Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Any mechanical problems with Ruger American Rifles?

I'm asking because some people have made comments about not trusting RAR's on "tough" hunts. Has anyone's RAR failed in some way?

Please note that I'm not claiming anything one way or the other, just asking.

I have bought six of them since last April..
Three had their forearms warped putting pressure on the left side of the barrel so I put the stock in a vise and heated the forearm with a heat gun and bent them back to have equal clearance..
Took me about three tries to get them right..
Also changed out the trigger spring for a lighter one bringing the pull down to around two'ish pounds..
Might add that I had to tune 2 mag lips which took about 5 minutes with a small file..

Absolutely no mechanical problems with these rifles and they all shoot MOA or better..
That would be 5 shot groups with the .223 compact and .243 rifle..
I really haven't had time to go beyond 3 shot groups with the others..
The little compacts are fast becoming my favorite rifles and expect to be selling the vast majority of rest of my rifles of which I have more than a few..

I have one in 223 Rem. The stock mag didn't feed reliably but a call to Ruger CS netted a new mag which solved the problem. Everything else works as expected.
Incidentally, the CS guy told me to keep the old mag and use it for batting practice or bench shooting. Made me laugh.

I have a .223 Predator that came from the factory missing the ejector and extractor parts, it just had the empty cutouts. I returned it, they were installed and the rifle returned to me, but it does not handle different case rims well. Some rounds chamber fine, some take a bit of effort to get the extractor over the "rim". After it snaps over, the bolt closes fine.

Other than that it has been great.

Mags are hit or miss...I had to have several replaced that didn't feed well...sure its an easy fix if someone wanted to do so...

but if someone is going out on a hunt with one away from home base, I'd recommend that they make sure the mags they use feed well, before finding out differently in the field...

On the 223 magazine, just open up the forward part a bit with a file or dremel.

This is what SAS sent me last spring, fixed the problem

[quote=shortactionsmoker] Bottom line....the opening isn't wide enough and the follower spring isn't strong enough to push the last round through the top when no other cartridges are putting pressure on the spring.

Too tight....



Just right....



Take a Dremel and open the lips a bit. The picture above shows how much I remove. I don't think a little excess matters either.

I have three americans seem like good guns to me for the money

I bought a 223 Compact for my nephews to shoot. It would not feed worth a flip.
A member pointed me to the photos above that Steelhead posted. 60 seconds with a small fine file and calipers, and now it runs flawlessly. Been happy with it since then.

I like the concept of the RAR and similar type rifles but where do these companies find the people who design these stocks. They are the worst feeling handles of anything i've ever had in hand. And that goes for the Savage "walking varminter" as well

Thanks for this. I'll try it on my extra mag.

Does anyone make larger capacity mags for these things?

I'd like to see a half dozen run through the South African Professional Hunter exam course. That test seems to point out the deficiencies in any firearm.

I have three americans,only problem was with the 223 ,magazine wouldn't feed for the first box,or so.seems to have worked itself out.second magazine works fine.
the other two(22-250,7-08) perform flawlessly,at least so far.

I have a 223 compact and standard 308. The mag that came with the 223 wouldn't feed the last round. I returned it to Ruger who promptly replaced it with one that worked. Ordered 2 spares for a total of 3. All work now.

Stock contacting barrels on both. I gave both a very generous free float and they shoot great now. No other problems.

I (me and the kids) have 4. No mechanical failures of any kind. They all shoot exceptionally well too.

I wouldn't be afraid to take it anywhere on a hunt.

Don't have one, but the very first one I looked at in the store had a magazine that rattled like my knees. Others since have seemed okay.

I like the Predator, but if I bought one it would be a stainless to which I'd add the rail.

I would think Ruger will eventually offer extended mags as an option, especially once they get the bugs worked out in the standard ones.

How is the overall feel of the compact? I know it's a short LOP for a reason, but is it uncomfortable? Unlike the 77, it already has a full pad, so it can't easily be lengthened. I don't know if extra stocks are available yet, but that would defeat the purpose of a lower cost gun. Kind of a toss up between standard length of pull and a 22" barrel or a 18" barrel with the short LOP.

I have a Ruger American .308 stainless carbine. I like it for climbing in and out of treestands. I had a failure to fire in cold weather, but it might have been an ammo issued with my loads. These loads fired fine in my Rem M700 and Savage 11. The firing pin strike looked OK. I checked the primer seating on the ammo, and some of them moved .002" with re-seating. I disassembled the bolt of the Ruger and found a lot of oil on the skinny end of the firing pin, which I wiped dry. So, I'll keep an eye on this.

I have a 223 Predator, had to work on the barrel channel to truly float it,coated the bore with DBC, and I got one of the magazine mods that allows longer COL from another member here on the 'Fire - cotis

Before:

After:

I have only about 100 rounds down the tube, but it's easily one of my most accurate rifles. It probably shoots better than I can!

I don't think there will be any extended mags for the RAR. They are rotary mags. May require new engineering. I have a .243 and love it, only problem I have is enough time to shoot it. 1yr to retirement.