Talk me out of a Ruger American Gen 2 6 creedmoor

[bnewt3]

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

adjustable comb, solid reputation for accuracy, comes with "nice" stuff like brake and fluted barrel, attractive stock, great price

 

[bojangles808]

i could never trust a RA to feed and that's why i'd never hunt with one

 

[bnewt3]

i could never trust a RA to feed and that's why i'd never hunt with one

Gen 1?

 

[Chris in TN]

Faced with a similar issue earlier this year I bought the Tikka in 6.5cm for my kids.

It'll be *years* before my kids are accomplished enough to start taking advantage of the superior wind performance of the 6mmcm versus the 6.5cm, so I see it as a non-issue.

At the end of the day I think the Tikka is a better value. Don't get me wrong, if I had the Ruger I'd at least try it, but like others, I am a bit prejudiced against them because of their spotty reputation for accuracy with other stuff in the past.

(But then again I am a diehard R700 fan and would buy//build another in a heartbeat strictly out of sentimentality, so I won't claim to always make objective decisions)

 

[bojangles808]

Gen 1?

Both. I never owned one but fondling both gens and hearing enough horror stories made me pony up the extra $ for a Tikka and glad I did

 

[BLJ]

@Q_Sertorius

The reason I asked is because when I see someone talk about the issues with an RA, I’d like to know what they were.
I have two of them and I would like to know what to watch out for.

That being said, I’ve owned (9) total and right now own (2).
I’ve had (4) 5.56 with AR mags, (2) 6.5 Creedmoor and a 308 with AICS mags and a 6 ARC and a 22 ARC with AR mags.
They have all fed reliably.

I’ve heard of issues with the rotary mags but I’ve personally never owned one.

They don’t have a Tikka trigger or the smooth bolt but they will definitely work.

And for a guy who wants a 6 Creed and isn’t interested in changing the barrel on a Tikka or reloading for a 1/8 243 (as the OP said), it sure looks like a viable option to me.

 

[bergie]

Faced with a similar issue earlier this year I bought the Tikka in 6.5cm for my kids.

It'll be *years* before my kids are accomplished enough to start taking advantage of the superior wind performance of the 6mmcm versus the 6.5cm, so I see it as a non-issue.

At the end of the day I think the Tikka is a better value. Don't get me wrong, if I had the Ruger I'd at least try it, but like others, I am a bit prejudiced against them because of their spotty reputation for accuracy with other stuff in the past.

(But then again I am a diehard R700 fan and would buy//build another in a heartbeat strictly out of sentimentality, so I won't claim to always make objective decisions)

The only reason I would go 6cm over 6.5cm for this application is reduction in recoil. She is a pretty small girl and can start hunting big game at 10 so I want the least amount of recoil as possible (again people kill brown bears with a .223, but I will reiterate, I am not interested in starting her out with something that I consider to have less wiggle room for a marginal shot). She has a .410 that she hunts grouse and turkeys with and she doesnt really like to shoot it due to some combination of recoil and noise. Ballistics are cool, but like you said it will be a long time before that ever comes into play.

If the tikka 6cm does come out its a no brainer for me as I will put it in a foldable MDT and it'll be 'her' gun that I take when I backpack...

 

[bergie]

adjustable comb, solid reputation for accuracy, comes with "nice" stuff like brake and fluted barrel, attractive stock, great price

@Q_Sertorius

The reason I asked is because when I see someone talk about the issues with an RA, I’d like to know what they were.
I have two of them and I would like to know what to watch out for.

That being said, I’ve owned (9) total and right now own (2).
I’ve had (4) 5.56 with AR mags, (2) 6.5 Creedmoor and a 308 with AICS mags and a 6 ARC and a 22 ARC with AR mags.
They have all fed reliably.

I’ve heard of issues with the rotary mags but I’ve personally never owned one.

They don’t have a Tikka trigger or the smooth bolt but they will definitely work.

And for a guy who wants a 6 Creed and isn’t interested in changing the barrel on a Tikka or reloading for a 1/8 243 (as the OP said), it sure looks like a viable option to me.

Sounds like I will wait until SHOT show and if the mythical 6cm in Tikka isnt released, I am going with a RA gen 2. I think there has been enough real world experience from guys who own one that it will work perfectly for this application.

 

[AZ_Hunter]

Why not build a light weight AR? Super simple to do, can make it lighter than the RA and have an adjustable stock with nice trigger. After Jan 1 26, no fee to do a Form 1 and SBR’ing the lower, then use a 12.5” barrel. With a light weight Ti can and basic scope you could finish sub 6lbs and have it be proportional to her size for better handling. Will have less recoil than a bolt and be easier to learn (fast follow ups).

