American Ranch Gen 2 Build

[FLUndertaker]

ETA: Several updates throughout the thread.

Anyone else have a Ranch Gen 2? Here's mine. Swapped the muzzle brake for a Rugged brake / mount. Just mounted the Eotech XPS2 300 Blk optic. I am hoping the ejected brass doesn't beat the piss out of the eotech that is considerably wider than the pic rail. I need a touch more height on the cheek riser for a good weld. Instead of buying more ruger stock risers I am strongly considering swapping to a Magpul stock. Reviews are very good and it has a lot of adjustability and a more solid bedding to the action than ruger factory. My issue is that it's $300 which makes what was supposed to be a budget built not so much. Thoughts?

 

[XUSNORDIE]

"Build"? or "Accessorized"?.....

I built a 300BLK AR (as in putting it together from individual parts). I considered that EOTECH but I was concerned with the bulkiness. How does it balance for you?

 

[FLUndertaker]

"Build"? or "Accessorized"?.....

I built a 300BLK AR (as in putting it together from individual parts). I considered that EOTECH but I was concerned with the bulkiness. How does it balance for you?

Accessorize. My apologies. It's a factory rifle I swapped muzzle device on, added an optic and now consider a stock swap. I never would have started with a ruger ranch rifle if a true custom build was the plan. The rifle is super handy with the 16" barrel. Obviously the suppressor adds length and weight all at one end. Still not bad by any means. Suppressed subsonic 220gr outweigh any downside. I wanted something relatively cheap that I could thump things deer size and smaller inside 100 yards with. The eotech was appealing due to the 2 dot reticle and being designed to 300 blk. I may shoot some supersonic rounds thru it and not having to Jack with the optic when switching back and forth is a nice benefit.

 

[Laserbait]

I kinda have the same idea with my Gen 1 predator in 308 Win. I primarily shoot subsonics through it, so I'm thinking of having a gunsmith make a 12" barrel (maybe with a 1-8" twist) an permenantly mount a 30 cal suppressor (like a YHM) to it to make it a single tax stamp gun.

 

[instructor]

The shell casing may well make contact with the Eotech sight, but most likely will strike the protective steel cover and not harm anything. Put a shell casing in the chamber and see what happens when you extract the casing. Just a suggestion.

 

[Hankus]

My son doesn't know it yet but he's getting one of the Gen IIs in .300 BO for Christmas. He decided he would rather have a bolt action to replace his AR pistol that burned in a house fire in January 2022. I'll probably get the same in 7.62x39 to go with my Mini30 so I can load subsonic and supersonic rounds for it. He replaced the cans that were ruined by the fire already.

 

[FLUndertaker]

Magpul Hunter stock installed today. Needed the .5" higher cheek riser for the eotech. Also added the M loc pic rail upfront for the bipod mount. Only down side is you cannot remove the bolt completely with the aftermarket stock with any cheek riser. Not a big deal. Also tougher to seat mag on a closed bolt. The adjustability, flexibility and appearance of the magpul stock over the factory unit.

 

[jerryp5878]

Interesting project. I have a 1st gen ranch in 7.62x39 and thinking about trying to use a Gen2 stock. My questions are about the bottom "metal" interchangeability.
1. Do I just need any Gen2 ranch stock and can I keep the gen 1 bottom "metal"?
2. A similar question is can the bottom "metal" on a Gen2 ranch 300 Blackout be swapped for one from a Gen2 7.62x39 to enable using Mini14 mags?

 

[Hankus]

Interesting project. I have a 1st gen ranch in 7.62x39 and thinking about trying to use a Gen2 stock. My questions are about the bottom "metal" interchangeability.
1. Do I just need any Gen2 ranch stock and can I keep the gen 1 bottom "metal"?
2. A similar question is can the bottom "metal" on a Gen2 ranch 300 Blackout be swapped for one from a Gen2 7.62x39 to enable using Mini14 mags?

Mini-14 magazines aren't interchangeable with Mini-30 magazines…

 

[FLUndertaker]

Fianlly got out to the range today and generally things went well. The rifle was on paper right out of the box with the eotech. The Magpul Hunter stock was very comfortable. I quickly moved from 25y to 75y and finally 100y. Initally zeroed with 147gr FMJ which I had no issues with. When I switched to 220gr Ammo Inc Subsonic load I began having feeding issues. The cartridges often got wedged nose up going into the chamber. I wonder if the 220gr is just too large to feed reliably out of the magazines. I was using Lancer 300 BLK specific 10 rnd mags so I know they are quality. I should have brought some 200 gr subs to see if they feed easier. Next time I definitely will. As far as accuracy, at 100y I fired three 3 round groups that measured 2.933" , 2.1835, and 1.0895 for an average of 2.06" which I am thrilled with. I hadnt been to the range all year so I know my technique is lacking. Not to mention with an unmagnified red dot at 100y the dot covers most of a 6" target center. For what I plan to use this gun for the accuracy appears to be plenty good. With the subsonic ammo and a suppressor the noise was minimal and you could easily hear the round impact the berm. Very pleasant shooting experience for all involved. The spent cases do not hit the eotech when ejecting.

