Ruger Precision Rimfire

[Subwrx300]

Bought mine with the intention of converting it to a .17HM2 for controlling ground squirrels in the orchard behind the house.

I couldn't resist seeing how "precision" the gun was out of the box. It wasn't, 5 shot groups averaged .75-1 MOA at 50 yds due to 2 random flyers per 5 rounds. Tinkered and tested for hours and improved the group average by approximately .15".

The gun has a weak ejection issue that leaves a case on in the chamber unless the bolt is racked like rapid fire drills.

Shipped the gun back to Ruger and they replaced the bolt and barrel, but did nothing about the ejection issue. Accuracy is in the .4 - .7 MOA range now.

Hopefully someone will step up and make a .17HM2 barrel in the near future as the platform is a easy maintenance functional tool for my intended purpose.

IMO the mistake they made with the rifle was naming it a precision rimfire.

But it's is shooting 1/2 moa now which I'd definitely call a precision rifle for a .22LR. Especially for a $400 rimfire.

It is disappointing though that so many people have had to call Ruger to get stupid fixes that seems like QC would fix before it became the customers issue.
They will probably have a Gen2 soon that address the common issues people are seeing (mag feeding, weak ejection, precision issues, etc). I still believe it's a great rifle for the value alone but understand how some are frustrated.

 

[Sieg]

But it's is shooting 1/2 moa now which I'd definitely call a precision rifle for a .22LR. Especially for a $400 rimfire.

It is disappointing though that so many people have had to call Ruger to get stupid fixes that seems like QC would fix before it became the customers issue.
They will probably have a Gen2 soon that address the common issues people are seeing (mag feeding, weak ejection, precision issues, etc). I still believe it's a great rifle for the value alone but understand how some are frustrated.

It's not a $400 rimfire anymore 1500 rounds of testing, 25+ hours of tuning/tinkering.

My Vudoo has effortlessly exceeded my needs for .22LR.

Hopefully someone will produce a reasonable .17HM2 barrel or someone will get a good deal on a RPR that actually shoots.

I keep working on Shaw, Green Mountain, Lilja, and others to produce a drop-in barrel. Not much trust in the ammunition suppliers at this point. Though CCI did have Anschutz build a .17HM2 test rifle for them. So I'm not giving up hope..... but will not shoot the round in a semi-auto again, only a bolt rifle.

Another option is to get a Summit action from Volquartsen and use my old and proven ER Shaw HM2 barrel from my 10/20 KaBoomer conversion.

 

[Travelor]

All the RPR needs is a barrel and magazine to be a 22 Mag or a 17 HMR as the bolt and chassis are already set up to move the fabled part #59 back to accommodate the magazine and the bolt stop can be removed to lengthen the bolt throw. I'm sure that Ruger designed it for this conversion as well as new rifles in these calibers.

The 17 HM2 has been kid of a step child since ot originally came out and ammo was very spotty for a while. I'll be surprised to see a barrel in this caliber come out. I have two rifles in the caliber and find it to be a great cartridge for "normal" length 22 actions.

 

[Sieg]

All the RPR needs is a barrel and magazine to be a 22 Mag or a 17 HMR as the bolt and chassis are already set up to move the fabled part #59 back to accommodate the magazine and the bolt stop can be removed to lengthen the bolt throw. I'm sure that Ruger designed it for this conversion as well as new rifles in these calibers.

The 17 HM2 has been kid of a step child since it originally came out and ammo was very spotty for a while. I'll be surprised to see a barrel in this caliber come out. I have two rifles in the caliber and find it to be a great cartridge for "normal" length 22 actions.

What two rifles do you have in HM2?

I'm sitting on 4K+ rounds of .17HM2 impatiently waiting for the right rifle or barrel. I was somewhat surprised the round never gained traction, guessing it just wasn't macho enough for the vast majority.

I have 2 .17HMR's and an early Ruger M77/22WMR Varminter. My 27 year sage rat hunting hobby began with .22LR, then .22WMR and .223, then .17HMR and .17HM2, and now .17WSM. I'd have most bases well covered with a .17HM2. .17WSM, and .223. The .17's efficiently deliver high kill ratios and minimal ricochet liability.

