Maybe another option for an entry level rifle - Ruger

[Trent]

Here are some preliminary photos. Sorry they aren't great. The more I handle this rifle the more impressed I am with it. It feels very solidly built. I swapped out the butt/cheek piece and it literally takes 10 to 15 seconds. Unscrew the rear sling stud and then pull out the stock and place the new one in. Very quick and no rattles.

I mounted a 12x Leupold and used Leupold QRW quick-release rings. The rings are definitely a little heavy looking but they are very solid rings. This way I can shoot scoped or open sights and the whole conversion will take less than a minute. Pop off the scope and swap the butt/cheek piece. Pretty cool if you ask me.

The stock is solid. Remington could take some lessons from Ruger on how to make synthetic stocks. The barrel is perfectly centered in the stock and the action mounts into the stock with a unique pillar system. Check that link to Real Guns I posted for photos of that. As long as it's not pouring rain tomorrow I am going to hit the range in the morning and report back. At $259 I think Ruger knocked this one out of the park! Oh, and it's nice to see bluing that isn't just matte finish to hide rough machining.

[Jason]

How's the trigger on that thing? You might have talked me into grabbing one for the same reason that Mark said. It would be nice to have a loaner gun that I could have someone borrow to shoot a match at Machias with.

[Trent]

The trigger is pretty crisp. No creep that I could detect. With it turned all the way down my calibrated trigger finger says that it feels like the advertised 3 pounds

[teetertotter]

I'm sure many will be waiting for accuracy reviews at 50yd and 100yd/m, testing various manufactures ammo to give us some idea.
Dang, this rifle is not made in LH.....as usual. I won't feel so bad if report is not all that good on accuracy....

But, yes, if good, I will put in our budget for 2 of these to have at our Silhouette range. We need anyway to go along with our 3 Savage Cub rifles.

[BCloninger]

It looks really nice! If it shoots as good as it looks, CZ has competition.

[teetertotter]

Over on rimfirecentral, fellow did some testing on the Ruger American .22LR. He only put a couple dry patches through between ammo. HIs testing at 50 yards with his method was not exactly what I would say, NOT very impressive.

[Trent]

Got to the range today and spent some time with the Ruger American Rimfire. I shot several types of ammo at 100yds. I wasn't super excited with the results but I think I have a major flaw in my front rest. I was shooting off of my 3" wide top which is meant for a 3" wide flat BR stock. I'll probably retest the rifle with a better and more stable front rest. Here are the groups.

Best groups were with Eley Tenex and I think it could actually shoot better than this. Group avg of .978 MOA and my technique wasn't as good on group 2 as it was for group 1 as you can tell from the gap between shots 1&2 and 3,4 & 5. All shots were basically touching except for the huge gap in POI.


Next up is Eley Match OSP which is technically a rapid fire pistol ammo.


Aguila Match Rifle



CCI Standard Velocity



SK Std+

[Trent]

Are my pictures too big?

[Trent]

In conclusion, I think the rifle performs quite well for a $260 rimfire. I will retest this again with a better front rest and report back.

Pros:
Trigger is very crisp and no creep.
Stock is rigid which is a welcome quality in a synthetic stock
The ability to swap the butt/cheek piece is a HUGE plus in my book!
Action is smooth
Hammer forged barrel is stout but not heavy
Finish on barrel/action is quality

Cons:
Bolt closes a little stiff but I am expecting that to ease up with use
Bolt knob is a little small for MY taste
Rear sight is kind of finicky to adjust. I will change this out with a better sight most likely. It's perfectly suited for someone who sets their sights and never changes them again.


That is a fairly short list of cons on a $260 rifle. My over all assessment is that this was a very good purchase.

[BCloninger]

I would agree that's pretty good for a $260 rifle; how would you rate it relative to a CZ 452?

[teetertotter]

Yesterday morning, I went out to the range to thoroughly clean my 452 American after 1500 rounds of Aquila Match Rifle and check sighting in. After 25 rounds, it was time to sight in. At 100 meters, with no wind on our tree lined range, with 6 inch metal mechanical ruler, 1.35 max and 1.10 best is what I estimated out of three 5 shot groups. This was done off sand bags front and rear. I try to position myself off the bench as if shooting off hand. I also can't my rifle. That is about what my normal performance usually is.

Today, I plan to go back out and set up animal paper targets. My LH 452 American is STOCK from the factory with a 2lb. 2oz trigger with 22 inch lb action screw setting.

Trent, the Ruger American looks pretty good too. The adjustable cheek piece is very nice. I plan to go ahead and put in our 2014 Silhouette budget for 2 of these Americans plus scopes come January.

[Trent]

I would agree that's pretty good for a $260 rifle; how would you rate it relative to a CZ 452?

I'm not sure if I'm the right person to make that comparison. I have very little experience with CZ rifles. I know this is a terrible reason but I have avoided the CZ brand because of how fanatical some of the owners can be. I know… totally lame.

[BCloninger]

We all have our reasons. I simply try to buy and promote US made whenever possible and this may be an opportunity to steer people someplace besides CZ for their first decent bolt action.

[snaketail2]

My most accurate rifle is a Ruger 10/22.

I'm curious about the new Ruger - Does it appear to be destined to have the aftermarket products like the 10/22 does?

Michael

[Trent]

If they hadn't gone with the pinned barrel it certainly would have every barrel maker producing barrels for it. Maybe Ruger wanted to distance themselves from the 10/22 and 77/22 but still utilize the magazine so everyone can use their spares.

The barrel is only pinned with a single pin that looks easily removable. If the barrel doesn't require a press to get it out of the receiver then I still see aftermarket barrels in this rifle's future. Although I think dropping a bunch of money to "improve" on this rifle defeats the purpose of it. It's an inexpensive rifle that seems to shoot well enough.

If someone developed a trigger for it more than likely it would cost nearly as much as the rifle itself. Honestly, the trigger is quite acceptable for silhouette and hunting. It's much better than a LOT of other rifles out there.