Ruger American Compact

[Buckeye!]

Thinking about one of these in 243 win. but I'm a little concerned about loss in velocity with the 18 inch barrel ..?

Mostly looking for this carbine as a Whitetail and a Yote gun.....use of 100gr bullets

What are your thoughts ?

 

[Jim Puke]

The 18" barrel should be fine for your purpose.

 

[Silent Sam]

You can't lose what you never had... You'll have plenty of reach for a deer gun. It will bark pretty loud I bet.

 

[pisgah]

I wouldn't worry at all. Plenty of oomph there with an 18" barrel.

 

[427mach1]

My brother in law has a Remington model 600 in 6mm Remington caliber. With its 18 inch barrel, it is nearly identical to the gun you are considering, ballistically speaking. He has killed countless deer (mule and whitetail) and several coyotes, and most have been one-shot kills. If you do your part and have good shot placement, the bullet will do its job. It is ideal for your intended purpose.

 

[DDubya]

Oh sure......tell him it's a good idea. I have been telling myself for a month now that I don't need one. Looks like I'm making a trip to the dealer tomorrow.

 

[Buckeye!]

Went to dealer yesterday ..no compacts in stock..but I left with a made in 69 Glenfield (Marlin) 30-30 with a half tube..excellent plus condition...broke gunstore rule #1

 

[ndcowboy]

Was at a gun shop today and had the EXACT same question as the OP. I wonder if on longer shots (300 or 400 yards on 'yotes) if it would make a difference.
Also wondering for those of you who have one - is the scope too close to your eye on the compact rifle? It is certainly shorter from the butt pad to the back scope mount.

 

[ndcowboy]

I wouldn't hunt deer with that. I know I know, thousands of deer have been downed with the 24 cal. But thousands have ran off too.

Having been deer hunting since 1984, man I have seen it all. God I have been at this for some time now. Heard all the stories. Bottom line is why fool around. If you are going to shoot deer, man do it with a bulldozer round. 35 Whelen, if you are in the bean fields, a 300 win mag, if like me in the palmatto Mississippi river delta, either a 44 mag or a Browning shotgun rifled barrel slug gun. You want to get it over with with a hard hit bulldozer round. It doesn't matter if uncle Joe killed 12 with the trusty Ol 243. Uncle Joe was lucky none crawled off. Having been at it for decades, I say why play around. You should see those 150 grain Magnus Stinger arrowheads do a number. They fold up in sight.

Some of us hate to throw away so much meat, which is what happens when you smack a deer in the kill zone with a 300 win mag.
Nothing wrong with a smaller round. A .243 is a lot bigger caliber than a .223, and lots and lots of deer drop around here with a .223 every year.

 

[ndcowboy]

One other thing to think about when it comes to caliber size for deer (which was argued to death about 25 years ago):

I ran into a fellow not that long ago who was from my home town when I was a kid. He talked about coming out to our place and talking guns with my dad. He always wanted a big gun for deer, and one day my dad took him out to the corral where we had a few 1200 pound butcher steers. Dad told him "You see those big steers? Each one weighs as much as a half dozen deer. Come butcher time, I'll shoot them once with a 22 long rifle and they will go right down." The guy said he never forgot that.

 

[427mach1]

Dad told him "You see those big steers? Each one weighs as much as a half dozen deer. Come butcher time, I'll shoot them once with a 22 long rifle and they will go right down." The guy said he never forgot that.

My grandfather had a farm, raised his own beef, and hired a butcher to process the steers. The butcher used a 22 magnum, but that was a head shot right between the eyes from short range on a stationary target. My grandfather's neighbor tried to butcher his own steer one time with a 22 LR - the bullet did not penetrate the skull and the steer took off running. Several ricochets later, he got his 30-06 and finished the job. The meat was reportedly the worst he had ever tasted - probably pumped full of adrenaline.

 

[308longdistance]

Thinking about one of these in 243 win. but I'm a little concerned about loss in velocity with the 18 inch barrel ..?

Mostly looking for this carbine as a Whitetail and a Yote gun.....use of 100gr bullets

What are your thoughts ?

I think you would loose about 25fps per inch. Maybe 100fps + or - some from 22" velocities. Nothing to worry about. I think you could get 3000fps out of some 80gr bullets pretty easy.

JMO

 

[Ken S.]

I use a Nosler Partition in my 243. Helps it punch above its weight. I see no issue using a 243 (or any 6mm rifle) for whitetails. I wouldn't use it as a brush gun, but as an open shot? Its capable of bagging whitetail out to around 300yds. as long as you have good shot placement.
If not a partition fan, Hornady 95gr. SST mushroom reliably at speeds from 1800fps to 3400fps.
Here in PA, the 243 is sufficient.
If your ambition is to drop it where it stands no matter where you hit it, or don't care how much meat you ruin, you can always get your class 3 tax license and go buy a 105mm howitzer. That will always drop them where they stand. The down side is what ever meat you find, if any, would only be good for ground meat.

 

[OldNavy]

Here in the Northwest Florida underbrush, I find that the .45-70 works just fine for for whitetail. Meat's good all the way up the the bullethole! 300-400 yards shots? I don't believe these tired old eyes of my could see a dear that far away!

 

[wunbe]

If you an find one now that they are out of production, a compact 77 in 6.8 SPC will deliver more than adequate lethality, low recoil, and the option of a range of quality bullets including TSXs at really fast velocities. The short barrel is perfect for the round as it was deigned for use in ARs.

wunbe

 

[Cedar Creek]

I'm going to Oklahoma City tomorrow am for some bloodwork. I have a Ruger American .243 and absolutely love it; I am now looking for one in .308 to set up for use with cast bullets. A place in OKC has a new Ruger American Compact in .308 for $319. I will give it a look tomorrow - I am fine with the 18" barrel, but my understanding is that the Compact has a 12.5" LOP stock. I am 6'4" and not sure about the shorter stock. It might be OK because I'm not planniing on much recoil running cast bullets @ about 1600 FPS. It might wind up being my grandaughter's deer rifle someday and maybe I could switch stocks with the .243 for her. Her little brother would probably love the .308, but he's a lefty.

Cedar Creek

+ the same place has new Ruger American Rimfires in stock for $249.

 

[Cedar Creek]

Came home with a .308 Compact from OKC; felt good about the price @ $315 + tax. They also had some of the Ruger American Rimfires in stock. Long term plan is to set this one up to shoot cast bullets, but I may load some 130 grain Speer flat-nose bullets at low velocity (about 2500 fps) for short term and use it during deer season. The bullet is designed for .30-30 and has a pretty thin jacket, should be quite effective on these small Oklahoma whitetails.

Cedar Creek

 

[Cedar Creek]

After shooting the little .308 off sand bags I find the recoil is not bad at all and I was able to mount the scope far enough forward that I'm not worried about getting smacked on the eyebrow due to the short stock. My current load is 125 grain Sierra SP over a light charge of IMR 4895 with plans to work up pretty close to full throttle as long as recoil stays mild. I think the burn rate of IMR 4895 will give me less muzzle flash and report than the 18" barrel would produce with slower powders.

Cedar Creek