But most .308's don't have the right twist rate to run heavy boolits at sub-sonic speed.
That's when you'll need the faster twist barrel.
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Shooting them at steel gongs only 50 yards away, I wouldn't be able to tell if they weren't completely stable. I did try a slow and heavy 30-06 that keyholed.
put up some paper
http://www.luckygunner.com/labs/wp-c...11/keyhole.jpg
Figured I'd bring this old thread back to life: I bought a Ruger GSR a while back, shot it a good deal, and even got it to shoot fairly well with jacketed bullets. This group was shot at 200 yards with Sierra 155s last summer:
Attachment 140931
However it never would shoot well with cast bullets, and I never liked the little whippy barrel with the ridiculous flash suppressor. The balance just felt wrong.
Fast forward to a few weeks ago; I was visiting Love Life in Georgia, and as I was packing up after dinner (we had done some horse trading with powder) he pulled a barrel from the corner of his garage and asked if I had any use for it. And since I always have about half a dozen rifle builds buzzing in the back of my head I said "sure", put it in the truck and headed on down the road.
Next thing I called Goodsteel and bent his ear about the barrel. Long story short, Tim researched the barrel (the take-off from Love Life's "Fat Lady" project). It's an FN Herstal in 308 Winchester, chrome lined with a 1:12 twist. Length is 24 inches. It's fluted with a varmint profile.
I wanted the barrel to be fitted to my Ruger Gunsite, and Tim figured out that it was a possible match. A few days later the rifle and the barrel were both in Arkansas, and here's how it came out:
Attachment 140932
The rifle is headed back to me in Florida as we speak; here's a group shot by Tim earlier today (10 shots 100 yards):
Attachment 140933
It's still a very lightweight rifle; it's going with me to a 600-yard range next Friday. I'll post updates.
Terrific idea! I have wanted to do something very similar to mine. What is the barrel shank diameter? I am looking for a donor barrel.
I'll ask Goodsteel to answer that one. All I know is that the FN Herstal barrel fit the Ruger receiver, and according to Goodsteel there were rather long odds that we'd be that lucky.
The major diameter of the GSR threads is 1" with a thread pitch of 16TPI.
Bjorn was lucky in that the coned bolt/barrel face of the M70 style action could be trimmed off and set back without touching the chamber. I set headspace with the shoulder and face of the barrel in relation to the headspace gauge, instead of reaming the chamber deeper. This was the most logical course of action because the barrel and chamber was chrome lined.
Ruger rifles have gotten a bad rap for lukewarm accuracy, but that's just because they run that hammer forge so that it cranks out barrels like toilet paper instead of using it to obtain uber sweet, jaw dropping, bug hole accuracy like the euros do.
Thing is, Ruger is really darn good at making decent, reliable actions and if you change the barrel out for a match upgrade, you might be surprised how well it will do.
I dunno, Tim. I may have been pretty lucky in my limited experience with Ruger barrels or perhaps I'm just comparing them to other production rifles. I have a M77 that shoots quite well once the bore is fouled and cold. I guess that's not really a good barrel. A better example is the Hawkeye I lucked into about a week ago. I fired it today with loads my Winchester likes and the 50 yd groups show quite a bit of promise, the fouling shot was joined by two other boolits in a nice bughole group. Other two rounds were touching a short distance away. Seems I was having a two-group kind of day today, another rifle I was shooting put all it's rounds into two nice groups.
I know a custom barrel and a good chamber will outperform either of my Ruger barrels but sometimes the folks at Ruger get it right. I'm not much of a Ruger fan but that seems to be changing.
Well I'm a huge Ruger fan. However, their barrels are hit or miss, and in my experience, it's more miss than hit. Back that target up to 100 yards and shoot ten shot groups.
Every now and then I find one that can hold sub MOA under those conditions, but it's rare.
The problem has nothing to do with anything other than their barrel quality. Fix that, and they can shoot quite well.
I just wish there was a cheaper way to get ahold of the actions. Rugers are expensive. That's the other reason they are seldom used for custom builds, but if you already have one, it's a pretty safe decision to rebarrel, and the GSR is about the best deal going in a Ruger considering all the features.
Dear Mr. Excess650.
From one lurker to another. You have to learn to ignore the man behind the curtain. It is the only way one can tolerate certain personalities and celebrities here. If you cannot do that you too will fall into the "used to post here club" just as many others have before you. I have been lurking here since the old owner spelled bullet wrong and have seen enough to know that I simply need to keep my mouth shut in order to reap the benefit of the occasional jewel posted here. Those occasional jewels are getting harder to find in a sea of smelly clams as of late however. I would bet that is why the banned list and M.I.A list grows by the day. To paraphrase my old C.O, "some things simply is what they is".
No-1 asked "Anyone Else"
Yes please. I will take me a big ol piece of perma ban also. The folks I came here to read everyday have been done run off by a few eggspurts that make my head and my rifle spin too fast for me to continue on any longer. Instant expurts and those seeking a "following" have ruined this site and the owner in my opinion does not care as long as the money keeps rolling in.
So to answer the big bad bullies "Anyone else" all I have left to say is YES PLEASE.
Here's a ten shot group from the rifle posted above that I shot Saturday. Speed was 2600 FPS.
Attachment 141078
Here's another. Same ammo. Ten shots. Speed was 2600 FPS.
Attachment 141079
I held one a little while ago. It was a nice rifle but the plastic trigger group and magrelease didn't impress me at all and kept me from buying one. I dont expect that on an $850 rifle.
Back that target up to 100 yards and shoot ten shot groups. -Goodsteel
Couldn't agree more, Tim. I've been fooled by 5-shot groups @ the 50 more than once, just couldn't get on the 100 yd range that day. I prefer to shoot two 5-shot groups @ 100 because some days I don't have ten good shots in me, especially when the rifle thumps a bit. On top of that I'm barely an MOA shooter on my best days so a truly good barrel would probably be a waste of good steel in my case.