My M77/22WMR pretty much got kicked to the curb though it's a good looking nicely made rifle, the ammo costs and trajectory performance don't justify it for the shooting we do of which the majority is 70-225 yds and 350-650 rounds per day.

 

[straightshooter1]

This Ruger Precision Rimfire comes with a factory "target" barrel, so like it's big brother the RPR, it's NOT going to shoot like a match grade gun when it doesn't have a "match" grade barrel. Being able to get this RPRF at a price point of $400 or less is a pretty good deal, as it does shoot better than all the other Ruger 22LRs. Though those ejection bedding issues are irritating to have to deal with. Now with a Shaw's match barrel and with the right ammo, I'm very pleased with how it shoots and makes a great training/practicing aid for my RPR.

 

[kgc54]

Guys; I'm from Detroit and here we just love to take underperforming cars and change them into something special.

I have a 10/22 looked all around found a Nordic components chassis that I love; it's a good shooter. Wanted a bolt gun; saw that Cabela's had a RAR for a Black Friday sales price of $150. Picked that one up; dropped the Tupperware stock and dropped it into a MDT chassis and never looked back.

Then Ruger introduced the Ruger Precision Rimfire; to me it's just another platform to squeeze the most performance out of with whatever after market parts I can find. As stated by Sieg earlier it this thread; his Vudoo V-22 can shoot the eyeballs off a fly At 50 yards; but I get my fun out of getting unexpected results out of a junker.

I'm looking forward to the day where I can buy the Covette of 22 rifles but right now I can't justify dropping $2k in one lump sum on a platform that deserves a committed competitor behind the trigger.

 

[Sieg]

Guys; I'm from Detroit and here we just love to take underperforming cars and change them into something special.

I have a 10/22 looked all around found a Nordic components chassis that I love; it's a good shooter. Wanted a bolt gun; saw that Cabela's had a RAR for a Black Friday sales price of $150. Picked that one up; dropped the Tupperware stock and dropped it into a MDT chassis and never looked back.

Then Ruger introduced the Ruger Precision Rimfire; to me it's just another platform to squeeze the most performance out of with whatever after market parts I can find. As stated by Sieg earlier it this thread; his Vudoo V-22 can shoot the eyeballs off a fly At 50 yards; but I get my fun out of getting unexpected results out of a junker.

I'm looking forward to the day where I can buy the Covette of 22 rifles but right now I can't justify dropping $2k in one lump sum on a platform that deserves a committed competitor behind the trigger.

Detroit huh? I've had this since 1989, nothing is stock and I've done 98% of the work. I get it.

That said, the Vudoo is the C7 Z51's of Corvettes.

My .17HMR RAR Target is a great gun, functions flawlessly and shoots .3" 5 shot groups at 50 yds. Though it is the replacement they shipped me for the first one.

 

[kgc54]

Detroit huh? I've had this since 1989, nothing is stock and I've done 98% of the work. I get it.

That said, the Vudoo is the C7 Z51's of Corvettes.

My .17HMR RAR Target is a great gun, functions flawlessly and shoots .3" 5 shot groups at 50 yds. Though it is the replacement they shipped me for the first one.

Beautiful machines; all of them!

 

[Subwrx300]

Have put well over 1400rounds through Shaw barrel now and had a chance to shoot on calm evening just before dark. Shot at 100yds 70deg I was sheltered from wind. Also shot 2 other ARs and RPRF was my practice while letting others cool down.

Ammo used was SK Rifle Match and barrel was scrubbed clean about 50 rounds prior to this Target. (The 50 round fouling Target also pictured below but was shot over weekend under different conditions).

22LR groups are bottom two rows; First two cold bore shots when wayyy low but I have sort of come to expect that as wax/lube in barrel is cold and grippy.

Fouling Target at 50yds:

Bottom line: depending on how you measure, my 22lr is more precise than my 2 precision ARs! And it's getting better. At least for my rifle, precision is not an issue.

 

[Sieg]

Impressive, my .17HM2 Shaw barrel delivered too.

Shaw's response to my RPR .17HM2 request yesterday: Unfortunately we will not be able to help you with this request. We have not made any HMR 2 barrels is quite some time due to the ammo inconsistency.

