Ruger American 223 accuracy????

msinc

New member
Anyone out there having trouble with their Ruger American??? I have the standard stainless model and it started out pretty decent, little over an inch with good reloads, nothing formal just kind of sighted it in and it shot right around an inch or so. Don't really shoot it much, but it seems to have gotten worse over the last several months. Same ammo, same scope. Borescope shows barrel is clean, never really did ever foul. Groups opened to almost 4" shot off a Sinclair rest. Thought I found it, it had a cracked scope ring. Now it will shoot very impressive groups {like .375" or so} but the point of impact keeps dancing around. It will put two touching then jump right and high, put two touching there and go left. Maybe the scope??? I installed a Timney trigger at 1 1/2 pounds. The stock screws are tight, rings and bases are fine. It seems like it's trying to shoot. Never really had a rifle jump around like this.
 
I just bought one in left hand .22-250 and out of the box the stock was touching the left side of the barrel at the end of the stock. I removed some material and took it to the range. Obviously I did not take enough off, because after two shots almost touching the next shots started moving up and to the right. I took off some more material this morning and will go to the range as soon as the wind settles.
 
Thanks for the replies!!! I forgot to say that I also found the left side of the forend touching the barrel pretty good...at least good enough that it wore a shiny area on the side of the barrel. I did relieve the stock so that the barrel floats but only by like a 1/16th of an inch. It has been suggested on some other threads that when shooting off a benchrest you have the front bag close to the rear of the barrel/front of the receiver...as I understand it, the forend will kind of bounce around and move so you don't want the front bag under that.
I just got back from shooting this thing and I noticed that it shot it's best {which is by no means fantastic} when the barrel is warm. Not hot, and not cold, just kind of warm. It is back to it's old self of 1" to 1 1/4" groups...I guess I cant complain but so much for the money.
 
I got a chance to play around with a RAR that had a Bodys custom laminate stock on it... Wow what a difference. When i get my RAR .30-06 i definitely think the boyds will be in order, finishes the gun off very nicely and adds a solid feeling that the factory synthetic lacks
 
I have been wondering if placing shims in the 'V' bedding area would help with free floating the barrel. I do know that placing The front stock screw closer to front bag helps with less flex on stock. Could fashion shims from beer cans to experiment.
By the way, I have 2 RAR. 1 7/08 I've had 2 deer seasons now & 1 .223 I just got but haven't shot yet. If I do have any free float problems, I'll try my remedy.
 
Mine shoots better than I can shoot it. My last two shots on the 100 yard range were touching. But then I am a coyote hunter, not some sniper trying to hit nose hairs at a mile and a half.
 
I have the rar ranch model with 16 inch barrel in .223. Shot ok but not great with factory ammo. Loaded 60 grain vmaxs over 24.5 grains of benchmark. Shoots 3 shot groups at half or less and 5 shot groups 3/4s or better. Sometimes much better if i do my part.
 
Thanks a million for the replies...interesting stuff!!! I noticed something else about this rifle, the magazine will only allow the bullet to be seated out about .015 past the published COAL. I can get the bullet to touch the lands though because it has a very short throat. My chamber had a bad step in the area of the case mouth. When a took it out with a finish reamer the throat is now way too deep to ever hit the lands and still go in the magazine. Now I have to either accept how it shoots "off the lands" or figure out a way to lengthen the magazine. How it shoots off the lands is really not a big loss...it didn't exactly shoot fantastic touching them!!
It wasn't hard to open the barrel channel more to float the barrel. That Tupperware rubber stuff sands easy, but since it is basically inert and nothing will stick to it then glass bedding is not going to do much good. Now the Boyd's stock sounds promising. I'll have to have a look at those.
 
I, too, went the Boyds route with a RAP. When there is 1/16"
clearance and it takes very little pressure between thumb and index
finger to get the stock to touch the barrel at the end of the
forearm, it's just way too flimsy.

Boyds sends the needed hardware including recoil lugs. They were a
bit tricky for me to get bedded correctly, but it was worth it.
 
Originally Posted By: DannoBooneI, too, went the Boyds route with a RAP. When there is 1/16"
clearance and it takes very little pressure between thumb and index
finger to get the stock to touch the barrel at the end of the
forearm, it's just way too flimsy.

Boyds sends the needed hardware including recoil lugs. They were a
bit tricky for me to get bedded correctly, but it was worth it.

Thanks for the info!!! I have always had very good luck with Boyd's stocks...I think I will give one a try. Do you feel like the rifle shot better after the install???
 
My buddy has said rifle and we put several boxes of factory ammo through it in a prairie dog town. We weren't shooting for groups but it was every bit as good at hitting dogs within 250 yards as my .3-.4 MOA 243AI.
 
Originally Posted By: msincOriginally Posted By: DannoBooneI, too, went the Boyds route with a RAP. When there is 1/16"
clearance and it takes very little pressure between thumb and index
finger to get the stock to touch the barrel at the end of the
forearm, it's just way too flimsy.

Boyds sends the needed hardware including recoil lugs. They were a
bit tricky for me to get bedded correctly, but it was worth it.

Thanks for the info!!! I have always had very good luck with Boyd's stocks...I think I will give one a try. Do you feel like the rifle shot better after the install???

I checked out Boyd's last night...do they include a trigger guard??? The factory one is molded in the stock and the pictures that Boyd's shows does not have one with any of the stocks.
 
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