Talk me out of a Ruger American Gen 2 6 creedmoor

[bergie]

Daughter is old enough to hunt next year and I have read enough on here to believe that a 6 creed will do all that she needs for whitetail and elk. Her shots in the short term (at least next few years) will be limited to 200 yards and in (less if she doesnt have confidence or doesnt shoot well when we practice), tripod rest and no 'hurry up and shoot' directives from her dad as I have no interest in starting her off with a wounded animal.

What I really want is a Tikka (she already has a compact .223 suppressed that she loves to shoot) and put it in an MDT HNT26...which will be as much my gun as hers but alas no matter how hard I scour the internet there is noone who will give an affirmative that Tikka will come out with one in my lifetime. To head off any 'just use the .223 responses'; while I have read the threads and won't discount it, I would not feel comfortable with her shooting an elk with that cartridge.

I understand the triggers are crummy but a new Timney is $145. The gen 2 comes with a stock that easily can be reduced to a 12" LOP and adjustable cheek pad. Both of which she needs as she is a pretty small girl and even the compact tikka is a bit big for her and needed an aftermarket cheek pad for her to get lined up correctly. How are the magazines? If they are junk too, are there decent aftermarket ones that I could buy to replace it? I have zero need for a 5 or 15 round mag for a hunting rifle so any of those options is out.

I have a Seekins Element 6.5 PRC that I love that shoots the 147 ELDM really well so I plan on running the 108 ELDM out of a 6 creed.

I am not ruling out spending extra money for a rifle that would fit my needs (wants?) as well (light, can be installed in a foldable HNT26) but research on something like that for which I don't have to build has turned up limited at best results. I don't reload and am not interested in buying a Tikka to then swap barrels with a gunsmith and all that.

As the title says, tell me why a Ruger American sucks in ways I am not aware of, but as of right now a $600 rifle with $150 trigger seems to fit the bill of a good first big game rifle.

 

[alexnelon]

If legal, the .223 is fine especially for 200 and in. I’d shoot a moose at 200 with a .223 all day long.

 

[Rock’N Tacos]

I would do a howa mini in 6 ARC. I just ran numbers prior to taking mine out after elk and with the 108s, 600 yards should be no problem.

 

[BLJ]

No experience with the 6 Creed but I’d get a 6 ARC. Personally think the triggers can be a little heavy, but useable.

ARC ammo is generally cheaper with the same bullets.
ARC recoil is barely above 223.

 

[sierracharlie338]

Why not a tikka in a 243 with an 8 twist? (unless you don’t reload then that would be why…)

I’ve handled two Ruger Americans (unknown generation) and both feel subpar to a tikka IMO when it comes to the action. They shot decent but not enough to warrant the cost difference in my mind.

 

[abilliott]

I second the Tikka. I bought a ruger gen 2 in 22ARC this year. The dang thing is super super accurate but the trigger was not great. Timney trigger fixed that part but had to spend more money to do so. What can't be fixed is the horrible bolt, they are really heavy. The moment that tikka makes a 22 ARC the ruger will be up for sale.

I won't take away from it being accurate tho, with the timney it really does shoot really really good, so good it's a shame that it does have such a bad bolt.

 

[BLJ]

bolt, they are really heavy. The moment that tikka makes a 22 ARC the ruger will be up for sale.

Bolt lift is considerably heavier than the Tikka. Agree with that.
And when Tikka makes an ARC I’ll have one too.
My RA Gen 2 22 ARC needs a friend.

 

[RWT]

I built a ruger gen1 ranch in 6.5 grendel it was in the original stock. Fed terribly and trigger is bad. Put it in a bravo stock and use and MDT aics mag. This helps a lot with the feeding. This is my new person to hunting rifle. No recoil and shoots well enough.

The bravo adds weight and reduces recoil. It also allows a shorter LOP. May be something to consider as it helps polish some of the issue with the Ruger. Also going Grendel allows me to use the same bullets as my Creedmoor. This way I can buy 1000 of the 123’s or 130TMK’s and have less to keep track of. I assume you could shoot 123’s or 130’s out of a 6.5 PRC.

Nephew bought the Ruger G2 ranch in 6.5 CM. Stock is still terrible but it shoots well.

 

[CMF]

Bolts a little hard on our 6.5cm predator model.
I ordered an aftermarket 5 round and it feels a lot better than the stock mag.
I need to adjust the trigger down. It felt fine to me, but my daughter said it was to heavy, and she'll be shooting it on upcoming hunts, so I'm going to adjust before we head out again to practice this week.

If you're ok spending more and plan on doing a folding stock anyway, I'd look at the Sig Cross.

 

[Wacko]

I don't think you can go wrong with your plan. The aics mags the Gen 2 use feed fine. The rugers do lack "chuckablility" though. (you can't just drop a round in the action and think it will feed - sometimes it might, most times it won't) It is adjustable out of the gate.

The 6 creed is a fine round.

However, even a tikka 243 8 twist...will still shoot 95 ballistic tips. No reloading needed. Lots of factory 243 loads will take deer and elk just fine - especially at 200 and in. The hard part will be to get the rifle to fit her. You've done it once though, it sounds like. I'd probably go this route. Buy a stock I can modify and keep the original for when you need it.

YMMV...

