Ruger Precision Rifle Discussion

During my two month leave from here, I did a few things to mine. Cant remember where I was with it when I got banned but I'm back and its shooting flawlessly.

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So as of yesterday my agreement with their department head was that hes going to build and test the replacement unit Monday and overnight it. Meantime the second one I purchased, also with nofreebore, will be sent back to them. According to him, this was not an isolated issue. Time will tell.
 
Anyone have a load for 6.5CM 24” LRI barrel 1/8 w/143 ELD-X and Hybrid V100, If not, any idea where I should start.

Hornady brass
Large Winchester Primers

I've always been a fan of a two-stage trigger and wonder if the Timney would be a worthwhile upgrade over the stock unit. It's a bit on the pricey side and the stock trigger is not that bad at all.

I love my Timney Trigger... totally worth it IMO. Good groups and Load btw!

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RPR Magazines and OAL:

Most of you know this but I thought it might be helpful to summarize. I'm too indolent to review 70 pages of posts!

The SAAMI max OAL for 6.5 CM is 2.825", so a bit longer than .308 Win at 2.80". Factory 6.5 ammo is usually loaded to 2.81". Many precision rifles are fed from a detachable magazine as this is an advantage for PRS competition. Therein lies the rub. Again, you'd like to have the option to seat the bullets out near the lands. But you need the rounds short enough to function through your box magazine. I usually have to load to fit the magazine, not what my bullet seating gauge is telling me.

If you're running an AR-10 rifle, you'll be limited by the magazine (often a Magpul). The Ruger Precision Rifle was cleverly designed to work with either AR-10/SR-25 style magazines, or the AICS (Accuracy International Chassis System) magazines. Those are different than the magazines for the AI bolt guns like the AE, AT, or AX rifles.

Some data is out there for OAL limitations for different magazines but I thought it would be worth checking. I was loading some 6.5 Creedmoor rounds today and decided to pursue this. I was loading the Hornady 140gr SST bullet which has a polymer tip, making OAL measurements consistent and easy. I started with rounds loaded to an OAL of 2.90" and worked down. Here are the results:

Accuracy International metal magazine for the AE/AT bolt rifles: 2.90" (a particular blessing for the .308 rifles!)

Accurate Mag short-action magazine for .308: 2.90"
https://www.brownells.com/magazines...rod45250.aspx?avs|Manufacturer_1=ACCURATE+MAG
This is an AICS style magazine and will fit and retain in the RPR. Just not as nicely as the Magpul magazines!

Magpul 5 and 10-round AICS Magazines (work nicely in the RPR): 2.88"
https://www.magpul.com/products/pmag-10-762-ac

Pmag 7.62 10-round magazines: 2.83"
https://www.magpul.com/products/pmag-10-lrsr-gen-m3?ProductColor=VO343
Pmag 25 M118 7.62 magazines: 2.83"
https://www.magpul.com/products/pmag-25-m118-lrsr-gen-m3-window?ProductColor=VO343
(These work fine, but may interfere with your shooting position and I like the 10-round mags better)

Regular 7.62 Pmags 20 and 25 round: 2.81"
https://www.magpul.com/products/pmag-20-lrsr-gen-m3?ProductColor=VO343

Brownells metal .308 magazine for the AR-10: 2.81" (not sure if this is still in production)

I'm going to print the following summary and post it in the reloading bunker. This should avoid my past inefficiency of using a bullet seating gauge and producing ammunition too long to function through the doggone magazine!
_______________

Accuracy International metal magazine for the AE/AT bolt rifles: 2.90"
Accurate Mag short-action magazine for .308: 2.90"

Magpul 5 and 10-round AICS Magazines (work nicely in the RPR): 2.88"

Pmag 7.62 10-round magazines: 2.83"
Pmag 25 M118 7.62 magazines: 2.83"

Regular 7.62 Pmags 20 and 25 round: 2.81"
Brownells .308 AR-10 20 rounds: 2.81"
 
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RPR Magazines and OAL:

Most of you know this but I thought it might be helpful to summarize. I'm too indolent to review 70 pages of posts!

