Upgrade The Ruger American from Geek to Glorious

I have nothing against the Ruger American. The American is a great option for shooters who want a rifle with a barreled-action that can produce accuracy that is, in all honesty – jaw-dropping – when compared to its price tag. I’m talking sub-MOA right out of the box, without too much effort.Plus, the American lineup is complemented nicely by a couple options for the lefties, who all too often get nothing but short straws at which to grasp when it comes to rifle options.But, with all that said, the Ruger American ain’t nothin’ to look at.The good news, however, is that this superficial problem is easily solved–very easily, in fact.The Blank SlateIn 2011, Ruger released the American rifle to the masses as a means of supplying a no-frills, budget-friendly solution for riflemen who wanted a reliable workhorse capable of producing acceptable-for-the-money accuracy. The American rifle not only met those goals but also paved the way for a whole class of budget-friendly guns, including the Remington 783 and Savage Axis. The American might not be cheap, but it is certainly not cheap. The Ruger American has a lot of aftermarket parts. The Ruger American lineup also includes a couple of left-handed models. The bolt is a simple tri-lugger that’s housed in a bar stock receiver, to which the hammer forge barrel is attached. It’s all wrapped up in a blued-black-oxide finish and nestled in a polymer composite. The entire system is fed by a rotary mag. I would prefer a hinged floorplate, but a box magazine is just fine. A good field rifle should be able to shoot MOA, regardless of price. I have never met an American variation that did not meet this standard. In fact, I’ve got one chambered in .270 Winchester that will punish a quarter at 200 yards all day long from the bench with 150-grain Hornady InterLoks.At present, the lineup consists of the Standard, Compact, Magnum, Predator, Ranch and Hunter models to suit a wide variety of needs and tastes … with a couple of left-handed models squeezed in there, as previously mentioned.The entire rifle is the definition of “utilitarian.”Beautifying The BoltAnyone who tells you that a bolt is fluted to reduce weight is a liar. The removal of material does reduce weight, but the difference is so small that it is not a factor. The Ruger American shares many similarities with the Chevrolet Camaro when it comes to aftermarket components. The Ruger American comes with a Marksman Adjustable Trigger, which is a trigger that can be adjusted by the user from 3 to 5 lbs. and has a crisp break. It’s a good, but not great, trigger. A trigger can have as much impact on accuracy as any other part of the system. The Timney is fully adjustable by the user, but Timney knows triggers and offers factory presets from 1.5 to 4 lbs of pull. A good trigger is just as important to accuracy, as is a quality barrel. The Timney is so smooth that it feels lighter than a 3 pound pull. But, again, you can adjust it at home. Don’t skimp on ringsAll members of the American line come standard with a Picatinny base. It would be easy to strap on rings, find a scope and go to the range. But to my eye, the bulky Pic rail looked like a pimple. To keep the rifle looking as sleek as possible and to make the stock and bolt fluting pop as much as I could, I removed the rail. Rings that attach directly onto a receiver are usually preferred on hunting rifles, as they eliminate a place where something might come loose. This not only improved the look of the rifle, but also allowed the rings to be positioned lower on the gun. Every time. The Eyes Have ItSleek. Simple. Beautiful. Do you see a pattern here? This build was to show that southpaws don’t have to be left out of the fun. They can have their cake and eat too. The.308 was chosen because the buffet was still lacking. This model is CDS-compatible, with a simple heavy duplex scope reticle. This means that the Leupold Custom Dial can be used to replace the elevation dial for the rifle’s preferred load. Hey, lefties: Build the rifle of your dreams if you can’t find it. Plus, the 50mm objective lenses nestled perfectly in the rings, with a small distance between the bells and the rifle. If I may be so vain, the Gold Ring really adds a little bling to the build… and it makes the wood pop. The wood is a thing of beauty. The stock was the deciding factor in the rest of the build. Boyds’ online stock builder allows customers to choose from a wide range of options. Wood, finish and length-of-pull are all options. Also, there is a white line spacer and a forend tip. Laser engraving, checkering style and design, and pillar bed are also available. I chose the standard finish because the wood was so highly figured. I also chose not to use the white line spacing options as I was afraid it would compete with the grain figuring. I chose the angled forend tip black design because it matched the diamond accents with fleur-de-leis texture. Like the factory Ruger American designs, Boyds prides themselves on their practical, affordable, and utilitarian designs. For a truly customized option sculpted out of a highly-figured piece of wood, they over-delivered. For many models, Boyds stocks can be swapped in 5 minutes by simply popping the action screws and switching barreled actions. The integral bedding blocks on which the action rides are not very user-friendly. The ProBed 2000 bedding material that comes with the Boyds stocks isn’t difficult to use but can be a mental challenge. You can find many how-to-bed videos for the American by doing a quick YouTube search. I didn’t measure the best group, because it didn’t matter what the actual number was: Three shots well inside of a half-inch at 100 yards is good enough for me. I didn’t measure the group because it didn’t really matter. Three shots within a half-inch of the target at 100 yards was good enough for me. The target grids and bullseyes are measured in MOA. Subscribe to the Gun Digest newsletter and we will send you your print-at home target pack immediately. Enter your email below.