Ruger frustration

[olympicmotors]

I have a Ruger Hawkeye I bought new in 2010. I have spent quite a bit of money on it so far, but I am still not happy with it's accuracy.

I have had it glass bedded and free floated, the trigger adjusted to about 2.5 lbs., the head spacing in the barrel tightened up.

I have gone through several scopes, ( right now it has a Zeiss Conquest 3.5 - 14 ).

I have gone through many types of factory ammo. ( remington, winchester, black hills, and Hornady ) I likes Hornady by far the best.

I am shooting off a concrete bench, with a ransom rest.

My last trip to the range best group at 100 yards was about 1.25 inch ( 3 shot groups ) with letting the barrel cool down between groups.

But my 200 yard groups were much worse than they should have been. ( 4 - 5 inches )

I am either going to get my gunsmith to re-barrel it with a little heavier contour barrel, or sell it and try my luck with a Winchester model 70.

I am thinking about just buying the Winchester from Hill Country Rifles already set up.

What does everyone think of their work? Does anyone have any experience with them?

Thanks for any information and advice you can give me.

 

[1100 Remington Man]

As bad as it sounds I would send it down the road. I have a Ruger .17 HMR and it is a shooter & is my first Ruger Rifle & because of It I would buy another Ruger. I have Winchesters Model 70s & Remington 700s & for hunting big game I like my Model 70s & Varmint Hunting its Remington 700s as I like both. Good Luck next time.

 

[Bishop]

Looking for accuracy from factory rifles can be frustrating, sometimes you get lucky, sometimes you throw money at a rifle doing everything you can trying to avoid sending it off to a proper smith for a proper accurizing, and get nothing in gains.

My advice if you really want an accurate rifle...have the action trued, a premium barrel put on it, properly bedded, and have the scope properly mounted in good quality rings.

I wasted thousands of dollars buying factory rifles looking for an accurate one, i wish i hadnt wasted that money. I should have gone custom from the beginning, if i had done that i would have 4 full blown tack driving rifles by now instead of 2. Now i have 2 sub 1/2 moa rifles that are rock solid accurate all the time, the only variable is me. And i have a pile of wasted money sitting in multiple factory remingtons/savages/weatherbys/a browning/ and a winchester that shoot 1 moa or worse that i should have spent on multiple custom rifles and high quality scopes instead.

If minute of pie plate or 1 moa plus groups are not good enough for you then stop shooting yourself in the foot and just have a reputable smith build you a good rifle with a good stock, trigger, scope. You will be much happier when you actually have a good rifle.

Ammo is important as well, at the least try some match grade ammo. At best is to load your own.

Thats my advice from a "been there done that" standpoint.

No personal experience with HCR but have read good things about them.

 

[Rick Richard]

+1 what Bishop said. I probably have not waisted as much as he has, but I have waisted enough for me.

I have been happy with a couple of factory rifles, but I believe that was pure luck.

Waisting money is over for me, which is why I have a custom in production at this point. It will wear the best optics I can afford.

My goal is to have a couple of customs, one for deer/goat and the other for elk/moose.

 

[rfd]

aside from you, the trigger puller, the one physical variable missing from your rifle shooting scenario is careful round reloading and testing. that alone can, and usually does, make a huge and most positive difference in accuracy at any distance.

i wouldn't consider a rifle a dud without reload testing, using a variety of powders, charges, bullets, and bullet seat depth - some would even advise case and primer variable testing, too.

all my rifles, custom ones and bottom feeders alike, are at least capable of 1moa. one in particular is a cheap ruger american rifle in .243win that easily does sub moa at 100yds for 3 shots, plastic stock and all. all i did was a careful barrel break-in, make sure the fore end was floated and stiffened with rockite, added some rockite to the butt end, use good glass (swfa 10x42), and adjust the trigger for lightest pull it would deliver without resorting to tampering (2.8#). the rest was up to my trigger finger and shooting conditions.

in fact, i never ever bother with factory rounds, and i only build my own hand loads. to me, shooting and reloading go hand in hand. hand loading is not at all difficult nor dangerous, once you understand the process and employ safe reloading practices.

at the very least, find someone local to work with you on testing a variety of hand loads. ymmv.

