Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Long Range Hunting RAR Predator at the SRM.....

So I was gonna take some pics, and some video....but in the competition ran quick.... and I was a little outta sorts.... so here's the review.

Took the new Ruger American Predator in 6.5 Creedmoor down to the Sporting Rifle Match in Raton, NM this weekend. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this match, it has been going for 11 years now, and is probably the best test of field shooting I’ve seen... particularly if you approach it with a “hunter’s mindset” rather than a “match shooting” outlook. 60 target (115 sq/in and 28 sq/in), engaged with one shot each, at distances from 200 to 875 yards. There are 10 stages, and it’s about a mile from end to end…. at 6500’ ASL.
I bought this rifle on a whim, and was impressed enough with the initial performance to give it a baptism by fire…. almost literally. Aside from the chambering, which may be the most popular round at the match, this rifle stuck out like a Honda Civic at a tractor pull. To ask this rifle to compete with sticks weighing twice as much, and cost 10 times as much dough, is the acme of foolishness….. but, I’ve never been accused of not being a fool.
To be a true test of Ghetto-ness…. I also shot Hornady factory 140 Amax ammo. At the start of the 60 round match on Sunday, I had exactly 50 rounds through the gun…. Not nearly to be confident in my dope, but satisfied that things appeared to be consistent. I screwed one of the Surefire ProComp breaks on the pre-threaded barrel so as to avoid the minor beating of 60-70 rounds of 140’s out of an 8lb gun…. It worked VERY well, and allowed me to see nearly every hit/miss with enough clarity to make adjustments without feedback from a “spotter”.

Set-up Details:
Ruger American Predator 6.5 Creed
12x Super Sniper in SWFA Low Rings
Surefire ProComp muzzle brake
Harris 9” bi-pod, notched leg
Hornady factory 140 Amax loads (apx. 2700fps)
Blackhawk Stock Purse…. With the purse portion trimmed off. I needed to raise the comb height significantly to improve cheekweld and help with spotting hits. Two pieces of cardboard and the stock pack helped achieve that in short order. Hey, I said it was ghetto right?
All-up weight, fully loaded: 9.4lbs (next lightest rifle was just under 12lbs….. I know for sure, because it was my girlfriend’s CTR)

Overall:
Total score: 31 hits….. however, the rifle hit 32 outta 56. I shot the wrong target once, shot two rounds a full revolution (5 MILs) high, couldn’t find the ½ mile plate (pounded it when I did, but for no credit), and forgot to dial dope on another plate. Scores have yet to be posted, but I’m certain that 31 will be near the bottom. There were two scores only 1 hit off the course record…. and I can’t imagine you’ll get better conditions to shoot down there.

The rifle ran flawlessly…. feeding, extraction, etc were without hiccup. I did struggle with the trigger, shooting Tikkas and custom Rems will spoil you. I had two or three rounds that completely vanished from the atmosphere…… I’m joking, I’m sure they didn’t…. but no one saw any trace or impact.

The Good:
Warming-up on Sunday morning before the match began, the RAR didn’t miss…. 5 straight hits 400-875 yards. Then it cleaned the first stage of 12” round targets from 540-630 yards. I proceeded to skull-fhug a miss with my first round on the next stage by shooting at the wrong target…. I then cleaned the rest of that stage too…. Out to 625 yards. So, I hit the first 15 targets I shot at with the RAR….. out to 875… which would be about 5 seasons of hunting for your average Joe.

The Bad:
Primarily my attitude…. It was a long tough day. I struggled physically with the 3.5 mile hike as my knee is still pretty roughed up, and my concentration level wasn’t where it needed to be to make hits all day. I’m far too competitive to kink myself from the start by shooting a system that was completely out of its element…. Frustration sets in a little….. then the wheels fall off. Much like a round of golf…. You gotta let the last bad shot go…. and focus on making the next one a good one. At some point I looked down and had .3 MILs Right dialed in the windage turret…. How long it had been like that, I haven’t a clue…. But I shot a 1 on the previous stage…. whatever. Somewhere around the middle of the third stage I started seeing some weird vertical misses at ranges over about 400…. and never did catch up to them. I can think of about a half-dozen simple things that could have happened…. Fouling, heat, bases, rings, optic, milk jug stock, bedding, etc. But, I’m reluctant to pull it apart until I debrief it on the range. Like I said earlier…. This is a tough course…. the rifle could be fine…. and I coulda just got my ass kicked.

