A quick range report for my new Ruger African 270.
First, 99% of my rifles have free floating barrels, and this new Ruger does not. It has pressure on the bottom of the barrel near the end of the forestock and touches slightly on the sides nearer the chamber. I know that many Rugers are supposed to be like this, but as a free floating man, it seems foreign to me.
However, since this gun came that way from the factory and since it is the way many folks keep their Rugers, I thought I'd give it a whirl "as is".
I mounted a Swarovski 3-10x on it so I could be precise in grouping.
I just used my "already" loaded handloads that my Sako 270 loves: 140gr AB, 52gr H-4350, COAL 3.253. The 22" barreled Sako launches these at 2875 fps and they are pleasant to shoot.
I bore sighted at 25yds; fired one shot at 50 to foul the barrel and see where it hit; then made a slight adjustment to better center it and fired another to check. Its pretty warm today and I'm only wanting so see if it"ll group, so to keep the barrel cooler, I didn't shoot any more.
I then shot the attached target at 100yds, letting the barrel cool about 3-5 minutes between shots.
The result, a true .25" 3-shot group. To say I'm happy with this group, is an understatement. I tailor made the load for the Sako and just hoped the Ruger wouldn't "throw up" when I fed them to it
The gun performed flawlessly in all aspects, i.e., trigger, cycling, etc.
Now, I think I'll wait on the floating and bedding. I know that with a wood stock, weather and temp changes might affect the pressure on the barrel, etc., however, I think I'll just shoot it over the summer and see how it does, if for no other reason, than out of curiosity. I can always circle back to bed and float it any time I desire.
First, 99% of my rifles have free floating barrels, and this new Ruger does not. It has pressure on the bottom of the barrel near the end of the forestock and touches slightly on the sides nearer the chamber. I know that many Rugers are supposed to be like this, but as a free floating man, it seems foreign to me.
However, since this gun came that way from the factory and since it is the way many folks keep their Rugers, I thought I'd give it a whirl "as is".
I mounted a Swarovski 3-10x on it so I could be precise in grouping.
I just used my "already" loaded handloads that my Sako 270 loves: 140gr AB, 52gr H-4350, COAL 3.253. The 22" barreled Sako launches these at 2875 fps and they are pleasant to shoot.
I bore sighted at 25yds; fired one shot at 50 to foul the barrel and see where it hit; then made a slight adjustment to better center it and fired another to check. Its pretty warm today and I'm only wanting so see if it"ll group, so to keep the barrel cooler, I didn't shoot any more.
I then shot the attached target at 100yds, letting the barrel cool about 3-5 minutes between shots.
The result, a true .25" 3-shot group. To say I'm happy with this group, is an understatement. I tailor made the load for the Sako and just hoped the Ruger wouldn't "throw up" when I fed them to it
The gun performed flawlessly in all aspects, i.e., trigger, cycling, etc.
Now, I think I'll wait on the floating and bedding. I know that with a wood stock, weather and temp changes might affect the pressure on the barrel, etc., however, I think I'll just shoot it over the summer and see how it does, if for no other reason, than out of curiosity. I can always circle back to bed and float it any time I desire.
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