Ruger American 7-08

W

Wendyj

New member
They had these on sale today for $320.00. I topped it off with a Zeiss Terra 3x9 scope. I still had dis from my older Remington. Resized my brass. Full l resize. Loaded up with 42 grains of IMR 4350 and went to chamber one in. Bolt was really tight to close. Took a fully sized brass only and bolt was still tight to close. Fired a round and had no issues and bolt opened easy enough. Is this typical for RAR or could it be because it's me out of the box. Did pull patches through bore to clean any packing grease. Thought it might be the bullet but loaded some 139 Hornady sst and bolt is still tight. Goes in just hard to close the bolt.
 
Does an empty piece of brass close easily? If it does then I'd guess the bullet it touching the lands. If its hard to close on brass with no bullet just move your sizing die down 1/8 turn and try again.

BTW excellent choice on the 7-08 its my favorite rifle cartridge.
 
does the bottom of the die touch the shell holder when you size? With not having the rifle here in front of me I would have to guess that you have a brass issue. Do you any factory rounds to try? If the factory rounds chamber easily then it has to be a sizing die and your fired brass issue.
 
Yes sir. It's touching the shell holder plus an extra /3 of a turn. Same brass I had resized for the Remington I had. I didn't buy any factory but looks like I'm going to to figure this one out. Trimmed it a tad short of saami specs. Going to put a sharpi on it and see if it's hitting somewhere.
 
This seems to be common with the American's. The chambers are apparently tight and probably why they have a reputation for excellent accuracy. I've owned or at least shot 4 in 223 and 308. All were a little tight closing the bolt. All fired and ejected perfectly with excellent accuracy. I've read on this and other gun forums of others noting the same. I've found that if I close the action vigorously I no longer notice it vs trying to close it slowly.
 
Didn't find anything with the sharpie. Old brass from Remington had been set back.002 in the shoulders. Using Hornady headspace I set this one back .0035 and it working smooth. Now to figure out whether to pull 20 bullets. Three have shot fine so I'm thinking I'll shoot them out. .0015 difference isn't going to hurt anything but the brass I don't think. Racking bolt back and forth on loaded ammo seems to be loosing it up some.
 
In my experience this is just with the American. It doesn't appear to be a negative, just a quirk with the rifles and it may well be a good thing.
 
In my experience this is just with the American. It doesn't appear to be a negative, just a quirk with the rifles and it may well be a good thing.
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The bolt locks up with a triple lug and shorter throw so it makes sense to me that it may feel like there is greater resistance. Like their Super*hawk revolvers--I think these things were designed with higher-pressure robustness in mind. Should be able to get some idea from Ruger just how much force is reasonable for bolt throw and lock-up if you really feel something's wrong. personally--I think the design of the American is brilliant for a budget-class rifle.
 
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Wendy seems like you have it figured out. If the rounds will chamber and shoot with safe pressure then I see no reason why you can't shoot them.
 
They are not bad rifles. I'd like to put a Boyd's stock on in the future if the fore end starts rubbing the barrel like the 243 I had in one. It was a great shooter itself but barrel twist wouldn't shoot anything under a 100 grain. If this one starts rubbing I may sand the sides down if it's a shooter. Just for some info. Th Zeiss Terra is exceptional glass. It has a big drawback with can't rest turrets to zero. The bdc reticle is super nice but the tufts don't even have numbers. Far cry short of what it should have been. A 140.00 vortex will reset to zero and clicks are consistent.
 
In my experience with 3 RARs all have had tight chambers. Just a guess but Ruger probably has super sharp reamers just for the RAR that might dull over time. This is both a blessing and a curse. Once the hand loader catches up to it the darn things are tack drivers. And yes.... I also think the bolt design is capable of withstanding tremendous pressure.
Keep chasing the chamber and you will find a diamond in the rough.
 
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