Do it in 6ARC and call it a day.

That’s why I did for my boys of the same age range. Though I did use a 16” pencil 556.

 

[Habitat#1]

They don't feed right because their clips are crap.My daughter shot a moose a couple weeks ago and I had bought another clip that was stamped ruger because the one that came with it wouldn't feed any type of round nose bullet. I did find some other ammo and we used it with new clip.But between the clip and trigger theres probably something better

 

[huntsman22]

Both of which, are easy fixes......

 

[Hnthrdr]

I have a gen 1 in .223 and it’s outstanding for a 375$ rifle, haven’t got to handle the gen 2’s seem like a good value, but I would want to vet it some before hunting with it, I would look at the sauer’s on @EuroOptic in .243 right now as a value 6mm

 

[mattmann]

I have a 6.5 CM gen 1 and it’s incredible. I have a 450BM and a 300blkout gen 2 and I’m not a fan of them. They are rough and feed like crap compared to my Gen 1. Just my .02!


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[Jon C]

I have a ruger American in 450 bushmaster. Triggers not my favorite and bolts no where near as smooth as my tikkas. But I really like to shoot it. Accuracy is good and feeds good. But if I put any money in it I’d go Tikka in 243.

 

[turbo406]

I have a gen 1 223 and a gen 2 6 creed both are shooters. The 6 creed shot 103 eldx 5 shot groups in 2 different powders 4 charge weights each shot .8s and below the one I went with was a .493. I have a buddy that I load for his 6 arc ranch and its a hammer too so is his dads 6.5 creed ranch the rugers shoot great. That being said they are definitely not nearly as refined as the tikka, Definitely take it apart and clean the oil off the screws and paint pen them. The action is a little gritty and the trigger is heavy. A little garage gunsmithing and its all workable especially for a 600 dollar gun that shoots that well.

 

[Backwoods_wanderer]

I would second the nod towards the Howa and Tikka platforms that others have given. I’ve seen the Gen 1 feeding issues first hand, multiple times. Really sucks in the field. While I’ve seen enough positive reports to feel comfortable with the Gen 2, the Howa and Tikka actions are notably nicer. I’d probably rank the Howa stock as equal to the RA Gen 2, so no real advantage there. But the OOB trigger on both the Howa and Tikkas are pretty solid, in contrast to the RA.

 

[HairyScandinavian]

Wife has the Gen2 16" in 6 ARC and loves it. I removed the stock spacer and added the High cheek riser and just got the 4 round flush Duramag for it. Solid rifle for her. Bolt isn't smooth but it works well enough. Shoots the 108 M's very well.

 

[AZ_Hunter]

Just curious, has anyone come up with a protocol to smoothen up the bolt?

 

[Taudisio]

I have not read all of the responses in this thread, just the ones op responded to. I am sure some guys have voiced their concerns. I have the gen 2 in 6creed. I have put a few hundred rounds down the barrel. I have used it to shoot out a little beyond 750 yards. I did swap the trigger out for the timney. I have used the rifle for a few kills. I put 160 rounds of the factory 108’s and 40 103’s through the tube to get brass, accuracy baseline, and familiar with the rifle before reloading. I have 2-10 round (bench use) one 5 round, and the factory 3 round magazines. I favor the 5 rounder for the physical size and capability.

Reasons I got the rifle-cerakoted/weatherproof for hunting in our consistent rainy fall weather, barrel length/threaded, caliber/barrel twist rate, adjustable stock for anyone to be able to shoot it, American made, price/availability, pleasant experiences with the gen 1 for the price.

The things I wish were different, I wish someone would come out with a carbon fiber, super light, vertical grip stock. Even though the adjustable stock was one of the reasons I bought it, I don’t need it to be adjustable at this time. I wish the action was as smooth as my tikkas.

If it were a tikka, I would expect to have paid another $250 (minimum) to get a rifle exactly where it is now, but with a smoother although longer action.

I do not regret my decision to buy it, and would absolutely buy another one and recommend them to my family. I don’t think the factory tikka would be any more accurate. I have had zero issues with function, so I wouldn’t expect that to be any different.

So in the end, is a smooth bolt worth $250 more? That’s for you and you alone to decide.

 

[Deere_Man]

I have been happy with the two Ruger American Gen 1 Ranch rifles that I have. Both function well, both feed well from the ar15 magazines, both were around $550; money well spent for a useful tool. I loan them out freely without having to worry about someone dropping them. The top tang safety is a plus. They sure are handy in a deer stand. I’m thinking very seriously about a new Gen 2 Patrol 5.56 or 6 ARC since it has a non fluted, heavier profile barrel.