Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Comments on Ruger American

I have 3 now. I bought the 1st Compact I saw in 223 right after they were introduced. The factory magazine wouldn't feed the last round. Didn't matter if there were 5 rounds in the magazine or 1. Ruger replaced it and I now have 2 spares. All 3 have fed and functioned perfectly since. I added a 308 and 6.5 Creedmoor in the Predator versions and neither have ever malfunctioned. The 6.5 is less than a year old, but I've put a lot of rounds through the 308 and 223.

I prefer the bolt locks down too. But so far I've never had a problem.

Jim - what does the .450 Bushmaster mag have going for it that seems to greatly reduce this often mentioned problem / defect?
One would think Ruger could figure it on their own. After all it is their design and molds. WHY have a mag designed for the .450
Bushmaster in order to make other calibers work 1/2 decently? Homesteader

I wouldn't really know, my only experience with the American magazines is with a RH .243 that fed perfectly (later sold) and the one.22-250 mag that came with this LH rifle. Even that one worked fine for a while.

The problem as I could see it was a combination of the feed lips being slightly too wide at the front along with the tapered .22-250 case, that allowed the case to pop out prematurely, then the nose would drop and hit the breechface of the barrel. Feeding the round quickly didn't give enough time for the nose to drop.

I had read here on the campfire that it was okay to load the mag by popping the rounds in from the top instead of sliding them in under the feed lips, that the mag was resilient enough to withstand that for several thousand rounds so that was how I loaded it. The feeding problem started after a few hundred rounds like that so it would seem likely that the feed lips are not so resilient as advertised but I can't state that unequivocally, nor did I figure out why the 1st and 4th rounds always fed but the 2nd and 3rd rounds jammed. I can only say that the replacement mag that works measures .416" across at the front of the feed lips and the original that didn't work so well measures .423" at that same point.



But in the "lemonade from lemons" category, I've kept the original mag which should be okay with standard .308 based rounds and may use the presence of the magazine as future justification for buying a new LH .243 rifle to go with it....

The ones I had, have been replaced with Howas....

None of the Ruger's flaws and as accurate as one would desire...

Triggers that are more refined for smooth pull vs the Rugers I had..

The good Rugers ended when they quit making the 77 Mk 2s...

Note the little 18” RAR 7/08 in my left hand here....



I have a great semi-custom 26” barreled 700 in 7 Rem Mag, that I packed for the first 4 Days. I knew the shots would be fast and close, so on the way back in for the second weekend I grabbed the short/light rifle and reached for the 140 Barnes load. I had that little 7lb gun in my hand for several miles Friday night and Saturday morning.... when the split-second opportunity was there... so was the little Ruger.

It ain’t an old custom Mauser.... or a Pre-64.... but it is one hell of a little killing tool to be sure. It’ll see more blood this year.

Single stack (or staggered?), rather than rotary.

I've got $150 in a 243. Put a M8 6x42 in Talleys and its 7#4oz IIRC. Ugly? Sure. Cheap? Sure. Still don't know how it shoots, but it does balance nice.


For some damn reason, I kinda like it.....

I had a RAR Predator in 6.5 CM. Got lucky as the original magazine always worked flawless, but I never tried another magazine. The rifle was a great shooter. I still sold it for a heavy barrel Howa in 6.5 CM. It is a tack driver and I like the trigger better. Also feels like a much more solid rifle even in the hogue stock.

I've got RAR-Predators in 204, 223, 22-250, 243, 25-05, 260, and 6.5 Creedmoor that all seem to feed, fire, and cycle just fine. Except for the 22-250, the rest are MOA or better shooters with the 204, 243, and 6.5 Creedmoor being particularly good shooters.

I only have one. Mine is the 7.62 X 39 version. No problem with the mags feeding or loading them as mine uses the Mini- 30 mags.

And as to the problem of no bolt lock, I carry all my rifles slung muzzle down in my left shoulder so they don't scratch up the pistol that I ALWAYS wear on my right hip. And I don't chamber a round unless I'm about to shoot. And mine is surprisingly accurate even with the cheap Russian steel case ammo, too.
I wanted a beater rifle for the 4-Wheeler or UTV at the Ranch for hogs, and mine fits that niche perfectly. Next one I buy will be the 6.5 creedmore in the Predator Version.

I have the 300BO, and I love it. I picked up a 308 standard RAR...and am not nearly as enamored with it as I thought I would be. I have not decided whether or not to keep it just yet.

I'm having a difficult time accepting a rifle with a blade in the trigger.
I know it can be taken out, or swapped out completely. But I just want to load and shoot.

The stainless compact is tempting. And the predator rifle don't look too bad.

Have not been able to warm up to the handles. Can't see being able to tweak them to something desirable but don't like the ridges and scallops. Would prefer a classic stock. Cheap rifle is what it is.

Yep, cheap rifle and feels like it. Can't make it comfortable. RAR Predator 6.5CM purchased two weeks ago. Took it out of the box and cleaned grease off and cleaned bore. Took apart, floated bbl and lightened trigger. Put Bushnell 3500 3-9 DOA600 on it and went to range. Had my son who is 46 shoot it 6 shots and two cleanings it was sighted-in using Hor Precision Hunter 143 Eld-x and putting them touching each other at 100 so had to give it to him. We went deer hunting this past Sunday and he shot a buck at 385 yds! Memories made!! The gun looks and feels much better now, still not my Sako but better than day 1. Mac

I can see why they're popular, but they just don't appeal to me. You other folks can divvy up my share.

I don't like the factory synthetic stocks either and upgraded several of mine with Boyds Heritage laminated stock in different colors to indicated which cartridge a particular rifle was chambered for. The biggest negative about the Boyds stocks for the RARs is the crappy plastic trigger guard.

I think mine is gonna get a GAP camo paint job.

They’re ok, but kinda junky.

Oh, Bullschit.

Everything that needs to be done right on the rifle is..
They work fbe shoot great and have as good of a basic trigger / safety design as you will find on a factory rifle.

I have a .308 in the Standard midel and it shoots as well or better than any of the out of the box m700s or m70s I have ever owned. Including my pre '64s.

The only mistake Ruger made was styling the stock simular to the Savage "Edge" with the jagged ridhrs and crap. If they would have just stuck with a more classically style the entire rifle would have looked better.

Opinions are not wrong just different. Unless you disagree with me.