Ruger American Rimfire Target

[allan]

From what I can see in the pic., it does look like a 64MS - If you have a look in this link, there is a download for the 64MS manual listed:
http://jga.anschuetz-sport.com/index.ph ... &sprache=1

[bladeracer]

Since those first thirty rounds of Remington Cyclone (that grouped around 55-60mm for 10rds at 50m) I managed to get about half of my ammo test done tonight before it got too cold, I thought the shivering might start to affect the groups
At 50m, ten rounds of the following:
(Remington Cyclone ~ 55-60mm - first groups)
Eley Subsonic HP - 14mm
Eley Match - 24mm
Eley Edge - 24.5mm
RWS Rifle Match - 24.5mm
Eley Tenex - 25mm
Eley Club - 27mm
CCI Standard Velocity - 29mm (23.5mm without the one I pulled to the left)
American Eagle HVHP - 30mm
Winchester Subsonic Max 42 - 31mm
Highland RX HP - 31mm
Remington Subsonic - 34.5mm
American Eagle Suppressor 45gn 970fps - 37mm
RWS HVHP - 40mm
Blazer RN - 44mm
CCI Subsonic HP 1050fps - 50.5mm
Winchester T22 - 58mm
Federal GameShock 38gn HP - 68.5mm
CCI Quiet Seg HP 710fps - 84.5mm (220mm holdover)

Amazing was the Eley Subsonic HP - ten rounds into 14mm.

So far, it looks the most accurate in my Target is going to be Eley Subsonic HP, and in my Compact the Eley Edge.
With CCI Standard Velocity as a very good cheaper option in both rifles.
Hopefully I can get some more done tomorrow.

EDIT: Added from further down the thread. https://enoughgun.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=8123&p=128707#p129327

Managed some more testing yesterday.
First I fired a ten-round group of Tenex from both rifles from cold bores. Interestingly, both threw the second shot low left - 31mm for the Compact and 33mm for the Target.

At 50m, ten rounds of the following:
Winchester Powerpoint 42 - 51mm
CCI Velocitor - 28.5mm
Winchester Superspeed - 60mm
Sellier & Bellot Subsonic - 27mm and 45mm
Sellier & Bellot Standard - 72mm
Sellier & Bellot High Velocity - 35mm
CCI MiniMag - 46mm
CCI Stinger - 48mm
CCI Copper-22 - 58mm
Remington Yellow Jacket - 54mm
Highland RX Subsonic - 32mm
Wichester Super-X Short - 90mm+
Eley Edge - 18mm (best of three groups)
CCI Standard Velocity - 18mm (best of three groups)

EDIT: Added from further down. https://enoughgun.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=8123&p=130808#p130808
Norma Match 2 Training Ammunition - 30.5mm
Lapua Centre-X - 23mm
RWS Z-Lang - 80mm+ (130mm low)
RWS Club - 59mm
RWS Special Match - 23mm
RWS R50 - 40mm
RWS R100 - 24.5mm
RWS Subsonic HP - 35mm
Geco Rifle - 22.5mm
Eley Sport - 47mm (first eight into 21mm)
Federal Target Standard - 34.5mm
Federal Gold Medal Target - 29mm
Federal Premium Match - 28.5mm
SK Magazine - 27.5mm
SK High Velocity - 13.5mm
SK Standard Plus - 24mm
Remington Golden Bullet - 51.5mm
Remington Target - 38.5mm

I now have 510 rds through the Target and can see that Eley Edge and CCI SV both shoot consistently well in both rifles. CCI Velocitor is a good option for a high-velocity hunting round in both rifles as well. Highland RX HP is probably the best choice for cheap practice ammo. I would still like to try Highland RX Target and SK Rifle Match if I can get them.

