I thought we needed a good centerfire Ruger American thread. AI mag anyone?

AI mag is a 'No Brainer" if you want a reliable repeater......



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Really - a separate forum for an inexpensive cookie cutter entry level rifle ?

POS rifle like many of the other cheap plastic guns being made.

Only the stock is plastic, like many modern rifles . No question they will outshoot most factory offerings these days.

Oh contraire, the American rifle is a very accurate rifle designed to be manufactured as efficiently as possible, with design elements that contribute muchly to accuracy.

Like the 721,722 and 700 Remingtons, only better.

Why do you need a rifle with AI (artificial intelligence)?

For some people, that's as close as they're going to get to being smart.

223 Ackley Improved is a great caliber.

yep. AI's....

.Read the thread title..

It says THREAD not "Forum" you dumbazz.

I like mine and would buy another for the same price I stole it for...

Just never could like one. Hated at first sight, heard good stuff, then thought, ohh they're ok I'll try it, then, well, I just don't like 'em. They feel like a cheap chincy disposable rifle to me in all regards. I've bought, then sold two, without firing them, another after one range trip although it was accurate. LOL. Still have one just because it doesn't get used . It's great they shoot well for folks.

Let me add a +1 for the RAR. I have only one. It's a 223 Rem RAR Predator.
I bought it for one reason. I am a deer hunter who only recently started thinking about reloading and shooting for accuracy. I was told the RAR was an ideal entry level rifle for this purpose. I find it fills this requirement quite well.

The stock is not to my taste, but it does the job. The trigger is better than I would expect at this price point.

The magazine works. Mine was purchased late enough that the rotary magazine has given me no trouble. However, I still see the mag as the one great flaw for me. The rifle does not single-feed well at all. Somebody needs to market a dummy magazine that allows for single-feeding.

Here's the way I look at it. Back when I was a kid, a really good rifle that would get you 1 MOA straight out of the box was over $100 and a scope might set you back the same. That same rifle is now selling north of $1,000.

You could get a $40 rifle back then that might shoot 3-4 MOA if you worked at it. However, you had to learn how to be a shade-tree gunsmith to get there.

Here it is 50 years later, and the rifle mfgs have been able to produce a $300-400 rifle that gets you 1 MOA accuracy out of the box. Granted, it's not built like a $1,000 rifle, but it has parts that were machined better than that $100+ rifle fifty years ago. It goes together at the factory without a whole lot of tweaking. The stocks look like they were made by Mattel but you can take them out in the rain.

For all those wonderful pieces of craftsmanship I have in my safe, I can afford to go slumming once in a while.

For comparison, I have two Savage 340's on the rack. 1 is in 223 Rem. Both shoot reasonably well. By comparison, they are far and away less of a rifle than the RAR. The triggers are adequate. The magazines work. However, the rifle is needlessly heavy and the designs are not nearly as strong as the RAR. I also have 2 Winchester 670's. These are the functional equivalent of the RAR from the 1970's. However, they cost relatively more than the RAR, and neither has as good a trigger.

Who is Al, and what's he doing in the magazine?

You can't beat the accuracy for the dollar. I've had versions with rotary magazines and now the AI style mag. The rotary mags fed and functioned fine, but 2 of mine broke when they were dropped on the ground while loaded. I sold mine with the rotary mags and replaced them. I currently have a Predator in 308 and a Ranch rifle in 5.56 that takes AR magazines.

Ths stocks are cheap, but work. I can't see spending money to replace the stock though. I've got a couple of $350-$400 rifles. A $200 aftermarket stock puts me into a $550-600 rifle. If I've got a $600 budget I'll just buy a Tikka and be done with it.

Off subject..
Been looking for a north haven marlin xs7 in .308 for awhile myself.
Not a Mayfield one.
Accurate rifles. Inexpensive. Lines of the synthetic stock aren't over the top.