The accuracy of that rifle really impressed me. I haven't shot mine in a year as I have been fooling with other guns and my Jeep project. I am going to shoot it this weekend at a Long Range Silhouette shoot just to see if it still shoots.
I have done very limited load development with this gun, in fact the only load I've shot is 147 gr M80 ball pulls with 45 gr of IMR4895.
This has been consistently at 7/8" for 5 shots. Which is more than good enough for my uses. That is an essentially a generic load with common bullets, a stock gun, and barrel with 1000+ rounds thru it. I bet with some work it could shoot tighter.
My bro in law has a FN (M70) mag fed bolt action rifle. 20" bbl. I have seen 1/2" at 200 yards from it and he ain't that good! 168 gr BT's with Varget. That's 1/4MOA and frankly it doesn't get much better than that.
There is definitely a big difference between the Ruger and FN barrels which are hammered and chromed.
What you now have in that gun, is a proper long range sniper rifle that you can shoot with anyone, and Mag fed too boot.
I just attended a Front Sight Rifle Class last week and there was one Scout in the class. Serial number was 68,000 ish. Mine is 000159. They've sold a lot of them.
This thread won't die simply because these guns are just that good. There will always be people extracting better and better performance from them.
Randy
It was an old Jeff Cooper brainchild. He believed in a multi-purpose rifle. The Ruger was released after his passing. Is it a true scout? That's a separate argument but it's a bit on the pricey side. $900-1k. Even at a lower price......not a fan personally.
Freeman: street price is more like $750. you just have to shop around a little.
If you got to shoot one you'd be hooked, they really are that good.
Randy
Im in CA too. They are usually $850 at big 5 by me.
$743 from Buds Gunshop.
http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/p...ate+Stock+6803
I feel for you fella's in California. I just couldn't live there personaly, but I'm glad you guys are there keeping a measure of sanity in the poll booth!
I have to agree with W.R.
The GSR is very accurate as Ruger rifles go, and I love the checkering. It's cut deep and it grabs your hand like it's supposed to.
Also, the bottom metal may be plastic, but I would humbly submit to you that it is also very light weight. Deceivingly so.
When I installed the SPR barrel on Bjornb's GSR, the rifle only weighed 10lb fullet loaded with the magazine and scope in place.
What's more, it balanced 1" forward of the receiver ring (the deeply fluted barrel certainly didn't hurt in this regard).
What's more, it shoots dime sized groups on demand (which is a real pleasure in a rifle that light!).
I guess what I'm saying is that in it's original form, it's a real maneuverable platform that is good for quick shots at medium range, but when you throw a quality heavy barrel on there, it makes a little bitty sniper rifle that is good for engaging targets at long range, and it's still easy to handle. I was skeptical at first, but after working over three of these rifles, I have to say, Ruger really filled a niche with this one.
Tim: I have it on good authority that this is one of the most successful rifles Ruger has ever made.
Others: AS far as the price in CA? You don't buy in CA! You go outside and have it shipped to your FFL. Mine was $739 shipped to me from Williams Gunshop Auburn in Auburn Michigan. Mine was also #159 of the first production run and it took him 3 days to find it. They were moving pretty fast at that time.
My local Big 5 Sporting Goods Store has always had $989 on them and when they do a sale they are marked down to $899. I did $200 better than that by simply shopping around. Dealer price on that gun is $652 and has been since the beginning. Lots of room for negotiation!
I don't pay CA prices or retail prices for new guns. When I buy a new gun I find the best price locally, and then go out of state and find it cheaper. I always find it cheaper!!!
I found a Bushmaster Carbon 15 AR weighing 5lb 4oz stock. I had to have one,,,!!! but the Chain LGS that had one wanted over $900 for it. I called Kevin at Williams on my cell phone 5 minutes after I left that store and had one coming to me for $700!
Then I put another $3-400 into refurnishing it! It's still not done, but I really like having a 6 lb AR hanging from a wide sling that shoots real good when I do a class.
Instead of giving the extra money to a retail outfit, I put it in the gun for me to enjoy.
You guys have got to learn to shop!
Becoming buddies with your LGS is one way. Usually you have to buy stuff from them in order to build a relationship, but it has always paid off for me.
There are plenty of places that will treat you right and finding them is the key to getting good deals. I have several and the one I mentioned above is a great place to do business with and he is in with all the best distributors. I got a Ruger BH Bisley in .44 Special when nobody else could find them. Kevin (Owner) found one with one phone call and got back to me less than 10 minutes later. It came from Lipsey's who is the goto outfit for all things Ruger.
Williams Gunshop Auburn in Auburn Michigan 989-239-3030 Talk to Kevin and tell him Randy Buchanan from CA sent you. It shouldn't do more than double the price!
This guy is really good to deal with, and he wants your business.
Just make sure you have a local FFL that you can deal with and all their info on hand so you can give it to him. If you live in CA and it's a handgun it must be on the CA list or you will have problems,,, That's for all Handguns! Long guns are no problem.
If you want generic new gun this is who I go to and I live,,, once again,,, in California. For other types of guns I have other outfits I deal with.
I have bought a lot of guns over the last few years, and I have gotten a good deal or screamin' deal on every single one simply because I know what I am looking at and I don't have to have any of them,,, And I shop around.
This internet thing is a pretty good tool for shopping around and my wife makes me look like a complete novice.
I had a Foil Painting from 1960 left over from my Mothers Estate. I wanted to sell it and she said it was virtually worthless. She found another one exactly like it on Ebay in less than 30 seconds for $10!
You can too,,, if you try harder!
Randy