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What's so bad about Ruger?

The guy that developed the RPR for Ruger fires one in PRS competitions. Ruger also has fielded a team of PRS shooters from the factory floor.

No one will disparage your Ruger at a local PRS match. Don’t be hesitant to enter a match and shoot. Plenty of RPR shooters have won with their rifles.

Dave - I'd be curious who that is that from Ruger shooting or their team? I've only encountered 2 other RPR's at national comps besides mine, but plenty at the regional matches. I've pondered why Ruger doesn't try a bit harder (as some other vendors do in PRS), maybe they're already selling plenty. :D

I wish more guys would come out and shoot them. Too many folks think their rifle is the weak link after their first PRS style match, unless you got a total dud (which can happen, but not that often, with a factory gun) its almost never the gun that is the problem initially.
 
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I think the angled recoil lug is a great idea and works great. Rugers take a beating by people claiming they are not accurate and they are a pain to bed because of the angled screw in the front. Truth be told is no harder to bed than anything else and with a little bit of work they shoot fantastic. Bed the action and the first couple inches of the barrel and they will shoot right along with anything else. Most Ruger 77s I have messed with have easily been able to shoot half moa.
 
The guy that developed the RPR for Ruger fires one in PRS competitions. Ruger also has fielded a team of PRS shooters from the factory floor.
Plenty of RPR shooters have won with their rifles.
Lets not get carried away in the other direction either :rolleyes:
I have seen one rimfire match won, (one time) by an Ruger Rimfire. They are far from burning down the circuit. I also don't see them supporting the local or national matches in any meaningful way.

I believe the consensus is "Go shoot and have fun". We don't need more bashing or blowjobs.
 
Where I come from the name don’t mean nothin”
Just cause home boy buys a fancy custom rig don’t mean squat.
The person tuning an shootin means more than $$
I’ve seen Factory rifles put down some damn fine groups.
Not sure why I quoted ya so don’t blow torch me please
I couldn't agree more. The nut behind the trigger makes all the difference. I just don't get these $1500 factory precision rigs. The $700 rig with a good scope shoots just as good. The only difference is the word precision. And if you can win your local match with a factory rifle more power to you but that scenario doesn't exist everywhere!
 
Before you pin anyone down on the mini 14 subject, you should research what you are saying a little further. Your time frame is off by 20 yrs, which you (?), ok, production of the gun never ceased, it was exempt in the 94 ban.

I wasn't referring to "the bans" I was referring to when the anti gunners started objecting to high capacity magazines etc. It started long before the bans were instituted.
 
whoa, this Zen philospophy. what? too simple?! It needs to be complicated!
Zen, also, ya gotta be over age 50. younger ? - otherwise ya gotta kill it, eat it or f* it. perspective takes time and the RPR is messing with some - out of the box accuracy. :)
 
I own at least 6 Ruger firearms including a RPR in 6 CM, Out of the box likely the most accurate production rifle I own.

Today I spoke to Ruger customer service in AZ. Have a 20+ year old MK II pistol that refuses to give up the bolt stop during disassembly. The young lady offered up a few suggestions(one included a soft faced hammer) and waited as I performed the suggested procedure to no avail. So I decided to return it for service. Several shipping options were offered including one where I could, for $30, order a pre paid label from Ruger. Upon hearing this I mentioned that she missed my last birthday in December, she laughed, I laughed, the free label is sitting here now. Also mentioned I don't have the plastic box it came with, they are looking for one of those also.Several months ago I couldn't locate the rings for my #1, called Ruger, free rings securing the scope to the rifle now.

I can't speak for everyones experiences with them but they have been stellar with me, great company and fantastic customer service. And yes, there have been times when I had to pry open my wallet and pay for services and items from Ruger. They have been a pleasure to do business with and that goes a long way.
 
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Ruger - is just an amazing Co. Innovative. Great shooting pieces at very reasonable prices. But that hammer strut breakdown on the MK II ?! btw, just a great pistol.
Stellar- heck yes. My new Mk IV SS has a threaded bbl 1/2 X 28, and well made. hammer strut probs. no more. kinda miss that. nice shooter.
 
Ruger makes a lot of good hunting rifles. I've owned several over the last 45 years. They just are not competition grade rifles. 100/200/300yd group BR; never seen one at a match. I shot HBR for several years, never saw one at a big match. 600/1000 yard matches, never seen one at a major match. I owned a Ruger bolt rifle in 416 Rigby. Have yet to see a Ko2M rifle based on that big action. I would opine that anyone shooting a Ruger bolt action rifle in serious competition is being paid to do so.

Two of the guys I hunt in Africa with, they both pack the big ones, one in 416 Rigby, the other in 458 Lott.

Rich
 
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The problem is not with brand x or y. It's people. There's always someone that needs to get there "ego booster".
 
For whatever reason, Rugers tend to incorporate design elements that just aren’t friendly for using them as a base for a custom. The 77 is a prime example.

The RPR, while a perfectly good factory rifle, is just that. I’ve seen a ton of them on f class lines. Unsurprisingly, they’re not even close to competive, and getting one there would be a chore if it’s even possible.

And then there is the matter of the mini 14 and it’s even worse cousin the mini 30. The mini 30 may be one of the worst firearms ever made. I had one- it shot about 8 MOA (not a typo) and the trigger guard would come loose about once every 3-5 shots.

