Which Ruger Precision Rifle?

[fabsroman]

https://www.mdshooters.com/vbclassified.php?do=ad&id=34545

Buy this one.

I saw that last night. What is the model number on it? Also, not sure I want to go with 6 mm Creedmoor.

 

[fabsroman]

Fabs- I have some 6.5CM starter brass for you. Let me know if you want it and I will bring it to the pig roast.

SG, I will take you up on that. At least it will be something to get me on paper. I will have to work up some loads for the cartridge since I have zero experience with it.

 

[EarnestT]

I saw that last night. What is the model number on it? Also, not sure I want to go with 6 mm Creedmoor.

18016 is the model number. Reason for selling I am having a 6mm creed built.

 

[OLM-Medic]

Yeah, but that isn't really an issue for me with the following in the safes:

Ruger 77MKII in .300 Win Mag

Ruger 77MKII in .220 Swift

Rem 700 in .270 Win

Savage 110 in .30-06

Then, there will be the AR rifles too.

I can just pick a lighter rifle if I want to. It isn't like this rifle is going to be my one and only rifle. I was debating between a Sako RTG-42 or a McMillan and this RPR, and it really is hard to justify the expense of the Sako or the McMillan when this RPR is pretty darn good out of the box. Now, since Ruger does not offer something in a RPR format in .338 Lapua or .50 BMG, that Sako or McMillan might be the ticket there. However, those bazookas will have to wait for a couple years.

Whatever floats your boat.

 

[fabsroman]

Whatever floats your boat.

Sorry if I came off harsh or pretentious, but it bothers me a little when I ask a specific question and then I am told to buy a different rifle. Guess I should have just asked which cartridge for long range shooting, .308 Win, 6.5, or 6, and I will also be building up a couple AR-10 rifles that could use those cartridges too.

 

[ToolAA]

SG, I will take you up on that. At least it will be something to get me on paper. I will have to work up some loads for the cartridge since I have zero experience with it.

Fabs I started out buying any Hornady 6.5CM ammo I could find on sale as a way of getting used to the rifle and collecting brass. In hindsight I would have just purchased 200 or so Lapua Small primer cases and started that way. From what I read people are successfully reloading the Lapua SR brass 10-20 times.

For good factory match ammo at a decent price try out Prime.

Good luck. Maybe once you get up to speed we can arrange an MDS trip out to Thunder valley to chase 1600 yds. I know Yoshi would go.

 

[OLM-Medic]

Sorry if I came off harsh or pretentious, but it bothers me a little when I ask a specific question and then I am told to buy a different rifle. Guess I should have just asked which cartridge for long range shooting, .308 Win, 6.5, or 6, and I will also be building up a couple AR-10 rifles that could use those cartridges too.

You didn't.

All of that depends what you want out of this rifle really.

People say 6.5 is expensive, but match isn't much more than match .308 ammo. And if you're doing long range you will be using match.

If you're really pushing long range 6.5 will shine. We compared friends rifles and even though the .308 made hits at 900y, the 6.5 was a like a laser beam at 900y. It felt like cheating. Of course, that was with barely any wind. Still, add in wind and the 6.5 will handle it better. Wind is all a guessing game, and the 6.5 gives you an edge there.

If you're just looking for group size at shorter ranges like 200 yards, either one will work fine. Probably go with .308 if thats the case, since cheap ammo will even get you decent hits at those ranges. I personally just use .223 at these ranges because it's much cheaper for match.

The better ballistic coefficients like .308 and then 6.5 shine the farther out you go. While its true a good .308 shooter can make easy hits at long ranges, the 6.5 gives you more room for error. Wind calls and elevation are less tedious because the ballistics are just better.

 

[Biggfoot44]

6mm Creed and similar Wildcats indeed are the bee's knees for long range , and with right bullets can slightly edge the 6.5's for BC .

But the 6.5's as a class can deliver more ft lb on target at long range . If hunting at long range is part of someone's decision matrix , the 6.5 as a class gets the nod .

 

[fabsroman]

You didn't.

All of that depends what you want out of this rifle really.

People say 6.5 is expensive, but match isn't much more than match .308 ammo. And if you're doing long range you will be using match.

If you're really pushing long range 6.5 will shine. We compared friends rifles and even though the .308 made hits at 900y, the 6.5 was a like a laser beam at 900y. It felt like cheating. Of course, that was with barely any wind. Still, add in wind and the 6.5 will handle it better. Wind is all a guessing game, and the 6.5 gives you an edge there.

