Am I over thinking this?

[RockAndSage]

Yep. I'll hunt with the ugly duckling Ruger this year. Seems like I can make it shoot. Maybe I'll invest in a Tikka in the Spring. It sure is a pleasure shooting a 5.56/223 compared to basically everything else. I can see the challenge might be shot distance restraint. I just never thought about stretching this rifle out much. It works.

The more you shoot it in field conditions, the more you'll know your actual realistic capabilities, and the more you'll naturally have less problem restraining yourself from excessively far shots in any given circumstance.

 

[kooch]

Well, it worked. I just ended up using my little Ruger this year and it worked just fine. I got a doe at 168 yards tonight using the ranch rifle and the 62gr Barnes bullet. It passed completely through, soup for lungs and a knicked heart. She ran 30 yards and died in a cloud of snow. Zero blood trail though. Maybe next year I’ll draw a buck tag.

Thanks everyone for the advice.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Old Hickory 45]

I would just get the 1-8 twist 243. I would also put a suppressor on it. No reason not to.

Then, as others have stated, once it is shot out, rebarrel to a 6 Creed.

As for changing the stock out, that is a personal preference thing. If you have the money, go for it. If not, spend $60 and put a limbsaver and a vertical grip on it and shoot the heck out of it.

I won't wear out the barrel of my new Ruger Rancher Gen 2 5.56 but the comp is going to be replaced by a can.

 

[kooch]

After my experience with the 5.56 62 grain TSX load on deer this year I've decided to stick with my ugly little Ruger American Ranch again this Fall. I guess trying to fix something that ain't broke is dumb. I just ordered my first 50 loaded cartridges from Black HIlls, 77gr TMKs. If they shoot in my gun I'll use them for whitetail this year, antelope too if I draw a tag. I've got plenty of cheap 5.56 for practice already. I may replace the little scope with something giving a little more magnification and call it good.

My shoulder issues persist more than a year post surgery, and my neck is going too. Oddly enough, shooting a bow isn't bad.

 

[kooch]

First rounds from the Black Hills 77gr TMK at 100 yards.

I took an old VX-3 scope off an unused .30-06 Ruger M77 tang safety rifle and put it on this Ruger Ranch and bore sighted it. Now I've got up to 10x magnification. My first group was just off the target, low right. Second group was just low of the bull on this target. The flyer was me, I jerked the trigger. Both of those groups were shot prone with a bipod. One more shot from that position and I was dead center. Then, I moved to a seated position and fired another 10 rounds, quickly. I'll take it. Clearly, I'm not as accurate from a seated position as I am from a solid prone.

 

[Ridgerunner1]

25/06 great shooter little recoil