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Sunday, August 30, 2015

Irrational Rifle Lust

Ever since I saw the first marketing release on the Ruger Precision Rifle, I've been fighting rifle lust.  I have this mildly irrational thing about rifles, and they're punching all my buttons on this one, for sure.

To borrow a quote from American Rifleman review,
As Townsend Whelen, former U.S. Army colonel and American Rifleman contributor, was once famously quoted as saying, “Only accurate rifles are interesting.” Employing that rubric alone, the Ruger Precision Rifle is a supremely interesting firearm. And, to the company’s credit, the introduction of additional evaluation criteria such as versatility, reliability and value only make its newest bolt-action repeater all the more intriguing. Featuring sub-minute-of-angle accuracy, the dependability of a bolt gun built on the gunmaker’s proven American action, all the modularity of the über-customizable AR-15 platform, the ability to accept a multitude of magazine types and a price tag that is a literal fraction of many of the guns it will compete against on the market, Ruger’s latest foray into the long-range precision shooting field should pique the interest of a broad range of gun aficionados.

Sturm, Ruger & Co. believes that within the gun world there exists a sizeable segment of shooters who are interested in long-range precision shooting—they just have never been able to justify taking the plunge due to the typically astronomical cost of purchasing a gun designed expressly for that purpose. With an MSRP of $1,399—and a likely eventual selling price closer to $1,100—the Precision Rifle represents Ruger’s invitation for these cost-conscious gun buyers to finally enter the world of long-range shooting.

Like I say: irrational rifle lust.  I can list a handful of reasons why it's irrational.  The longest range I have within even an hour's drive radius is my club's 600 yard range - which I haven't even visited!  There are some longer ranges in the "several hours" drive range, which I've never visited either.  I have a couple of guns that are probably capable of decent performance at 600 yards, but aren't going to be capable of 1/2 MOA, both in .308.  My .30-06 probably isn't far behind.  But this ain't the wide open spaces of Texas or the BLM lands out west.  This is Florida.  You could watch your dog running away for three days if it weren't for the golf course developments and condos.

But I'm smack dab in the marketing demographic, "shooters who are interested in long-range precision shooting ... just have never been able to justify taking the plunge due to the typically astronomical cost of purchasing a gun designed expressly for that purpose."   ~$1100 street, 1/2 MOA, maybe even in 6.5 Creedmore.  To borrow a quote from Tam in a comment here about 18 months ago, that rifle on my range would be "... like driving a Lambo Gallardo up and down your driveway" ...  Like I say, it's irrational lust. 
 


4 comments:

  1. 1/2 (MOA) is not an "irrational number".

    Also, consider this: simply because you may never have access to a long range to shoot it upon, doesn't mean that you would need that kind of accuracy. Sub-MOA at 100 or 200 yards could save the life of someone you love taken hostage. Although I don't know if it is true, I read somewhere that police snipers rarely have - or take - a shot over 200 yards. Unless you are planning on using it over in the Sandbox, this rifle might still be a viable choice, especially at that price.

    Hope I didn't just upset Mrs. Graybeard :-)

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  2. Is it really 1/2 MOA? All I saw was "Sub-MOA", which could be .999 MOA with one particular brand of ammunition.

    1/2 MOA for $1100 would be great. That would actually take the rifle from not so interesting at sub-MOA to very interesting.

    BTW, my most accurate rifle is a 1953 Remington 721 .30-06 in the original wood stock. It actually is a .5-.6 MOA rifle. Outshoots the more modern rifles I've dumped money into bedding, stocks, etc. consistently. Go figure.

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  3. SiG,
    I need to wait until I've had some sleep before I write. That should have read: "doesn't mean you _wouldn't_ need that kind of accuracy" and "Even if you _aren't_ planning on using it in the Sandbox,"

    I'm not the man I use to be - especially at 1 AM.

    Besides, from what you have written in the past, I would guess the missus enjoys firearms almost as much as you do. I'm blessed with a wife who has never complained, and even talked me into a purchase I might not have otherwise made (my Shiloh Sharps in 45-110 [2+7/8]).

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  4. I think I pretty much read what you intended, not what you wrote. Guess I've known you long enough!

    And you've known us long enough to know Mrs.G would enjoy it as much as I would.

    I've read pretty much every report on these and they really appear to be the real thing. It's a pretty disruptive product when you can do what the rest of the market does at 1/3 to 1/4 of the cost.

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