ruger american 30-06

[creekrat72]

I am looking for a new deer rifle. I already have a Remington 760 game master in .270. I am wanting a bolt gun because I feel more confident with one in the woods. Not sure why but I do. I have really heavily been looking at this ruger In 30-06. It is a very attractive gun and for the money($349.99) I figure something has to be amis. It just seems to good to be true. Any time I have set a thread on here for any type of information I have had much success with the members being very exsperianced. Has anyone shot one? Owned one? Or have any information or opinions on one. Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thank you, jake

[jaysouth]

Search button is your friend. Lots of postings on this excellent rifle.

[creekrat72]

I have looked at many many reviews on the rifle. I have cane trust this forum and I like to here all of you all opinions on the subject. I would trust the members on this before I would random reviews. Thank you for making the point though. I have read and wat he'd good things but a lot of times a regular person like myself and the members here sometimes.e have had different exsperiances with something.

[Dirty_Harry]

I have on in .308 and my only complaint is the cheap removable magazine. When I bought mine Ruger sent me a nice cheekrest/cartridge holder for free.

Shoots great, no reliability issues whatsoever.

For the price I cannot say enough good things about it.

[coldbeer]

Savage has some nice rifles under $500 and the Axis line is pretty good at around $300 you might want to check them out along with the Ruger Americans.

[hammie]

@creekrat: Many consider the ruger american the best of the entry level rifles. I would agree. I would also consider the remington 783 a close second (not the remington 770! Stay away from the 770.) For a little bit more, you may be able to get into a howa, which is a much better rifle. And a little bit more will get you a tikka, which is also much better. In any case, the ruger american will do what you need and work just fine. There are no bad decisions here.

This is a great forum, but you may also want to visit RugerForum.com where they have a lot of specific threads going on the ruger american rifles.

Good luck. Half the fun of gun ownership is planning and selecting your new firearm.

[Dc777]

Creekrat- Keep in mind that Academy has remington 700's for only $379..... A legendary gun that looks a heck of a lot better than the ruger, and it has an internal magazine. Just my .02

[MJFlores]

Here's an excellent review done by Jeff Quinn on the Ruger American.

http://www.gunblast.com/Ruger-American.htm

[MJFlores]

Watching the video of Jeff and that Ruger American really shows how smooth that bolt functions. And check out the accuracy he was getting with three different bullet weights. That's tough to beat in a rifle just taken out of the box. Ruger really does make some nice stuff!

[Crusty Deary Ol'Coot]

Jake,

I have a RUGER American 30/06 and it has to be the easiest rifle I have ever developed hand loads for.

SHOOTS GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Nothing in my first test series of handloads was really bad, and that first series provided a very accurate hunting load with a 165gr Hornady Interlock and a charge of Reloader 22.

To say I'm impress is an understatement.

The magazines may seem cheap, but mine work flawlessly.

I bought a couple extra about as soon as I bought the rifle, and suspect they will out last me.

Crusty Deary Ol'Coot

[Duzell]

EDIT: felt it was to long and repetitive

ok first off the ruger american is a great rifle for the price and has won rifle of the year.

a buddy of mine got his in 30/06 and we've been on regular shoots with it.

bullet wise he uses reloads, but we had an issue with Remington soft points 180 grain. i believe it was the bullet causing the issue.


the main issue with the american is the stock, for high calibers like 30/06 , 300 win and up, it is too light. the stock does not have the mass to properly reduce recoil. This causes the rifle to kick hard in the shoulder, more so than on a gun with a heavier stock like say the savage axis.

we are going to try and fill in some lead weights to increase the mass to offset the recoil, but there is also ZERO accessories for the rifle.

i must say that i would recommend the savage axis in 30/06 over the american, it would be easier to handle while also giving you the same caliber rating you desire. and thus suit your purpose better than the american, even though the american is more accurate and comes with a 2 stage trigger, it may not be best suited for your expedition. the axis is rated just a bit under it, and you get a scope + mount, and also it does have a few accessories you can get for it now , like say a new stock ?

[bt380]

If you have a Cabelas near you: Cabelas just mailed me an ad that has the Ruger American 30-06 on sale for 379.99. If you get one of their no annual credit cards, they load it up with 25$. If you have an ad for cheaper elsewhere, they will honor it. They also handle shipping to repair. Their ad also has "compact" Ruger Americans on sale for 299.99. Not sure how a compact would work for you pending the terrain you hunt in. Around my area, I don't need to even think about 250 yard stuff.