Impressions:
This ain’t the rig for ‘varmint’ type shooting, or any shooting where rounds are flying in a hurry…. It just isn’t. It gets hot, and stays hot due to the mid-weight pipe. But that’s not what it was designed to do. I think the ‘Predator’ moniker is quite appropriate…. More appropriately “Ruger Mid-Range Hunter”. As a cheap option for learning the long range game, or as a 500-600 deer/lopes rifle, I think still think it’s the titties. I treated it poorly, ran it super hot, threw it on the ground (in the Eberlestock) a couple times, dropped it in the parking lot at the hotel on accident (in the case), and verbally abused it on several occasions…. maybe I crossed the line at some point.

At the end of the day…. it did the most important thing it could do…. make hits straight outta the gate…. and it made a bunch of them. But, just like hooking the 14yd dump trailer up to my Dodge Dakota…. eventually the weaknesses are exposed…. and it just can’t keep up. I asked a lot from a $750 rig that ain’t even broke-in yet…. probably too much. I also only paid $25 a hit ($750/31)….. if you shot a perfect score with a $5000 rig…. It’d still cost you about three times that much per plate. There’s a reason the long-range game is dominated by 15-20lb guns with sewer main barrels and 40oz scopes…. I still can’t see mortgaging the house to do it though…..

The only thing I know for certain…. the SRM will kick your ass if you don’t bring your A-game…. and it’ll let you know if your rig ain’t up to the task.

More to come, once I get a chance to shoot it and tear it down…..

Now that you have some miles on your RAR-P, do you think that you'll do any upgrades/changes?

Boyds laminated stock for <$200?
Timney trigger for $125?
Something else that I hadn't thought of?

I bought a Boyds laminated in the Heritage style for my RAR-P in 223 and really like the ergs, but it adds almost an entire pound to the unit. I'm going to order another laminated Heritage for another RAR-P, just not sure which one. Sure wish that Ruger had cut the 22-250 at 1-8" ROT and the 243 in 1-9".

By the time a guy spends for a boyds and timney, it's getting up to Hawkeye Predator prices. With the Hawkeye, you already gots a good lam stock and a fantastic two-stage trigger.

Did you beat your girlfriend?

I mean that in the comp not in the hotel...

No.... no 'upgrades'. I'm not disappointed in the rifles performance.... I was, until I got a chance to put it all in perspective. I drove a bone stock Ford Taurus in a NASCAR race... and hung in there for the first couple laps. Hell.... nine outta ten guys won't shoot as many rounds through their new RARs in 10 years as I did on Sunday alone.... in 6 hours. So I'm reserving all judgement until more data is in.

$400 for the rifle.... plus another $300-$350 in upgrades.... put you aweful close the the price of a Tikka CTR..... and that platform blows the RAR outta the water. I own both... and would way rather have the CTR over the 'upgraded' RAR.

She shot a 22.... and I was proud as hell. She ran her new rifle on her own, made her own wind calls, hauled all her own schitt, and looked gorgeous doing it. That girl is gonna put some fur in the dirt this fall. She did beat me on two stages... and I was all smiles when it happened.

The .243 has a 1:9 and shoots 105 A-Max's very well..

Well, there's a lot of things going on here that need to be discussed in regard to your experience.


The Sporting Rifle Match is really a fun, informal type match. It's really not the toughest test of field shooting ability by any means. Can it frustrate participants? Sure.

At the SRM, 54 of the 60 targets are shot from prone. The ranges of the targets are given as well as a map for each station of target locations. Everyone on the squad helps others find the targets before shooting begins. Most folks shoot for fun and help each other with wind calls.

The wind is the largest factor at the match, even when we have days like Sunday where conditions are as good as you're gonna see them there. The wind is still tricky, falling off and increasing on a whim, completely changing direction between shooters, blowing 2 different directions on each location. At times it appears that there is absolutely no wind, but it is there as proven by a miss off of the plate...

For comparison, the Steel Safari is widely regarded as the toughest test of field shooting in the Nation right now. Each competitor must walk a different 2-3 mile course each day by himself, carrying everything he needs including food and water. At each shoot position he must locate the targets himself, range them, and shoot them. Most of the shooting positions are crappy to say the least; off of boulders, crags in rock outcroppings, off of tree limbs, standing off hand, support side shooting is necessary sometimes, etc...

