Not sure but all of my 10/22's are as or more accurate than my RAR, not by much but some.
I think the cheap stock may have something to do with the accuracy but not sure.
My RAR has weak ejection.

 

I agree.
My Ruger American, 8334, is one squirrelly rifle to shoot: very, very sensitive to stock inputs, with its plastic stock. With that said, when held consistently, it shoots pretty good. Without a good solid stock, the rifle will not perform to its highest potential. As for the 10/22 being inherently more accurate than Ruger American Rimfire, its a roll of the dice.
My RAR has weak ejection too.

 

I highly doubt that’s a universal truth. You can find reviews to back anything you want.

The 10-22 and American are both great guns, and I believe it’s a toss up as to which is going to be the most accurate for you. Bolt guns are generally more accurate than semi-autos but there are exceptions to that as well.

I have both and like both, but im a hunter and plinker, not a competitor. With this said, I wouldn’t hesitate to get an American and give it a try.

 

I'm not a competitor either, it should hit my LGS this week.🤞

 

I have both and the RAR is not more accurate than my 10-22 and my 10-22 is a TD! There is a good YouTube video by Dauntless Endeavors that goes through his efforts to improve the accuracy of the the RAR. I think there are 9 or 10 videos but it boils down to the only thing that made much difference is when he did the Bentz chamber. All the other tweaks didn't help much. He is very methodical in his approach to improving this guns accuracy.

 

I watched his vids & really like them. Alot of good ideas. I plan on going through this one like my 10/22's and hope for a good outcome.

 

I have a stainless and synthetic American Rimfire. Once I adjusted the trigger, it outshot my OEM 10-22’s by quite a bit.
But at $400, it’s not impressive. My sub $200 Savage Mark II’s will shoot better.

And by the time I spent $400 on my 10-22’s, they outshoot the American too.

 

I put my rar in a Boyd's spike camp stock
Prone with bipod mines good for about .6" outside to outside or so groups at 50y
Shoots cci standard decent

 

I have both but tend to shoot the RAR the most. Each shoots better with a different brand of ammo. Am going to put a Boys spike camp stock on it, do not like the plastic stock.

 

The Ruger Americans that I’ve owned and/or shot never impressed me accuracy wise. If I wanted more accuracy than a 10/22, I’d look for other brands of bolt action rifles.

 

Well Jerry,
I have owned the Ruger American 8301 which is the 22" barrel model. It will out shoot the 10/22 at targets at 100 yards under certain conditions. I also own a 10/22 model. The Ruger American 8301 will perform very well when using top tier match grade ammo. My time spent with that rifle produced good results at 100 yards using SK Rifle Match and Lapua X-Act. Also for good results at that distance you need a good scope on the rifle. I have used that rile in a 100 yard competion at my club. Shooting at a bench using a harris bi-pod up front and bean bag at butt end. It out shot all semi-auto rifles be used that day at 100 yards. I was using Lapua X-Act that day. This is just my experience with these two rifles. But I did sell this rifle and moved to a CZ Varmint to try and improve my scores.

 

Rugers to me are hit and miss.
I have had some 10/22's that shot good groups and some shot patterns.
Have only owned 2 RAR's,a Standard and a Compact.
The compact shoots everything like a cheap target rifle.
The Standard struggles to shoot 2 moa.
Luck of the draw.

 

Thanks guys for all your comments. Some with positive and some more on the negative side. I believe it might be some what the luck of the draw in getting a good one. If it's as accurate as my 10/22's then I'll be happy.

 

I have the RAR model 8352 in 22 WMR. It's got the synthetic stock and heavy stainless barrel. It's reasonably light and shoots well for my purpose (ground squirrels). I had wanted the Target model with the laminate stock, but they are no longer available. Seems Ruger is getting away from wood and laminate lately.
I'm having good luck with the Hornady 30 grain V-Max rounds hitting the squirrels out to 75 yards or so. After that, I switch to 17 HMR so I don't have to think about hold over/bullet drop.
I would buy another RAR if the price is enough under a CZ's price.

