Wnadered thru a local toy shop on the way home today and saw a Ruger RSI tang safety in 308 for $329. Not in cherry condition, with some serious scratches just behind the metal end cap and a hint of rust on the bolt handle shank. Haven't pulled the bolt and since it is tied to the wall with a trigger guard cover and coil cord arrangement can't tell anything abobut the trigger. Other than the damage upfront no other dents or dings.

Haveing no experience with RSI's...what do you guys think of the price? Store clerk sez they will do a layaway but money is very tight this year for new toys...and I'll have to sell something to get another one. Comments?
Ron

Personally I love the lil guns, if it were me I'd try get him down to 300 and lay a way and get after it.

Human nature you know to try and get the price down a bit.

It would be a nice hunter and an excellent project gun for you to work on cleaning up.

Good luck

Mark D

I've always liked the little RSI but they didn't come in a caliber I wanted. Highlight the defects to the store & get it cheaper. Even @ $330, not a bad price if she'll shoot.

I have three of the little jewels, all in .308 Win. All have been somewhat fussy about ammo, but once you find something they like, they're very nice rifles.
Mine do not like any 150 gr. bullet I've tried yet. They absolutely hate any 180 gr. spitzer that I've tried. However, they shoot decently with the 165 gr. Speer Hot-Core and group tightly with the 180 gr. Sierra round nose. (.75 to 1.0" depending on which one I'm shooting.)
Some people having these rifles have reported sub-MOA groups, but methinks I'll take that with a grain of salt based on my three rifles. Every deer I have shot with the 165 gr. load except one have been complete pass throughs. The one bullet recovered hit the deer as it faced me and stopped against a back leg breaking the leg bone. The bullet retained 65 percent of it's original weight. That shot was at 250 yards laser measured.
The two loads that work well for me are: the 165 gr. Speer Hot-Core over 49.0 gr. of W-760, Winchester brass and primer for 2550 FPS. The other is the Sierra 180 gr. round nose over 48.0 gr. of W-760, Winchester brass and primer. I've never chronographed the 180 gr. load.
Unfortunately, Speer has dropped the Nitrex loads. Their 165 gr. Nitrex load with 165 gr. Grand Slam shot to the same point of impact as my 165 gr. handload with the same velocity and accuracy. Too bad. I liked it.
I've never paid over $400 for any of mine, and in every case, the seller said the gun wouldn't shoot. They didn't try very hard. I've heard from others who said their's would not shoot. I gave them my two loads mentioned above and so far, they've worked in ever .308 Win. RSI they've been tried in. One thing that helps is to remove the metal cap at the nose of the stock and slightly relieve it. Some may put a bit too much presure on the barrel affecting grouping ability. I had to do that to one of mine.
Hope all this helps. Frankly, I think you'll love that rifle.
Paul B.

Paul if any of those rifles ever get bored I can find them a good home in Montana....grins

Just trying to be helpful

Mark D

$300-329 is a very good price. Incase you are wondering.

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=54717309

Thx guys, ya'll confirmed what I thought I remembered seeing on several posts earlier this year. I'll be back down there in the next day or so and see what I can do...just not ready to commit, even though I have been seriously looking for a short/lite or short & lite 308 and had stopped in to look at the stores T3's after my 'smith in Dallas told me he could fix the trigger any way I liked it on a Ruger UL for $50 if I decided to jump that way...or cut and recrown a T3 for $50...after that he was no help at all helping with the decision LOL!

The RSI was a total surprise, and as tired as I was - first day back on the road after two back to back surgeries on subsequent days 2 weeks ago and a 200+ mile RT to Dallas for the day under me ...I was not thinking too clearly. If I decide not to jump on the RSI I'll post it's location so someone else have some fun.
Ron

quote:

Originally posted by verhoositz:
Wnadered thru a local toy shop on the way home today and saw a Ruger RSI tang safety in 308 for $329. Not in cherry condition, with some serious scratches just behind the metal end cap and a hint of rust on the bolt handle shank. Haven't pulled the bolt and since it is tied to the wall with a trigger guard cover and coil cord arrangement can't tell anything abobut the trigger. Other than the damage upfront no other dents or dings.