[Gamerancher]

If you are still looking at shooting silhouette, try testing at 100m. A lot of .22 ammo will group well at 50m but falls away after about 75m.
Also, I've never had much success benching a rifle with a bipod. Try using a front rest or bag on the bench and see if you get better results.
Try using the bipod on the ground prone and see if your results change.
The Anschutz 64 action is used in their field rifles and in the cheaper line of target rifles. The 54 action is the better, but more expensive, of the two.

[bladeracer]

If you are still looking at shooting silhouette, try testing at 100m. A lot of .22 ammo will group well at 50m but falls away after about 75m.
Also, I've never had much success benching a rifle with a bipod. Try using a front rest or bag on the bench and see if you get better results.
Try using the bipod on the ground prone and see if your results change.
The Anschutz 64 action is used in their field rifles and in the cheaper line of target rifles. The 54 action is the better, but more expensive, of the two.

Yep, 100m testing will follow with the ammo that shows promise, and 200m if I get a break in the wind. I'm specifically testing initially at 50m because a lot of the ammo is supersonic and will lose accuracy by about 70m or so.

The Annie had _lots_ of light strikes with Eley ammunition but none at all with the cheaper stuff we tried. It also really hangs onto the brass making ejection more difficult than it need be. I'm thinking the extractor is holding the rim away from the breech face as the Eley's have the thinnest rims of everything I've measured. I didn't get a chance to strip it last time but I want to look at the bedding and play with the action screw torque next time. I also think the scope is less than optimal, especially as the turret is completely topped out in elevation and still shoots low at 50m

[in2anity]

Show's some promise - gotta love ye olde CCI-SV! How's the trigger on it Blade?

[bladeracer]

Show's some promise - gotta love ye olde CCI-SV! How's the trigger on it Blade?

Although Ruger don't mention any difference in the trigger, I reckon it does feel better than my Compact.
Shooting offhand is when I most notice the trigger quality but I haven't tried that yet.

[TheGreenwolf]

i have been reading up on this a little bit, the US sites say you need to put a few rounds through the gun also to improve its performance, they say it performs best after its had about 500 through and to rezero after 500 rounds.

[bladeracer]

i have been reading up on this a little bit, the US sites say you need to put a few rounds through the gun also to improve its performance, they say it performs best after its had about 500 through and to rezero after 500 rounds.

That goes for pretty much any .22LR.
My Compact was close to 1000rds before she started to shoot well.
Got 284rds through her so far.

[TheGreenwolf]

yea cool, i am going to go for a practice session on the weekend, see if i can put some through mine as well.

[bladeracer]

I took the Target and the Compact just now and shot them together, despite some pretty heavy winds.
At 100m the wind is messing them up too much to determine a winner, but at 50m I think the Target might just have the edge.

[KennyA]

Nice purchase. The stock looks heaps better then there standard piece on plastic junk that comes on most Ruger rifles these days.
Enjoy...

[bladeracer]

Nice purchase. The stock looks heaps better then there standard piece on plastic junk that comes on most Ruger rifles these days.
Enjoy...

Depends whether you buy your rifles to use or to look at I guess.

[vmaxaust]

Nice purchase. The stock looks heaps better then there standard piece on plastic junk that comes on most Ruger rifles these days.
Enjoy...

The standard plastic is just fine unless you need to have the prettiest rifles. The Ruger Americans are a bargain considering the bolts on the centrefires or rimfires cycle as well and often better than rifles costing twice the money or more. The rotary magazines are faultless although you can get a bad one. These days that's not common. They are very accurate with the right ammo. For me, I have a 300 Blackout, a 223 and a 22LR for the cost of one overpriced very pretty (take it out once a year or you may scratch it) rifle.

Sam

[bladeracer]

The standard plastic is just fine unless you need to have the prettiest rifles. The Ruger Americans are a bargain considering the bolts on the centrefires or rimfires cycle as well and often better than rifles costing twice the money or more. The rotary magazines are faultless although you can get a bad one. These days that's not common. They are very accurate with the right ammo. For me, I have a 300 Blackout, a 223 and a 22LR for the cost of one overpriced very pretty (take it out once a year or you may scratch it) rifle.