Haven't bitten yet, but they keep making them for interesting cartridges, and at a hard-to-beat price point. It's pretty clear they're good shooters. I wish more were available in SS, but then who worries much about a $400 gun?

In general, I'm against putting much lipstick on pigs, but Don really knows how to tart 'em up right.

I have one in 30-06. To me, a gun's a tool, not something to be cuddled. If it shoots well and can stand some abuse, that's what I want. I don't care about the looks. The RAR does all of that. My only gripe is that it doesn't have a bolt lock. When carried on a sling, the bolt will sometimes work it's way open.

Every time I hear someone complain about what someone else likes in firearms it makes me cringe. If I don't like something I don't buy it but I don't put someone else down because they do like it. We're all in this together and there's a hell of a lot of people trying to take our collective rights away. It's an incremental thing and we've capitulated far too much. We gave up the bump stock earlier because a lot of people don't like them so we discriminated against those that do. Today it's the AI magazine and tomorrow it'll be the AR. One of these days it's going to work it's way around to your OX so be careful what you bitch about.

I bought one because it was available in the .450 Bushmaster and in Ohio, a better option than a slug gun or muzzle loader. Bolt handle lift was a little stiff for my liking, the L.O.P. a little long, the comb way too low, trigger a skosh too heavy, and blueing is too prone to rust. It was darned accurate, and I'm not thrilled about the brake, but I fixed everything except the brake. Factory rotary magazine has never given me a problem, but then it's a 3 shot for the .450

Why not?

Face Book has a closed group on the Ruger American Rifle with 2,000 members so there are plenty of people out there talking about it

Nice job on that!

Honest question.

My daughter has a Savage Axis in 243 my dad won at a raffle they both attended.
Neither of us is a 243 fan, lots of experience with them, and would like a different
chamberings.

Should I ditch the Savage for a RAR, or get another Axis, so it's "The gun" she and Pap won?

Never knew anyone that actually kept one and shot it.

Usually darryl and gerald buy them for $200 at rural king on clearance and try to sell them to fools on tndeer.com for $500

Good lookin rifle.

I am a recovering gun snob.

Life gets easier when you realize that the only thing hitting that target is a bullet. It makes absolutely no difference how it gets there, as long as it does.

Those Ruger Americans get the job done.

Quitter

I think the RAR is a better cheap rifle than the Axis. Can't imagine not digging a 243 though.

I admit to being a member/follower/ whatever you call it.

They are fairly easy to re-barrel on your own. If you want to keep it "their" rifle, try another short action caliber. 7mm-08?

http://mcgowenbarrel.com/savage-pre-fit-barrels/

http://www.x-caliber.net/savage-pre-fit

https://raggedholebarrels.net/collections/savage-barrels

An older buddy of mine got one in 7-08 for his annual elk hunt. He needed something with less recoil than his 30-06, well heck, he's past 80 years old now. I helped him sight it in, and DANG it was accurate...

Another buddy needs a coyote rifle and has only a 22 rimfire. Wants something else. I cheerfully steered him towards a 223 Ruger American. Danged things work, they're accurate, and ya don't have to spend much.

I picked up the Ruger Precision Rifle in 6mm Creedmoor last winter. Goodness! That ugly chunk of iron is accurate...

Guy

Have they solved the problem of cartridges getting hung up in the mags and not coming to the top? With my '06, they sent me 3 new mags before I got one that fed reliably. I know a couple others with the same mag problems with their RAR's.

I’ve got a LH 7-08 and 6.5cm. I know LH has nothing to do with the mag. But zero problems.

I have a 6.5cm in the Ruger American Predator and it's extremely accurate with handloads. It hasn't shot anything that was larger than an inch group with factory loads. I replaced the rotary mag with the 450 bushmaster mag and it works great.

Like that pic. Just picked up my suppressor this morning after almost 11 month wait. Still have 1 in BATF jail.

The ultimate pragmatist could do a hell of a lot worse than have Americans in 223, 6.5 & 30.

