Ruger American Rifle Gen II

[zaitcev]

I know there's not a huge demand for iron sights on these but there is some. I am bummed there isn't an option for them.

I understand you're bummed, but RRR has a threaded muzzle usually, so it ought to take an Ultradine and some kind of TechSight on pic rail at the receiver. At a significant additional expense, of course, but them's breaks.
https://ultradyneusa.com/product/c4-...-barrel-mount/

I also found a SeeAll to be a decent substitute for irons. It has basically the characteristics of irons: you must look through the sight and line it up with the target. It may also be more affordable than a set of irons, and being very small it clamps in the receiver rail. It is also surprisingly resistant to snow and rain (but not ice sadly).
https://www.seeallopensight.com/

[idahojess]

LH please.... it can't be that difficult, but they just will not do a ranch rifle with a lefty bolt.

[Navin Johnson]

At what price point should one be shopping for a Tikka/Bergara vs a RA?

[nate89]

LH please.... it can't be that difficult, but they just will not do a ranch rifle with a lefty bolt.

Amen on this! I have literally been waiting for a left handed ranch rifle ever since they released the original ones.

[Salamander]

I have a Ranch in 6.5G and absolutely love it. I put a compact stock on it.

I'm reasonably happy with my Ruger Ranch Gen I 6.5G also. Went with that caliber because at the time I was frequently on a project site that had a few pigs, so having something bigger than 5.56/223 seemed like a good idea and still light and compact enough to easily carry on rugged terrain. It can also reach out to considerably longer range than 300 BO.

It's important to remember that it's a budget offering. The trigger is not too bad but obviously no match for the Timney on my 308. The chamber design makes it a little tricky to clean. The machining on the bolt was rough out of the box, it's worn in some now but still isn't all that slick at speed, most of my old 1940s-1950s mil surp bolt guns are better and some are much better. But it's fairly accurate for the price and does what I need it to do... good enough to get the job done, and to do better would cost accordingly. It may not win a long distance match, but pretty sure it will kill a pig or a deer cleanly and it's lots of fun to punch paper or steel with.

I just had it out to the range Saturday, it was shooting 3-inch groups at 200 yards with a 2-7x scope, on a moderately windy day. On a good day I can get an occasional MOA group, but it takes more concentration than with some of my more expensive rifles that can do that or better, easily and consistently; those have lighter triggers and heavier bullets and better optics. Back to the good enough comment, it was easy to ring steel at 200 yds. Next time I have a spotter it may be fun to try longer distances, we have steel at 400, 500, 550, and 600 yds on that range.

Ammo availability is limited here for 6.5G, so I mostly reload and also usually keep a couple boxes of factory ammo on hand. For reloads it's shot well with both 123gr Hornady ELD match and Barnes 120gr TTSX, still experimenting with a few different powders though. I'll chrono some in the near future, my Garmin Xero should be here tomorrow.

That spiral barrel on the Gen II looks like a nightmare to clean, I'd prefer they put the machining effort into cleaning up that bolt.

[zaitcev]

That spiral barrel on the Gen II looks like a nightmare to clean, I'd prefer they put the machining effort into cleaning up that bolt.

I don't understand that remark. I have a couple of rifles with fluted barrels, although admittedly straight, not spiral. But if any mud gets caked on them, I just hose them down and spray some Ballistol for good measure. It's not like I need or want to lick those flutes for perfection.

P.S. I you think RRR Gen2 is bad to clean, Ruger sell a 5.7 rifle where the spiral flutes are under a handguard.

[okie john]

At what price point should one be shopping for a Tikka/Bergara vs a RA?

I've owned several Tikkas and and one RAR. Aside from the fact that both launch bullets and are remarkably accurate, they're not in the same league in any way. Prices on new centerfire Tikkas are pretty much set, starting around $750, but even the base model has all the Tikka features. Paying more gets you flutes, camouflage, stainless steel, etc. Except for stainless, almost none of those things matter much in the real world. The RAR starts around $390 new online, but that's for the Standard with the horrible, fragile magazines. Stepping up to ~$500 gets you the AICS magazines, which I think are pretty much mandatory.

Only under extreme financial duress (my house burned down AND I lost my guns in the fire AND I'm on food stamps AND I'm riding the bus to work now AND I need a rifle by nightfall) would I buy another Ruger American.


Okie John

[littlejerry]

I've owned several Tikkas and and one RAR. Aside from the fact that both launch bullets and are remarkably accurate, they're not in the same league in any way. Prices on new centerfire Tikkas are pretty much set, starting around $750, but even the base model has all the Tikka features. Paying more gets you flutes, camouflage, stainless steel, etc. Except for stainless, almost none of those things matter much in the real world. The RAR starts around $390 new online, but that's for the Standard with the horrible, fragile magazines. Stepping up to ~$500 gets you the AICS magazines, which I think are pretty much mandatory.

Only under extreme financial duress (my house burned down AND I lost my guns in the fire AND I'm on food stamps AND I'm riding the bus to work now AND I need a rifle by nightfall) would I buy another Ruger American.


Okie John

I think one of the advantages of the RAR 2.0 are barrel lengths and muzzle threads. Tikka is averse to offering barrels 20" or less (unless it's a CTR) and their threaded offerings are all $1k or more. If anyone wants to suppress their rifle Tikka makes it difficult.

If I paid a smith to chop and thread a T3X stainless I'd be at $900 easily, and still I'd be working with a pencil barrel and threads that are too small. Or I'd buy a CTR for ~$1100 and still be stuck with a 20" barrel.

Comparing to a CTR it seems like the RAR is half the price for similar features. If those features are important it's compelling. If not, as you said, the T3 is a nice rifle.

[okie john]

I think one of the advantages of the RAR 2.0 are barrel lengths and muzzle threads. Tikka is averse to offering barrels 20" or less (unless it's a CTR) and their threaded offerings are all $1k or more. If anyone wants to suppress their rifle Tikka makes it difficult.

If I paid a smith to chop and thread a T3X stainless I'd be at $900 easily, and still I'd be working with a pencil barrel and threads that are too small. Or I'd buy a CTR for ~$1100 and still be stuck with a 20" barrel.

Comparing to a CTR it seems like the RAR is half the price for similar features. If those features are important it's compelling. If not, as you said, the T3 is a nice rifle.

Good points. Not sure I agree with the "pencil barrel" idea, though. My biggest been about Tikkas is that they're light in name only, and much of that weight is in the barrels.


Okie John

[rayrevolver]

The support from your shoulder is below the path of the recoil, pivoting the stock up into your face as it recoils and making it more difficult to spot your own shots.

Totally my opinion, I think it looks absolutely hideous to boot.

If you don't mind the shorter LOP, you can get closer to a direct path? Maybe?



When the Ranch model 6970 came out back in the day, I was very interested, since it came with a "compact" stock. Looks like these Gen IIs have the ability to adjust LOP. I don't shoot my 300BLK much anymore, but wanted one for goofing with a can. Still kinda want one...


Question: I thought these took normal AR magazines. Am I mistaken?