Sam

The forend of the polymer stock is a flex problem if you attach a bipod at the sling swivel. But if you move the bipod back to the magwell it's fine, or you can fill the forend with bog to stiffen it. If you don't use a bipod then it's not a problem at all.
The centrefire mags are a poor design, but when they work they work very well. My .243 mag doesn't have any problem feeding but I had to have it replaced in my .204, and the 7mm-08 came good after a bit of use. I gave the .204 300rds before deciding it was not going to improve and NIOA replaced the mag. The later mag holds six rounds rather than five which was nice. Being top-load single-stack mags is neat as well.

I prefer poly stocks rather than wood, but aluminium is better than either, so all of my Americans are in MDT LSS chassis with 10-rd AICS mags and Bushnell AR Optics 4.5-18x40 scopes.

My first rifle was a new 10/22 in '83 - an amazing little rifle that started my appreciation for Ruger.
I currently have five Ruger Americans - the two .22's, .204 and .243 Predators, and 7mm-08 Standard. My brother has started his Ruger collecting with the .243 Predator and will get a .22 Target shortly. The most expensive was the .243 at $765 in my hands, the cheapest was the 7mm-08 at $529 plus postage and transfer (about $620 in my hands) but with a crap Redfield Revolution scope included.

I still want the 6.5mm Creedmoor, 300BLK and .450 Bushmaster, and will likely end up with the .223 and .308 as well.
I've recently been toying with the idea of getting one of the Magnums as well just to complete the set - possibly the .338 WinMag. But the Magnum, like the Rimfire has no commonality of parts with the Short Action platform.

There are a few rifles that offer similar bang-for-buck (and a whole lot more that don't even come close), but the Ruger American has an excellent choice of calibers that won me - especially having .204 and 7mm-08 in the same platform.

[bladeracer]

From what I can see in the pic., it does look like a 64MS - If you have a look in this link, there is a download for the 64MS manual listed:
http://jga.anschuetz-sport.com/index.ph ... &sprache=1

Thanks Allan
That PDF is one of the documents I used to determine it's probably the 64 MS.

[bladeracer]

Managed some more testing yesterday.
First I fired a ten-round group of Tenex from both rifles from cold bores. Interestingly, both threw the second shot low left - 31mm for the Compact and 33mm for the Target.

At 50m, ten rounds of the following:
Winchester Powerpoint 42 - 51mm
CCI Velocitor - 28.5mm
Winchester Superspeed - 60mm
Sellier & Bellot Subsonic - 27mm and 45mm
Sellier & Bellot Standard - 72mm
Sellier & Bellot High Velocity - 35mm
CCI MiniMag - 46mm
CCI Stinger - 48mm
CCI Copper-22 - 58mm
Remington Yellow Jacket - 54mm
Highland RX Subsonic - 32mm
Wichester Super-X Short - 90mm+
Eley Edge - 18mm (best of three groups)
CCI Standard Velocity - 18mm (best of three groups)

I now have 510 rds through the Target and can see that Eley Edge and CCI SV both shoot consistently well in both rifles. CCI Velocitor is a good option for a high-velocity hunting round in both rifles as well. Highland RX HP is probably the best choice for cheap practice ammo. I would still like to try Highland RX Target and SK Rifle Match if I can get them.

Now I can swap it into the MDT chassis and see if there's any improvement. My brother and I shooting the Target alongside the Compact MDT really noticed how much better the pistol-grip chassis is ergonomically.

[bladeracer]

I also tried the old 1930's Cooey Ace-1 and 1950 BSA Sportsman 5 at 50m over open sights for a bit of fun.
First I fired 20rds of Highland RX HP from the BSA and they grouped quite well at 106mm, but I really couldn't see the target. I can really only shoot iron sights to about 30m as the sight picture past there is too blurry for my aging eyesight. So I made a three-inch aiming point I could actually see and put another 20rds of CCI SV on that one. A 70mm group impressed me greatly!

