Ruger American 300AAC Blackout
When I first became interested in Bolt action rifles a few years ago I choose the Savage Axis. This was in large part due the price point, Savage’s reputation for out the box accuracy, and the ability to take one action and have many rifles. After owning quite a few Axis and 110’s series rifles I decided that it was time for something a little different. I had wanted a truck/utility/brush gun/short barrel rifle for quite some time and had entertained the idea a 450 Bushmaster, but I found a good deal on the Ruger American Ranch and decided to take the plunge.
I have never owned a Ruger and from what I can tell the release of the Ranch Model of the American Family is fairly recent. Ruger’s website still lists them as “New” but they seem to have been available on the market for at least a year with reviews and YouTube videos dating back to 2014, however a search on Wikipedia for this particular model yields nothing. Not terribly new but new enough.
As you can see by the title the rifle is chambered in 300 AAC Blackout. At the time of purchase they seemed to be out of stock almost everywhere, so I didn’t choose this cartridge for any particular reason it was just what they had available at the time. As for the rifle, it is fairly lightweight coming in at only 6lbs without an optic, the finish is matte black, and an aluminum picatinny rail comes already installed. Interestingly, the website does not specify whether this is a Weaver or Picatinny style rail it just states “features a factory installed one-piece aluminum scope rail”. So if you got excited because you had some extra Weaver style Burris Zee rings like me, and were glad you were not going to have to spend any extra cash, well sorry about that!! The stock is in FDE the and true to the economy/budget rifles these days resting in the always popular polymer with the standard rubber recoil pad and two sling swivel studs.
According to Ruger, the barrel is cold hammer-forged with 6 grooves and comes in at 16.1’’, moreover it is threaded at 5/8x24 and comes with a cap, has a 1:7 twist and an overall length of 36’’. LOP for this model is 13.75’’ but they do have another model available with a 12.5’’ LOP, but unlike the Axis the barrel length does not change, nor do they refer to it as the Youth model.
The trigger is the Ruger American Marksman trigger which adjusts from 3-5 pounds with a 2 position tang safety, and the magazine is a rotary style that holds 5 rounds. The price point is more in line with the Axis XP II with the MSRP is listed at $499.00 but street price is typically around $389.00. They have a second ranch version available in 5.56/.223 with a 1/2"-28 thread pattern.
This particular model does not come with a recoil lug. The action is held in place per the Power Bedding V-Block system that Ruger designed. They state “Power Bedding® is an integral bedding block system that positively locates the receiver and free-floats the barrel for outstanding accuracy.” Since I have next to no experience with the Ruger American can’t say whether this is an actual improvement over the standard recoil lug design or just more marketing hype.The trigger was designed by lawyers as you can see from the picture. I thought one e clip was bad, this gave me a seizure just looking at it. The pull was roughly 4.25 lbs.
It’s only been to the range once and I put about 20 rounds down the tube just messing around, and haven’t had a chance to sight it in and check the precision/accuracy. The recoil is pleasant and less than I expected shooting 115gr rounds. This seems like it could be a fun Hog Hunting gun, not to mention this gives me a great reason to spend a few thousand dollars on a nice suppressor and Thermal Scope so I can get kicked out the house and live in a rowboat on Dean’s lake!!
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