And have you ever tried to assemble a Mk II? It will have you kicking puppies in no time.

That said, I love my 77/22. It’s beautiful, and not bad for what it is. But it’s no competition rifle, and it’s never going to be one.
 
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My experience , the barrels are rough , even their pistols , own a few myself , that said , after a little work I love mine , nothing that a little jb bore paste and a proper barrel break in won't help , both pistol and rifle.... If you're trying to compare a $500 rifle to a $5000 rifle it's not really fair... But if you want a dependable deer slayer , well then , there it is..... You will never get a fair shake asking this question on this site... Buy one and try it yourself , just don't expect bug holes , but yet some do...... For $500 bucks....

Honest edit , not $500 , less then $400...
 
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I haven't seen RPR bashing, per se. I have seen some mild teasing because a number of shooters wanting to start shooting long range seem to gravitate toward the RPR in 6.5... which is what I did.

Honestly, I know it's not the best and I don't care. I am very busy and don't have time for dialing in custom rifles and doing custom cartridges. I just want to shoot 1,000 - 1,500 yards with over the counter ammo and have fun with my kid and friends.

For me, the RPR and Hornady make an awesome combination to accomplish that exact thing. Others may want more. God bless them for doing what they do and sharing that knowledge.
 
I’ve read through this thread and learned a few things I didn’t know, for example why Rugers in general aren’t a good platform to build custom. That’s fair enough but I think most guys, myself included, who buy them are just looking to get a foot in the door. I paid $950 new for mine and changed a few accessories out on it more for comfort then accuracy and I’m in it for less then $1500 (before glass). Accuracy wise i average around 5/8 moa at distance. I get that it may not be benchrest quality but I think a guy could be competitive at a PRS type match, maybe not win but at least hang around. I look at the RPR as a great starting point where I can learn as much as possible (windy days are fun) before going to a custom. Heck Krieger and several others make drop in replacement barrels now so one could even go that route after the factory barrel is toast. The shooting sport in general needs to get more younger people my age involved so I’m all for the RPR great way to get started without spending a fortune.
 
I wasn't referring to "the bans" I was referring to when the anti gunners started objecting to high capacity magazines etc. It started long before the bans were instituted.
You are right, but in 92 or 93 when the stakes were high is when Ruger said high cap magazines were not needed. It never sits well when a gun company goes against the grain.
I have no feelings for Ruger either way, I've just never been that interested in any of their products. other than I did look at a #1 once.
I'm not bad mouthing their product, I've had my ass handed to me in a prairie dog town by a couple # 77's in 220 swift.
 
The ‘92 Palma rifles they furnished for the US Palma Team didn’t win them any laurels, as they appeared to be designed by a committee that didn’t have a clue what rifle matches were all about. They used crap barrels on rifles that were intended to be used by some of the best US shooters in a prestigious International competition. The guns didn’t shoot, and in the end I think only one US shooter used the Ruger in the match; the rest used their own guns, with most of these being a last minute switch forced upon them by the problems with the Rugers. That didn’t help. And this was with the offer that the guns could be kept, free, by any US shooters who used them in the matches.

My own “last straw” was a couple Vaqueros I purchased when they first came out, including a 38/40 and a 44/40. Nothing seriously wrong with the 38/40, or a matching 45 Colt I bought along with the others. The 44/40, however, wouldn’t keep more than half the rounds fired on a target paper at 25 yards. Seriously, disastrous accuracy. In doing some measurements after a few groups, the problem became obvious; Ruger had changed some dimensions, obviously without putting any thought into the changes. The original 44/40s normally ran nominal .425” to .427” diameter grooves, using comparable projectiles. With the current production, they apparently made a reasonable decision to utilize the now standard .429” projectiles common to the rest of the .44 caliber line now in use. I thought that was perfectly reasonable, and had no argument with that line of thought. However, if you’re going to change the bore/groove dimensions, don’t you think you’d change the chamber throat dimensions to match? Ruger didn’t see it that way, as I found when I started micing the cylinder. So, we had a .429” bullet, being violently swaged down upon firing, exiting a .425” throat in the cylinder, then rattling its way down a .429” barrel. When I called Ruger, I explained the problem and was told that the gun was “in spec.” Yes, I understood that, but couldn’t seem to get them to understand that the specs were what was wrong. I ran into Bill Atkinson at the NRA or SHOT show sometime after, and chatted with him about this. He shook his head and muttered that he’d “told those idiots” that they needed to change these dimensions, but they hadn’t listened to him. He told me to send the gun in to him, which I did. It returned a week or so later, with the chambers reamed out to .429” in the throat. The gun shot pretty well after that. Those, however, were the last Rugers I ever bought. Likely to stay that way, too.
 
You are right, but in 92 or 93 when the stakes were high is when Ruger said high cap magazines were not needed. It never sits well when a gun company goes against the grain.
I have no feelings for Ruger either way, I've just never been that interested in any of their products. other than I did look at a #1 once.
I'm not bad mouthing their product, I've had my ass handed to me in a prairie dog town by a couple # 77's in 220 swift.

Had a 77 and put a small rubber washer at the fore end screw between the barrel and stock. Amazing what a three cent washer did for accuracy. Makes a person go W.T.F.
 

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