The SAAMI max OAL for 6.5 CM is 2.825", so a bit longer than .308 Win at 2.80". Factory 6.5 ammo is usually loaded to 2.81". Many precision rifles are fed from a detachable magazine as this is an advantage for PRS competition. Therein lies the rub. Again, you'd like to have the option to seat the bullets out near the lands. But you need the rounds short enough to function through your box magazine. I usually have to load to fit the magazine, not what my bullet seating gauge is telling me.

If you're running an AR-10 rifle, you'll be limited by the magazine (often a Magpul). The Ruger Precision Rifle was cleverly designed to work with either AR-10/SR-25 style magazines, or the AICS (Accuracy International Chassis System) magazines. Those are different than the magazines for the AI bolt guns like the AE, AT, or AX rifles.

Some data is out there for OAL limitations for different magazines but I thought it would be worth checking. I was loading some 6.5 Creedmoor rounds today and decided to pursue this. I was loading the Hornady 140gr SST bullet which has a polymer tip, making OAL measurements consistent and easy. I started with rounds loaded to an OAL of 2.90" and worked down. Here are the results:

Accuracy International metal magazine for the AE/AT bolt rifles: 2.90" (a particular blessing for the .308 rifles!)

Accurate Mag short-action magazine for .308: 2.90"
https://www.brownells.com/magazines/rifle-magazines/magazines/short-action-aics-magazine-308-winchester-prod45250.aspx?avs|Manufacturer_1=ACCURATE+MAG
This is an AICS style magazine and will fit and retain in the RPR. Just not as nicely as the Magpul magazines!

Magpul 5 and 10-round AICS Magazines (work nicely in the RPR): 2.88"
https://www.magpul.com/products/pmag-10-762-ac

Pmag 7.62 10-round magazines: 2.83"
https://www.magpul.com/products/pmag-10-lrsr-gen-m3?ProductColor=VO343
Pmag 25 M118 7.62 magazines: 2.83"
https://www.magpul.com/products/pmag-25-m118-lrsr-gen-m3-window?ProductColor=VO343
(These work fine, but may interfere with your shooting position and I like the 10-round mags better)

Regular 7.62 Pmags 20 and 25 round: 2.81"
https://www.magpul.com/products/pmag-20-lrsr-gen-m3?ProductColor=VO343

Brownells metal .308 magazine for the AR-10: 2.81" (not sure if this is still in production)

I'm going to print the following summary and post it in the reloading bunker. This should avoid my past inefficiency of using a bullet seating gauge and producing ammunition too long to function through the doggone magazine!
_______________

Accuracy International metal magazine for the AE/AT bolt rifles: 2.90"
Accurate Mag short-action magazine for .308: 2.90"

Magpul 5 and 10-round AICS Magazines (work nicely in the RPR): 2.88"

Pmag 7.62 10-round magazines: 2.83"
Pmag 25 M118 7.62 magazines: 2.83"

Regular 7.62 Pmags 20 and 25 round: 2.81"
Brownells .308 AR-10 20 rounds: 2.81"
 
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Anyone have a load for 6.5CM 24” LRI barrel 1/8 w/143 ELD-X and Hybrid V100, If not, any idea where I should start.

Hornady brass
Large Winchester Primers




I am using 43.5 of RL16 under the 140 eld-m bullets with Hornady brass and Federal 210m primer in my rpr with LRI bbl. Not sure if that helps.
 
Can youguys with rprs do me a favor and take a look at your firing pin /bolt assembly. I have a retaining pin? That looks like it's wiggling its way out of my firing pin assembly. I tried grabbing a punch and lightly tapped/pressed it to see if it would go back to being centered inside the hole, but it won't budge. Now I'm wondering if it's supposed to look like this? Can you guys see if your setup looks like mine? Posting pics in a min...
 
Can youguys with rprs do me a favor and take a look at your firing pin /bolt assembly. I have a retaining pin? That looks like it's wiggling its way out of my firing pin assembly. I tried grabbing a punch and lightly tapped/pressed it to see if it would go back to being centered inside the hole, but it won't budge. Now I'm wondering if it's supposed to look like this? Can you guys see if your setup looks like mine? Posting pics in a min...

NO! It's not supposed to be like that. It should be centered. You will need to more than "lightly" tap it to get it to where it should be. That pin is in rather right, so needs a little muscle to get it in.

BTW: Am just curious, did your RPR bolt come with that much goop around the firing pin?
 
