Help me pick a rifle

[TreyG-20]

Has OP shot his new rifle yet?

 

[TexMex247]

Howas are total sleepers. I bought my heavy barrel 308 and 7.62x39 before prices went nuts on them. 369$ plus shipping and transfer. They won't win a beauty contest but they will perform as advertised. Hope you like your new rifle. I really want to believe Ruger can make an accurate rifle but I just haven't had the trigger time with any that prove it. They've done better with cosmetics over the years and if it shoots as good as it looks you made a good choice.

As far as my Howa 308, it's layed down numerous sub moa 5 shot groups and a few right at a half inch. If I really wanted another budget precision rifle they would be a top choice for me. As it stands I decided to go with a Tikka in 6.5 for longer ranges. The Tac T3x is good to go out of the box. Need to take it out to RPR out my way and stretch it legs this year.

 

[Iowashooter]

Has OP shot his new rifle yet?

No… range report will follow once I have done so

soon Padawan, soon…

 

[Iowashooter]

Range Report—Took the Ruger American Gen II for its maiden voyage over lunch today

Put an inexpensive (Sniper brand) 6-24x50 scope on it, a Caldwell sling stud-to-picatinny bipod adapter, and my cheap, wobbly-ass bipod on the rifle… and off to the 100yd range I went

was 54 degrees with 18mph winds

I shot Frontier brass 55gr FMJ ammo and then tried some steel case… Tulammo and Wolf (both in 55gr and 62gr)

Results

I was able to shoot a number of decent 1” groups with the Frontier ammo… a couple of examples above

the steel case… well not so much- those groups seemed to open up and were more like 2” groups at best

Observations

- the gun is one ‘light shooting son of a gun’… could be the muzzle device / brake or the generous decelerator butt pad. Either way, I could shoot this all day!

- I left the trigger at its factory setting (4 lb.)… but it is adjustable and I may take it to 3.5 like most of my other rifles

- the chamber doesn’t like the lacquered ammo… bolt got a little difficult when chambering those rounds

- I really like being able to use whatever AR mags I have laying around… several different makes and models all worked just fine… steel and plastic ones. Everytime I take my ARs out… this bolt action is likely to come along!

- I need to invest in a high quality bipod (but I do like the quick-attach picatinny attachment style for easy on/off… so will shop for one of those)

was a fun day… had the range primarily to myself, had just one other gentleman there for a few minutes shooting his sporter-ized Enfield .303

 

[paknheat]

Glad it’s working out for you. I think it’s got better potential for accuracy with a little tuning on your trigger & a better bipod.

My bolt action.223 is a Winchester M-70 that was my father’s. I re-barreled it with a Shilen barrel, it was a gift to me from Ed, and trimmed it to 23”. Glass bedding in the stock before I refinished it and reblued the receiver along with the new barrel.

I got the trigger tuned & got the pull weight set at 2lbs.

With a barrel twist of 1&9 I usually like the Sierra 65gn btsp and Varget powder. This combo proved pretty accurate in my dads old rifle. Works really good on deer, coyotes & hogs.


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[Iowashooter]

Glad it’s working out for you. I think it’s got better potential for accuracy with a little tuning on your trigger & a better bipod.

My bolt action.223 is a Winchester M-70 that was my father’s. I re-barreled it with a Shilen barrel, it was a gift to me from Ed, and trimmed it to 23”. Glass bedding in the stock before I refinished it and reblued the receiver along with the new barrel.

I got the trigger tuned & got the pull weight set at 2lbs.

With a barrel twist of 1&9 I usually like the Sierra 65gn btsp and Varget powder. This combo proved pretty accurate in my dads old rifle. Works really good on deer, coyotes & hogs.


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Yep.. I’ll probably adjust the trigger pull down a bit and try a few other brands and weight of ammo

updated: adjusted the trigger to 3lb and will give it another go soon

 

[TexMex247]

Still decent results for some non premium ammo. I emailed Hornady the other day about their 62gr sp bullets. When I look online the only places that stock them are in new Zealand and Australia. Those bullets are MOA in several rifles I shot them in. They were a bargain back when I was buying 250ct boxes from Midway at about 9cpb. I still regret not stocking away an extra 2k or so. Best budget bullet I've ever shot.

According to the Hornady rep they're still in the catalog but out of stock. Don't think I care to pay over 10 cpb so I'll probably just load what I've got and ration accordingly. Luckily I picked up 2k Armscor 62gr fmj for some blasting ammo. Also at 9cpb but they're garbage compared to the Hornady bullets. They still serve a purpose for some mag dumps on steel. I need to dial up some 50gr precision loads now that I have a few good powder options in the ole stockpile.

