My Ruger American re-think

[Danehunter]

In February I bought a Ruger American in 22-250 for coyote hunting in Nevada.

THEN recently Ruger came out with the American Predator. It is a heavier barreled American with a threaded muzzle and thread protector cap. Same everything else except the stock is olive green. I'd have purchased this rifle if it were available back in February.

This is the rifle I need to get into local long range matches B/C they don't want magnum calibers messing up their steel targets. That rules out my HS Precision .300 Win Mag. rifle.

THE DECISION:
So Now my American 22-250 is up for sale at a local gun shop and I'm waiting for the American Predator to come out in 6.5 Creedmoor. I'm already stockpiling cartridges for it. I'll slap in my new Bushnell ERS 3.5-21 scope on it. I'm thinking the Horus H 59 reticle will be very helpful in avoiding a lot of "turret turning" during matches.

MATCH READY:
To make the Predator ready for matches I'll fill the forearm and butt stock with RTV or other filler for weight for recoil mitigation, find a nice muzzle brake (perhaps a Muscle Brake), add a Karsten adjustable cheek piece, replace the sling studs with QR flush cups and get the bolt face trued. That should do for an "entry level" rifle for this novice. I may even use my Fire Lapping kit to polish up the bore with fine grit when I get reloading dies.

And of course it will be good for coyotes as well. gun)

 

[Cold Trigger Finger]

Sounds like your on the right track. You might add a few pounds of lead shot to the rtv mix. You'll want the butt stock to be pretty solid as I found with my Hawkeye 6.5 Creedmoor the hollow butt compresses and the cheek piece moves. I didn't think about using rtv . Are you gonna use a 20 moa base.

 

[Danehunter]

ColdTriggerFinger,

I have found ONE company, EGW, that makes Picatinny rails for the Ruger American. I hope it is a 20 MOA slope but if not at least my one piece Nightforce scope mount has a 20 MOA slope. With the 34 mm tube on my Bushnell ERS I should have enough vertical adjustment for even 1,200 meters, about the practical limit of a 6.5 Creedmoor with a 140 grain pill.

If not I can get a flat Picatinny rail machined to 10 or 20 MOA here in Las Vegas.

Lead shot in the RTV... notta too bad, notta too bad. I'll try it. Plus I may put an extruded "Y" shaped aluminum stiffening rod in the forearm.

 

[Danehunter]

UPDATE:

I still have my Ruger American Predator and have put a 20 MOA Pic rail on it and topped it with a SWFA scope in 5 - 15 x 42mm bell. It is a mil/mil (turrets/reticle) scope with side parallax knob. Got it in sale for $537.with shipping. Very good glass for the price and a nice mil hash reticle.
This rifle will be my firearm for this year's Nevada buck mulie and cow elk hunt, using the plastic stock. But I'm getting a Boyd's laminated stock for coyote hunting. I just love their Clasic stock in brown.

BUT... on to the competition rifle, the reason I first got the Predator. Shortly after the Predator came out Ruger introduced their Ruger Precision Rifle. It wasn't easy but I got one in 2015 in 6.5 Creedmoor, just like the Predator.
This rifle shoots 140 gr. Hornady ELD-M ammo into 1/2" groups consistently! Love it! I put my Bushnell 3.5 - 21 X 50 scope on it which is a perfect match for it in price, quality and accuracy.
I'm competing in my first match tomorrow, June 11.

Eric B.

 

[Barrelnut]

UPDATE: I'm competing in my first match tomorrow, June 11.

You've really got it going on right now don't you? I read about the wilderness hunt you drew and now this.

Let us know, good or bad. Interested in how you do with that rifle and scope. First times can be tough, good luck and shoot straight.

 

[Anschutz]

Just a few tips for your first match. Once you've seen where the shot landed, it's too late to do anything about it so focus on the next shot. Have fun and remember, your first match is always a personal best.