Carson Lilja will supply a .17HM2 barrel blank for $370.

Green Mountain has blanks for $120, no drop ins. They'll do a run for 100 barrel minimum.

 

[Kisssofdeath]

I have a Ruger Precision Rimfire and find nothing wrong with it. I think the fully adjustable stock is great, if you bought a replacement butt stock what would you gain?, nothing I can think of, it's still gonna be plastic. Put whatever AR style grip you want on it. Built in 30 MOA scope base. Aluminum handguard with M-LOK's everywhere. The chassis is fine although it isn't aluminum it's still good. It's also a $400 rifle and for $400 for what you get is pretty good. This is coming from a guy who also has a 1710 in an XLR chassis. Every rifle no matter the cost has its place.

 

[Hardpan]

Have put well over 1400rounds through Shaw barrel now and had a chance to shoot on calm evening just before dark. Shot at 100yds 70deg I was sheltered from wind. Also shot 2 other ARs and RPRF was my practice while letting others cool down.

Ammo used was SK Rifle Match and barrel was scrubbed clean about 50 rounds prior to this Target. (The 50 round fouling Target also pictured below but was shot over weekend under different conditions).

22LR groups are bottom two rows; First two cold bore shots when wayyy low but I have sort of come to expect that as wax/lube in barrel is cold and grippy.

View attachment 6951699

Fouling Target at 50yds:
View attachment 6951700

Bottom line: depending on how you measure, my 22lr is more precise than my 2 precision ARs! And it's getting better. At least for my rifle, precision is not an issue.

Are your speeds still fast? I shimmed the barrel a little bit and now I can eject live rounds. Bolt pressure doesn’t seem as tight anymore and my bolt handle isn’t rubbing the reciever either. Haven’t had a chance to get to the range the way it is now. Thinking about adding 2 more foil shims for a little bit more space but will probably try to shoot and see how it is at its current state. Shim thickness unknown because my mic said .0030 but after installing the barrel I think it crushed some.

 

[straightshooter1]

Upon swapping the factory barrel out for a Shaw barrel, I found it was very tight and could not extract an unfired round (per the warning on Shaw's website). That tightness was of some concern to the extent I was only going to use ammo that was highly reliable. I've now fired 850 rounds through the Shaw barrel and the bolt closing is much easier that before, though still tight. And, to my surprise, I tried on a few occasions yesterday to extract some unfired rounds to see if there was any damage to the bullet going on when round is being fed by various mags and they extracted just fine and without any issues. This was done using CCI SV, Federal's Auto Match and Lapua Center-X. So, I've feeling a lot more comfortable with the bolt closing and the extraction with this barrel.

PS: It's been about 500 rounds since I last cleaned the barrel, so I've guessing that maybe some lube has collected in the breach that helps with the extraction (even with rounds like Auto Match that have no lube on them).

 

[Subwrx300]

Are your speeds still fast? I shimmed the barrel a little bit and now I can eject live rounds. Bolt pressure doesn’t seem as tight anymore and my bolt handle isn’t rubbing the reciever either. Haven’t had a chance to get to the range the way it is now. Thinking about adding 2 more foil shims for a little bit more space but will probably try to shoot and see how it is at its current state. Shim thickness unknown because my mic said .0030 but after installing the barrel I think it crushed some.

I'd like to say they have but I think that may be due to weather. It's 55 now vs 75-80 when testing before. I couldn't say whether any speed change was simply due to ammo temp be barrel wear.

Really won't be able to test until I get a 70+ degree day in the coming weeks but those are about to be fewer and farther between.

 

[Hardpan]

Upon swapping the factory barrel out for a Shaw barrel, I found it was very tight and could not extract an unfired round (per the warning on Shaw's website). That tightness was of some concern to the extent I was only going to use ammo that was highly reliable. I've now fired 850 rounds through the Shaw barrel and the bolt closing is much easier that before, though still tight. And, to my surprise, I tried on a few occasions yesterday to extract some unfired rounds to see if there was any damage to the bullet going on when round is being fed by various mags and they extracted just fine and without any issues. This was done using CCI SV, Federal's Auto Match and Lapua Center-X. So, I've feeling a lot more comfortable with the bolt closing and the extraction with this barrel.