[creekrat72]

Thank you all for your advice. My dad has a Remington 700 it is a great gun. But it was also exspencive. And the weight of the ruger is what steered me toward it. Is the recoil to much to handle or just have a good kick? And not to be dissing the savage but I had a 110 and the model before the axis and had nothing but trouble out of both of them. The 110 was very accurate but had major feeding issues with any load I fed it. Not sure what the problem was but I was no where near satisfied with savage, kinda turned me against them. Does anyone else think the recoil is bad on the river american?

[Crusty Deary Ol'Coot]

The trick is to always use a sissy bag or a sand bag between you and the butt when on the bench, and you'll never fee the shot you shoot at a critter.

I made it a practice years back to not let a rifle hurt me, so anything bigger then the .243 gets the sand/sissy bag treatment.

This is including my RUGER American 30/06.

As to the comment about accessories, this is a hunting rifle so beyond a sling and a scope what are we talking about.

If a person wished to restock their rifle, well there are plenty of actions, including RUGERs for which after market stocks are available, while the RUGER American is what it is a very good hunting rifle at a very good price.

Use it as they come or buy something else.

Personally, If I wasn't so old and already have more then I need, I'd love to add a couple more Americans to the mix. Maybe something like a 22/250 or a .243.

What's not to like about a rifle at that price that shoots so very well?

Crusty Deary Ol'Coot

[creekrat72]

Does your 30-06 produce pretty good groups?

[Crusty Deary Ol'Coot]

Yes it does and as easy as I arrived at the results I am very happy with, I suspect it will do much better.

But testing only one powder and ending up with groups on the low side of 3/4" such as the 9/16" pre hunting verification group, it is pretty hard to find fault with this budget "06".

CDOC

[creekrat72]

That is really really good. I never would have expected groups like that. I mean I would have been satisfied with 1 1/4 " average. I believe you might have just sold me on this gun. Thank you for all of the information.

[Crusty Deary Ol'Coot]

I started testing RL22 with the 165gr Hornady Interlock with 58gr and went to 62gr.

Three shot test groups.

First test group 58gr - 1 5/16"
59gr - 1 1/2"
60gr - 1 7/16"
60.5gr - 1 11/16"
61gr - 1 1/16"
61.5gr - 11/16"
62gr - 1 1/2"

Later verification groups with 61.5gr proved consistently good groups of an 1" and less with a 10shot average velocity of 2759fps.

As said earlier, the pre hunt verification went three into 9/16" with the 61.5gr of RL22.

I suspect that testing other powders might show some even better results

Crusty Deary Ol'Coot

[creekrat72]

That right there is the reason I ask the members of this forum before I ever purchase a gun. Thank you for all of your help. I'm going to pick one up Monday. I have a Nixon pro staff 3×9 Ihave been saving my new deer rifle. I will update with groups of my own soon. Thank you again.

Jake

[Crusty Deary Ol'Coot]

Jake,

Hope yours shoots as well and easy as mine.

You will have a little edge on me as my scope is a 2X7.

CDOC

[SteelChickenShooter]

I have a DOA 600 scope on my Ruger American 30-06. Cross hairs are zero at 100 yards. Next tick mark down is 200 yards. I have not tried a bipod on the stock, but I can say all other aspects of this rifle as far as operation and accuracy are spot on. I think it's outstanding when you consider the lower cost. Even better than it needs to be for my needs. In some ways this rifle is a better for me than the Browning A-Bolt I had in 30-06 and that rifle cost at least double or more. I have found out, from talking with my buddies, that accuracy may not be the best in different calibers or maybe it can vary with ammo. .243 and 30-06 are reported to be good with factory ammo, but one guy I know has one in .308 and his groups are not as tight as mine. I even shot his to verify. So maybe he needs to test more brands to get groups like I get in my 30-06.

[Omaha-BeenGlockin]

Pretty sure I saw a Boyd's stock being offered for the American.

Just from looking them over at the store--it would be high on my list if I were looking for a new bolt action.

[Crusty Deary Ol'Coot]

SteelChickenShooter.

Your friend's experience is just is one more proof that each rifle can be and usually is, a rule unto itself.

Hope your friend gets with someone who hand loads as there is a big world of options out there, likely one of which will really sing in his .308.

To have a rifle prove to be so accurate with so little load development as my "06" would not be considered normal in my book. Surprised me!

Crusty Deary Ol'Coot

[reynolds357]

Ruger American is a great rifle in a marginal stock. The stock is flimsy and there is not as of the moment any aftermarket stocks for it.

[reynolds357]

Omaha, the only American Boyds lists a stock for is the "American rimfire."