Then it took me five shots to put a round on the paper with the little (1.33kg!) Cooey before I discovered it shoots about 250mm high at 50m, so I held my aim along the bottom edge of the target sheet. I think 20rds into 100mm is excellent due to the incredibly poor sight picture offered by the most rudimentary sights. I might have to get myself some Ruger American Rimfire sights and see if I can install them on both rifles without doing any damage to them.

[rsj223]

I pick mine up tomorrow.

[bladeracer]

I pick mine up tomorrow.

Soon everybody will have one

[rsj223]

Oh well

[bladeracer]

I put mine in the MDT chassis today.
It has a different pin for the mag latch which won't fit into the chassis.
I cut a 1/8" drill bit to 18.5mm long and replaced the pin with that - works fine.

[rsj223]

Might start a new thread on my Ruger but thought I would post this video here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvPqU_rFoSo

[bladeracer]

Might start a new thread on my Ruger but thought I would post this video here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvPqU_rFoSo

Geez, you really have some luck don't you

[rsj223]

Cant win but keep trying

[bladeracer]

Cant win but keep trying

Did you get it sorted today?

[rsj223]

Yep trimmed the screws and mounted the scope ready for the range in the morning.

[bladeracer]

Yep trimmed the screws and mounted the scope ready for the range in the morning.

Excellent
I'm hoping to find time tomorrow to try mine in the chassis.

What ammo are you trying?

[bladeracer]

I have 768rds through her now
Lots of fog but no wind today.
I concentrated on the CCI Standard Velocity and Eley Edge and then had a play with some Highland RX HP and two lots of Remington Cyclone from my rim thickness batching. I wanted to compare the narrow rims with the thicker rims.
At 50m I set up twelve targets plus a larger target for making scope adjustments before shooting the smaller targets. I put ten rounds into the first target with the CCI, then shot nine five-shot groups and two groups of Eley when I ran out of CCI.

Then I adjusted the scope 3MoA up and right and switched to the Eley on the same targets I'd just shot. Ten rounds on the first target, then six five-shot groups. Then I shot five more groups by putting one round on each target for five cycles so I had to adjust my position both laterally and vertically between each of the 25 shots. Then I shot a ten-round group on the last target but with both eyes open, despite the eighteen-power scope. It took perhaps a minute to get my left eye to come into focus after shooting 140-odd rounds with it closed. But the group was really good indeed - 16.5mm, with eight in one ragged hole. The 10rd CCI group was 19.5mm. Best 5rd groups were 9mm for the Eley and 6.5mm for the CCI. Averages of the thirteen five-shot Eley groups was 20.8mm and the nine five-shot CCI groups was 16.7mm. Then I shot two five-shot groups with Tenex for no particular reason - best was 20.5mm.

Six 5rd groups of Highland RX HP gave a best of 18.5mm, but 30-35mm is more the standard fare. Average was 33.8mm.

Then I shot six 5rd groups with the Remington Cyclones with 0.039" rim thickness. Best was 31.5mm but 40-50mm is standard for these. Average was 40.5mm.
Then six 5rd groups with the 0.044" rim thickness. Best was 22mm but 30-35mm seems the norm. Average was 29.4mm.

So far I'm confident the Target is inherently more accurate than my Compact. And certainly both shoot much better in the MDT LSS-22 chassis than the OEM poly and lami stocks.

[Wm.Traynor]

FWIW, the theory I read said that closing one eye affects the muscles of the open eye. You can get a "blinder" for the open, non-shooting eye. Or you can make one (cheaper). It is made of translucent material which admits some light to the eye. Apparently it is a mistake to use something opaque. I used a piece of stiff clear plastic.

[rsj223]

Yep trimmed the screws and mounted the scope ready for the range in the morning.

Excellent
I'm hoping to find time tomorrow to try mine in the chassis.

What ammo are you trying?

Will update as soon as I get some time to sort out the pictures, oh and it went good