NO! It's not supposed to be like that. It should be centered. You will need to more than "lightly" tap it to get it to where it should be. That pin is in rather right, so needs a little muscle to get it in.

BTW: Am just curious, did your RPR bolt come with that much goop around the firing pin?
Actually I just got it back from ruger from a unrelated repair and yes they put a ton of goop/grease in there.
 
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NO! It's not supposed to be like that. It should be centered. You will need to more than "lightly" tap it to get it to where it should be. That pin is in rather right, so needs a little muscle to get it in.

BTW: Am just curious, did your RPR bolt come with that much goop around the firing pin?
Okay any tricks for getting the pin to go back in place? I got the brass punch, steel punch and beat on it for a half hour and it is not budging. It actually started shaving brass off my punch.

Clearly the pin is under pressure, I tried using the little tool in shroud to take the pressure off the firing pin and still couldn't get that pin to budge. I tried a little oil as well and am not having any luck. I put it all back together and just went shooting. It appears to be staying in place, but I know it's not right. Any tips for getting the damn thing back in place?
 
Isn't that under tension from the firing pin spring? Is there any way you can relieve that tension by pushing the firing pin back? On the other hand, the depression the pin rides in may need to be pushed forward.

Some further disassembly may be required. It's fairly simple. You just need to remove one pin.




Sorry. I couldn't resist.
 
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Finally had a chance to shoot my RPR .300 win mag. Tried several 5 shot groups with Winchester brass, 225gr ELDM bullets, H1000 powder ranging from 75.9-77.1gr, GM215M primers, .025 off lands.

Vortex viper gen2 5x25 scope

Bag in rear Harris bipod up front

Only managed mediocre accuracy. 1.25- 1.5 MOA @150 yards. Had a couple groups where 4 of 5 shots were in the .5-.6 MOA range. The flier was typically off in windage.

The best load was 76.8gr. 2888fps average, 13ES, 5SD as measured with a Prochrono at 15' from muzzle. It managed a .55MOA vertical spread and 4 of 5 where within a .6MOA. windage spread but one round brought the windage out to nearly 1.5. Sucks. I may have to play with seating depths to see if that helps with windage dispersion. The ELD M bullet has a secant ogive so it could be sensitve to seating depth like other VLD-style bullets. BTW, Cross wind was variable but <= 5MPH so I don't think it was wind induced.

Hope I can figure it out.

Btw, the recoil was very modest. The brake works well and the rifle is getting close to 20# so that helps too.

I ordered the 300 WM RPR today. It’s a beast of a rifle. How is your Harris bipod holding up? I have Harris bipods on other rifles such as my 308 RPR. I’m a fan of the Harris bipods but wondering how it’s holding up to your 300 WM.
 
Okay any tricks for getting the pin to go back in place? I got the brass punch, steel punch and beat on it for a half hour and it is not budging. It actually started shaving brass off my punch.

Clearly the pin is under pressure, I tried using the little tool in shroud to take the pressure off the firing pin and still couldn't get that pin to budge. I tried a little oil as well and am not having any luck. I put it all back together and just went shooting. It appears to be staying in place, but I know it's not right. Any tips for getting the damn thing back in place?

I've never had this pin out or had any of this trouble . . . but, I would approach it like Howland suggested above by removing the firing pin. And if I were doing it, I'd simply tap the pin completely out in the same direction that it's already started. This way I could inspect the pin as well as the hole to see if the pin needs any work on it in case it dented or bent. Then, I'd clean out the hole and reinsert the pin. I think the hardest part of all this would probably be trying to get the firing pin back in place as that spring is it can be pretty tough to compress and get it all back in place at the same time.
 
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You'll need to take a look at the youtube videos for 'Ruger Precision Rifle Firing Pin Dis-assembly.' That roll pin is mostly under pressure from the threading. You'll have to remove the firing pin assembly from the bolt and turn the cam back about 1/16 turn to remove the thread tension to get it so the roll pin can be driven back to center.
 
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^ Not sure exactly how close it matches up to the 300 wm, but I had one mounted on an 8mm Mauser sporter conversion for quite a while shooting 196 gr or heavier and it was fine. I think I put blue loctite on the screw that grips it to the bipod stud. I would think the brake on that rifle (which gets awesome reviews) would help decrease some of the wear and abuse to it as well. I’m also reading that there are many people out there using a Harris on a 50 bmg. Again I would think with a whoop ass brake.
 