PS: It's been about 500 rounds since I last cleaned the barrel, so I've guessing that maybe some lube has collected in the breach that helps with the extraction (even with rounds like Auto Match that have no lube on them).

Did the back side of your bolt handle rub the slot in the receiver when it goes into battery at all?

 

[straightshooter1]

Did the back side of your bolt handle rub the slot in the receiver when it goes into battery at all?

Yes, of course . . . as I would expect. In comparing that area of wear with the same area on my factory Ruger American .22LR (which has virtually the same bolt and set up), there's not much difference in the wear when I compare them. I my RPRF, I can't see, with magnification, what one might consider excessive wear. I do lube that area with Otters Choke Tube & Gun Grease and maybe that helps???

 

[Hardpan]

Yes, of course . . . as I would expect. In comparing that area of wear with the same area on my factory Ruger American .22LR (which has virtually the same bolt and set up), there's not much difference in the wear when I compare them. I my RPRF, I can't see, with magnification, what one might consider excessive wear. I do lube that area with Otters Choke Tube & Gun Grease and maybe that helps???

Mine was real bad compared to factory and leaving metal shavings in the action which in turn would be pushed into the barrel while cycling the bolt. I found the shavings last time I cleaned the barrel and claimed that to be the slight accuracy problem I was having.

 

[Kisssofdeath]

A little off topic but can anyone confirm if a Precision Rimfire barrel will fit into a Ruger American Rimfire?

 

[Subwrx300]

A little off topic but can anyone confirm if a Precision Rimfire barrel will fit into a Ruger American Rimfire?

My educated guess is no; Ruger American uses pinned barrel (I believe) vs the barrel nut system used on the RPR.

Hopefully there is someone that owns both that can confirm compatibility (or lack there of).

 

[straightshooter1]

A little off topic but can anyone confirm if a Precision Rimfire barrel will fit into a Ruger American Rimfire?

Subwrx300's guess is correct. I do own both and know that the RPRF barrel will NOT fit on the Ruger American rimfire action.

 

[Kisssofdeath]

Thanks guys, I figured that. I have both too and was looking for an upgrade then put the PT barrel on the American.

 

[Frankr]

A little off topic but can anyone confirm if a Precision Rimfire barrel will fit into a Ruger American Rimfire?

Here is a thread with a guy that had a kidd barrel put into his ruger

https://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/#/topics/882666?page=1


The gunsmith had to recut the chamber and other stuff but it seems to shoot fine for the guy.

 

[nakoa01]

Louis at whistle pig barrels kight ne able to help you out with that 17hm2 barrel.

 

[Kisssofdeath]

Has anyone tried out a Lilja barrel? For some reason they cost $480. For that much money (when compared to others) it should load magazines for you.

 

[blacknwhite11]

Had an 18" green mountain....shot worse than the factory barrel. Sent it back and ordered a 20" stainless er shaw barrel. Should be here Thursday afternoon.

 

[Kisssofdeath]

Had an 18" green mountain....shot worse than the factory barrel. Sent it back and ordered a 20" stainless er shaw barrel. Should be here Thursday afternoon.

Look forward to seeing the test results. I have looked at those myself.

 

[Hardpan]

Had an 18" green mountain....shot worse than the factory barrel. Sent it back and ordered a 20" stainless er shaw barrel. Should be here Thursday afternoon.

How many rounds did you put through it before you sent it back? What kinds of ammo did you try? My Er Shaw barrel accuracy isn’t much better than factory but it did keep the sd’s low with all types of ammo. Also sped them up about 30-50 fps, some 80 fps when compared to the factory barrel.

 

[John_vinblad]

I bedded my RPRR and is taking her out for some testing this weekend. I hope to get my Lilja barrel next week for comparison.

 

[Hardpan]

I'd like to say they have but I think that may be due to weather. It's 55 now vs 75-80 when testing before. I couldn't say whether any speed change was simply due to ammo temp be barrel wear.

Really won't be able to test until I get a 70+ degree day in the coming weeks but those are about to be fewer and farther between.

What kind of groups are you getting at 100 yards?

 

[Subwrx300]

What kind of groups are you getting at 100 yards?

