybe this one was an outlier - that's sort of what I'm wondering. I've definitely handled some rough Ruger clunky actions in the store fairly recently. I have heard even the rough ones get better over time.
I do wonder if the perception of Tikkas being a class above the Rugers is because of some pretty superficial things, however. Seems like Ruger could spend a little more on appearance and fit, and generally making the American look and feel a little nicer. It would cost more, but I'll bet the difference between the Ruger and the Tikka wouldn't seem quite so stark at that point.
