New Ruger Rifles

In recent weeks, Sturm, Ruger & Co. introduced two new rifles.  The first is a bolt-action rimfire while the second is a .30-caliber modern sporting rifle.  Let’s take a look at the two new guns.

Ruger American Rimfire

Without a doubt, the Ruger 10/22 is one of the most popular semi-automatic rimfire rifles on the market.  The new American Rimfire rifle is a bolt-action gun that takes advantage of some of the 10/22 features while introducing a number of its own desirable traits.

The American Rimfire uses a black synthetic stock that has interchangeable modules to adjust comb height.  Depending on the use of sights vs. glass, the best stock module can be quickly snapped into place.

The gun is equipped with iron sights, but is also ready for glass with a 3/8” rimfire scope base machined into the receiver.  The receiver is also drilled and tapped to accept Weaver #12 bases.  The included front sight is a Williams fiber optic sight, while the rear is a 10/22-style, adjustable V sight.

One of the nice features about the American Rimfire is that it is fed by the same magazines used by the 10/22 rifle.  The very reliable rotary mags all work in the new gun, including the standard 10 round and the recently introduced BX-25 magazines.  The rifle also has a 10/22 style extended magazine release.

Like the American Rifle, a center fire bolt-action gun introduced by Ruger earlier in the year, the American Rimfire comes with an adjustable trigger called the Ruger Marksman Adjustable.  The trigger is user-adjustable from three to five pounds.

Two models of the American Rimfire are available:  a standard and a compact.  The standard has a 22” barrel, overall length of 41” and a weight of six pounds.  The compact version has an 18” barrel, an overall length of just less than 36” and a weight slightly under 5.4 pounds.

The American Rimfire is available in .22 LR and .22 WMR.  All models have a MSRP of $329.  There is no word at this time regarding the rifles being chambered in any other rimfire calibers.

Ruger SR-762

Ruger’s surprise announcement last week was the introduction of the new SR-762 rifle.  The SR-762 is an AR-style rifle chambered for the 7.62 NATO cartridge.  As many shooters realize, the 7.62 NATO, also known as the 7.62×51, is based on the .308 Win cartridge and is considered to be interchangeable.

The new gun uses a two-stage piston system similar to the one used in the company’s popular SR-556 line of rifles.  There is a four-position gas regulator that can be tuned by the shooter to match the ammo for optimum reliability.  For shooters using a suppressor who want the maximum in noise reduction, the regulator can be shut down completely.

The barrel is a touch over 16” long and is fluted.  The barrel is chrome-lined and has a 1:10” RH twist.  If you wish to add a suppressor, the threaded barrel makes this easy.  From the factory, the rifle ships with a Mini-14 style flash suppressor.  The same suppressor is standard equipment on the SR-556.

Adding an optic is easy to do since the upper receiver has an integrated Picatinny rail.  The SR-762 ships with folding iron sights, which can be used instead of an optic, or as a back up to anything you might add.

The SR-762 handguard has a full length Picatinny rail on top.  Several included Picatinny rail sections can be added to the handguard in the 3, 6, and 9 o’clock positions.  Additionally, Ruger includes rail covers for the rifle.

Three Magpul 20-round magazines ship with the rifle, as does a soft-sided carrying case.  An adjustable, M-4 style stock is standard.  The pistol grip is a Hogue Monogrip, which I have personally found to be an improvement over standard M-4 grips.

The total price on this gun and included accessories is $2,195.  I would expect street prices to be less than $2,000 and I spoke with one reader who said he ordered a gun for only $1,900 after the announcement.

Ruger’s Mayodan Facility

I do not believe that either of these new rifles is being made in the company’s new Mayodan facility.  Ruger only announces products when they are ready to ship, and the Mayodan unit isn’t expected to be online until about January 2014.  This suggests that we will see some new product lines from the company come the SHOT Show next year.