Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Ruger American Gen 2 new rifles

Stuff the guts in a Boyd's Hunter laminate.

Out there already.

https://gunprime.com/products/ruger-american-gen-2-grey-splatter-450-bm-20-barrel-3-rounds-46905

They made 22” SS Predator models for a bit. Stab that barreled action in an updated stock with a better DBM and there’s a Gen2 that actually makes more sense to me.

I currently have 14 center fire Ruger American Rifles, 12 of them in the Predator style. The 223 and 22-250 rotary magazines don't feed as well as the others, but I'm not particularly demanding, as I expect to make the first shot count, making the rounds that remain in the magazine superfluous.

I don't live where there are any dangerous four legged predators and none of the black bears or mountain lions that I have encountered while elk hunting have ever done anything that would require me to shoot them in self-defense. If I lived in a place where encounters with dangerous predators were a regular occurrence, I'd opt not to carry a Ruger American. My 308 RAR-P has the detachable box magazine and feeds the 150 and 165 grain Hornady American Whitetail ammo fine, but to be fair it has been fired less than 100 times.

Another one of those different people, different scenarios, different requirements situations.

I put the Boyd's laminated Heritage style stocks on several RAR-Ps and although the handling characteristics were improved, the weight increase by a full pound.

Exercising 20/20 hindsight, I would just put Beartooth comb riser kits on the factory stocks if I had known then what I know now.

What a load of crap.

The stock looks to be improved although I'd prefer a slightly wider forearm, and I like the adjustable LOP. But the 20 inch standard barrel length is a non-starter for me. I generally prefer 24 inch barrels although 22 inches is OK with me for some cartridges. If I hunted frequently in areas with lots of dense cover then the 20 inch barrel might make sense, but I don't.

I didn't even notice that the first time around on their site. The hideous looks detracted from the specs apparently. Yeah, they screwed up on that as well. Their reason is to cater to the silencer crowd. Not sure if the long action cartridges will have longer barrels or not, no specs on those yet.
So, choice is a Ranch with 16" barrel or the standard with 20" barrel.

Good points. They are definitely utilitarian. My damn buddy keeps buying them, and then he invites me to go shooting. I install all of his scopes. Pull the factory rails off and blue loctite them, because they have loosened up on him before. Now he knows it's like my religion to blue loctite everything down and he follows suit, which is good to see. He had me put a thermal on one of his yote rigs (first gen RAR Ranch 223) the other night. All of his RAR Ranch rifles shoot very well. They are a little clunky, but they work. I think after watching the videos on the RAR gen 2, they appear to run a lot smoother than the first gens. Reports on how well they shoot would be cool. Maybe some of you here will get to do some testing with them and report back.

How so?

You can do anything with a 20” barrel as far as hunting

I think the load of crap reference is in regards to not caring that the magazine feeds or not.


Unfortunately this further development of the RAR probably means that we won't ever see more production of the Mk2 or Hawkeye All Weather models. Those are the best in the Ruger line up. If they would update some twist rates and give a bit longer mag length, that would be about all a guy would need in a good hunting rig.

There will always be malcontent's.

Some would biatch if they were shot with clean bullets; others if hung with a new rope.

Bingo. Most hunters want a rifle that is reliable and functional and yes, even accurate. Hell, I want a mag that works, even when I'm out killing jackrabbits and yotes. An ill feeding rifle would not last long in my stable.

On feeding and the AI mags:
I can't speak for the gen 2, but the original steel AI mags feed my mercan flawlessly. I set the depth of the bottom metal where the point of any bullet clears the feed ramp as the rifle is cycled. NO magazine system would feed better. That 3rd lug points downward when cycling. It gets a larger puchase of the rim than any 2-lug bolt.

These fkn window-lickers at Ruger were smart to just simply adopt the AI mag as standard.

I loaded up flat points, round nose, spitzers and hollowpoints. NOTHING caught up. Flawless cycling. Balance point is right under reciever ring, so the magazine doesn't impede carry at the balance point. Actually, the thin, round countour of the stock under the receiver, no other rifle carries as nicely. Feels like carrying a miniature savage 99 receiver. Comfy......

Everybody bitchn about these gen II rifles feeding poorly. The only one released so far without an AI or AR mag is the 450 bushmaster model, I have never had any feeding issues for either the AI mag (223, 6creed, 6.5 creed) or the AR mag (223 & 7.62x39). I dont believe these new models will have any problem feeding from either style mag, the rotary mag models, if any, have not been released for the gen II. Even the single stack mag (6.5prc) feeds. Maybe just wait and see if there is any issues before condemning the damn rifle.

Well, it is a Ruger, so low expectations are warranted. It wouldn't surprise me to see them flute the inside of the barrel, rifle the outside and miss it during QC.

Wouldn't those flutes act the same as rifle, as long as the twist is right

Doesn't matter, you're too stupid to understand that something should function, and too damn smug to imagine you might actually need a 2nd shot.

I'd be amazed if you ever killed a deer in your lifetime.

My RARs in 204, 243, 260, and 6.5CM feed good enough for me from the original, first style, rotary magazines, only the 223s and 22-250s have had issues.

If I think that I might need a quick second shot, I carry a semi-auto or a pump gun. My preferred semi-autos are the Ruger 44 International or one of my Winchester 100s in 243 or 308. My black timber elk rifle is a Remington 760 in 270

I usually shoot between 8 and 12 deer each year in Nebraska and have averaged just over 10 per year over the past decade. My close to home hunting lease is within the boundaries of the River WMA, so I can shoot as many antlerless whitetails as I want to buy $14 tags for. Each River WMA tag is good for 2 antlerless whitetails.

However, I can remember the last time that I had to shoot a deer twice, that was in 2017. My first shot hit it in the empty space just below the spine and above the lungs, stunned it. I though that it was DRT, but I noticed that it got up and staggered off while I was field dressing one of the other deer that I had shot that morning. The bad part was that it staggered into 20' deep creek bed and I had to field dress it in the creek and cut it in half to recover it. I shoot deer because it provides me with an opportunity for me to try different rifles, cartridges, and loads. I give most of the deer that I shoot to Hunters Helping the Hungry.