Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Ruger American Go Wild

I bought one in 300 BO and the bolt is a bit rough and the trigger left a lot to be desired. I replaced the trigger and after the second day at the range I had a load with L/gun and the 110 Barnes T/shock at 2350 fps that puts four into an inch +/- 1/8”. It’s a fun little rifle.

Most rotary magazines aren't junk but a quick internet search will show many forum discussions about the Ruger mags and also Youtube videos about how to fix them.
Ruger has earned a reputation for releasing products into the market that aren't fine tuned enough to be their best. The customers have been their testing lab for a long time.
I called Ruger to complain about multiple American mags and they sent me replacements, no questions asked. They knew there was a problem.
I didn't know they have switched to a staggered magazine but it makes sense considering the all-too many problems with the rotary one.

Picked up a 308 ruger american scoped with a 2-7x33 redfield revolution for $100 Its a loaner rifle for guests.

My last loaner was an open sighted sporterized mauser in 30-06 i picked up for $175. Had a pile of 220 grain federal blue box with it.

With scrap brass i picked up off a range, and 200 grain hot cors at 2500 fps, this fkn plastic wonder prints half inch groups. Weighs 7lbs with scope. The 1:10 twists likes them bison-legal 200 grainers.

But it works great, just like me.

A few comments:

Have been shooting various RARs since they appeared:

"Cheap and ugly" is exactly what many, if not most, gun reviewers said about the 721/722 Remingtons when they appeared. Now they're considered "classics," apparently because they had walnut stocks.

The triggers are among the easiest to fix among the "cheap and ugly" but accurate rifles being made today.

The bedding system is very good, and even if the barrels aren't free-floated correctly from the factory (they sometimes aren't with many injection-molded stocks), they can be fixed just about as quickly as the triggers, using a round wood-rasp. The later stocks have been stiffer and don't have this problem very often.

Never had much problem with the rotary magazines, except with more tapered cartridges. Have owned two RAR's with the AR-type magazine and they worked fine.

Have owned several rimfire RARs and haven't experienced any extraction problems, though none has been a .17 HMR, and a friend did have problems with one of those. My .22 Magnum is the most ammo-tolerant of any of the several .22 Magnums I've owned, shooting almost anything very well--and into the same POI. Bought it for $179 at a local store, and some of my other .22 Magnums cost several times as much.

Two RAR Predators in 6.5 Creedmoor have been the most accurate 6.5 Creedmoors I've test-fired, and have tested some costing around 10 times as much.

All of which is why, after owning a number of RARs (and taking plenty of varmints and big game with 'em) I own three, the .22 Magnum, and a 1-8 twist .223 and .22-250.

Great info MD. I’ll start looking more closely at what they are offering. Probably some good stuff coming out of the ShotShow.

MD, 5 minutes to a crisp 2.5 lbs. Im late to the game on these plastic wonders. I can never recall a rifle at any price, that was that easy to adjust.

At first, all the plastic parts were absurd. The weak rotary mag spring, the weak mag release spring, the plastic trigger gaurd.

60 rounds of cheap winchester powerpoint free with the rifle, it outshot all other guns in my possesion. The $100 plastic wonder is less absurd.

I have purposely left it out in the cold and have kept slamming it with 200 grain handloads. Nothing has broke, no malfunctions. No drift in groups from 20 below zero, to warm barrel 10-15 rounds later.

Supposedly, the American is one of the top sellling bolt actions in the country?

Thanks very much for the field report!

I bought a RH 6.5 Creedmoor Predator when they first came out shots 15 thru 20 new rifle 5 shots measured .43" at 100 yards. Son was just getting out of basic training. He told me that he had read about the Ruger American 6.5 CM told him I had an accurate one waiting for him at home!

Last year I bought a Ruger American Ranch in .5.56 that takes AR style magazines....junky feel but shoots lights out.

I Put a Leupold VxIII 1.5-5 with a CDS on it. Sighted it in with Black Hills .223 re-manufactured ammo shot it over a chrono and got a velocity reading and ordered a CDS dial for it...hard to imagine bolting 30 rounds through it.

I call it my Democratic AR.....couldn't be happier.

