So last summer I bought my fiance a Ruger American in 243 because it is light and fit her decently. We had the stock dipped in pink camo (muddy girl). I really liked the rifle and it shot pretty well when we sighted it in with cheap federal factory ammo. Well I decided I needed one too that wasn't pink and bought one this summer. I topped it with a Redfield Revenge 4-12x42 scope. My plan was for use as a varmint or light deer rig as all my other rifles are pretty heavy and kind of overkill for coyotes.
First a some specs:
Weight-6.25 lbs
Overall Length-42"
Barrel Length-22"
Rifling Twist-1 in 9"
Other info- The rifle has a 4 round detachable mag, adjustable trigger, tang safety, and 3 lug bolt. Available in 22LR, 22WMR, 22-250, 243, 270, 7mm-08, 308, and 30-06. Also there is a compact version.
First thing I did was start load development. After lightening the trigger and trying some Hornadys and Sierras with decent but not spectacular success, I tried the new Nosler 90 grain E-Tip. Bam instant MOA groups with 2/3 holes touching. This was pretty good to me considering I was not on a solid rest and there was a pretty good left to right wind that day. Hornady bullets were about 3 inch groups, Sierras (85 grain) were a shade over an inch and the E-tips were 1/2-3/4" . I did not shoot many groups as the barrel is thin and heats after three or four shots. Being a warm evening it took some time for the barrel heat to dissipate and I was racing the sunset. Later on I dumped a decent sized coyote at 250ish yards and it was bang flop, no tail chasing.
The good:The rifle is light and handles well. It shoots MOA at 100 yards possibly better with better range conditions. The American is rather inexpensive as well, I believe I paid around $320.
The bad: The magazines seem cheap, I was hoping they would be similar to a 10/22 mag. There are no aftermarket stocks available yet to my knowledge due to the power bedding system. Rings are not included as they are with more expensive Rugers.
Overall for the price I think this is an excellent rifle. It is light and portable. Accuracy is good especially when you keep the price in mind. The negatives I listed really are not that bad in my opinion. I would most definitely recommend this rifle to anyone looking for a light economical rifle. This is really the first review on anything I've written so I'm sure I left some stuff out. I'll try to update and post pictures later. If you have any questions ask away! Any further input or advice on what to include is always appreciated.
