Ruger precision rifle

[sierraone]

The Ruger Precision is pretty clever marketing idea. Creates a "platform" type rifle without the costs of an AR upper and lower.

Both are fairly silly except for shooting at a range. I have a .308 built on the Mega action with Trijicon scope and am into it for well over 3k. With a 10 rd mag it is the heaviest rifle that I own. It is very accurate, but has no practical application - more in common with a crew-served weapon than any battle rifle that I ever used - much less a sporter. But one can hang all sorts of gizmos off of it which I am sure is the charm to the current generation. Even for repelling boarders, the thing has more in common with a BAR. Might have been useful in stopping hordes of charging Dervishes at Omdurman but I would have hated to have marched to the battlefield with it.

The Ruger seems to be blessed with all those same "virtues" but at least the itch can be scratched for a lot smaller investment.

Red Leg, you are dead on with your comment about the current generation. I was a range safety officer on a civilian range open to the public for a while. Most of the young folks who have the AR type weapons have had NO training on them. Every day that I worked, at least twice, I would have to show a "shooter" how to lock the bolt back on the weapon to clear the firing line to enable the line to go down and check their targets. Many times they would have no idea that was even possible!

 

[dailordasailor]

I am part of the "new" generation i beleive, at 25. However I was raised in the country of western NY and brought up with guns. However we didnt venture outside the classics like 30-06, 243, 12 gauge, an AR15 etc. Now that I am on my own and have a decent job, I have become engrossed in hunting everything i can and really enjoy time at the range.

I think you guys have convinced me to avoid pre-ordering the Precision rifle. I will wait until i can at least hold one.

I also have a buddy with a 300wm that i will have to ask to borrow for some range time soon and see how I like the recoil and everything else. I love my 700 30-06 and it honestly kicks less then my grandfathers 243 ruger (just ask my fiance) which means i can shoot a couple boxes at the range. Starting to lean more on picking up a 223 savage for a range gun and it can also handle hog duty. Its hard to beat the price of affordable 223 ammo for fun at the range. I have been playing with my 22mag because how fun it is to shoot but want some more distance/knockdown power. I did take a 50lb hog this year with that 22mag but far from best gun for it.

I will get some range time with a 300wm very soon. Thank you guys all for the input and i see one potentially under the tree come december

 

[Scott Slough]

Recoil shouldn't really be a consideration if you are planning on reloading and shooting paper. Load a round that you are comfortable with that is accurate in your rifle and shoot.

I am a BIG fan of the 300 win mag ... owning two! I don't really need all of the long-range and high-energy ballistics for my deer hunting (two stands, one with a 150 yard max shot and one with 120 yard max shot) so I use a managed recoil round from Remington as my deer hunting cartridge ... 150 grains Core-Lokt PSP going about 2650 ft/sec ... at least 10 deer kills with one 15 yard recovery as the only one that didn't drop on the spot. It is perfectly interchangeable with a 165 GMX Hornady superformance as far as point of aim in my main hunting rifle. I load the managed recoil for my normal deer hunting, but have a spare clip of the SUPERFORMANCE available on the rare occasion that I have longer shot opportunities or have a large pig that walks out. The 165 grain GMX would be highly effective up to moose in North America and Eland in Africa.

For me, it is that kid of flexibility that makes the 300 win mag superior as a hunting cartridge ... and I get it with off the shelf ammo. You could easily work up to a 75% (with a bullet designed for the slower speeds) and 100% load if you are interested in handloading and spending the time on the range.

 

[dailordasailor]

^ thats the type of info i like to hear. My fiances boss is a big hunter and speaks very highly of the 300wm and using it out west when he goes. I think i can talk the misses into letting me get a 223 and 300wm. Worth a shot at least love to have a gun i can safely stretch the legs on and still have great take down power with.

 

[ActionBob]

Strictly speaking cartridges but not specific guns, also take a look at the 300 WSM. I'm no expert but have been told it can easily be hand loaded to specks of the 300 Win Mag on down to 30-06 and 308 levels. I would think you could get a 125 grain bullet like Hornady uses in it's reduced recoil loads to be very light recoiling.

 

[enysse]

The 300 Win Mag can easily be reloaded down to 30-06 levels.

 

[dailordasailor]

What would be a decent load from factory? I'm not set up to reload yet and if borrowing gun for the day just want to grab something at Bass Pro or something that would be decent to get a feel for it

 

[Scott Slough]

What would be a decent load from factory? I'm not set up to reload yet and if borrowing gun for the day just want to grab something at Bass Pro or something that would be decent to get a feel for it

Buy two boxes of what the rifle is already sighted in for so you don't have to mess with adjusting the scope and give the second box to your buddy for letting you borrow his gun.

 

[nchungryhunter]

Yeah shoot what the gun is sighted for. Too much messing around otherwise.

Most accurate factory load I had put of my 700 was the 180 Superformance from honady. That's a pretty stout load though and all rifles, even same models sometimes are different.

 

[IronCowboy]

In the Ruger Precision Rifle, I'd recommend the 6.5 Creedmoor over the 308win.

Truth be told, the 308win does win a lot of matches at 600 and 1,000yrds still to this day, but that's largely because there are 600 and 1,000yrd matches that ONLY USE 308win!!! When you look at competitive firing lines around the USA in matches that don't require 308win (i.e. non-PALMA), then you don't see a lot of 308win's at the top. Largely you see 6, 6.5, and 7mm cartridges winning matches. Which is mostly due to the nature of the beast - you're shooting a lot of shots, burning a lot of powder, and taking a beating on your shoulder. You want high speeds and good aerodynamics, with moderate recoil such that you can touch them off fast and frequently without beating loose your teeth. 30caliber rifles aren't famous for that...