Add an American in 22LR, a Hawkeye 22, an 870 & a Glock. Call it quits.

Then take the rest of your money & pay off the house sooner than usual, or bulk up the 401K.

Sounds gun boring, but it would work as a battery & could serve WELL.

I do not practice what I preach.

I repeat. Think about it before ya hit the keyboard.

I had a 6.5 Creed Predator was accurate and killed a nice blacktail stag with it but it was just meh so I tripped it.

Then picked up a 300BO Ranch model with the rotary mag. I need to toss the one bad mag before it gets in the rotation again.

It gets schidt done around the homestead.

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Picked up a 5.56 Ranch with the AR mag and it's a tack-driver. Almost as good as my Tikka.

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I've considered picking one up in the 450 when they go on sale at the local sports shop. How does it shoot?

Into about 1" to 1.5" at 100 yards with pretty much anything I try in it.

I’m a snob too, but have one that is a Polaris and loaner gun that I don’t worry about getting beat up.

I would think the .450 mag is too short for 6.5 creedmoor?

american in 22lr and 10,000 rds
american in 223 and 1000 rds
american in 308 and 1000 rds
glock in 9mm and 1000rds


very strategic use of money and could cover most needs in NA.

This has happened to me.

this chit is only as hard as you make it.....

It is a perfect fit. My buddy got one for his 7mm08 American and it works in his. It should work with any of the short action cartridges.

I wish someone could talk Rick into giving us a rifle forum.

thanks

Not my style at all.....you can have them.

I've had a RAR Predator in 5.56 for 4 years... I have much nicer rifles... I have none that shoot as well as this. It is not attractive to me, but it is a workhorse with the can on it... deer and hogs do not like it...

Thanks!, I will. Chitty stocks and mags aren't MY style, but I can adapt real fast to ugly that functions.

Laughing, hard...

I have three now. The first was a .308 that I bought when they first came out. Mounted a new Redfield scope. Zero complaints. Second was a 7.62x39, and it's my go to swamp and heavy thicket rifle now here in north central FL. The most recent was a .223 that I picked up used at a pawn shop for $220. Shoots lights out.
I could care less about walnut stocks and fancy brands. These are just working tools for a retired gent.

Have noticed that many people on this thread mention MOA or inch when discussing RAR accuracy. In my experience they usually shoot much better than that. This is the very first handload I shot out of an RA Predator in 6.5 Creedmoor at 100 yards. That's 5 shots, not three:



This one, a special run of 1-8 twist .22-250 sporters from Whittaker Guns, doesn't shoot quite that well with 70-grain Hornady GMX's, but it's more accurate than any other .22-250 sporter I've ever owned. This buck was easily taken at 350 yards:

Boomer, did you do the mods on the stock?
I like it!

Particulars/details please?

just listed in classifieds.........

223 Compact

Yes. Thanks. Fixed it up with stuff and things...


Hate the forearms. Just not enough material to simply remove the gayness. So, I roughed the hell out of it and gooped some Devcon (Home, standard cure) in there to fill the low spots to allow rounding. I tried JB Quick first and it peeled right off... I don't think I had to build up the grip, just grind. I suppose I should have specked it but ODG was GTG.

You've inspired me. I have an extra, since I put the 6.5 Creed in a Magpul stock.
As if I don't have enough projects.

It cracks me up to see people piss away gobs of money on a rifle that "looks good", when you can buy a RAR, epoxy the front end, tweak the trigger and out shoot the fancy high-dollar rifles. Guns are a tool. If you want crap to hang on your wall, then buy paintings. LMAO!

UTV special right there!

Not a rifle to admire while you’re passing time on your deer stand but one that will definately put meat on the table.
Compared the American to the Hawkeye and went with the latter.

g

Perfectly said!!!

Goes for scopes as well, especially on this forum. Why manufactures are plenty in all aspects, choose what you like and don't put others down because they don't agree with you.