Ruger RPR ?

[PRR1957]

I have been looking at the Ruger Precision Rifle and wondered why the 308 Win. offering only has a 20” barrel were the rest are 24” barrels with one with a 26” barrel. The only reasoning I could surmise for the shorter barrel for the 308 Win. is possibly attracting sales to law enforcement and paramilitary for urban environment usage or am I missing something about the 308 Win..

 

[Straightshooter1]

Maybe their's a bigger market (kinda what you eluded to) in that it's a heavy gun even with a 20" barrel. So, maybe many hunters just don't prefer any more weight nor parking a long barrel through vegetation???

 

[rr2030]

A buddy has the RPR in .308 /20". He does well with it beyond 600 yards. What do you intend to use it for?

 

[LonewolfMcquade]

Ive put approximately 500 rounds through mine so far & couldn't be more pleased with the 20" barrel! Ive killed groundhog with it out to 700 yards so far. Damn accurate! I was concerned with the 20" length at 1st, figured worst come to worst, I'd have a 24 1/2" barrel made if I wasn't satisfied. But the 20" surprised me & preforms excellent.

 

[Deleted outa08]

Ive put approximately 500 rounds through mine so far & couldn't be more pleased with the 20" barrel! Ive killed groundhog with it out to 700 yards so far. Damn accurate! I was concerned with the 20" length at 1st, figured worst come to worst, I'd have a 24 1/2" barrel made if I wasn't satisfied. But the 20" surprised me & preforms excellent. View attachment 1139390

Nice rig. I like the tripod and top also. Who makes that? I wouldn`t go over 20" on a .308. I have one cut to 16 1/2 " and it shoots great.MOA to 500yds.. That`s as far that I have shot.All hogs must die.

 

[garandman]

I'd guess wieght. .308 AR's are a beast even with only a 20" tube. And a longer bbl will make them even more front heavy.

 

[Dgd6mm]

Because Ruger is ate up with the D.A.

 

[LonewolfMcquade]

like the tripod and top also. Who makes that?

Just a Caldwell deadshot field pod. I actually upgraded to the Caldwell chairpod this summer.

 

[PRR1957]

I'd guess wieght. .308 AR's are a beast even with only a 20" tube. And a longer bbl will make them even more front heavy.

I sure it is not about weight. These specs are from Ruger’s website.
308 Win-20”-9.8 lbs
6.5 CM-24”-10.7 lbs
6mm CM-24”-10.8 lbs
6mm CM-26”-11.0 lbs
6.5 PRC-26”-11.0 lbs
I did not include the 300 Win, 300 PRC, or 338 Lapua because those have longer receivers and 26” barrels tipping the scale at 15.2 lbs each.

I contacted Ruger through an email regarding the 20” barrel only fir the 308 Win for the RPR, and was responded with, “It was a engineering, and corporate decision.”.

I believe it is a current trend amongst some of the rifle manufacturers of short 20”-22” barrels as of the last few years as for hunting rifles. As to why, I am not sure. Apparently decreased ballistics is not a concern. I remember when back in the mid 1990’s when Remington was producing some of their long range rifles with 26” barrels, almost all the other rifle manufacturers jumped on that band wagon. It was heralded by some gun writhers as the greatest thing since sliced bread.

I am sure that Ruger is trying to follow Remington’s lead with their police and paramilitary 223 Rem and 308 Win offerings with 20” barrels. What I do not get is that Ruger dose not even offer a longer 308 Win barrel as an option even through their custom shop. I guess Ruger is leaving longer barrels up to the after market barrel manufacturers.

As to why I am querying about this. Even though I am a dyed in the wool specialty pistol fan of bolt action pistols of which most of the barrels are 14”-15” long, if I am going to hunt with a rifle, I want the longest barrel for the added ballistics. I also am a fan of the 308 Win.. In a SHTF scenario, 308 Win will be easier to find then such cartridges like the Creedmore and PRC.

 

[garandman]

If yer right and they are marketing to LEO's, then its about weight.

No LEO ever is gonna take a 1,000 yard shot. 150 will be a super long shot. So the extra barrel length just makes the gun heavy and unwieldy

 

[JPeelen]

.308 Winchester was designed with a 22" barrel in mind (that is the length the NATO STANAG 2310 for 7.62 mm specifes), so 20" is not too bad.

Generally, there is indeed a trend toward (very) short barrels since several years. Typically, only velocity figures are cited to show how "small" the loss is. Well, hunters depend on bullet energy to kill the game quickly. And energy loss due to a shorter barrel is double the velocity loss: 10 percent less velocity means 20 percent less bullet energy. The latter in my view is a loss of killing power that should not be ignored.

 

[rsmithsr50]

all about sales ..look at the ar market way to short for real world, but they sell.

 

[rsmithsr50]

24/26" 1/2 moa at 600 yards

Nice rig. I like the tripod and top also. Who makes that? I wouldn`t go over 20" on a .308. I have one cut to 16 1/2 " and it shoots great.MOA to 500yds.. That`s as far that I have shot.All hogs must die.

 

[PRR1957]

Again, I believe it is not about weight but more about the overall length of that rifle. A shorter rifle will be more maneuverable in an urban environment.

 

[garandman]

Again, I believe it is not about weight but more about the overall length of that rifle. A shorter rifle will be more maneuverable in an urban environment.

They go together....weight and maneuverability. Try swinging a 12 lb rifle vs. a 7 lb. rifle.

Length will matter maneuvering corners, getting rifle out of the car, out of rifle case, etc.

Weight will matter everywhere.

 

[XTR]

I think someone at Ruger actually understands the PRS game and realized that nobody was going to use a 308 so they built the 308 to appeal to the "tacticool" buyers and the others to be entry level open/factory PRS rifles. Look around at some of the turmoil currently simmering regarding the rules and participation in the "Tactical" class of PRS, there isn't much. The 308 would be about the right size to screw on a can though.

 

[Rodney]

I think someone at Ruger actually understands the PRS game and realized that nobody was going to use a 308 so they built the 308 to appeal to the "tacticool" buyers and the others to be entry level open/factory PRS rifles. Look around at some of the turmoil currently simmering regarding the rules and participation in the "Tactical" class of PRS, there isn't much. The 308 would be about the right size to screw on a can though.

I think XTR is into something. A guy is more likely to put a suppressor on a 308 than one of the other calibers. Just my thoughts, have a merry Christmas everyone.

 

[mensajd]

The 308 rpr has lots of side blast due to the short barrel and muzzle brake. I had a backpack that was blown over several inches by an adjacent 308 rpr shooter. I use the term shooter loosely in this case.

 

[D.Stone]

It basically boils down to the fact that is what they think is most marketable. If you pay attention to the "Tactical" world...shorter rifles are in vogue right now, and part of that is due to the proliferation of suppressors and the fact that newer bullets do help bridge the gap between longer and shorter barrels.

A 185gr Berger out of a 20 inch barrel is going to be doing way better than anything we were shooting in the 1990s or early 2000's from 24 inch barrels.