30caliber cartridges have to run over 200grns to get ballistic coefficients over 0.6 (G1), whereas the 6.5 Creedmoor will go over 0.6 with a 140grn pill. Considering they're coming out of the same case, the 308win will throw that 0.6 BC 200-220grn pill somewhere around 2400fps, whereas the Creedmoor will push a 140grn bullet with the same aerodynamics (same BC) at 2700fps.

Not to mention, the 308win Ruger Precision Rifle only has a 20" barrel, compared to the 24" tube on the 6.5Creed version - so the gap in muzzle velocity stands taller still in favor of the 6.5Creed.

And of course, the 200grn 2400fps 308win will punch over 25% more felt recoil in the same rifle - BUT - the 6.5 Creed also weighs almost a full pound more than the 308win, since it has a longer barrel and a smaller bore, so the felt recoil on the 6.5Creed will be even further less than the 308win simply because of the rifle weight.

Don't get me wrong, I love the old 308win, and I've done a lot of 1,000yrd shooting with them in the past, but it's just a fact that for targets at long ranges, the 6.5 Creed has real world advantages. Even for hunting, the 6.5Creed is plenty for deer as far as you can hit them, and will flatten elk sized game without issue. I killed a lot of game in college with a 6.5x55 swede that nearly replicates the 6.5Creed, it'll put meat on the table.

Also, the recoil of the 300win mag isn't bad in a 12lb+ rig. If you're shooting a 7-8lb hunting rifle, that's one thing, but you're not talking about that kind of rifle.

In your shoes, I don't think I would buy the RPR. You already own a Remington 700, and whatever scope you have on it. The RPR is going to set you back $1000 for the rifle, then $500-1000 on your scope to ride it, and any ammunition cost on top of that. Neglecting ammo, that's $1500 in your pocket, earmarked for a precision rifle... Put some of that $1500 towards rebarreling and rebuilding your 30-06 and you'd end up with a rifle that's every bit as good as the RPR could ever be. $300 on a shilen barrel, $300-500 on a new stock, $200 on a Jewel trigger, and $500 for a smith to blueprint and put it together, and you've got your $1500 invested into a real precision rifle.

But... That does take away the fun of buying another rifle...

 

[dailordasailor]

Thank you very much ironcowboy for the input!

I've yielded to others warnings and a lot of online reading and decided to pick up a savage model 12 in 223. This will be my intro into "long range" shooting and if I end up not liking it I'm not out huge money and still have a good hog gun.

As for my 700, what's a realistic set up to shoot maybe 500 yards and still be able to carry the gun in the woods without it's own set of wheels for support? Like to upgrade the stock and some smith work but keep gun the same otherwise. This was my first real gun purchase. If decide to go all in on long range, I'll start somewhere else as not too "ruin" my first big rifle

 

[IronCowboy]

What model is your Rem 700? I'll assume it's NOT a heavy barrel, since it's a 30-06.

500yrd shooting with a standard weight 30-06 Rem 700 is mostly about patience, as you'll need to give the tube time to cool between shots, lest it starts heating up and your groups start walking around. 300yrd shooting is relatively straight forward, get yourself to the point that you can consistently print to the minimum precision of the rifle at 300, then start moving out. By 500yrds, things have started changing, and by 600yrds, you'll likely feel like you're shooting an entirely different rifle. they're a little pricey, but the McMillan A2 and A5 are my favorite Rem 700 stocks for "non competition" bench-rest shooting. Bell & Carlson Medalist is a reasonably affordable option, and I've been happy with a couple of HS stocks as well. Really love the McMillan F-class stock, but it's not for everybody.

If you're staying with a sporter style barrel, then a more traditional sporter style stock might look better, but they don't look too out of place with an A2 or A5.

A new trigger will be in order. Shilen does a VERY nice trigger for $150, Jewel does THE trigger for ~$225. Well worth the money for either of them. If you don't want to modify your rifle any further, as in blueprinting and rebarreling, then the stock, bedding, and trigger would all be beneficial AND reversible. I sure wouldn't call accurizing a rifle equivalent to "ruining it". You could blueprint and rebarrel with a sporter weight and end up with no external appearance change but a significant improvement internally.

That Savage 12 in 223rem will keep you very happy out to 300yrds with lighter pills, and will stretch to 500yrds with heavier pills. My wife and I have 2 of the BVSS's (varmint bench style gooseneck stock with heavy forend, blind mag) in 223rem, her's would under 0.2MOA when it was new with 50grn pills. We regularly shoot water bottles at 300yrds with these rifles. Have it bedded and turn the accutrigger down and you'll be quite happy. My wife has shot a lot of 75grn A-max's out of hers, but I do have to push them pretty hard for that 1:9" twist (luckily, it has a pretty long tube). I run 50grn V-max's as well as 60grn partitions. It's a bit too heavy and long to call it a hunting rifle, although we do carry ours for run and gun coyotes.

 

[dailordasailor]

My 700 is the stainless model with black synthetic stock. Can't remember exactly what model though.

As for "ruining" that's the wrong word but I think you get what in saying. I'm all for getting a stock and having it bedded to see what I can do with her. Also looking at trigger options.

Really do appreciate all your time and info ironcowboy!