Ruger American Magnum Rifle

[riftol]

Here it is.

It's chambered for two cartridges, the 7mm Remington Magnum and 300 Winchester Magnum.

It's threaded for a muzzle brake.

[Varg Vikernes]

Okay.

[5.56Geo]

Hmmmm, how so?

[JMP]

Has anyone shot one of these? It looks like a very economical way to shoot larger cartridges.

[rmfool]

I have an american in 270 and I am not a fan of the gun. It is light and would make a good hunting gun but I shoot mainly at a range. I am thinking of getting rid of it for something else.

[diver160651]

Ruger American Magnum Rifle

I have an american in 270 and I am not a fan of the gun. It is light and would make a good hunting gun but I shoot mainly at a range. I am thinking of getting rid of it for something else.

rmfool- It is a light weight hunting line. Not intended as a target gun, as you discovered

JMP - I have owned several more expensive 300's as ultra light hunters (in general, I hate super light magnums and have sold them off), But I have a Ruger American in a 270 and have some time on it. It is a good buy for what it is. Below is not really for your benefit as I know you are tuned in. Cut to the video at the bottom, you might get a kick out of that one



There are a lot of reviews on these already, they mostly seem to be ultra-positive.. mine below is nothing more than my experience with it after developing loads. Hopefully it shows what the gun line is suited best for.

I paid $349 for a 270. I went with a 270 as I had a T3 already in that caliber and it was the only caliber in stock. This gun was bought as a spare so I could lone it out on a hunt. There were no expectations of it being anything more than a cheap short range loaner gun. It has been on several pig hunts as a backup and had it sense they were released. I'll share my impressions and try to clarify my POV based on my other experiences so it is clear how I formulated my thoughts.

Carrying: (good)
It is a 6.25 pound rifle and that complete rifle weighs lest than most my barrel blanks and cost nearly the same. Scoped with a FFP mil dot, I am just @7.5lbs. When in an area that I need quick access, like pig beds, I tend to sling in patrol carry. I shoot right handed models left handed, so that puts the bolt handle near my chest and against me. Bolt lift on it is super light and I find that the bolt will lift. While thats not good… I am not going to do more than mention it as I bet not many carry a right hand bolt action, slung in patrol carry - left handed.

For longer range hunting, I carry a custom 7mm with a 5-25x and a 26" MTU fluted barrel. It gets heavy with a pack, but I know this gun out to ELR ranges and know how far I am comfortable. Last weekend I carried the 7 until I glassed and found my hog, the following day I carried the Ruger (my tag filled, I was just there as a backup to my 16 year old). For those thinking 6+ extra pounds doesn't matter to much as you hike all day up and down ravens, all I can say is that one feels like your really working by the end of the night and the other feels like you've just been out hiking.. The light weight of the Ruger is very nice for carrying.

Shooting: (accurate)
Despite having a films stock that tougher the barrel with a bipod load, it shoots 3 shoot groups in a ragged hole with 58.5 grns RE22 and Barnes TTSX 130 solids (non-coper hunting CA). After about 3/4 quick shots the barrel does begin to get really hot and shift a bit as do many ultra thin barrels.

The downside with any ultra light, larger caliber rifle is felt recoil. It is very hard to get even a custom hunting gun in a large caliber this light. Without a break, it moves my scope off target (something I hate) forcing me to hustle to see the impact. I can't really get back on in time unless it is several hundred meters out. This is not the guns fault, a break would help, but still it is just so damn light..

Trigger: (Good)
I am self-professed trigger nut and have 8 Huber's that cost about $100 more than the entire Ruger American. I also had a bunch of Jewels (no longer use them after to many rainy day/muddy or dusty/sandy mishaps) and Timney's. While the trigger is not a match trigger, it is good for a rifle in this price range.

Cycling: (Mixed-Poor)
The bolt release is a very nice button on action like many of use have on our custom actions. This is very nice for cleaning etc...

The is a 3 lug short travel lift bolt. This is good to cycle the bolt quickly and keep the hands out of the way of the scope. The bolt lift is light, I find a bit too light as in cases mentioned above.

The magazines are detachable 3 round rotary and seem like a very nice touch - However, these might be the Achilles heal of the system. Once the mag is empty, single feeding is tuff and the rounds tend to nose dive and get hung up. If you learn to toss them in just right it works. This of course limited the utility of 2 round devices like SAP's bullet caddy.

Of the two magazines I have, they both can get stuck after the first cartridge is loaded. It is not "all" the time but enough to be concerning.

Upgradability (Very Poor)
If you are plan on upgrading, your going to have few choices. Sans having a Smith replace a barrel about the only upgrades are:
• 20MOA EGW Picatinny base http://www.egwguns.com/index.php? p=product&id=1362
• Glades Armory Bolt knobs http://gladesarmory.com/12/ruger
• Stock - only one wood stock to date (unless a smith custom inlets something, but the recoil system on the Ruger American does NOT lend itself this easily)http://www.boydsgunstocks.com/press-...american-rifle

In a nutshell, this is a great buy for a short range hunter looking for a truck gun, loaner, short range pig gun or a hunting gun when they can not afford more.

This is not a target gun and Ruger does not promote it as such. Nothing about the line, including the really slow twists on guns like the 6mm & 7mms, suggest it is not meant for anything other than a light weight, short range hunter.

I think confusion is coming from people like this (see the youtube video below) that think this is a starter that results in a good "tactical" build - LOL ~ to me it still looks like a cheap short range hunting rifle.. adding a bipod doesn't make these a precision, long range or tactical gun.

https://youtu.be/Jd9ln8Ivtb0