My barrel seems to shoot best after cleaned fairly thoughly through about 200-250 rounds ( 10 foulers needed to get back to correct POI). POI rises slightly over first 10 rounds and velocities level off around 1080-1100 depending on temp.

Bottom two rows are SK Rifle Match Ruger 22LR at 100yds.

CCI SV at 100yds

 

[Hardpan]

My barrel seems to shoot best after cleaned fairly thoughly through about 200-250 rounds ( 10 foulers needed to get back to correct POI). POI rises slightly over first 10 rounds and velocities level off around 1080-1100 depending on temp.

Bottom two rows are SK Rifle Match Ruger 22LR at 100yds.
View attachment 6954778
CCI SV at 100yds
View attachment 6954780

How were the conditions that day? Looks way better than what I’m getting from it. Almost tempted to throw the factory back on and give Shaw back the barrel. It’s really hard to get anything to group smaller than 2 inches.

 

[Subwrx300]

How were the conditions that day? Looks way better than what I’m getting from it. Almost tempted to throw the factory back on and give Shaw back the barrel. It’s really hard to get anything to group smaller than 2 inches.

Pretty/very calm that day (shot at dusk 60deg) but I shot in a bit windier conditions last weekend and it shot fairly close to same. There were definitely flyers that seemed related to small gusts even in our fairly isolated 100yard range.

On a super calm day, it's capable of anything around .5-1moa at 100yds
With slight gusts it moves to about .8-1.3moa.
In fairly windy conditions, im happy with 1-1.8moa.

 

[Hardpan]

Pretty/very calm that day (shot at dusk 60deg) but I shot in a bit windier conditions last weekend and it shot fairly close to same. There were definitely flyers that seemed related to small gusts even in our fairly isolated 100yard range.

On a super calm day, it's capable of anything around .5-1moa at 100yds
With slight gusts it moves to about .8-1.3moa.
In fairly windy conditions, im happy with 1-1.8moa.

Ya not mine. Can’t find any ammo that will do anything like that. Best group so far was 1.7 in with 5 rounds of cci sv in 4-6mph winds. It seems to like that the best staying just under 1100 fps. Barrel is still fast with the shims but i now can extract live rounds now. Where I shoot it is normally gusty. I am just trying to achieve a 1 inch group at 100 but almost seems I went backwards with this barrel.

 

[Subwrx300]

Ya not mine. Can’t find any ammo that will do anything like that. Best group so far was 1.7 in with 5 rounds of cci sv in 4-6mph winds. It seems to like that the best staying just under 1100 fps. Barrel is still fast with the shims but i now can extract live rounds now. Where I shoot it is normally gusty. I am just trying to achieve a 1 inch group at 100 but almost seems I went backwards with this barrel.

Does it shoot well at 50? With my factory barrel, I ended up scrubbing/*lapping* (if you can call it that) with Kroil, JB Bore paste and JB Bore Bright and VFG pellets. It did tighten up pretty significantly after that.

If it doesn't start shooting though, I'd call Shaw and get a replacement. I'm sure they would help out; they told me to keep in touch if I had any issues with accuracy.

 

[Hardpan]

Does it shoot well at 50? With my factory barrel, I ended up scrubbing/*lapping* (if you can call it that) with Kroil, JB Bore paste and JB Bore Bright and VFG pellets. It did tighten up pretty significantly after that.

If it doesn't start shooting though, I'd call Shaw and get a replacement. I'm sure they would help out; they told me to keep in touch if I had any issues with accuracy.

Ya it shoots really well at 50 but so did the factory.
50 yard 10 shot group of eley subsonic hp


I have around 1300-1400 rounds down the pipe now

 

[Hardpan]

Ya it shoots really well at 50 but so did the factory.
50 yard 10 shot group of eley subsonic hp
View attachment 6954895

I have around 1300-1400 rounds down the pipe now

That .46 inch group won’t translate to less than 2 inches at 100 yards... Same ammo after this grouping

 

[Subwrx300]

That .46 inch group won’t translate to less than 2 inches at 100 yards... Same ammo after this grouping

Might be a pain in the ass, but maybe try single hand feeding for a few groups. I have a suspicious feeling that the feed angles of Ruger 10/22 mags might damage the pressure ring.

