a friend of mine and i recently ordered ruger american predators in .223. we got a chance to do some medium/long range shooting with them this past weekend, so i figured i'd do a quick write-up.
both rifles came nicely packaged with all of the usual paperwork, including an offer for a free stock pack for registering your rifle online. i chose not to do this, as i prefer the triad tactical stock packs with the internal cartridge loops (also made in the USA).
the fit and finish is pretty nice for a rifle in this price range, and i believe the matte blue finish looks much better than the standard american line. the bolt lift was a little stiff at first but after cleaning and putting some rounds downrange is nice and smooth now. i removed the action from the stock to clean everything, and adjust the triggerdown to about 3#. i retorqued the action screws to 72 in/lb. ruger states 60-80 in the manual.
i removed the one piece base and remounted it with loctite on the screws and torqueing it per weaver's spec. i mounted a leupold mark ar 3-9x40 with mil dot reticle and bdc turrets, using warne maxima low rings. added the butler creek caps (only thing not made in the USA on this rifle now), and was ready for the range.
i dialed turrets to mechanical center and found i only needed a few clicks left to be hitting the bull at 100yds. we didn't shoot for groups at 100 unfortunately, and i hope to do this this weekend with various loads to test overall accuracy.
after a couple shots to be satisfied with sight in, we moved to the 10" steel gong we had set up at 300yds. i dialed the bdc turret to 300 and with 55gr bulk ammo was hitting it consistently. we paid no attention to letting the barrel cool and it seemed to have little effect on our shooting.
we then moved out to 500yds with the same 10" steel. hits were still consistent both with my bdc turret and his bdc reticle in the nikon p223 he mounted. by this time the barrels were warm enough that mirage in the scope view was becoming a problem. we let them cool a for a bit and had no problem placing almost evey shot on target.
near the end of the day we moved out to 700 yards. we still made hits, and with a drive/hike back to the target, i'd say with about 50 percent of shots taken. the difficult part was that we really couldn't spot our misses. his bdc reticle only went to 600, as did my turret. i tried entering some fast and loose data into my ballisitc calc, but without decent data to start from, i have no idea if the solutions were anywhere near the mark.
all in all, for a sub $400 rifle with a 3-9x scope, i was pleased with how well it shot. i hope to spend some time wringing it out this weekend at 100yds with a few different loads, and come up with some solid dope for future long range outings.
quick and dirty shot of the rifle as set-up.
both rifles came nicely packaged with all of the usual paperwork, including an offer for a free stock pack for registering your rifle online. i chose not to do this, as i prefer the triad tactical stock packs with the internal cartridge loops (also made in the USA).
the fit and finish is pretty nice for a rifle in this price range, and i believe the matte blue finish looks much better than the standard american line. the bolt lift was a little stiff at first but after cleaning and putting some rounds downrange is nice and smooth now. i removed the action from the stock to clean everything, and adjust the triggerdown to about 3#. i retorqued the action screws to 72 in/lb. ruger states 60-80 in the manual.
i removed the one piece base and remounted it with loctite on the screws and torqueing it per weaver's spec. i mounted a leupold mark ar 3-9x40 with mil dot reticle and bdc turrets, using warne maxima low rings. added the butler creek caps (only thing not made in the USA on this rifle now), and was ready for the range.
i dialed turrets to mechanical center and found i only needed a few clicks left to be hitting the bull at 100yds. we didn't shoot for groups at 100 unfortunately, and i hope to do this this weekend with various loads to test overall accuracy.
after a couple shots to be satisfied with sight in, we moved to the 10" steel gong we had set up at 300yds. i dialed the bdc turret to 300 and with 55gr bulk ammo was hitting it consistently. we paid no attention to letting the barrel cool and it seemed to have little effect on our shooting.
we then moved out to 500yds with the same 10" steel. hits were still consistent both with my bdc turret and his bdc reticle in the nikon p223 he mounted. by this time the barrels were warm enough that mirage in the scope view was becoming a problem. we let them cool a for a bit and had no problem placing almost evey shot on target.
near the end of the day we moved out to 700 yards. we still made hits, and with a drive/hike back to the target, i'd say with about 50 percent of shots taken. the difficult part was that we really couldn't spot our misses. his bdc reticle only went to 600, as did my turret. i tried entering some fast and loose data into my ballisitc calc, but without decent data to start from, i have no idea if the solutions were anywhere near the mark.
all in all, for a sub $400 rifle with a 3-9x scope, i was pleased with how well it shot. i hope to spend some time wringing it out this weekend at 100yds with a few different loads, and come up with some solid dope for future long range outings.
quick and dirty shot of the rifle as set-up.