 

Just my opinion. RARs have a design flaw. The magazine latch assembly is separate from the action. Its a lump of pot metal that sits in a hole in the stock. If it moves , and it will, on recoil then your shot will move. If you want a bolt gun thats good out of the box, either buy a CZ or a Savage. But you will have to learn bolt gun skills. Imho, not having to move off a 1022 to shoot 5 shots into the same group is a lot easier than running a bolt to eject and reload to accomplish the same thing.

 

I think you've hit the nail on the head. A 10/22, with the bolt & spring act as a shock absorber to remove some of recoil of the shot where as the American gets the full brunt. So how to eliminate the movement of the magazine assembly is the question. Maybe that's why Ruger recomends torque of 35 on the action screws.

 

As Toomany said, the RAR does have a couple hunks of pot metal (zinc aka zamac#3) in the stock. I'm not a fan of zinc in any firearm and I believe its only redeeming quality is that it is cheap. However, I really do like my RAR.

I'd like to buy a nice walnut stock for it. Why don't I just purchase a 77/22, you might ask. I'd like one of those, too, but the RAR has a 60-degree bolt lift and I believe the 77/22 is 90-degrees. I've come to prefer the 60-degree lift.

If Ruger wanted to save some money, they could eliminate the dovetail in the receiver for scope mounting. Their receivers are also drilled and tapped for scope bases, which I prefer over dovetail grooves.

As far as accuracy goes, the barrels are probably produced on the same equipment for both models (10-22 & RAR) and it is a toss-up as to which one will be better on any given day. Ruger very likely pulls rifles off the assembly line every shift for accuracy testing as part of their QC and I'll bet their accumulated accuracy data overlaps one another.

At the risk of being reprimanded for self-promotion here, I am the DauntlessEndeavors guy and I thank you for the kind compliments.

Lately, I've gone down the 22 bolt action rifle rabbit hole and currently own 6 different brands. I keep testing them back and forth, trying to decide which ones I like the best. I can say right now that if I were to get rid of three, the RAR would remain. Even after setting back and rechambering the barrel, it isn't as accurate as the Tikka but has over 2000 rounds through it and has been 100% reliable. One of my mantras is that discussions of accuracy are all well and good,,,as long as the rifle is reliable. If it isn't reliable, well, accuracy really isn't as important then.

 

As Toomany said, the RAR does have a couple hunks of pot metal (zinc aka zamac#3) in the stock. I'm not a fan of zinc in any firearm and I believe its only redeeming quality is that it is cheap. However, I really do like my RAR.

I'd like to buy a nice walnut stock for it. Why don't I just purchase a 77/22, you might ask. I'd like one of those, too, but the RAR has a 60-degree bolt lift and I believe the 77/22 is 90-degrees. I've come to prefer the 60-degree lift.

If Ruger wanted to save some money, they could eliminate the dovetail in the receiver for scope mounting. Their receivers are also drilled and tapped for scope bases, which I prefer over dovetail grooves.

As far as accuracy goes, the barrels are probably produced on the same equipment for both models (10-22 & RAR) and it is a toss-up as to which one will be better on any given day. Ruger very likely pulls rifles off the assembly line every shift for accuracy testing as part of their QC and I'll bet their accumulated accuracy data overlaps one another.

At the risk of being reprimanded for self-promotion here, I am the DauntlessEndeavors guy and I thank you for the kind compliments.

Lately, I've gone down the 22 bolt action rifle rabbit hole and currently own 6 different brands. I keep testing them back and forth, trying to decide which ones I like the best. I can say right now that if I were to get rid of three, the RAR would remain. Even after setting back and rechambering the barrel, it isn't as accurate as the Tikka but has over 2000 rounds through it and has been 100% reliable. One of my mantras is that discussions of accuracy are all well and good,,,as long as the rifle is reliable. If it isn't reliable, well, accuracy really isn't as important then.

Another way to look at it is if you can’t hit what you’re shooting at, well, it really isn’t important how many times you reliably miss it.