 

[paknheat]

Still decent results for some non premium ammo. I emailed Hornady the other day about their 62gr sp bullets. When I look online the only places that stock them are in new Zealand and Australia. Those bullets are MOA in several rifles I shot them in. They were a bargain back when I was buying 250ct boxes from Midway at about 9cpb. I still regret not stocking away an extra 2k or so. Best budget bullet I've ever shot.

According to the Hornady rep they're still in the catalog but out of stock. Don't think I care to pay over 10 cpb so I'll probably just load what I've got and ration accordingly. Luckily I picked up 2k Armscor 62gr fmj for some blasting ammo. Also at 9cpb but they're garbage compared to the Hornady bullets. They still serve a purpose for some mag dumps on steel. I need to dial up some 50gr precision loads now that I have a few good powder options in the ole stockpile.

Have you tried the 62gn Sierra bullet?


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[cwmoss]

I bought a rifle like yours, and my first time out with it was great. Shoots very well, less that MOA @ 100. I liked it so much, I grabbed up one in 6.5 Grendel. It shoots just as good as the 223. I am with you on the trigger. I will be ordering a couple of the lighter springs for them. I actually like the stocks that come on them, way more than the Gen1 rifles.

 

[Iowashooter]

Have you tried the 62gn Sierra bullet?


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I need to do so

 

[Vaquero]

I need to do so

Try the 65 gr sierra game king.
Not easy to find. Worth the trouble.

 

[paknheat]

Try the 65 gr sierra game king.
Not easy to find. Worth the trouble.

The 65 gn is what I prefer, haven’t been able to find them in quite a while. Stone cold killing bullet with great accuracy for sure.

The 62gn Sierra comes really close though.


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[deemus]

A couple of years ago I decided I probably should have bolt .223, just because, and because I kinda needed something in the laundry room gun rack for coyotes and hogs that sometimes wander up to the house.
Since I had a few hundred bucks on my Cabela's card and I'm a tight-ass, I chose the Savage Axis II package.

I didn't like the scope I mounted a Leupold 2-7X I had laying around. It didn't take long to put it into action-

I replaced the flimsy stock with a Boyd's laminated, and fire-lapped the bore with 77 gr. bullets from a Tubb's Lapping Kit. The 1-9" barrel isn't supposed to stabilize 77 gr. bullets, but it did pretty well-

The magazine capacity is supposed to be 4 rounds, but mine easily holds 5-

So there's my recommendation.

I bought a Savage Axis II in 6.5CM with a Weaver scope for my wife, because it was $279. That Weaver scope is crap. But remembered I had a Zeiss scope in my safe, so I put it on there. That rifle is a tack driver. 3/4" groups with Hornady Black ammo.

The only change I made was the scope, and my daughter has killed several deer with it. Heart shots every one.

I was going to post I would have picked the Howa, but would suggest either a Bergara or a Browning Hells Canyon. Both of those are $400 or more than any of those listed in the OP. But the action on both is amazingly smooth.

The Ruger was at the bottom of my list, but using AR mags is pretty cool.

 

[Vaquero]

The 65 gn is what I prefer, haven’t been able to find them in quite a while. Stone cold killing bullet with great accuracy for sure.

The 62gn Sierra comes really close though.


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Never bought from here, but they show to be in stock.

Sierra .22 Cal (.224) HV 65gr SBT /100-092763013953

www.dowdlesports.com

 

[paknheat]

Never bought from here, but they show to be in stock.

Sierra .22 Cal (.224) HV 65gr SBT /100-092763013953

www.dowdlesports.com

Thanks for the link, seems to be priced reasonably well too.


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[TexMex247]

I don't recall trying Sierra 62gr but both the 63gr smp and 65gr gk shoot really well in a few ars. The Hornady 62gr sp wc is a great all around bullet too. Holds close to 10 shot MOA groups most of the time, maybe 1.5" but still no slouch. I own exclusively gassers in 223/5.56 but I might add a bolt gun someday. Definitely a cheaper range day. I do like the idea of an AR mag fed bolt gun so it does fill a nice void in my collection.

 

[kittyhawk]

Great Choice in rifles, I picked up a new Ruger Gen II 223 in February right after they came out. I have an inexpensive 4x12 Bushnell mounted in leaupold rings.
It shot just ok out of the box the first day out. So I took it apart and found some of the Splatter paint on the V block lugs in the stock, I cleaned it off really well then took a file and worked the stock all around the Barrel kind of chamfered it so it’s truly free floated. I called Ruger customer service to get the toque numbers but for the life of me I can’t remember them. I reassembled, check the scope base and mounts, cleaned the barrel and re-zeroed. All that made a difference, it went from a 1.5” gun with match ammo to Sub “ groups with match and now 1.5” to 1.75” groups with wolf and Tula. I have a MCarbo trigger spring I’m going to install before my next outing.
I also have a Gen I in 7.62x39 and the MCarbo spring was a huge improvement.