Late spring 2025 I picked up a Ruger American Predator Gen 2 (22" barrel) in 22 ARC for my wife. She loves it. It shoots great with the cheap 75 ELDM factory Hornady ammo. Cheap and easy on the shoulder. She hunted with it this fall and had no issue on game but the longer barrel with a suppressor on it caused her some pain/annoyance due to the rifle wanting to spin on her shoulder when using a sling. I figured that with how good the 22" Predator shot, we should try the 16" Ranch model to see if dropping the lever arm length would provide enough reduction in torque to keep the gun from spinning yet maintain enough velocity to responsibility take game the distances she shoots to. I purchased a Ruger American Ranch in 22 ARC and one in 6mm ARC to do some testing on. This will be the review on the 22 ARC model.
Since I have five of the Gen 2 Ruger American rifles (22 ARC Predator, 22 ARC Ranch, 6mm ARC Ranch, 22 Creedmoor w/22" barrel, and 22 Creedmoor w/20" barrel) I've collected a few upgrades to test and try in the last couple months due to sales. I have 4 stocks/chassis (B&C, MDT, MagPul) to try and 3 styles of Timney triggers to try. The primary objective is to see how much better a person can get a $600 rifle to shoot factory and boutique ammo by throwing money at it in the form of DYI at home upgrades.
First we had to get a base line on what the base factory rifle would shoot like. I'd purchased the new Sig Sauer TANGO-SPR 4-16×44 that got good reviews from Outdoor Life as the best buy in their 2025 scope review to test out as a low cost (sub $200) option for friends and family that couldn't ever imagine spending more than $200 on a new scope. I mounted the Sig Sauer TANGO-SPR 4-16×44 on the factory rail using the included mounting system, added a Harris bipod, screwed my AB A10 30cal suppressor on the end, and took a ride to get it on paper.
I was pleasantly surprised by the groups made from the 16" barrel other than the 75 ELDM ammo that my wife's Predator likes. The 75's made a 3" 5 shot group so I didn't even take a picture of it. Ammo tried was Hornady 62 ELD-VT, Hornady 75 ELDM, Hornady 80 ELDX, Hornady 88 ELDM, Hendershot's 80.5 Berger Fullbore (bolt action pressure) , and Hendershot's 80 ELDM (bolt action pressure).
The low shot was the cold/clean bore shot from the new barrel. Based on the other 4 rounds, it definitely needs to be shot again now that the barrel has been broken in some.
Crazy ES on the 75 ELDM. Need to check another lot of ammo since I have several cases for my wife's other rifle.
After analyzing the groups and how shooting felt, it was pretty obvious that the gun wants to shoot but the trigger is holding it back. I'll start by replacing the trigger with the cheapest option from Timney, The Ruger American Gen 2 Impact trigger. This is a single stage factory set nonadjustable trigger set with a 3-4 pound break weight. The second trigger is the single stage adjustable trigger for the Ruger American Gen 2. It is factory set at 3 pounds and adjustable from 2 to 4 pounds. The final trigger group is the Timney 2 stage trigger for the Ruger American Gen 2 with an adjustable pull weight from 1.5 to 3 pounds total pull with 0.5 to 1 pound on the first stage and 1 to 2 pounds on the 2nd stage.
Once I find the trigger that provides the best accuracy in the factory stock (if we see an change) I'll then move on to seeing if there is a specific stock that provides better accuracy than any other stock does. The stocks to be tested are the Bell & Carlson Ruger American stocks with B&C AICS bottom metal, MDT Timber Core stock, MDT Field stock, and the MagPul Hunter Lite stock.
It will be interesting to see how much better you can make these cheap guns shoot with aftermarket parts or if the accuracy potential over what you originally had is so minimal that it isn't worth the expense.
Jay
Since I have five of the Gen 2 Ruger American rifles (22 ARC Predator, 22 ARC Ranch, 6mm ARC Ranch, 22 Creedmoor w/22" barrel, and 22 Creedmoor w/20" barrel) I've collected a few upgrades to test and try in the last couple months due to sales. I have 4 stocks/chassis (B&C, MDT, MagPul) to try and 3 styles of Timney triggers to try. The primary objective is to see how much better a person can get a $600 rifle to shoot factory and boutique ammo by throwing money at it in the form of DYI at home upgrades.
First we had to get a base line on what the base factory rifle would shoot like. I'd purchased the new Sig Sauer TANGO-SPR 4-16×44 that got good reviews from Outdoor Life as the best buy in their 2025 scope review to test out as a low cost (sub $200) option for friends and family that couldn't ever imagine spending more than $200 on a new scope. I mounted the Sig Sauer TANGO-SPR 4-16×44 on the factory rail using the included mounting system, added a Harris bipod, screwed my AB A10 30cal suppressor on the end, and took a ride to get it on paper.
I was pleasantly surprised by the groups made from the 16" barrel other than the 75 ELDM ammo that my wife's Predator likes. The 75's made a 3" 5 shot group so I didn't even take a picture of it. Ammo tried was Hornady 62 ELD-VT, Hornady 75 ELDM, Hornady 80 ELDX, Hornady 88 ELDM, Hendershot's 80.5 Berger Fullbore (bolt action pressure) , and Hendershot's 80 ELDM (bolt action pressure).
The low shot was the cold/clean bore shot from the new barrel. Based on the other 4 rounds, it definitely needs to be shot again now that the barrel has been broken in some.
Crazy ES on the 75 ELDM. Need to check another lot of ammo since I have several cases for my wife's other rifle.
After analyzing the groups and how shooting felt, it was pretty obvious that the gun wants to shoot but the trigger is holding it back. I'll start by replacing the trigger with the cheapest option from Timney, The Ruger American Gen 2 Impact trigger. This is a single stage factory set nonadjustable trigger set with a 3-4 pound break weight. The second trigger is the single stage adjustable trigger for the Ruger American Gen 2. It is factory set at 3 pounds and adjustable from 2 to 4 pounds. The final trigger group is the Timney 2 stage trigger for the Ruger American Gen 2 with an adjustable pull weight from 1.5 to 3 pounds total pull with 0.5 to 1 pound on the first stage and 1 to 2 pounds on the 2nd stage.
Once I find the trigger that provides the best accuracy in the factory stock (if we see an change) I'll then move on to seeing if there is a specific stock that provides better accuracy than any other stock does. The stocks to be tested are the Bell & Carlson Ruger American stocks with B&C AICS bottom metal, MDT Timber Core stock, MDT Field stock, and the MagPul Hunter Lite stock.
It will be interesting to see how much better you can make these cheap guns shoot with aftermarket parts or if the accuracy potential over what you originally had is so minimal that it isn't worth the expense.
Jay
