hows the ruger american in 7.62x39mm?

One of these makes sense to me. Not a high performance round, but the pricr is right.

I would bet that most steel case ammo would be in the 2-3 MOA range. But one might find one that is consistent and a rifle likes and experience 1 MOA. But I have no personal experience with the Ruger American, so take what I said for what it's worth.

I have one and have only shot the cheap steel case ammo in it. Your mileage may vary, but mine shoots sub MOA with wolf polyformance and just barely over an inch with the "red army" stuff.

I have yet to try any premium brass ammo in it, hard to justify when it shoots the cheap stuff this good.

I will throw in that I'm using a 3x9 Nikon and a bipod on it, and find it to be one of the most fun guns in the stable.

I’ve been very happy with the Ruger American Ranch in 762x39, I put a 2x7x32 Vortex on it and it shoots most of steel case cheap ammo around a 1 1/2-2”@ 100 yards
Still working on reloads some of these are grouping under 1” @100yrds I’m doing five rounds for testing
The scope base came loose so I cleaned the screws and holes with denatured alcohol and reasembled with blue lock tite
I have the trigger adjusted on the lighter side
I have not shot a CZ or Howa in this cartride so I have nothing to compare it to
I would address the scope base before putting a scope on it

Mine will go inch or less for three shots with Tula. Must be something to those hammer forged barrels...

Here is someone's video:



M

<*(((>< said:

I would bet that most steel case ammo would be in the 2-3 MOA range. But one might find one that is consistent and a rifle likes and experience 1 MOA. But I have no personal experience with the Ruger American, so take what I said for what it's worth.

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I would bet most steel case ammo would be in the 1-2 MOA range. I say this because 1) the Ruger American has proven to be a very accurate rifle, 2) the 7.62x39 really shines in a bolt action, and 3) a buddy of mine bought one and tells me the cheapest steel case hollow points he could find shoot just over an inch from his gun. He promptly went out and dropped a doe at 125 yards with it a few days after buying it.

Anyone that has no experience with the 7.62x39 out of a quality bolt action will likely be very surprised at what an accurate round it is.

On Sunday afternoon, a friend of mine borrowed my 7.62x39 Savage model 10 at the range. He was feeding steel case hollow point ammo through it and shooting nice tidy 1-1.5" groups at 100 yards. Then I handed him three of my handloads (Lapua brass, CFE BLK powder and 123 grain SST bullets) and told him to see what he could do at 200 yards. His first two shots were 1/2 apart and the third opened one of the holes. We didn't measure it, but he shot under 3/4" at 200 yards with that little Russian round. More often than not, it's the most accurate rifle I take to the range. I see no reason the Ruger American would be any different.

and find it to be one of the most fun guns in the stable

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This, in spades.

Before I allow anyone to shoot my Savage 7.62x39, I remind them the gun is NOT for sale.

My love affair with this gun began with a Cz 527. I have a farm, a Kawasaki Mule, and a tractor. This gun will ride the tractor with me. So far, I took it down to a property in Oklahoma I was looking at to buy. I shot this hog off he salesman’s ATV.
Both the Cz and the Ruger will shoot cheap ammo into small groups. They are short and handy. What it lacks in power, you can make up for with accuracy. I have shot a coyote at 300 yards New Year’s Day. Having shot these guns at 400yards, you realize that they drop pretty steeply. However, with the right scope and reticle, this can be compensated for.

The cheap ammo steel is the ammo of choice, but for deer and coyotes, I prefer good

SST or cast handloads.

I have shot several hundred rounds of Russian and Yugo through mine and it's accurate and lots of fun. I purchased 2 mini-30 10 Rd mags, put a C-More railway red dot, simple sling, great to walk and plink in the local desert washes. Zeroed at 50 yards and keep most shots shots under 150. This rifle is now my go to rifle for inexpensive centerfire blasting.

Mine shoots extremely well, so much that I just bought another one because my son absconded with the first one. I just posted this on another forum about two minutes ago....

"They are simply great rifles! I owned a CZ 527 for a while and liked the rifle, but the backwards safety just never really worked for me. I loved the iron sights, but scoping it was awkward and accuracy with surplus ammo was just mediocre. When the Ruger came out I was really hopeful as I still had a ton of ammo and liked shooting the 7.62x39 out of a bolt action. Using the Mini30 mag was just icing on the cake. Mine is extremely accurate, has virtually no recoil, handy, and can take a beating. As much as I love my Lever Actions, this rifle might end up being the modern incarnation of this concept: light, compact, reasonably powerful, and accurate (or in the case of the Ruger, More Than Accurate) for moderate ranges."

