{"id":29934,"date":"2014-06-11T13:15:56","date_gmt":"2014-06-11T18:15:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.downrange.tv\/blog\/?p=29934"},"modified":"2014-06-15T23:06:23","modified_gmt":"2014-06-16T04:06:23","slug":"reviewing-the-ruger-american-predator-rifle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.downrange.tv\/blog\/reviewing-the-ruger-american-predator-rifle\/29934\/","title":{"rendered":"Reviewing The Ruger American Predator Rifle"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"RugerPredator1\"
\nThe Age of the Economy Rifle is upon us. What\u2019s an economy rifle? I would say it\u2019s one you could expect to find in the $300 – $500 range that offers features and accuracy on a par with rifles costing twice, to as much as three times more. The Ruger American Rifles are good examples \u2013 rifles that are affordable while having features shooters expect and built-in accuracy that used to be possible only after spending a lot of money on a rifle and a good gunsmith to tune it.<\/p>\n

After introducing the American Rifle a couple of years ago Ruger has continued to expand the models and calibers in the series. Centerfire rifles were introduced first, and then came rimfire rifles, compact and all-weather stainless steel rifles and now, the Predator series. I\u2019ve tested the Ruger American rifle in .308 Winchester<\/a> as well as the .22 Long Rifle<\/a> and .22 Magnum rimfire models <\/a>and have been very pleased with their features and accuracy.<\/p>\n

\"RugerPredator5\"The Predator rifle I received for testing is chambered in .223 Remington. It\u2019s distinctive from the other American Rifles in several ways. Most obviously, the composite stock is green rather than black. The 22-inch free floated barrel has a medium varmint contour \u2013 larger in diameter than the standard weight barrels but not as big as a bull barrel. The barrel and action are finished in a matte, non-reflective finish and the rifle has a Weaver rail screwed onto the receiver to facilitate scope mounting. Weighing only 6.62 pounds bare the rifle is a little lighter than a traditional varmint rifle but a good weight for a stalking or predator rifle that\u2019s going to be carried in the field. Proving they\u2019re serious about meeting the needs of a large number of shooters, Ruger is producing the Predator model in .204 Ruger, .22-250 Remington, .243 Winchester and 6.5 Creedmoor, as well as the .223 Remington that\u2019s the subject of this review. Oh, and there\u2019s a compact model with an 18 inch barrel chambered in .308 Winchester that might be an ideal rifle for someone looking for an inexpensive lightweight precision rifle; like maybe a police department.<\/p>\n

Features shared by the rifles in the American series include a two-position tang safety that locks the trigger, but not the bolt, allowing the rifle to be loaded and unloaded safely, hammer forged barrels that are easy to clean and very accurate in my experience, the Ruger Marksman trigger that\u2019s user adjustable and breaks crisply at 3.5 pounds in my example, and the lightweight stock with built-in bedding blocks Ruger calls Power Bedding. The centerfire American rifles have a soft recoil pad that I appreciate during long shooting strings and come equipped with sling swivel studs to make attaching a sling or a bipod easy. The round, smooth bolt knobs (the way bolt handles should be, in my entirely biased opinion) feature a short bolt lift that prevent them from interfering with a scope and keep you from banging your fingers against said scope when running the bolt.<\/p>\n

The Predator has another feature worthy of special mention. The barrel is threaded at the muzzle allowing the shooter to install muzzle breaks and flash suppressors with ease. The threads also facilitate the use of suppressors. Cans, silencers, or sound suppressors, take your pick, are gaining in popularity and can be used for some form of hunting in about 32 states. I say \u201cabout\u201d because the number keeps changing as the trend is moving in the direction of greater acceptance of suppressors. Back in the 1930s gangsters were rampaging about the countryside, the sensationalist press were reporting that the police were outgunned (Bonnie and Clyde may have held a different opinion) and politicians seized upon the opportunity to pass\u00a0the\u00a0National Firearms\u00a0Act bringing short barreled rifles and shotguns, automatic weapons and suppressors under strict government control, licensing and taxation. In the years since I don\u2019t think a criminal has ever used a suppressor to assassinate someone despite what we see every day in movies and on television. Suppressors are finally being seen as legitimate tools for sportsmen and I applaud Ruger for supporting this by making suppressor-ready rifles and pistols.<\/p>\n

To get the Predator ready for the range I installed a new Redfield Battlezone 6-18 scope in medium rings on the Weaver rail. I plan to talk more about this scope and another new Redfield designed for .22 rifles in a follow-up article, so I won\u2019t say too much about it here. The scope includes a bullet drop compensator dial calibrated for 55 grain (gr.) full metal jacket (FMJ) bullets at 3100 feet per second (fps) velocity. Digging through my ammo stash I found several brands of 55 gr. .223 ammunition including a treasure I didn\u2019t know I had; some Lake City Match. Heading to the range, I fired 3 shot groups off a bench rest with sand bags but I wasn\u2019t too happy with the results. Groups were running around 2.5 inches and the point of impact was inconsistent, seeming to shift. I took the rifle home, tightened the scope ring screws and confirmed that the stock screws were tight. Back at the range the next day I decided to shoot from a bipod instead of sandbags and recorded these results:<\/p>\n

Ammo Avg. Group Velocity<\/strong><\/p>\n