Ruger American Predator in 223 - Accuracy Review

[@bradcobb4664]

All u need to do is oil the bolt and it works better. After 200 -300 shots it's smooth as hell

[@manuelcardoso5642]

Yep. After about 200 rounds works better

[@YoungGunsCanada]

Mine smoothed out after a few hundred rounds too. It's not as smooth as my R700, but it's workable.

[@cowboypenguin]

New out of the box Ruger Ranch bolt was as described. Instead of enduring/shooting through it sat down for a movie, turned up volume, worked the bolt. For a cheap bolt gun glad they skimped on the bolt but somehow maintained accuracy.

[@yakbutter78]

Got mine today and the bolt was pretty rough at first with factory ammo. I just kept shooting it and after 60 rounds it was a lot better. Classic ruger honestly. The revolver triggers have to be worked a few hundred times to smooth out too.

[@reliablethreat23]

The bolt has to be well oiled and broken in. It gets smoother the more you use it.

[@JamesClark-lw6sw]

TRY USING OIL.😂

[@christopherkoenig2279]

I have a tikka t1x, that bolt is so smooth its crazy, everything about the gun except the mag is excellent. But back to the point........I bought a 223 predator today, I polished the trigger(removed blade), put a muzzle brake on, scope and polished the bolt(emery cloth then 1000, 1500, 2000 and 3000 paper all oiled). Its much better, but still has a "zipper" to it and bolt is notchy. I am replacing the bolt handle and shroud. Also replacing the stock with wood and plan on replacing the trigger with a Jard.

[@tracey1013]

I have the same Rifle and I don't have any problems with the bolt. I find that ammo and bullet seeding can cause bolt action rifles to have a sticky bolt. I reload 223 Rem and checked the bullet seeding depth, and I reload all my round under that measurement. It a great rifle, going to the range with it this coming Sunday.

[@cliffleath7983]

I have the Ruger American in .22LR and lubed the bolt with some light synthetic grease and the bolt works fine and accuracy is very good. I switched out the sights to Williams Globe and am very satisfied . I have the Tikka TX3 in .223 with 24” bull barrel. Of course it is a much more expensive rifle and is a nail driver.

[@mwmag]

Both amazing guns!!!!

[@cliffkirby8570]

I have one and the bolt will smooth out.... But I've never had mine hang up like that.... I just got into long range shooting about 3 years ago and the Ruger American 223 has been a fantastic rifle especially for the money. Over 4000 rounds and it still shoots amazingly well.

[@stevehenke6127]

The bolt looked sticky to me with or with a cartridge i wonder how the cocking cams look ,i had a Spanish Mauser with soft cams that caused problems.

[@louannwatt4447]

I had the same problem. Everything was good after I full length sized all my cases.

[@patrickterneus9290]

I have that same model. I immediately upgraded the stock to the Magpul hunter. I think you may have gotten a model with a faulty magazine, ammunition or dirty bolt issue. I have had similar results in accuracy and can repeat 5 shot groups below .75 moa and even a couple of .59" 3 shot groups. I highly suspect either you did not properly clean the bolt from the factory or you are shooting reloads with brass that has been shot multiple times and needs to be resized. In the video the bolt has a light green tint. From the factory mine had the same coating which I had to thoroughly clean before I took it to the range. I believe this is some type of dried assembly grease that is applied to prevent rusting. I've shot around 400-500 rounds through mine and have never had a feed or eject issue, nor have I ever seen any other review of this rifle which had this feeding issue I did have the standard "zipper" sound while operating the bolt which I was able to completely eliminate by simply polishing the bolt with some Flitz metal polish for about 15-20 minutes.

[@Thetankguy308]

I have the same exact gun..I dropped it in a boyds at 1 thumbhole stock and put a timney trigger on it and it shoots .5 moa all day long with hornady 55g vmax.

[@cjrodriguez34]

I was undecided if to buy a Gen1 or wait for the Gen2 Predator which is slightly better with reductions in stickiness and zipper noise. Overall, I know the bolt action is not only nowhere near a Beretta or Tikka (mid-tier rifles), but the accuracy is also incredible out of the box (especially after you adjust trigger pull to about 3lbs +/-). I got the Gen2, dropped it in the Magpul Hunter chassis, added a Vortex Venom 3x15-44 and I am very pleased with the set up (even with the not so perfect bolt).

[@Hoosieroutdoor1969]

I have one also, never shot for groups with it but can reach out to 1000 yards with it, mine had a little stick to it on unlock, the only time it sticks now is if I goof and run 556 pressure on my reloads

[@crabjoe]

It's been 5 months.. have you had the bolt issue resolved? Was it taken care of by Ruger or done by yourself? What was the actual fix? Thank you!

[@goindownhill1116]

My Ruger did the exact same thing. It didn’t do that with factory ammo, only with my reloads. My AR and Mini 14 shot my reloads just fine…….?

[@chuckbowen4334]

Mine was great out of the box. Did you lube the bolt?

[@peterlopez9403]

Will beddng it better .improve accuracy

[@peterlopez9403]

Can the bolt be fine tuned or is it bettter. To.get a better one .

[@Thetankguy308]

The reason the bolt is the way it is because of the huge cut in the bolt to strip a round out of an ar-15 mag. Mine probably has 200 rounds through it and its gotten better but it still sucks. My trigger was total junk. Put a timney in it make all the difference.

