Over the last couple of days a couple of friends brought me some rifles to shoot. Rifles are gifts for their kids for Christmas. Scopes were set@100 yds. Of course zero will be verified by kiddos before heading to the woods. Two were Ruger Americans in .270. Not a fan of the trigger design. Creep and overtravel werent too bad but pull weight was quite stiff. The detachable rotary center feed mag, while a good concept was all plastic and a PITA to load. On the bright side both shot the rem 154cl quite well. One was right at MOA while the other hovered around .75. The Venture was their predator model in .308. Stock while still flimsy was stiffer and a bit more solid feeling than the American. Rubber grip panels were a nice touch. Fit wasnt bad. Film dip camo had a few imperfections. Rifle handled and pointed well. Again the DBM was plastic. Straight stack center feed that was heavier built than the Ruger and easier to load. Also had tendency to be a pain to remove when empty. Bolt cycle on T/C was smooth. The Ruger not so much. Opening and closing were smooth on both but the Ruger felt crude and was noisy when sliding the bolt back and forth. The trigger on the TC was horrible. While it is adjustable, factory setting was horribly stiff and extremely spongy feeling. Lots of creep. Accuracy wise the .308 shows promise. Grouped well under an inch with Horn. 150 grn spbt. While I wouldnt buy either for myself, they both appear to be good starter rifles. Having to choose, think id go TC.

As a side note, all three rifles were fired from prone with my Caldwell bi-pod on front and rear bag. Little to no wind

Field & Stream did a write up on 6 rifles in Decembers issue

The article was called Accuracy for everyone.It listed six rifles,all under $500 the Ruger American and TC Venture were 2 of the rifles mentioned.The others were the Howa Hogue,Marlin X7,Savage Model 11 and Weatherby Vanguard.

Long story short the Marlin was the top pick with Ruger 2nd and TC 3rd.

I just ordered the Weatherby VG S2 for myself. I like the fact that I will have an action to work with in the future when its time for another build. Couldnt warm up to all the plastic on the Ruger and the TC. With some trigger work and handloads the Venture would be a sweet rig. The two Rugers i shot need trigger work also. But again they handled the factory loads they were fed quite well. Good rifles for what they are.

The Vanguard is the real steal among all the so-called 'cheap' rifles now. It is a great action that will last a lifetime.

The article also said the VG didn't feel "cheap". I personally like that rifle alot

I found out after scoping and zeroing three Americans that you can actually just pop rounds in the feed lips from the top. You do not have to "reverse" them into the feed lips from the front. Not sure if that is by design or not. The Sako A7 is a single feed mag that does the same.

To add to your experiences with the Rugers, all three of the ones I worked with where sub MOA with Federal Blue Box, one .243 and two .308s.

A buddy picked up a T/C in 243 for his kid. Thing was stupid accurate.....