Ruger American Predator scope change no accuracy.

[TB2BLAZER]

Vortex recommended 15-18 inch lbs for the ring screws so I set my fatmax to 16 the first time and 17 the second time. Warne (the rings I have paired with the Venom) recommends 65 inch lbs on the 1/2" nut that's clamped to the rail. I set my fatmax to 65 inch pounds both times for each nut on each ring. I looked on ruger forums as well for torque specs on the action bolts and they all said the same thing the manual says, 60-80 inch pounds. So I put my wrench at 65 inch pounds and alternated front and rear 1/4 turn at a time until 65 inch pounds reached. I am very very big stickler on torque values and alternating tightening sequences. It's something I do with all my firearms that I picked up from working on motors all my life.

 

[Old Rooster]

My brother bought a brand new Tikka in 7mm 08 and sent me pics of great groups.I went down there to go on a hog hunt with him but after 3 boxes of factory ammo it wouldn't group.One of the auto parts store had some Free All spray.We used to use it on stuck bolts/nuts or screws and it would free it up.There is a chemical in Free All that attacks carbon and I use it with great results so I bought him a can.Even after cleaning with Wipe Out and again with Bore Tech Eliminator and sprayed a patch with Free All and you should have seen the carbon!We cleaned the carbon out and there was a layer of copper we cleaned out and another layer of carbon.We cleaned that rifle all afternoon into the night and finally got all the copper and carbon out and it returned to shooting good groups again.
Lesson is:Carbon will hide under copper layers and vice versa.Don't be afraid of Isso ot J B Bore Paste to get that out.
Free All is a great carbon finder!I spray it on a patch and run it through the bore to see if carbon is present.

 

[cajun]

He said side lugs on rings

Actually he said both. Warne does recommend 65"# on the ring to rail nuts. This is for the attachment to the rail not the ring caps. He also talked about action screw torque which is the same.

 

[TB2BLAZER]

Emailed Ruger last night so we will see what they say. I mounted the Venom to my 10/22 with a target barrel to make double sure it wasn't the scope or mounts but with 35 mph winds all day there was no way to even try. Maybe tomorrow.

 

[Tiny Tim]

Tagging in. Want to hear "the rest of the story".

 

[TB2BLAZER]

Don't worry. I won't leave anyone hanging. I have been on so many forums where no one ever posts a solution it drives me insane! My goal for today is to hopefully hear back from Ruger and test my target 10/22 with the Vortex Venom scope. It's already mounted and ready to go I just need a day where the wind will cooperate. Good luck with that here in WY hahah. I can usually pull very good groups with it on just the 3-9x40 even at 100 yards so if it won't group I know there may be scope/mount issues as well.

 

[TB2BLAZER]

Got a chance to shoot the 10/22 with the Venom on it. It was pretty windy but I had to know if it was the scope or not. Right at about a minute with a swirling 8mph wind at 100 yards with just brick ammo. Unless it's just affected by a little bit more kick I think I can rule out the scope and rings. I did some research on the ruger forums and saw things like crown damage and head space issues. I looked at the crown and even though damage is not always visible I did not see anything externally that would indicate damage. That and it has been in a padded case since it left the store. I know that doesn't mean something didn't happen while in the store. No word back from Ruger so I guess it's a hurry up and wait on Ruger thing. I will let you know what they say.

 

[mkk]

What ammo were you shooting?
Shooting off bags? Bipod?
Muzzle device?

 

[TB2BLAZER]

What ammo were you shooting?
Shooting off bags? Bipod?
Muzzle device?

The 10/22 I shot today was sitting on a cheap bipod I had in my bag at the time and a rear bag with federal value pack ammo. If you are talking about the 6mm predator take a look at my previous posts. I go into good detail on every aspect.

 

[mkk]

What ammo? Brand ? Grain?
Ditch the bipod and bag it close to the action. Ruger Tupperware stocks are the weak point

 

[TB2BLAZER]

Talked to Ruger this morning. It's boxed up and headed off to get checked by them. Hopefully they will tell me exactly what was wrong (if anything hahah). Keep you posted.

 

[Pilsner]

Ive got the same rifle (RA Predator in 6mm Creedmor) and it loves ELD-m ammo. 3 rounds in the 0.3's and 5 shots in the 0.5's.
That rifle SHOULD be a shooter!
Following to see what the outcome is.

 

[TB2BLAZER]

Ive got the same rifle (RA Predator in 6mm Creedmor) and it loves ELD-m ammo. 3 rounds in the 0.3's and 5 shots in the 0.5's.
That rifle SHOULD be a shooter!
Following to see what the outcome is.

That was the whole reason I even looked into them because I saw how accurate they were for the money. My original plan was to go with a Savage 110 Tactical in 6 CM. But I started doing my homework and saw how many people were raving about these Rugers so I said let's give em a chance. I'm truly hoping I didn't make the wrong decision. If they come back at me saying nothing is wrong then it's going on Gunbroker and I'm sticking to my original plan.
I have dealt with Ruger customer service years ago and they were absolutely amazing. Hopefully the customer service department hasn't changed over the years. Shipping says it will be to Ruger by the 2nd. As soon as I hear I will update.

 

[TB2BLAZER]

Just got a notification from FedEx that Ruger has received the package. I don't know how quick they run but hopefully I will hear something by early next week.

P.S. Just got an email from Ruger saying typical response time is 2-4 WEEKS. Yikes, hopefully it's on the shorter side of that estimation. Keep you all posted.