 

Full brunt……………………of a 22, I had to grin. ;-)

my American sports 10-22 target barrel and a Boyds varmint stock.
Rich

 

Yeah, I agree. Brunt was the only word I could come up with at the time. I was still on my first cup of coffee.

 

Mine does pretty well. It is not an Anschutz or CZ and I did not expect it to be. I did shim the front post the front action screw goes through.. It sat below the barrel channel and was putting undue stress on the action and barrel. I used aluminum tape to make it slightly proud. I considered using a rubber pad or a neoprene O ring But the tape did improve the accuracy so I have not experimented.
Dun, I have been looking at that Spike Camp stock. Glad to here it works for you.

 

A couple of days ago a friend of mine was sighting in a Ruger bolt action rifle in 350 Legend that he bought for his son to deer hunt with. I couldn’t help but notice that the magazine moved around in the well and the fit was very sloppy. The bolt kept hanging up when trying to chamber a round and was as vague as a stick shift in an old jeep. I have some Ruger products, all older and couldn’t help but think that their quality has really gone downhill. What a shame. I would suggest that you consider a CZ as well. Maybe look for a used 452 or 453. If you’re not too “trigger sensitive“, my Browning T-bolt shoots really well. Good luck.

 

I had 2 Rugers with that magazine latch assembly, A precision rimfire , and an American. Both are gone now. And if you know me, that very rarely happens. All guns have movement , but unless the movement is consistent every shot is different. Hard to get consistency when a key part of whats going on isn’t securely attached to the other parts that are moving.

Another thing I didnt like was the trigger adjustment system , it had no stop to it, so that little threaded plug could go all the way thru and drop into the body, or work its way out and fall out.

I do have 2 77s, and I love them. As for the bolt throw , most scopes today have such big bells that you have to mount them high anyways, At least mine are , so no problem with a 90 degree throw.

Buy hey, if you like yours , then more power to you.

 

It's going to matter where you draw the line at what constitutes "accuracy". For me it's MOA or better at 50 yards and the closer to .5 MOA, the better.
I have a 10/22 LVT that will hang with my CZs when I use a tuner on it and it will shoot MOA most of the time without the tuner. I have an American in a Boyds Rimfire Hunter stock that's better in every way than the synthetic, IMO. It requires a lot of tweaking and tuning and it shoots better with a muzzle brake than without it. I can sqeeze sub-MOA out of it pretty routinely. I'd say it shoots better than my "regular" 10/22s and not far behind my custom-barrel 10/22s or the LVT. With either one, ammo choice matters A LOT - if it likes it, easily sub-MOA...if it hates it, 2 MOA or more.

Below: LVT with tuner and cheap ammo, LVT with no tuner and premium ammo, RAR with muzzle brake, various ammo

 

I have both rifles in question but have never compared them head to head. I can say that my Ruger American is quite ammo sensitive regarding accuracy. Today I shot Winchester "333" at 1.25" average group while the CCI standard velocity shot .75" average groups. (I hate to bash Winchester but I seem to have poor luck with their RF ammo and usually only shoot it in my revolvers. Their CF ammo is a different story.) Also my American with its poly stock is lighter in weight than my 10/22 so I have to concentrate more on keeping it steady on the bench. Bad grip and/or trigger pull can jerk the rifle off target before the bullet leaves the barrel. There's a silver lining in that since developing proper grip and trigger pull is always a good idea, right?

 

I have only one Ruger 10/22. It has the OEM plastic stock with a barrel band, I upgraded the trigger with a BX, the only real change I've made, and it is topped with a very good Sightron Rimfire 3X-9X scope. It's light and handy as weight goes, about 6lbs, and accuracy is what a shooter should expect from a 6lb gun. It will turn in a 1"-1.25" group with plain vanilla CCI SV at 50yds. I also have a couple of 10/22 clones, assembled entirely from after market parts. Both of them will deliver sub MOA groups at 50yds, and 1.5MOA groups at 100yds, if I use ammunition up to the task Think SK, Eley and Wolf. Both rifles weigh in at 8lbs+, the trigger sets cost more than my Ruger 10/22, same for the barrels. I use 4X-12X Vortex scopes.

