RUGER AMERICAN PREDATOR 204 RUGER AND RAMBLINGS ABOUT OTHER STUFF!!

Recently we  put out a podcast, The Texas Predator Hunting Podcast,   on 204 ruger and to no surprise it was taken down by the youtube overlords. That said you can still see it and hear it on the July 18th episode of 12 minute talks. We just briefly spoke on 204 ruger's history and what you can expect from a performance standpoint. Id recommend checking that out if you are curious about 204 Ruger in general. 

Recently we did some testing with a rifle in our library of test rifles to see how current factory ammo is performing in last years Ruger American Predator (green stock) chambered in 204 Ruger. We chose to do some testing with it and a Leupold VX Freedom 3-9x40 atop and utilizing the Diligent Defense Wolf Hunter suppressor. As we are civilized and we only prefer to shoot suppressed. We've been very happy with the wolf hunter on 224 and 6mm caliber rifles. As this is what the wolf hunter was intended for, a 6mm and down designated suppressor. Normally wed opt out for a larger magnified optic for group testing, but for the sake of testing multiple things at once, we decided why not on the 3-9. As more than likely most folks taking the 3-9x40 afield will no doubt have something very similar in zoom ratio. The real subject of the test was the actual rifle, as the gen 2 roll out, we will revisit this exact test once we have a get 2 in hand, to see if anything has changed on the accuracy front. While a 3-9 is a very popular zoom ratio for most hunters and even more so on thee ruger americans we wanted to answer a few questions while gathering data. One being, is a 3-9 a good decision for the type of game you are likely to chase with a 204 Ruger. I my self see the 204 ruger fitting more into a fur friendly round for coyotes and bobcats , but mostly a fox hunting round. Now, this is just my personal opinion collected from years of actually dispatching many predators. While i have dispatched larger game with the 204 , i found it to be most at home as a prolific fox dispatcher. We can debate coyote and bobcat rounds at a later date. But, at this time I'm gonna stick with what i said. It'll work for others, but its fantastic as a fox round. Keeping in mind most Fox country is relatively on the thicker side, most of your shots in grey fox country will definitely be taken in close proximity to the sound source. I ran a poll over on the TPH Facebook page asking others what magnification is the most used while dispatching fox . Way overwhelming majority was 6x. Not a surprise to myself as I've spent a fair amount of time in Texas fox country in the past and my notes matched up with the response. That said, i say yet again, why aren't you running a lpvo on your varmint rifle?

Any ways, lets talk about the scope, The vx freedom 3-9x40 , 30 mm main-tube and a illuminated center dot. Almost perfect, except for me the duplex reticle an red dot are a little to large for an appropriate foxing scope, coupled with the low end being 3x and i just couldn't recommend this scope for the 204 ruger. Now, if you bump this up to a deer rifle or maybe even a dedicated coyote rig, well then we have a winner. Not saying its not a great scope, i just don't feel its an adequate match for the 204. And remember these are just my opinions based on my experiences. This isn't gospel. 

How did the ruger shoot?

Keeping in mind what i said about the reticle, i feel very confident and will reshoot this test with a finer reticle, larger magnification optic at a later date. I have a feeling these groups are likely to shrink. But that said, we are testing and thats why we test. Some bold type reticles will have some sort of stopping point within the reticle or something smaller a person can reference for a finer aiming solution. The problem with the vx freedom is the dot is the same size as the duplex. So no cheating the system, it is what it is. When i shoot for groups i aim at something small and use the finest point available in my reticle. When that isn't really an option you must make the best of the illuminated dot as that fine aiming dot. Little tough on this one. In my testing i tried 4 different ammo options. Keep in  mind this rifle previously has had 130 rounds put through it. Not cleaned as of this time. (ANOTHER TESTING PARAMETER) WE.  WILL GET INTO LATER) Basically, i was expecting to be lucky to shoot better than a 1 moa group given the nature of the optic. And my theory is with certain optics you shouldn't expect more than a 1 moa groups size. 

We did not go the full distance on this test we only fired 3 groups per ammo selection. Averaged out group sizes and velocities.    rifle was allowed to cool to baseline temp of 75 degrees every time before firing, and baseline ambient temp of ammo is 70 degrees. Each ammo was shot 3 times, in 5 shot groups. The results are as follows.  And keep in mind, groups are measured overall outside to out side. I don't waste time with all the other stuff. 

HORNADY SUPERFORMANCE 40 GR VMAX                      3700 FPS.    14. SD.      .75" GROUPS

Fiocchi 40 gr vmax                                                                  3550 fps.      35 sd           .80" GROUPS

HORNADY  32 GR. VARMINT EXPRESS (OLD LOT).          3920 FPS.     30 SD         1" GROUPS 

ALLY M.   35 GR BERGER    (PERSONAL STASH).              3775 FPS     14 SD.        .5" GROUPS 

BEFORE YOU ASK, NO WE HAVEN'T RECEIVED MORE 204 RUGER BRASS Unfortunately. 

All in all i was impressed with the rifles performance. To be expected. And ill admit i shot the Ally Munitions ammo last in the test , and that data could be skewed due to the fact i had shot behind that scope all day, and potentially was better Acclimated to it if you will. But, in the nest test i will start with the ally munitions ammo. And keep in mind, the order in which the list is printed is how i shot the test. I don't normally give much thought to sd and extreme spread on varmint ammo, only if it shoot's well consistently. More on this later. 

As a whole, the rifle performs well. As i expected. Scope would be better suited on a larger caliber, bigger game rifle. I will select something in next test thats better suited for shooting small groups. And then we will perform the test again, with something better suited i believe for chasing fox. So stand by for that. Keep in mind, all of these perform great at 100 yards. Given the optic used. Im going to take a wild guess and say we will unlock this rifles true potential  with the next test optic. Ammo performed as expected, least favorite was the Fiocchi, which will probably cause me to discount it on the website and stop carrying it on the website. Although, one this i will consider is , using it through more platforms and seeing those results before making a final decision. But, at its core any combo in this line up will work fantastic if you get out and practice with it.