For you guys shooting the 6.5 Ruger Precision how is the recoil management keeping the target in the reticle? With my 308AR I was never able to keep the target in the reticle. 7.62x39 I was watching bullet all the way into steel last weekend. Just not able to do it with heavier hitting.
 
For you guys shooting the 6.5 Ruger Precision how is the recoil management keeping the target in the reticle? With my 308AR I was never able to keep the target in the reticle. 7.62x39 I was watching bullet all the way into steel last weekend. Just not able to do it with heavier hitting.
I keep the target in my reticle (sight picture) the whole time thru recoil etc.. I just have the stock muzzle break and it does an excellent job. (6.5 creed)
 
My friend got the 6mm creedmoor gen2 and the bolt is stuff and clunky. Any way to smooth it out?
I cycled the action on mine a ton when I first got it, and it smoothed out pretty good. There's a vid on YouTube of a guy putting lapping compound on his bolt and cycling it like a thousand times, but it made a massive mess... I would just maybe put a little grease on the bolt and cycle the action a bunch, it will smooth out
 
For you 6.5 guys with access to chrono I've got another question if you don't mind. Been reading the Rifleshooter articles on barrel length and effect on velocity. Seems like 22-24 is the sweeter-ish spot. I will also have a suppressor. Any thoughts on what if any considerations for barrel length? I ask b/c the study actually showed increasing over 24 started to slow the velo and I just don't know what effect my can will have with respect to that? 24" barrel with 8" Q Thunder Chicken to boot.

 
For you 6.5 guys with access to chrono I've got another question if you don't mind. Been reading the Rifleshooter articles on barrel length and effect on velocity. Seems like 22-24 is the sweeter-ish spot. I will also have a suppressor. Any thoughts on what if any considerations for barrel length? I ask b/c the study actually showed increasing over 24 started to slow the velo and I just don't know what effect my can will have with respect to that? 24" barrel with 8" Q Thunder Chicken to boot.


I got advice from a match director that, for 6mm creedmoor, a 24 inch barrel would be too short but might be OK with a suppressor. He recommended a 26 inch barrel. So I think the suppressor might be viewed as adding at least a couple of extra inches to the barrel length for purposes of achieving a full burn.

Recently, I read an article that recorded velocity of 6mm creedmoor at different barrel lengths, and it reflected an optimal length of 28 or 29 inches. That barrel did not have a muzzle break on it. I would like to know if a muzzle break, like a suppressor, effectively extends the barrel length for purposes of achieving a full burn.
 
For you 6.5 guys with access to chrono I've got another question if you don't mind. Been reading the Rifleshooter articles on barrel length and effect on velocity. Seems like 22-24 is the sweeter-ish spot. I will also have a suppressor. Any thoughts on what if any considerations for barrel length? I ask b/c the study actually showed increasing over 24 started to slow the velo and I just don't know what effect my can will have with respect to that? 24" barrel with 8" Q Thunder Chicken to boot.


Friend of mine is running a 26” with a 7” can at 2850 with 140ELDs, 2827 with 147s
 
What I read somewhere is that MLOk is preferable only because many more accessories are available for MLOK than for keymod.

That is mostly true. MLOK was created by Magpul for their accessories. It is also the preferred mounting for military applications. However, keymod is not a bad mounting surface for the average shooter. It boils down to preference. I went MLOK because the design of keymod holes looks weird to me when the holes are open. Just an OCD thing for me.
 
So like many others I have been in constant search of ways to improve my RPR. I want to be able to shoot as good as my RPR can/does shoot. My RPR is for precision matches only.
I have been completely un satisfied with my stock grip. I have looked at many replacements but none have felt perfect.
Until now ... I got the new grip from Necolabs/Anarchy Outdoors. Install was simple. Fit and finish is excellent. Went to my dry fire station and dry fired myself silly. This grip is excellent. I’m going to get some range time and will report back with lead down range results. This grip puts my hand in perfect trigger position. Thumb shelf is right.
Attached are stock grip and the new grip pictures.
 

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