308 Ruger American/Predator

[JamieC]

Question, looking to learn long range shooting, small budget, I've read quite a bit on different rifles. At the moment I'm looking at the Ruger American. My first choice is the Predator, slightly heavier profile 18" barrel, option for muzzle brake. There are pratically NONE available in .308. Why .308, it's proven, it's relatively inexpensive and more importantly, it's AVAILABLE. A local gun store has a Ruger American 'standard' with a 22" barrel. Should I wait on the one I want, am I giving up, (or gaining), anything going to the 22" barrel. I have no immediate plans to hunt although my daughter and her husband deer hunt quite a bit...I might really get into this, I do reload so working up loads is always fun, I might get tired of it, no point in spending a fortune, (although putting money into a gun is probably a good investment right now!)

 

[Robert]

What is long range for you?

 

[JamieC]

Most ranges around here go out to 500 yards. If I get some what proficient at that, I'll look into longer ranges.

 

[jmr40]

I like the Predator IME they are generally a little more accurate. The slightly thicker, shorter barrel is stiffer. The 3 1/2" longer barrel of the standard rifle will give you 50-60 fps more speed, but that isn't enough to prevent you from shooting at 500 yards. The shorter barrel will drop about 3" more at 500 yards. Using one of my go-to 308 loads if I subtract 60 fps from muzzle velocity it'll drop 60" at 500 vs 57" from my 22" rifle. You can still be over 1000 fps past 1000 yards even from the 18" barrel.

Remember, no 2 rifles will give you the same speeds even with the same length barrels. I can only say what MY rifles get. And there is 50-60 fps difference between my 18" Ruger Predator and my 22" Winchester. My 20" Tikka is about 20 fps faster than the 22" Winchester.

But then again, I have no idea when you might be able to get the Predator. Locally firearms are back on shelves in decent supply, but I don't recall seeing any Ruger bolt guns lately. Maybe they are concentrating on handguns and AR's. You might want to take the standard rifle since it is there.

 

[Frostbite]

I once took the Predator route. It is a .223. I have invested almost as much on it as the price I paid for the rifle (new stock, trigger polish) apart from the rings and scope. It is still not a great target rifle, but I finally got it under 1" at 100 yards with premium ammunition. It shot around 5" at 100 yards before all that. I think I is worth what I paid for, but no more. It was born rather light and handy, I made it heavy, cumbersome and more accurate. Knowing what I know now, I would buy something else for that purpose. I do just as well at 100 yards with my .22 LR and premium ammunition for a fraction of the cost. YMMV.

 

[LoonWulf]

Ive had a few "predator" type Americans, all 6.5 CM tho. None shot larger then moa with basic handloads.

My dad shoots a 6.5 pred in addition to his bergara HMR Pro.

Ive worked with the light barreled, standard Americans also, and mechanically i doubt the preds are really any more accurate.
The added weight out front helps make them easier to shoot.