If you're just looking for group size at shorter ranges like 200 yards, either one will work fine. Probably go with .308 if thats the case, since cheap ammo will even get you decent hits at those ranges. I personally just use .223 at these ranges because it's much cheaper for match.

The better ballistic coefficients like .308 and then 6.5 shine the farther out you go. While its true a good .308 shooter can make easy hits at long ranges, the 6.5 gives you more room for error. Wind calls and elevation are less tedious because the ballistics are just better.

Alright, now this is what I am looking for. Thanks

Think my mind is set on the 6.5 now. This will not be my main hunting rifle if I ever use it for hunting whatsoever. I just prefer the .300 Win Mag for big game and the .220 Swift for smaller game. Might toss a .25-06 hunting rifle into the mix one day, but right now I want to try to get into long range shooting. Kind of tough to do around here, but I guess I could just try to make very small groups at 200 yards in the time being.

 

[Biggfoot44]

As much as I like .25-06 , it would be redundant to 6.5 Creed .

If Fab's hunting battery has any meaningful gaps would either be somthing like .243 , or a big bore levergun .

 

[OLM-Medic]

Alright, now this is what I am looking for. Thanks

Think my mind is set on the 6.5 now. This will not be my main hunting rifle if I ever use it for hunting whatsoever. I just prefer the .300 Win Mag for big game and the .220 Swift for smaller game. Might toss a .25-06 hunting rifle into the mix one day, but right now I want to try to get into long range shooting. Kind of tough to do around here, but I guess I could just try to make very small groups at 200 yards in the time being.

I wasn't trying to discourage your choice or anything. It's just that since I learned the basics of long range I realized you don't really need an expensive rifle or anything. The "laser beam at 900" I referenced was a stock Ruger Predator with a $300 scope.

I will tell you, 200 yards is nothing. A decent shooter can get sub MOA at 200 and not have a clue at long ranges, yet a mediocre 1.5MOA shooter may be a pretty good long range shooter. It's all about learning. And once you learn the technical parts, you have to also get good at guessing wind. At true long range, it stops being about good trigger pulling and more knowledge of the external ballistics of the bullet.

And once you get all that kind of figured out, you'll be missing for stupid things like temperature and elevation changes. ANYTHING that effects fps or ballistics will change your drop chart and piss you off. I went from hitting almost 100% at 600 yards with .223 to missing by a foot or two just by changing lot numbers of the same ammo. .223 is sensitive to a lot of variables, .308 less, And 6.5 even less. Still, inside of 600y most of this stuff doesn't change a lot, regardless of caliber.

For these reasons it's good to stick to one cartridge for long range. It's a lot to remember, and even that is always changing.

I suggest you check out Bang Steel and take a course. You'll be hitting at 1000yards by the end of the day, I guarantee it.

 

[OLM-Medic]

Think of it this way.

The closer to a true flat laser beam path the trajectory is, the less chance you have of missing the target when something is off.

 

[fabsroman]

As much as I like .25-06 , it would be redundant to 6.5 Creed .

If Fab's hunting battery has any meaningful gaps would either be somthing like .243 , or a big bore levergun .

Yeah, planning on getting a TC Encore in .243 for the kids. I don't really "need" .25-06, but I have always wanted one. lol They could probably use the .220 Swift to deer hunt. I have some loads for it with Barnes X bullets, but that rifle is pretty heavy.

I would like to get a .25-06 in a Ruger 77MKII. Used to look at the Ruger 77MKII TGT in .25-06 and drool. There were a couple for sale on gunbroker several months ago with pretty green laminated stocks, but we just had baby #4 and my wife was taking 6 weeks without pay and the 6 weeks before that were on short term disability pay at 60% of her normal salary. So, money was tight and actual needs replaced my want of a .25-06.

Listen to this. My 5 year old daughter was talking about shooting deer back in November while we were eating breakfast and I told her I was looking at getting a smaller rifle for her and my 8 year old son to use. Her response, "Daddy, I don't need a little kid's gun." I about spit the rice Chex out of my mouth. She obviously has no idea what the recoil is like on a .30-06, .300 Win Mag, etc. She shot a .410 Topper back in September and now she thinks she can shoot anything in the safes. Hopefully, the TC Encore looks like a big kid gun. She is bugging the heck out of me to take her turkey hunting right now. She was asking me a bunch of questions today.

Anyway, sorry to side track my own thread. lol

 

[fabsroman]

Think of it this way.

The closer to a true flat laser beam path the trajectory is, the less chance you have of missing the target when something is off.

I definitely understand the concept. Speed kills. BC coefficient matters a heck of a lot at longer ranges. Flatter trajectory means less scope clicks, less hold over, and more room for error in drop calculations. Wind matters at longer ranges.