[@wandahelmer1038]

The one I own went back to Ruger, the 2nd rd. STUCK case stuck in the chamber so hard I stripped the ejector right off, it went back, now it is a flawless shooter, but why, WHY did it have to go back in the first place.....No quality control is my bet. Customer service is very good, they took care of my gun with no problem, now they asked me what ammo I used, I used wolf steel, they said oh we dont recommend that ammo, I told them if it cant eat steel it doesn't deserve brass, we use what we can get our hands on.

[@Baddie_you.a.trackstar]

Family had a 7.62 ruger mini30 that was picky with steel case ammo..why chamber a gun in 7.62x39 when it wont eat steel case? Thankfully Ruger does have decent customer service

[@joesaunders3237]

Great review! I handled a 22-250 at the shop and the bolt felt awful as well. I have the same 22lr as you and I love it. I wanted to go with the predator for coyote but that bolt makes me unsure. If you replace it what would you replace it with? Once again thanks for the great video.

[@Keith52188]

Definitely send it back

[@mwmag]

Definitely plan too. That needs to be fixed for sure. Thanks for watching.

[@DakotaEarnest-i7r]

What bolt would you replace it with to fix it?

[@mgiovannucci]

Thanks for sharing. At that price, you can't go wrong. I noticed you stated 52.5 inches long. Was that a typo? Crazy long if it is. 😮

[@stevemiller1248]

mine is great but it wont shoot steel case wolf or tula ammo

[@badbilly60]

i have a ruger american standard in stainless steel cal.22 mag really good shooter. i also have a plain savage axis,accurate fun to shoot.only complaint on the savage is the magazine cant find anywhere to buy extras including savage.nice video thanks

[@ethangonzalez5221]

Still waiting on that fmk update

[@TommyTucker0]

amazing rifle, if you think it's half the price of a T3X but just as accurate

[@jivadaya6439]

I've been checking this one out online and was ready to buy when... @1:14 Holy smokes that is rough

[@johninphx9360]

My American Ranch bolt is slick as snot.

[@Thomas-vt7cz]

Hey Curt, what do you recommend for .22LR as far as magnification in a scope ???

[@mwmag]

All depends on how far you'll be taking it out. 3x9 should be ok for most cases at 100 to 200 yards. But if you're brave and go much further out like Darryl, a larger magnification would be best.

[@Thomas-vt7cz]

@@mwmag Hunting small game out about 100 - 150 yards...Sorry if I spelled your name wrong buddy!!!

[@Thomas-vt7cz]

@@mwmag What do you think of this Vortex Crossfire II AO 4-12x50mm Rifle Scope...

[@gary30427]

I have it In 270 and the bolt on mine is like glass

[@steverugerguy9606]

Steel case ammo is problems waiting to happen...

[@PileofBrass]

Improperly sized reloads causing issues.

[@arl0xen551]

I picked up a longer, better handle from anarchy outdoors and ran the bolt while watching KZbin for an hour or so with valve lapping compound. Then I glassed a carbon fiber arrow into the floppy front stock. I then added a kydex cheek riser from Matthews fabrications after filling the buttstock with expanding foam. I sighted it in and won a couple of our local competitions and the cabin fever challenge in 2022 for bolt action rifle. It is my hilarious sleeper cheapo fun rifle and I love it. I am getting 2moa out of it with cheap factory box ammo.

[@loganriedel1094]

What bipod are you running on this rifle?

[@mwmag]

www.avantlink.com/click.php?tt=pl&ti=181&pw=348761&mi=10077&pt=3&pri=851980

[@bigaarmory100]

0:47 That’s what she said 😬

[@jackb1888]

Very good review, keep up the good work. I have this rifle in 204 Ruger for fox and varmints, same issue with the bolt, it was between this and a used sako 85 varmint laminate, the sako was too much weight and extra cash. Was thinking of getting something else though for a deer rifle say Bergara or Howa

[@ericvonp]

Looks like a feed magazine problem

[@mwmag]

Could be but we ran 4 different mags and same issues. I've about given up on this gun . . .OK, not I haven't but it is turning me more grey by the day!!!!

[@lord_kinbote3920]

My only issue is the roughness of the fit and finish of the bolt carrier. The best thing about it is its amazing trigger.

[@lr3181]

What? Cant believe someone can say that about this things trigger. Its shit creepy. You havent felt much triggers have you?

[@lord_kinbote3920]

@@lr3181 No creep on mine.

[@lr3181]

@@lord_kinbote3920 maybe you dont know what creep is. This things trigger is not consistent and the biggest reason for accuracy loss

[@406outdoors]

I bought one .got 5 shots out of it before extractor quit working 😂

[@Glenfilthie1]

You’re right. It’s not a good bolt action - it’s a GREAT bolt action. You have a problem with the gun, and the boys at Ruger will probably want to have a look at it. Did you get the issue resolved? I spent a couple 20 minute sessions with mine just cycling the bolt… and it slicked up a LOT, just from that. You have to run it with deliberate intent and firmness and it’ll work fine, I don’t even take my cheek off the stock to cycle the action.

[@robertwilson6891]

I have this rifle and the bolt sucks just like he says. The gun is pretty accurate but the bolt is bad enough that is discourages shooting; too bad. I did fine very little relief by shorting the overall length of the projectile. That said, the bolt sucks.

[@abeljimenez594]

What can you expect from a ruger

[@louannwatt4447]

Think you got a ammo problem. Just sayin.

[@lucienpayne9552]

It’not priced like a Tikka either.

[@jackreacher4297]

you need some oil

[@sportsman2159]

Especially. No x