ETA: Measured some different ammo COAL and the 220gr are the shortest at 2.08". The 147gr FMJ are 2.12" and some 200 gr Open Tip subs I have are 2.14". Could the fact that the heaviest ammo I have is also the shortest be giving me feeding issues? The ogive on them is also much more rounded than the other longer ammo. Pic below ammo is left to right: 200gr Winchester open tip subsonic , 147gr Winchester FMJ, 220 gr Ammo Inc TMC FMJ subsonic

 

[Mobuck]

Here's a suggestion: when cycling the bolt on those heavy bullet rounds, try pushing forward just enough to pop the round out of the magazine and then hesitate to allow it to drop down. I've seen this many times with AR's when the action cycles. It seems the extra weight of the heavy bullet has momentum that causes the bullet nose to rise too high. I also see this in my Ruger Ranch 6.5 Grendel when using fairly new AR magazines.

 

[FLUndertaker]

Here's a suggestion: when cycling the bolt on those heavy bullet rounds, try pushing forward just enough to pop the round out of the magazine and then hesitate to allow it to drop down. I've seen this many times with AR's when the action cycles. It seems the extra weight of the heavy bullet has momentum that causes the bullet nose to rise too high. I also see this in my Ruger Ranch 6.5 Grendel when using fairly new AR magazines.

Tried this over the weekend, still had issues. I think it's the short heavy bullets that cause it. No matter what speed I worked the bolt I still had issues. Too slow and it wouldn't cleanly eject the spent case. I tried some mag tech 200 gr that were noticeably longer and they feed perfectly and were more accurate. They are going to be my go-to subsonic ammo for this rifle.

 

[Mobuck]

OK, guess I wasn't completely clear. I wasn't talking about extraction/ejection cycling. I was refering to the feed cycling of the bolt.

 

[FLUndertaker]

OK, guess I wasn't completely clear. I wasn't talking about extraction/ejection cycling. I was refering to the feed cycling of the bolt.

No I understood what you meant. If i went ridiculously slow I could get the round to pop loose from the mag lips and lay there, I then had to pull the bolt back a little to get the round to line up with the feedramp in the barrel end. Then it would usually chamber OK. It could be done, but its too clunky. Im just glad that particular ammo didnt shoot very well anyways. I am happy with the 200gr Magtech loads. Most accurate I tried and readily available from PSA in 50 rd boxes.

 

[FLUndertaker]

The more I shoot this rifle the more I realize the trigger isnt that great. Its heavy and I am not sure I like the ruger safety thingy in the middle of the trigger shoe. I prefer 2 stage triggers and Timney makes one for the Ruger American that fits gen 2 rifles so I make go for it but the issue, as I said with the Magpul stock, is that this was supposed to be be a cheap shooter. Ive added a $300 stock and now considering a $200 trigger so its now well over a $1000 rifle. Not what I intended but I guess I just cant help but improve things once I get them.

 

[FLUndertaker]

My son doesn't know it yet but he's getting one of the Gen IIs in .300 BO for Christmas. He decided he would rather have a bolt action to replace his AR pistol that burned in a house fire in January 2022. I'll probably get the same in 7.62x39 to go with my Mini30 so I can load subsonic and supersonic rounds for it. He replaced the cans that were ruined by the fire already.

Hows your son like the rifle? Has he had it to the range yet?

 

[Mobuck]

"Ive added a $300 stock and now considering a $200 trigger so its now well over a $1000 rifle. Not what I intended but I guess I just cant help but improve things once I get them."
So, this is one of the sidelines of buying a 'pricepoint' rifle. If the buyer isn't going to be satisfied with the nature of the 'price point', it's more cost effective to just spend more initially.

 

[FLUndertaker]

"Ive added a $300 stock and now considering a $200 trigger so its now well over a $1000 rifle. Not what I intended but I guess I just cant help but improve things once I get them."
So, this is one of the sidelines of buying a 'pricepoint' rifle. If the buyer isn't going to be satisfied with the nature of the 'price point', it's more cost effective to just spend more initially.

Truth but it's also one of the few 16" bolt guns in ,300 blk I could find that used stanag magazines and was suppressor ready. I don't think there's another rifle that would have checked all the same boxes and been any cheaper, even including the upgrades I've added.

 

[Mobuck]

I bought a Ranch Rifle in 6.5 Grendel for 3 reasons: uses AR mags(unfortunately not all that well but that's another story), has threaded muzzle, and is a very handy package(short/light/manueverable).
I don't particularly like the stock or the feeding but I'm not going to throw a bunch of $$ at something so 'utilitarian' as this model rifle. Even with it's 'issues', it effectively killed 3 deer, a bobcat, and coyote with no missed opportunities and the only missed shots were operator malfunction.
Several decades ago I bought an almost new 788 Remington 22/250 for $100 because that was all I could afford. A few years later, I swapped that 788 because I could trade up to a new Rem 700 for less than it was going to cost to add a better fitting stock and adjustable trigger to the 788.