Many times all of the targets cannot even be located and attempted because of "hidden" locations. All of this and also dealing with high heat and high winds generally.


I say the above not to diminish your evaluation but to put it in a bit more perspective. Many say that this Long Range Shooting just isn't that tough, and on the surface it isn't. But to be consistently good is very difficult. It takes the best equipment, lots of experience, and natural talent to be at the top. Realize that you've only shot the SRM twice now. Don't beat yourself up about your performance. I have a friend who is a sponsored shooter who has won big Precision and 3-Gun matches who's shot the SRM and only hit 3 targets with his custom rig and experience.

You're right that it's like golf or any individually oriented game. Attitude can completely destroy performance or resurrect it, but the mental game in sports is another story....

As far as concluding that a factory rifle can't hang at a match like this or in the field on a long range hunt, don't bet on it. I started in the game with a factory rig that couldn't hold a candle to yours ballistically or optically. I was able to do well enough to get going until I decided to get serious and upgrade. I also return to my roots once in a while and take it back for fun. I've posted the high score for my entire squad who were all shooting custom rifles. It's more a case of the Indian and not the arrow...

Hornady factory Creedmoor ammo is good stuff. The reason the chambering and the ammo were created by Hornady was to provide match quality ammo and ballistics for competitors who didn't want to load their own. Many big matches have been won by guys shooting the factory ammunition. The best group I've ever shot in my life was shot with Hornady Factory Creedmoor ammo...

If I had to point to the reasons you experienced difficulty, I would say either your scope took a chit or you didn't have the drop data nailed down enough to be successful. I'm thinking scope problems after seeing elevation issues come and go on each station. Shoot some 100 yard groups and dial out to 600 or 700 and shoot, then come back to 100 with this scope then swap it out with another that has proven to be good and do the same.

Overall, don't be discouraged. If you set expectations too high and they can't be achieved, you'll be pissed and frustrated. I'm sure you'll discover what's wrong with the system with some investigation.

Makers Mark and Nukl'r didn't help either....

I think you're dead nuts on the dope... unlike me. I made some presumptions on velocity based on observed drops... and it could very well have been the entire problem. Though... I shot the same card on the first stage.... and everything was titties.

I'm not inclined to suspect the scope, as it has been on other rigs and proven reliable.... but it coulda gone south... we'll see tonight.

PS..... there's water right there in the sink man.

The toilet would have worked for me at the time...

That shoot sounds like a lot of fun.

I think RAR are a POS.




Travis

But at $400+/-, they are virtually disposable.

Maybe..... but a CTR has never looked better....

One of the nicer (original)pics ever posted.


For sure in this particular forum.

Perhaps, but a tinkerer can't keep himself from tinkering, so a $700 would require some changes, if for no other reason than "just 'cause".

Dog,

Seems like you actually scored pretty well given all of that. Thanks for sharing your experience.

Regarding barrel heat... when you put the putty in your stock you captured the receiver, nut, and part of the barrel. In your other thread I had mentioned that barrel heat affected my POI when I did this. Top pic is your rifle that you posted. Bottom pic is my rifle after removing the bedding capturing the nut and barrel.

I still see a change in vertical POI as I shoot more rounds in my 223 RAR but I know my velocities are going up with the RL15 load I am using (shot over chrono). Once I removed the bedding capturing the nut and barrel it was less sensitive to barrel heat. But its no heavy barrel and doesn't have the thermal mass for long strings of fire.

I'm also wondering about your rings and the suppressor. I know you had good success early in the match with the can but did you do much shooting with it before SRM?

Anyway, still seems like a good showing at SRM.

Jason

Jason,

The thought on the bedding/barrel heat certainly crossed my mind, it was your post on the other thread that had me suspecting it.... even before the match was finished.

I should add.... that the elevation issues were all misses high... and progressive. Meaning.... the last stage the gun shot the highest... requiring .5 MILs less at 400 than it had earlier in the day.

The gun is still in the pack... right where I stuffed it after the final station. I'm gonna try to get out tomorrow morning for a little shooting session before I head into Denver.

Thanks Sam.... the can cover on upside down cracks me up... it's pretty endearing.

I hadn't even noticed.

Her pants are on backwards?