Ruger or Howa Bolt Gun?

[northdude]

A simple fix for the bottom metal problem

[WVB4]

[ripcord]

I am considering a Ruger American Rifle~ Predator, 6.5 Grendel with a 22" barrel to get back into the 6.5 Grendel game. Does anyone have any experience with this particular model? I have read about accidental mag drops and the plastic parts but these can be modified/replaced. Any advice will be gratefully appreciated. Thanks in advance!

[WVB4]

I am considering a Ruger American Rifle~ Predator, 6.5 Grendel with a 22" barrel to get back into the 6.5 Grendel game. Does anyone have any experience with this particular model? I have read about accidental mag drops and the plastic parts but these can be modified/replaced. Any advice will be gratefully appreciated. Thanks in advance!

[grayfox]

Yes. Feeding. Inconsistent and aggravating, especially for lower-grain bullets as they are somewhat shorter than the 123 eldms.
The mag rocks back and forth. the bullets tend to hit the vertical barrel face below the chambering hole. The various mods you try to the mags are handmade and inconsistent as well, can not find a consistent solution.

So much so that I sold it off and bought the howa mini. Much happier feeding now.

The gen 2 (coming 1Q24) may fix that, I don't know. will have to see.
But I'm already down the road with my howa, I did rebarrel it for 2" more and better shooting, although the 20" you can definitely get it to shoot. I wanted a bit more fps without ruining brass from overpressure. The howa mags have been no problem for me.

[Jake TN]

Yes. Feeding. Inconsistent and aggravating, especially for lower-grain bullets as they are somewhat shorter than the 123 eldms.
The mag rocks back and forth. the bullets tend to hit the vertical barrel face below the chambering hole. The various mods you try to the mags are handmade and inconsistent as well, can not find a consistent solution.

So much so that I sold it off and bought the howa mini. Much happier feeding now.

The gen 2 (coming 1Q24) may fix that, I don't know. will have to see.
But I'm already down the road with my howa, I did rebarrel it for 2" more and better shooting, although the 20" you can definitely get it to shoot. I wanted a bit more fps without ruining brass from overpressure. The howa mags have been no problem for me.

The Ruger Gen 2 has me thinking about getting a bolt action.

[Harpoon1]

The Ruger Gen 2 has me thinking about getting a bolt action.

I have a gen 1 and cutting 2 coils of the mag spring turned mine into a completely reliable, almost impossible to jam with any size projectile gun! YMMV!

IDK, maybe I just got lucky?

[grayfox]

Good for you! I did try that, no success on mine.
O well, for me that is all in the past.

[grendelnubi]

I cut two coils off then took a third coil after doing a little testing and now it works perfectly. Also prior to removing coils, it was near impossible to manually feed a round with an empty mag but after removing coils, it works with no issues.

[tracker12]

New Ruger American may change the field

[rookie7]

I handled a Ruger American Gen II ranch rifle yesterday in 6.5 Grendel. Mag was tight with no slop - metal mag. Stock felt very stiff compared to the original ranch rifle - which I had in 300 blk.

I am definitely interested in the gen 2 predator model when the 6.5 grendel and other cartridges are available. The gen 2 is definitely an upgrade over gen 1.

Another point to note - I watched a video review of the gen 2 on youtube. The reviewer stated that ruger is machining a coned breach on the gen 2 whereas the gen 1 was flat. Nowhere on their website do they mention the coned breach, but it's there. That should help with feeding shorter rounds and everything really.

[Sammy]

Shot Ruger for a while. Then Brownells had an amazing $275 deal on Howa action so I had to try. Turns out Howa is waaay better than Ruger. Ruger is now gone, Howa action was installed in a AT-One stock with a metal bottom and trigger weight adjusted to its lightest setting. This gun is super fun and easy to shoot well.

[lazyengineer]

I'm just going to say it - I'm not that happy with HOWA. I know everyone loves them, but I don't. A friend got one in 6.5CM, and I'm not sold on its magazine or feed system at all. It's a single stack that takes its own unique proprietary mags that stick out like a goofy 20 round magazine, and only hold 10 rounds. And it was very easy for both of us to short stroke that bolt, and get a CLICK when we thought we loaded a round.