Had a chance to test drive the new Ruger Gunsight in 308 this weekend. The closest gun to this that I have shot is the Frontier and the Compact both from Ruger. My Son-in-law bought 2 of these rifles 1 for him and 1 for his brother. The brothers are ex navy Seals so the Tacticool part may have had somthing to do with their choice. Both guys have far better tactical rifles in their safes than the Ruger.

The first thing I liked about the Gunsight was its weight. No scale available but it was in the 6+ lb. range. The forestock is slimmer than the Frontier or Compact and had a nice feel to it. The buttstock has blocks so you can adjust it to fit. It was set short because my son -in -law is short and heavy mussled. I'm taller but the gun fit very nice. The detatchable mag is not nearly as well made as say an M1A and not as easy to load. The flash suppressor was in fact quite useful. That suprised me. I think it added balance to rhe rifle and the recoil was quite a bit less than the Frontier even tho the Gunsight is lighter.

We did some prone shooting at 100 yds with the open sights and it was on pretty well. We could hold about 1.5 moa off of sand bags. In my opinion the front sight sucks on this rifle. Its a modified M1A looking sight and the center post is taller than the 2 side posts. It has no protection from the side. The rear sight has no elevation dial that I could see. You're pretty much stuck with the setting from the factory. I think there is a tool that can be used to move the rear sight for windage or just getting zeroed. I was not impressed with the sights on this rifle at all BUT it was quick to get a sight picture and of the 3 people who shot it offhand at 100 yds., we all went 5 for 5 on a steel target 10" by 10" so it has somthing going for it.

This would make a nice light brush gun capeable of hunting elk. It can be set up for the open sights, the long eye relief scout type scope or the regulsr scope setup. The gun shot well and was very balanced, easy to get on target and low recoil. I know: She ain't too purdy, but she work.

Thanks for taking the time and effort to write this review - interesting note on the sights.

I've been shooting one since this Spring. The rear sight is totally adjustable. You loosen / tighten opposing allen screws to adjust for windage. Loosen one or the other allen screw and you can turn the aperture up or down for elevation. It's not something you'll be tweaking while in the field but IMHO works ok for it's intended purpose. I wish the front sight was interchangeable for something with a bit more contrast.

I owned an 18" barreled .308 in the past, the flash suppressor isn't misplaced on a 16.5" barrel.

It's over weight for Col. Cooper's "perfect" scout rifle but it is easy to carry. The magazines are the same used by some high end long range rifles and expen$ive. Ruger is now producing their own poly magazine which cost a bit less.

Mine will shoot sub 1" groups at 100 yards and does it regularly not just on occasion.

It's not the prettiest rifle I own but it's fun and gets to go to the range more often than not.

Thanks for clearing up the rear sight question. I really didn't get a chance to mess with the sights much. I'm partial to the M1 rear sights and the easy adjustments of them. The front sight of the Ruger is similar but I always got my sights 1/2 way down the post and had to adjust.

I would without a doubt take this rifle elk hunting, it has a good feel to it. A big improvement over the Frontier and I liked it a lot.

Mike,

I realized you were thinking M-1 or M-14 style sight and changed my reply. It does take an allen wrench to make changes.

Rick

The 5 round magazine looks good because it is the same depths the trigger guard.
I like this one a lot.

I wish they would a smaller one in 223 that would take ar15 mags.

It was suprising to me, how on some other forums the Ruger GS was severly critized.
I have not shot one, but I did handle one a fair amount.
It seemed like a pretty good Scout type and/or utility rifle to me...

For many years I hunted with Remington Mod 7's, and now hunt with Blaser R 93 Trackers, 308's with barrels from 18 to 20 inches...
So I am all about short light bolt rifles in 308.
The Ruger has the advantages of a rail mount, suitable for scout scope, red dots, or regular scopes, and detachable 10 round magazines.

What is not to like???

quote:

Originally posted by boom stick:
The 5 round magazine looks good because it is the same depths the trigger guard.
I like this one a lot.

I wish they would a smaller one in 223 that would take ar15 mags.

IN 223??? 223???
Only Sailors named Lawrence, and Slack jawed...

Well I will not go there.

Jeff Copper is spinning in his Grave.


Sorry boom stick, could not resist.

Well I'd also love to see one in a bunch of calibers including the 358 Win but part of the concept is readily available ammo. One in 223 would be quite popular methinks.

I have always thought the 358 Win is a good calibre.
I have had 20" barreled bolt rifles in 350 Rem Mag, and 2 different bolt guns in 375 H&H.

A short barreled medium bore is a great hunting gun for sure.

As would be a short barreled 223 for game it is suited for.

Didn't Steyr make some of their Scout rifles in .223? It didn't take an AR magazine but it was .223. I believe that Col. Cooper derided them as "Poodle Scouts".

Personally, I'd like to see Ruger make a heavy Scout in .416 Ruger. About all they'd need to do is put a rail and peep sight on the Alaskan. Then a fellow who owned one in each flavor would be prepared to hunt the whole planet.

A 338 RCM on the gunsight would be a smart move for Ruger.

I have one; glass bedded, XS Long Rail, Ching sling and Trijicon 1.24-4x scope. It will hold under 1.5" at 200 yards for ten shots.

Not as handy as my Blaser R93 Tracker in 308Win, but at half the price and with QD mags, it makes a great truck gun.

I've had mine since February of this year and like it even better than I expected. It is an easily customizable, handy sized platform chambered in an very versatile cartridge.

I've always liked iron (peep) sights on a bolt gun. My first centerfire rifle was a 1903A3, my 22 was a Remington 511P and even my BB gun had peep sights.

With 165 grain JSP bullets I'm getting just under 2600 fps which is very close to what I get out of my 22" barreled 308. I've not noticed muzzle blast issues nor had anyone get up from the bench next to me due to it - can't say that about the AR-15 with the same barrel length.

The Ruger GSR shoots cast bullets very well too. The Lyman 311008 (115gr) over W231 pushing it to 932 fps (avg) is very accurate, quiet and inexpensive to shoot.

The Lyman 311334 (190gr) likes to be driven harder to 1900 fps with SR4759. This is possibly the most accurate load I've tried in the GSR.

Heavy cast bullets shoot very well in the GSR too. The Lyman 311284 (210gr) does extremely well from 850 fps on up to 1600 fps. The best load is with Unique at 1330 fps.

I've been seeing others get excellent (sub MOA) in their GSR's with 150 gr Jacketed bullets and IMR4895 so I'll probably give those another try in the near future.

The new polymer magazines are excellent and under $30 at Midway and Cheaper than Dirt. They can be topped off with the Magazine inserted in the rifle, which I don't see a lot of necessity for but it was one of the criticisms from the haters early on.

I've found it to very handy in the field too. Not quite levergun handy but close and much better than my other bolt guns.