RUGER AMERICAN RANCH GEN II

I must admit, reviewing a rifle with proven capability in a less common calibre is always a pleasure, as it offers a refreshing change from the usual .223/.308/6.5 selection. The Ranch is available in quite a few quirkier calibres, yet they all seem to make sense and fit the rifle’s proportions, with 7.62x39 being one of the top choices.

The spiral tube
The Ranch comes with a Cobalt Cerakoted, cold hammer-forged barrel measuring 18.6mm in diameter, featuring elegantly designed spiral fluting that enhances the rifle’s visual appeal. A matching pepper-pot muzzle brake is supplied, attached to the 5/8” screwcut muzzle. Crucially, the barrel remains free-floating within the fore-end in all conditions.

Short lift
This Ruger comes with a three-lug bolt that offers a 70-degree lift. It has a push-feed face with a plunger ejector, and there’s a claw extractor in the lower-right lug. The stainless-steel bolt features multiple facets on its underside to aid smooth transit, and there is sufficient space to allow you to insert a fully loaded magazine into the rifle, even with a +1 already chambered. The bolt’s shaft is 20mm in diameter and it includes an anti-rotation groove for the bolt stop catch on the left-hand side of the receiver.
In use, the bolt’s 103mm of travel seemed smooth from new and has become even better with use, which is excellent. The handle features a dark Cerakote finish, measures 55mm in length, and includes a 22mm ball tip. While excessively long handles can lead to jamming, this well-proportioned design ensures smooth and reliable operation.

Feeding frenzy
The rifle feeds from a ‘Mini-30’ detachable five-round magazine that has steel walls and a polymer follower. Rounds can be pushed straight in from the top, whether the magazine is inside or outside the rifle, thanks to its staggered twin-column design for compact size and easy loading. The follower has a small tab on its rear left-hand edge that blocks the bolt when empty, although it can sometimes snag on the action’s underside and, therefore, isn’t 100% reliable. This didn’t really bother me, as I would cut it off anyway if the gun were mine. Feeding was smooth without hang-ups, and if I needed a backup shot, a cartridge dropped on top of the follower would feed directly into the chamber.

The controls
Ruger’s Marksman trigger includes an inner safety blade that locks the trigger in place, striking what I see as an ideal balance to satisfy the US market’s more aggressive legal eagles. In use, it feels like a two-stage trigger, breaking 95% crisply at 1,840g/65oz, with adjustability ranging from 48 to 80oz. This might sound heavy to some, but it felt predictable in use. Realistically, on a hunting-oriented rifle designed to cater for shooters of all sizes and experience levels, it’s quite appropriate.
The trigger guard is a polymer section of the injection-moulded stock, and Ruger’s multi-size insert just ahead of it allows a single overall stock design to cater for multiple magazine inlet shapes depending on the chambering. The magazine release lever is ambidextrous and easily accessed with the thumb of the hand holding the magazine, which clips in and out securely.
The safety catch is on the tang, and it shows three positions: forward for fire, middle for safe with bolt operation, and rear for safe with the bolt locked. These three positions are well-defined, yet the safety is still quiet to operate.

Action fit
The barrelled action is held into the stock by two Allen screws that span the magazine inlet. These also secure the modular mag well to the underside of the rifle. When lifted out, you can see that the steel action has matching steel V-shaped bedding blocks within the stock’s moulded pockets, ensuring a minimal amount of stress. The fore-end is especially impressive, showing a massive amount of reinforcement/webbing to ensure stiffness and no barrel contact.

The furniture
The Ranch features a Flat Dark Earth (FDE) stock with a splatter finish, providing a naturally tactile grip, and there are subtle yet comfortable finger grooves along the fore-end’s length to aid contact. An underside stud is securely positioned for a sling or bipod, which I immediately utilised. The grip has an open radius with a slight ambidextrous palm swell, and there are invisible but tactile moulded panels to aid security. There is a small, slender comb and riser in black polymer that can be removed if you are using a low-mounted red-dot sight instead of a scope. Also, cheekpieces of different heights are available from Viking Arms.
The butt features a fitted length-of-pull (LOP) spacer, providing a 13.75” (350mm) LOP, which can be removed to reduce it to 12” (305mm) for smaller shooters. Alternative spacers are also available.
The recoil pad is well-designed with an open radius and firm ends. It mounts to your shoulder without snagging yet will then centralise and maintain position with good grip through recoil. This again seems another nod to making the rifle comfortable and easy to shoot for novices, without the pad slipping in your shoulder, causing recoil discomfort. It’s ventilated to control deformation, and I’m glad that this has been done without a vague, spongy feel.

How did it shoot?
Setting the rifle up for testing was easy, as the Picatinny rail on top of the receiver made scope mounting a doddle, and the screwcut muzzle accepted a moderator without issue. Edgar Brothers kindly sent me some Hornady “Black” ammunition to use with the rifle, which, with a 123gr SST bullet, seemed appropriate for the barrel’s 1:9.5” twist rate. The published muzzle velocity is 2350fps, but given the short barrel, I kept an open mind.
Once at the range, the ammo managed 2250fps, which equates to 1383ft/lbs of muzzle energy, making this rifle and ammunition combo an interesting hunting option for muntjac or Chinese water deer. Importantly, this combination performed very well, with an average five-shot group size of 22.5mm (0.89”) centre-to-centre at 100m. The largest group was 26.4mm (1.03”), so sub-MOA, and there was no appreciable zero shift over a 25-shot string.

Real value for money
This sort of performance epitomises what Ruger wants to deliver—accessible shooting capability from a broad range of cartridges. The Ranch seems particularly well-suited to some of the smaller, more modest chamberings it’s available in, such as 7.62x39, .300 Blackout, and either .22 or 6mm ARC, making it a great choice for both target shooting and plinking, as well as hunting. The patented “Power Bedding” system certainly seems effective, as I didn’t lose zero after removing the gun from the stock for photography, and it certainly got bumped around in its case in the back of the truck. Interestingly, you can add additional 1.6lb (730g) weights within the stock to offset heavier muzzle devices yet the super-short barrel offers superb intuitive handling with excellent pointability.
This is a rifle I thoroughly enjoyed shooting, and to be perfectly honest, I would love to own one, as it would make an excellent review platform for many of the optics I receive. I still want to take it foxing, and based on my experiences with the standard American, this rifle has further strengthened my confidence in Ruger as a forward-thinking US brand that continues to get rifles to our shores at a reasonable cost.

Smart design throughout
There are some neat design features, like the recessed rear sling stud that makes the stock easier to use with a rear bag, and again, there is less chance of a snagged supporting hand for a new shooter. Although this rifle is available in some chamberings that are rarely seen in the UK, the short, hard-hitting cartridges, such as the .400 Legend, reflect the alternative purpose of this compact rifle and the reasoning behind the Ranch name—a fast-handling gun designed for close-range hunting encounters. I suppose it’s only a matter of time until the ARC cartridges arrive more widely in the UK, and I see this rifle as an ideal base for one, as they embody the focus on compact efficiency.

Conclusion
What a superb rifle and fun chambering to shoot. Feed it premium or handloaded ammunition and it will deliver accuracy and precision for shooters of all sizes. This is a shooter’s rifle, not a safe or range-queen, and I’m hugely impressed with its modest honesty and value for money, as these qualities will please any plinker or hunter, even a picky Parkin like me. GM