 

[nm.otter]

no matter how hard I scour the internet there is noone who will give an affirmative that Tikka will come out with one in my lifetime.

They've been spotted in the wild this year. I'd wait for SHOT Show if I could afford to.

 

[Q_Sertorius]

Why not a tikka in a 243 with an 8 twist? (unless you don’t reload then that would be why…)

You don’t need to reload to shoot 95- or 100-grain factory ammo from a 1:8” twist.

 

[sierracharlie338]

You don’t need to reload to shoot 95- or 100-grain factory ammo from a 1/8 twist.

Yeah for sure. He stated he wanted to shoot the 108s.

 

[Q_Sertorius]

I understand the triggers are crummy but a new Timney is $145.
…
As the title says, tell me why a Ruger American sucks in ways I am not aware of, but as of right now a $600 rifle with $150 trigger seems to fit the bill of a good first big game rifle.

For a bit less, you can get a better rifle (more reliable, smoother action, great trigger). I can try to provide you with objective reasons, but I have had too many poor experiences with Rugers to ever overcome my prejudices against them.

Tikka T3x Lite Synthetic 243 Win 20bbl 1:8 5/8in x 24tpi Synthetic/Blued JRTXE31520MT For Sale - EuroOptic

Tikka T3x Lite Synthetic 243 Win 20bbl 1:8 5/8in x 24tpi Synthetic/Blued JRTXE31520MT For Sale

www.eurooptic.com

Has a proper modern twist rate, 20” threaded barrel, great trigger, better action, great reputation for accuracy, etc.

Can kill anything in North America (at reasonable ranges) using a factory loaded 87-, 90-, 95- or 100-grain bullet. I like ELDMs as much as the next person, but there are plenty of other bullets that work just as well. Just as deadly as a 6mm CM.

Of course, the 6mm CM is also an excellent cartridge.

There are also some great deals on 6.5mm CM Sauer 100s.

Of course, if the rifle has to fit a small child, then you may prioritize a shorter LOP or customizable LOP. I would look for an aftermarket stock to fill that role no matter which factory rifle I bought.

Good luck with your search.

 

[BLJ]

more reliable

Have you had reliability issues with an RA?

 

[Q_Sertorius]

Have you had reliability issues with an RA?

No, I haven’t. I already said I am prejudiced against Ruger, due to bad experiences with a No. 1 (trigger, hammer, and safety all bad, accuracy mediocre), a couple of M77s (wouldn’t shoot well), and a few Mini-14s (shot patterns, not groups). I won’t purchase a RAR to learn whether Ruger finally got things right. I looked at and handled them at the LGS, but wasn’t impressed. For me, the fact that the trigger is already known to suck (and I do have experience with that - at least dry firing a few), means I don’t need to mess with the rest of the system. Pretty sure you can read about how they perform in Form’s winter tests.

If you like Ruger, then carry on liking it. I’m still friends with plenty of folks who like rifles I don’t like. My mentor loves his Remington 700s (especially after hundreds of dollars of free work from a retired Marine Corps armorer we both know). Our family lawyer dearly loves his Savages. When I handle them, I can acknowledge their strengths, but that doesn’t mean I will ever buy one or recommend one.

 

[bnewt3]

If the G2 came in LH, I would have one already.

 

[bergie]

No, I haven’t. I already said I am prejudiced against Ruger, due to bad experiences with a No. 1 (trigger, hammer, and safety all bad, accuracy mediocre), a couple of M77s (wouldn’t shoot well), and a few Mini-14s (shot patterns, not groups). I won’t purchase a RAR to learn whether Ruger finally got things right. I looked at and handled them at the LGS, but wasn’t impressed. For me, the fact that the trigger is already known to suck (and I do have experience with that - at least dry firing a few), means I don’t need to mess with the rest of the system. Pretty sure you can read about how they perform in Form’s winter tests.

If you like Ruger, then carry on liking it. I’m still friends with plenty of folks who like rifles I don’t like. My mentor loves his Remington 700s (especially after hundreds of dollars of free work from a retired Marine Corps armorer we both know). Our family lawyer dearly loves his Savages. When I handle them, I can acknowledge their strengths, but that doesn’t mean I will ever buy one or recommend one.

This is exactly what I’m looking for. I am pretty sold on 6cm with the 108s even though I understand that there are comparable alternatives out there. If tikka truly does come out with a 6cm in time for next season that’s what I’ll be going with. If not I am really leaning toward the ruger and can always put it in the back of the safe once tikka gets their act together lol

 

[bergie]

If the G2 came in LH, I would have one already.

What do you like about them? I’m interested on positive and negative feedback

 

[Danger23]

I bought this gun for my 12 year old son to shoot this year. This thing is a tack driver and fun to shoot. I think you'd be hard pressed to find a better gun for $600 especially for a kid and being able to take the spacer out to shorten the LOP. He has shot around 200 rounds out of it, some days shooting 20-30 and has never complained about it being uncomfortable. Switching out the spacer in the stock takes about 5 minutes (or less). I like that it has a 3 position safety as well. The bolt was a pain is the ass to cycle with the factory magazine but I bought the MDT 5 round metal AICS magazine and have never had a problem since.
I used this gun to shoot my desert sheep a couple of weeks ago. Hornady 108gr ELDM made pretty short work of it.
I know you asked someone to talk you out of it but I don't think you can go wrong with this gun.