Haveing no experience with RSI's...what do you guys think of the price? Store clerk sez they will do a layaway but money is very tight this year for new toys...and I'll have to sell something to get another one. Comments?
Ron

As long as you have located ALL the things that need correcting, and have listed them above, the price is OK. You may end up having to do some trigger work, but if the BORE and chamber are not rusted, it sounds like a good price.

I think if I found that jewel it would be a 358 WCF with a 1-12 twist in a flash. Recoil might require a Simms butt pad though. Don't let it slip away if you like carbines. I have two Sako and two Remington 600s, all more fun to carry than a larger gun. Especially after several days in heavy brush in the fall Misery deer season. It can get really hot some years. Packy

quote:

Originally posted by packrattusnongratus:
I think if I found that jewel it would be a 358 WCF with a 1-12 twist in a flash. Recoil might require a Simms butt pad though. Don't let it slip away if you like carbines. I have two Sako and two Remington 600s, all more fun to carry than a larger gun. Especially after several days in heavy brush in the fall Misery deer season. It can get really hot some years. Packy

Son, you must have read my mind. An RSI in .358 is one of my dream rifles. back in 1992 (IIRC) at the NRA convention in Phoenix, I out right asked one of the Ruger reps if they would ever consider an RSI in .358 Win. His answer? "No fucking way!" and that is a direct quote.
I did later on hear where they tried to make a few (don't know exactly when or if it was before or after I asked) but apparently they had problems with the stocks splitting or some such. Even if it would have worked, they'd most likely have stuck with that stupid 1 in 16" twist. One of the .308s I have does have a slightly thicker stock than the others and is very straight grained. Makes one wonder if the project is feasable.
I do agree that an RSI in .358 Win. would be one hell of a good rifle. Still, in .308 Win., it's one hell of a good rifle in it's own right. If I saw another one at a gun show, it's probably come home with me, especially if it's in 7x57.
As I grow older, the harder kicking rifles no longer have the facsination they once held over me. Oh, I still shoot the .300 Win. and .338 Win. Mags on an elk hunt, but even those are staying in the safe for longer periods of time.
I'm giving serious consideration to using a very classic pre-war style Mauser in 7x57 for my deer and elk hunts this year. I'm at the stage in my life where I'm just glad as hell I can still get out and make a hunt. I don't even care if I get anything, although deer and elk steaks are definitely the icing on the cake.
Paul B.

I consider that a compliment. Thanks PauL. Packy

Well the question of whether to buy the little RSI or not has been answered...somebody else bought it PDQ after I looked at it the first time...Ya Snooze Ya Looze!!!
Shoulda put it layaway when I first saw it and and then scrambled for nickels to bail it out out later. Lesson Learned ...again!
Ron

Welcome to the club. If I had a dollar for every time I've done that, I could buy a really nice rifle. Keep yer eyes open. They do sometimes show up. I still hit the gun shows lokking for one in 7x57.
Paul B.

I've had three RSI's, a .243 and a .308 that were tang safety guns, and a 308 MKII. I got the two tang safety guns in trade. I didn't keep the 243 long, seems like that's the wrong caliber for a mannlicher stocked gun. I did kill a few Kansas whitetails with the 308 though. I traded it (stupidly) for a 338 "elk rifle" and a few years later got a MKII RSI also in 308. That one didn't shoot as well as the first one, and I never have gotten used to the M70 type safety (I shoot mostly Remingtons).

I've been considering a Mannlicher stock for my Rem model Seven 308, that cheesy injection molded handle has to go.

bought my niece an RSI in 243...it has killed fewer than eleven whitetails and muley bucks in the last four years. Han't left any magnum eyebrows either on the 11 and 13 year old girls who shoot it the most.

Rich