Ruger Merican

[rugerlovah]

I know that we all like our blued steel & walnut heirlooms, but a wise man once said only accurate rifles are interesting:

This Ruger Merican in .308, with the handy-dandy 18" barrel, is a heckuva shooter straight out of the box. All I did was mount a scope and feed it some handloads with Sierra 165's loaded to magazine length (that were loaded for a different rifle). this little carbine ... is making some much more expensive rifles feel neglected.

 

[Rumrunner]

Can't complain about those results. Good shooting.

 

[triggerpull]

Very nice. I had to do a bit of work on my 270 to get her to shoot consistently accurate--though even before that it showed glimmers of brilliance.

 

[gunman42782]

Sweet! I have one of the .22LR Americans, and it is a tack driver.

 

[triggerpull]

I know that we all like our blued steel & walnut heirlooms, but a wise man once said only accurate rifles are interesting:

This Ruger Merican in .308, with the handy-dandy 18" barrel, is a heckuva shooter straight out of the box. All I did was mount a scope and feed it some handloads with Sierra 165's loaded to magazine length (that were loaded for a different rifle). this little carbine ... is making some much more expensive rifles feel neglected.

Kinda curious--there seems to be generous room in the mag I have--which I usually translate to mean long throat and long bullet seating when doing handloads. Do you have an idea of whether or not the throat is lengthy?

 

[rugerlovah]

1000 words on the mag length:

This is a 165 SGK seated to exactly 2.8". feeds just fine, but there's no extra room. 2.82" is max in mine. This bullet does not touch lands at magazine length. I have a hunch that it ain't far off, though. I've got some other .308 projectiles to tinker with.

 

[rugerlovah]

I liked the .308 so much, I also got a .223. It has the longer 22" barrel, which I didn't care for at all. Paid the gunsmith $50 and got it cut and crowned at a much more proper 18.5":

It wasn't quite as rarin' to go out of the gate, but it's got promise:

the .223 is easier on the shoulder and senses for any kind of extended shooting.

 

[triggerpull]

1000 words on the mag length:

This is a 165 SGK seated to exactly 2.8". feeds just fine, but there's no extra room. 2.82" is max in mine. This bullet does not touch lands at magazine length. I have a hunch that it ain't far off, though. I've got some other .308 projectiles to tinker with.

Might be interesting to measure your CBO for the GK and compare to what your mag allows when seating a bullet close to lands. Savage chambers on their lower-end rifles tend to be longish in throat--but they also are "generous" with their mag COAL capacity so it's usually possible to get very close or in lands and still get the cartridge in the mag. I haven't measured my 270 American yet--awaiting a modified case to arrive.

 

[olskool]

nice shootin rifle you got there, but i promise i have all kinds in good ol walnut wood that i ain't ashamed of the accuracy.