 

[FEENIX]

My http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f22/ruger-m77-mkii-facelift-range-report-40952/ in .338 WM shoots 225gr factory ammo under .5MOA. gun)

Shot a coyote at 338 yards with .225gr NAB, 73.5gr H4831SC, CCI250.

 

[jsthntn247]

It's a Ruger man, just be glad if it goes bang every time and you hit the paper.

 

[rfd]

It's a Ruger man, just be glad if it goes bang every time and you hit the paper.

oh please, just stop the nonsense.

 

[hybridfiat]

oh please, just stop the nonsense.

I agree, Ruger are reliable and usually 'hunting accurate'.
However I dont equate pinpoint accuracy with an 'out of the box' Ruger.
Savage, yes, Ruger no.
Ive made my own custom rifles for years and I think the action and trigger are secondary to a really good barrel and chamber job with good bedding.
I have a 1914 Cadet action that shot .315 when first assembled. The trigger has always been shocking when compared to a good bolt action. My Martini Enfield in 6.5x54R shoots cloverleafs. It was made in 1886 and the barrel in 1934.
You have the basis of a good rifle. Just put a really good barrel on it. There's plenty to choose from. If Norma make ammo for it use them. Otherwise try reloading you should get the best from it that way.

 

[rfd]

there are SO many variables in attaining at least near range (100-300yd) accuracy that to make a blanket statement that ANY particular brand of rifle manufacturer is better or worse than any other is simply just not true. this includes savage, ruger, remington, remlin, winchester, mossberg, etc. they're ALL a gamble of sorts, no matter where the firearm is in their catalog, bottom feeder or top-of-the-shelf. you want the higher percentage of more than acceptable out-of-the-box accuracy, get a custom rifle built ... WITH a proof-of-accuracy guarantee.

 

[steeltraps]

I have to rugers. One 243 and one 308. Both have VERY long throats. The 243 factory bullets are around 2.610 oal. But i set them around 2.810 with 85 gr barnes x and their still jumping to the lands! If you dont handload sometimes the ruger is hard to make shoot factory rounds. My 308 ruger shot 175 blackhills ammo at 1 3/4 moa at 100. But MY custom loads of 175 i got 5/8 moa at 100 yards, thats a big difference!

 

[stomp442]

In my experience Ruger definitely prefer fore end pressure. Add a touch of bedding right at the tip of the stock and leave the rest floated. Bet your groups tighten right up. I have never understood the hate for Rugers I have found them to be one of the nicest factory rifles you can buy and will shoot right along anything else on the shelf.

 

[Shortmagman]

I can understand your frustration, but don't give up yet. I have owned and shot a number of Ruger rifles and with some work all of them will shoot three shots into an inch or less at 100 yards.

One of my Rugers a 7mm Rem Mag will shoot with any factory rifle that I own. It will shoot almost any load into less than one inch and some loads it will shoot 1/2 inch three shot groups, and on occasion it will shot 1/4 inch groups.

The answer I think is handloading with the ability to change powder charges by .1 grains and different weight bullets and different types bullets as well as changing the COL. Some times this takes a great deal of time and effort. My 7mm Rem Mag did not take much effort.

 

[rfd]

In my experience Ruger definitely prefer fore end pressure. Add a touch of bedding right at the tip of the stock and leave the rest floated. Bet your groups tighten right up. I have never understood the hate for Rugers I have found them to be one of the nicest factory rifles you can buy and will shoot right along anything else on the shelf.

i hear ya on all accounts, sir.

with my cheap ruger american rifle, i've found the opposite - the action "v" blocks do a good enuf job of bedding, but then i opened up the fore end a Lot to fully free float the barrel and allow the harmonic nodes do their excursion thing. this took the fore end totally out of the firing equation, as i worked on different loads. to make sure the plastic fore end didn't bend at all, i filled the chambers with rockite which made it literally as stiff as concrete (which is what rockite is). but i'm patiently awaiting the boyd's rar laminate stock to arrive the end of july ......