Newtosavage:

I wish I could locate a Savage M10 in 7.62X39. The Rugers do look nice.

Geno

Geno said:

Newtosavage:

I wish I could locate a Savage M10 in 7.62X39. The Rugers do look nice.

Geno

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Geno, after shooting mine, a good friend just HAD to own one. So he did what I did. and found a new old stock Savage in the Cabelas gun library and had it shipped to our local Cabelas. Well sometimes his eyes are bigger than his stomach so to speak, and he is also trapped in a big city. So he never took it out to the range. Eventually he decided to sell it. I hated to see him do that because I know what that rifle is capable of and it's easy for me to remember how much he enjoyed shooting mine.

Good luck in your search but I wouldn't hesitate to get the Ruger. Those Mini mags seem downright handy!

As much as I love my Lever Actions, this rifle might end up being the modern incarnation of this concept: light, compact, reasonably powerful, and accurate (or in the case of the Ruger, More Than Accurate) for moderate ranges.

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I can't disagree with that, and I've owned a pre-64 Winchester since '84.

I really want one of these in either 7.62x39 or 450 bushmaster but I’ve already got so many other things ahead of it on the list I probably never will.

someguy2800 said:

I really want one of these in either 7.62x39 or 450 bushmaster but I’ve already got so many other things ahead of it on the list I probably never will.

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Here's the kicker - if you did own one it would probably jump to the top of your list of guns you most often shoot.

I really wish Ruger would make a left handed version. I've requested it via their web page.

Does Ruger allow top loading into the magazine without removing the magazine and single feeding by dropping a round without inserting into chamber? It uses the double stack Mini 14 mag right? Mag latch is metal or plastics?

HankC said:

Does Ruger allow top loading into the magazine without removing the magazine and single feeding by dropping a round without inserting into chamber? It uses the double stack Mini 14 mag right? Mag latch is metal or plastics?

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You could load singly, but the mag follower needs to be held down.

Mag catch is steel.

M

I really like the Ruger American. I have the Ranch in all it's guises, the 5.56 and 300 BLK are the old style The Predator in 308 and just recently picked up a Predator in 6.5 Grendel. Have not shot it yet.

The weak spot is the rotary mags. I have single shot adaptor blocks from Ragged Hole for my 556 and 300 BLK. I use the single stackn450 Bushmaster mag in the 308. Works well.

The 7.62x39 is an accurate rifle. I shoot my handloads in it. Shoot a lot of the cast 155 grain gas checked and the Sierra 125 grain pro Hunter. The Sierra's are especially accurate, an inch or less. The cast shoots 1 1/2 to 2 inches. I use 4227 powder.

Don't know about the steel case ammo, but a friend gave me a bunch of Tulammo for my birthday, just have not shot it yet. The Mini14 mag is a great improvement over the rotary mags.

Buddy has one and it's been nothing but great. All he shoots in it is Tula and never a problem.

It's plenty accurate to 200yds for hunting but it's not a precision shooter. It's highlights are being light, compact and reasonably accurate.

Great all around handy hunting/brush gun. He's planning on taking it on a hog hunt we're supposed to go on next spring.

Buy one, you wont regret it. Ive had mine a few weeks now, it is so accurate and fun for so cheap! Im completely sold on these, I will be purchasing one in .450 and 6.5 grendel next.

I fondled one at a gun show and very nearly purchased it on the spot. I've heard lots of good things about them; there's a lot of steel case 7.62x39 here; plus I have 7.62x39 brass, bullets, & dies. Next time I see one I may be unable to resist....ETA.... M1key; Thanks for posting that video.

I would buy one in a heartbeat for my son. He loves the Rugers. I swear he duplicates my CZ 527's with Rugers just to be "that guy". My next one will be in Grendel.

Hey guys, i got about 250 rounds through my ruger american in 7.62x39, and the factory picatinny rail came loose on me. Not a huge deal, but i expected more from ruger. Just a thought, if you buy a new one you may consider degreasing and reinstalling it with loctite. Anyone else have this issue?