I have a Ruger American Go Wild in 6.5 CM It's new condition. I won this rifle at a Friends of NRA Dinner.
I think this is a great budget friendly rifle. I have not shot this rifle nor am I going to. I have decided to donate it to one of the local High School shooting sports dinners, so they can raise more money for their needs.
Don't think a guy could get hurt by buying one. I think it would treat you right.

Do some of these gunwriters ever correct their gibberish? Phil Massoro advocates for a trigger replacement that costs more than what I paid used, for a RAR rifle/scope combo:

"with all due respect to Sturm, Ruger and Co., the Ruger American Standard has a pretty awful trigger"

https://www.gunsandammo.com/editorial/top-ruger-american-rifle-upgrades-right-now/247829

Quite possibly the wide range of experience with and opinions of the RARs is simply due to the lack of consistency and QC possible at the price point. Buy enough of them and you’ll likely encounter some issues, but after all, it is a budget rifle. Personally, I wouldn’t put a lot of money into lipstick for one, but can sure see their attraction for some purposes. I’d like to see them make some more in SS, or at least with SS barrels like the 8” .22/250s Darrik had.

Ruger's spotty QC extends into their higher end guns as well.

So you’ve mentioned a time or two…hundred😛

Only problem I’ve had with a higher end one was a New Bearcat that was seriously out of time. It had to go back twice, because the first joker actually made it worse by bending the transfer bar so badly it cracked and broke. Came back the second time perfect, and they paid the freight for that trip, and refunded what I paid for the first one. Wish I still had it, but I sold it to defray the cost of its replacement, poor economy.

Also sent back a LCP2 .22, totally on them for a spring replacement, but that’s a $300 toy.

The RAR .223 I bought was a purchase I didn’t need to make. It’s 1:8 twist was compelling for running heavies and banging steel.

I did all the home grown trigger fixes and finally just dropped a Timney in it. It’s a great trigger now.

The rotary magazines suck imo. Another 24 friend showed me how to modify one to take longer coal and that worked out well.

I strapped a SWFA 3x9 on it and I’m having a ball shooting steel, along with ground squirrels and it’s my walking varminter for coyotes.

The platform concept is good. Trigger is OK and fixable, safety in the right place, low bolt lift that allows very low mounting of scopes and the newer stocks are plenty rigid and work fine - easy to paint or dip.....

The muzzle brake is a personal thing, to be determined by the shooter. I’ve only had one, on a .338 - it worked as advertised but was very loud! Buy it, shoot it, make up your own mind.... it’s an easy fix.

I think the RAR’s are an excellent starter rifle or budget gun for playing with different cartridges. The friends that have shot it have all been impressed.

That said, I’m moving on to a Tikka T3X for what I consider a more refined platform.

The RAR will get dropped into a compact stock that I have. A smaller, lighter 1” scope added and I’ll load light weight bullets at mild velocity to teach the grandkids with. It’s a winner in my book.

Going on 2 years ago I stumbled onto a big box store clearance sale and brought home a RAR in .270 for $227. Mounted a Burris FF II 3-9x40 in Leupold DD’s and added a Blackhawk Mtn sling, have about $450 into the rig total. A Campfire influenced set up. So far have only shot a bit over half a box of Hornady American Whitetail ammo though it but I’ll work up hand loads this spring.

My main intention for the rifle was for something to send off to college with my son that I won’t be overly concerned about. He takes care of stuff but not knowing how it would fare in a college armory had me second guessing him taking his usual rifle. I ended up carrying the Ruger for the first time one afternoon this past season because the weather was crappy and I shot what’s probably my 2’nd best buck ever. It may be cheap but apparently the thing has good mojo.

I have one 6 CM predator and one 6.5 in American Go Wild. Both are very accurate with my handloads. The stocks are cheap and sometimes the mag will not catch. They're great for the money as I bought mine on sale at Sportsmans.

You can count on me to continue to do so. I owe it to them!

Mcarbo trigger spring for 14 bucks. 3 minute job and now beaks at 3 lbs. I have this as a camp gun. Moa or less with cheaper Hornady white tail or federal non typical.