Controlled round capture and feeding is one of the major features of the Vudoo action amd, given the soft lead plugs we shoot, it makes sense that scraping/scoring during feeding could cause lots of issues at distance.

I'll run a test of hand fed vs mag fed later this week if I have time. We can compare results. Maybe 5 -5 shot groups single vs hand fed at 100yds (if wind cooperates.

 

[blacknwhite11]

had about 600 rounds through my Green Mountain barrel. followed break in procedures. Shot everything from bulk to tenex.....wasnt any better than the factory barrel, no granted the factory barrel shot pretty well. It'll be interesting to see how the ER shaw does with velocity and accuracy. I got the 20" in hopes of keeping things slow velocity wise. id be happy with low sd's and factory barrel accuracy honestly. ive dont a lot of work to this rifle. I enjoy polishing turds although I may just jump on the voodoo wagon sooner than later.

 

[elfster1234]

RUGER PRECISION RIMFIRE SILENCERCO SPECTRE 2 SUPPRESSOR & FEDERAL GOLD MATCH AMMO REVIEW PART3

 

[Dev L]

Anyone know of higher quality screws to use to bolt the action to the chassis? After several times removing and reinstalling, my front action screw is partially stripped. What is the correct size bit for the factory action screws?

 

[kgc54]

Anyone know of higher quality screws to use to bolt the action to the chassis? After several times removing and reinstalling, my front action screw is partially stripped. What is the correct size bit for the factory action screws?

According to Ruger's video:

Adjustments Tech Tip

The screws are 1/8" allen keys. I'm not home right now so I can't check for sure; but that sounds correct.

 

[blacknwhite11]

Went out for some quick accuracy testing. Bipod with a rear bag. 50 yards. Moderate wind. 20" stainless shaw barrel. Federal ultramatch proved to be the best. Barrel was clean from the beginning and I didn't clean between ammo. Just shot a quick 10 round group and then 5 round groups unless noted. I'd say the potential is there.

 

[straightshooter1]

Went out for some quick accuracy testing. Bipod with a rear bag. 50 yards. Moderate wind. 20" stainless shaw barrel. Federal ultramatch proved to be the best. Barrel was clean from the beginning and I didn't clean between ammo. Just shot a quick 10 round group and then 5 round groups unless noted. I'd say the potential is there.

Looks like you need to get ahold of a few bricks of that lot of Ultra Match.

It'd be interesting to know what kind of velocity you're getting out of that 20" barrel. Though I suspect there's really very little difference from what we get with the 18" barrels. I think once the barrel's get out to 24"+ is where we'd see a significant difference (slower).

 

[blacknwhite11]

I was in a hurry. I'll get it for ya

 

[John_vinblad]

No reason that it would. It's still a Ruger action with a Ruger barrel.
Save up a bit and get the Vudoo.

Mine shoots pretty good 50 yards on a overcast day with 3-7 mph wind 63F.

 

[John_vinblad]

5 shots federal gold match

 

[blacknwhite11]

If I can shoot in the .3's with my ruger setup I have a hard time buying a 3k rifle just to shoot .2's

 

[elfster1234]

I think there is an inherent issue with the magazine and how the round is stripped from the mag and loaded into the chamber. I noticed a measurable accuracy difference going from the magazine that came with my rifle and a flush 10round mag that very little front and rear wobble. Going to try and epoxy and file down a magazine to get a better fit that has zero wobble & should have a video of it all with bullets on paper if I can ever find the time

 

[kl3309]

Mine shoots pretty good 50 yards on a overcast day with 3-7 mph wind 63F.View attachment 6959002View attachment 6959003

Looks like you're gonna need one of them fancy aftermarket barrels.

 

[quickdraw]

This is indeed an interesting rifle. One of them shoots near 1/2moa (consistently?) and others are using epoxy, aluminum tape aftermarket barrels, waiting for triggers or just accepting 1.5 to 2 Moa as "Precision" because the rifle "only cost $400". I understand though having been a former RPRr owner. Good kids rifle though as a starting point. I was shooting my real Ruger Precision Rifle yesterday, you know the one chambered in 6.5 Crredmoor. Now that rifle is and has been a drill for close to 4K rounds. The correct use of the term Precision.