Longest deer kill for me has been 250 yards, but I really don't want to do long range "hunting" unless the buck of a lifetime presents itself at 800 yards. lol

 

[OLM-Medic]

I definitely understand the concept. Speed kills. BC coefficient matters a heck of a lot at longer ranges. Flatter trajectory means less scope clicks, less hold over, and more room for error in drop calculations. Wind matters at longer ranges.

Longest deer kill for me has been 250 yards, but I really don't want to do long range "hunting" unless the buck of a lifetime presents itself at 800 yards. lol

I highly reccomend going to a course at Bang Steel if you want to learn.

 

[DaemonAssassin]

I was debating the additional barrel thing too. Seems like a complete PITA to swap them out and then deal with zeroing everything all over again. I was debating it so much that I was looking for somebody that makes an AR pattern bolt gun with an upper that could be swapped scope and all. I have no idea why these companies have not come up with precision bolt rifles that have a separate upper and lowers like an AR, wherein a shooter can swap upper, barrel, and scope all as a single item.

Think I will just buy additional RPRs in the short action calibers if I decide to add another cartridge to the mix.

Look at the Desert Tactical Stealth Recon Scout (SRS) line. It is kind of interesting with the things they did to that rifle, if you are willing to foot the bill.

There is a member that posts his up in the classifieds from time to time and it is chambered in 260 REM, which is a legitimately good long range cartridge. Just ask Bradmacc about what he has done at DSC with his 260 REM.

 

[DaemonAssassin]

Yeah, planning on getting a TC Encore in .243 for the kids. I don't really "need" .25-06, but I have always wanted one. lol They could probably use the .220 Swift to deer hunt. I have some loads for it with Barnes X bullets, but that rifle is pretty heavy.

I would like to get a .25-06 in a Ruger 77MKII. Used to look at the Ruger 77MKII TGT in .25-06 and drool. There were a couple for sale on gunbroker several months ago with pretty green laminated stocks, but we just had baby #4 and my wife was taking 6 weeks without pay and the 6 weeks before that were on short term disability pay at 60% of her normal salary. So, money was tight and actual needs replaced my want of a .25-06.

Listen to this. My 5 year old daughter was talking about shooting deer back in November while we were eating breakfast and I told her I was looking at getting a smaller rifle for her and my 8 year old son to use. Her response, "Daddy, I don't need a little kid's gun." I about spit the rice Chex out of my mouth. She obviously has no idea what the recoil is like on a .30-06, .300 Win Mag, etc. She shot a .410 Topper back in September and now she thinks she can shoot anything in the safes. Hopefully, the TC Encore looks like a big kid gun. She is bugging the heck out of me to take her turkey hunting right now. She was asking me a bunch of questions today.

Anyway, sorry to side track my own thread. lol

Do you need a set of 243 dies? I have a set that I'm not using. Yours if you want them.

 

[traveller]

I wish they still made it in .243. I have boxes full of .243 brass.

If someone has one sitting around in a box somewhere....

 

[axshon]

I wish they still made it in .243. I have boxes full of .243 brass.

If someone has one sitting around in a box somewhere....

You could get any of the existing rifles and add a prefit .243 barrel from anywhere.

6 Creed is a pussycat to shoot. It's pretty nice when you can put a youngster behind it, teach them about breath and trigger control and see them make bug holes a 100-200 yards. No fear of recoil even for the shrimps. It can also hit waaaaay out as long as you have good enough glass to see the splash. It's easy to find ammo even though Hornady is currently the only mfg for off-the-shelf stuff. Even Bass Pro has it in stock if you want to pay too much. Buck a shot to start and then reload after that.

 

[fabsroman]

Look at the Desert Tactical Stealth Recon Scout (SRS) line. It is kind of interesting with the things they did to that rifle, if you are willing to foot the bill.

There is a member that posts his up in the classifieds from time to time and it is chambered in 260 REM, which is a legitimately good long range cartridge. Just ask Bradmacc about what he has done at DSC with his 260 REM.

SOB, I wish that the barrel and the handguard would come off together in a single piece on that gun, or at least that an additional handguard would be available to purchase with each conversion barrel. Using the same scope for different cartridges is what puts me off to the Sako TRG-10 and other firearms like it. I want something like my Benelli SBE, where the scope and rifled barrel come off together, so I am right back close to zero when I put the barrel and scope back on the firing mechanism/receiver. Kind of like how the scope, barrel, and upper assembly come off of an AR. It really is hard to believe that nobody has come up with this type of solution in bolt rifles.