Ruger American in 7.62x39mm A go-anywhere, do anything rifle

by R.K. Campbell | Contributing Eitor

The Ruger American rifle is compact but powerful rifle, but light at under six pounds.

For many years America’s go-anywhere do-anything rifle was a medium powered lever action rifle known as the Winchester 1894. This rifle served hunters, law officers, ranchers and farmers well. It is light, handy, reliable and powerful. I thought of the old .30-30 WCF cartridge and the rifle that fired it as I tested the newest Ruger American rifle.

The Ruger American has been a successful firearm, offering reliability and affordability combined with excellent performance to American shooters. Ruger’s recently released 7.62 x 39mm American is a smart choice. The 7.62 x 39mm cartridge is the most popular and well distributed mid-range caliber in the world. Ammunition is plentiful and inexpensive. Modern loadings such as the Hornady SST offer good game taking ability. Handloads put the 7.62 x 39mm right at .30-30 WCF power. In short the new Ruger American should prove to be a capable go-anywhere do-anything rifle.

The rifle’s short bolt throw makes for fast handling.

The rifle has many advantages. It is inexpensive compared to many other quality bolt-action rifles. As a rifle for carry behind the truck seat or in the rack of an ATV, the Ruger American is ideal. It is a good game getter for deer and boar to 125 yards and perhaps a little beyond with a good handload and the right person pulling the trigger. It is much more accurate than the AK 47 or Ruger Mini 30 rifles that also chamber the 7.62 x 39mm cartridge. While designed as a sporting rifle the Ruger American is a carbine length rifle that handles quickly and would not be a bad choice for area defense. The rifle is designed to accept Ruger Mini 30 box magazines. This gives the rifle the ability to accept 5, 10 and 20 round magazines. I obtained my rifle at a fair price from South Carolina Gun Company (SCgunco.com) and also ordered a 20-round magazine with the rifle. The rifle tips the scales but lightly at 5.9 pounds unloaded.

Synthetic Stock

The controls and detachable magazine are easily operated.

The rifle features a flat dark earth synthetic stock. There are grooves cut into the stock at the forend and semi pistol grip to give the shooter good adhesion when firing. The rifle is supplied with screw in sling swivels rather than the common sling swivel molded into the stock. A modest but effective recoil pad is supplied. The bolt throw is short and very fast. The bolt head is more like a self-loading bolt than the traditional bolt-action rifle. Bolt lift is short and feeding positive. The safety is conveniently located behind the bolt and proved handy and positive in operation. This is an excellent rifle to be married to the 7.62 x 39mm cartridge. While taking deer and boar are chores the rifle is suited to, it would serve for coyote at any range you can hit them. Ammunition is inexpensive and this makes for a pure fun rifle that will digest large quantities of steel-cased ammunition without complaint.

Century’s 7.62 x 39mm ammo is affordable. That’s the Ruger 20-round magazine with it.

The rifle has common features with other Ruger American rifles. These include an adjustable trigger. Mine came from the factory with a pleasant 4.0 pound trigger. I left it at the factory setting during the firing tests. The Ruger features an integral bedding system that makes for excellent repeatable accuracy. The hammer forged barrel is threaded for a suppressor if you decide to go that route. The 5/8-24 pattern will be compatible with most .30 caliber muzzle devices. Short stiff barrels often provide excellent accuracy. This 16-inch barrel gives us a rifle only 36 inches in overall length. Given the rifle’s light weight this makes for a very attractive package.

The Ruger American rifle’s magazine release is easily manipulated.

The rifle features a Picatinny rail base for mounting optics. This gives shooters many options. I mounted an affordable but useful optic, the TruGlo 4 x 32. Four-power magnification gives all the magnification I need for most chores. With the optic set at the lowest power fast shooting may be done at closer range. The reticle features highly visible crosshairs. The meeting point of the crosshairs is covered by a circle to lead the eye directly to the center of the aiming point. This scope has ridden on several rifles and given excellent results. It wasn’t difficult to mount the scope and sight it in; it is supplied with rings and mounts. In dry fire practice I found the rifle comes to the eye quickly and offers very fast handling. Bolt lift is smooth and the action is fast. I engaged in a decent amount of dry fire and practiced handling the rifle before proceeding to the range. This pays off in good results.

Firing tests

The texturing in the grip stock and forend gives good adhesion even in wet weather.

I began with Century International Arms famous Red Army loads. This is an affordable steel cased loading that is reliable and has proven accurate enough in several AK 47 rifles. I confirmed the scope’s zero at 25 and then 50 yards. After the initial sighting in phase I fired for accuracy. I discovered recoil is mild and the rifle as fast handling as I had imagined during dry fire. Firing for speed at 25 yards it was no mean feat to place two rounds in the X ring and then put two in the cranial ocular region for insurance.

Moving to 50 yards, firing offhand, results continued to be good. With the 20-round Mini 30 magazine locked in place it was great fun to fire repeat shots at clay birds on the 100 yard berm. As I expected, this is a great bolt action plinker with plenty of accuracy. My grandson and I fired 100 Red Army cartridges before taking a break and conducting benchrest testing at 100 yards.

Absolute Accuracy

This is one fast handling rifle! The balance and point of the rifle are excellent. And it’s light enough at about seven pounds with a rifle scope.

I added two loads to the mix for the 100 yard testing. The Fiocchi 123-grain FMJ load has given excellent results in self-loading rifles and I was curious to confirm results in the Ruger American. Hornady offers the 123-grain SST. The SST is a bullet well respected for accuracy and for effect on game. This would be the game bullet.

I settled down with the five round magazine in place and took every advantage for accuracy, firing three three-shot groups with each of the loads tested. As listed in the accompanying table, results were good. The Ruger American is more accurate than the average Winchester .30-30 rifle and much more accurate than the AK 47 rifle. Ammunition is inexpensive and the rifle isn’t likely to need much maintenance. I think we have a winner in the new Ruger American chambering.