I also have a few RAR's, two LR's and two WMR's. Accuracy wise, they all shoot better than I anticipated, with ammunition that's compatible with a specific barrel on each model. My RAR target is more accurate with a wider variety of ammo than my CZ, every bit as accurate as my 10/22 clones. The WMR's, 8373 and 8322 are more than adequate for coyotes and foxes out to 100yds. The 8373 is capable of 5 shot MOA groups at 100yds when I'm feeding it ammo I've selected by testing. None of them shoot like an Anchutz running on $20/box ammo. I also have a set of Savage bolt rimfires, a MKII BV and a M93 BRJ, they are more accurate than the RAR's, on average, when I use ammunition tested for accuracy. If I average several groups I can see that they are 0.1"-0.2" better at 50yds, the difference at 100yds a bit more.

Today I shot Winchester "333" at 1.25" average group while the CCI standard velocity shot .75" average groups.

I purchase and use bulk ammo. Some of it is better than others, most of it is junk when it comes to serious accuracy attempts. Winchester 333 is no exception, and not at the top of the bulk pile by any stretch. I have used the Winchester bulk, including the Wildcat label. It's pretty reliable, and I rarely have any problems with it in my revolvers for DA practice, or ranges under 25yds. It works fine in my stock 10/22 at the same distances. It's minute of cantaloupe at 100yds.

 

Have 3 Americans in .22lr. One is the Precision. All put 5 CCI SV into 3/8" to 3/4" at 50 yds in calm conditions. My 10/22s are close, but more like 1/2" to 1" with same.

Above is typical. The flyer at top/middle was called. #1 groups all after cleaning.

 

First range trip with the RAR was positive. I ran 100 rnds of CCI std through it with the iron sights and the trigger pull still at 3lbs. Action was smooth and no feeding or mag issues. I think groupings are the same as my 10/22s using irons. Next will be with a scope. This will be the true test how it stacks up to my scoped 10/22. So far it's a keeper.

 

Congratulations, bolt action rifles are a lot of fun IMO. When I decided I wanted to upgrade to something more powerful, it was my experience with my RAR that led me to choose an American 223 Rem. The "training" I have with the RAR led to an easy transition to the 223.

 

I think you will be happy with the RAR. I have the stainless model in 22LR, I put a mcarbo trigger spring in it and polished the bottom of the bolt and it runs really well. When you are shooting groups try putting only 5 rounds in the magazine at the time. For some reason mine tends to shoot better groups with 5 rounds in the mag vs 10.

 

For some reason mine tends to shoot better groups with 5 rounds in the mag vs 10.

That's interesting . ??
The early RAR's came through with a rather sharp edge on the bottom of the bolt that often put a "ding" on some types of bullet. The practice was to put a small radius on the front of the bolt where it ran across the magazine. It worked well. The newest RAR's have that radius. I buffed the bolts on my RAR's with a Dremel and buffing compound, and that does remove the gritty feel working the action, and it doesn't scuff the bullet in the magazine when feeding a round.
Ruger does make a 5 round magazine, and I have several, as 10 shot mags for game animals, (rabbits and squirrels, mostly), are not legal in PA.

 

Finally finished getting my RAR together after waiting for my Wolfpup 4x scope w/ao to show up. A quick trip to the indoor range and 50 rnds of CCI SV ended with a 10 rnd .375 group.
So here's what I did to the rifle.
TRIGGER. factory spring stoned & polished where it contacts the trigger, polished trigger contact points of the spring & sear, installed trigger & safety shims.
BOLT. removed any burrs, stoned & polished bottom feed rail which helped elimited marking next round from the mag.
MAGAZINE. fine sand ( 2000 grit) & polish feed lips, backed off spring tension 1 notch.
REAR ACTION BLOCK. removed high contact points ( like showed in Dauntless vids), no tape needed with mine, snug fit.
STOCK. had to do a little sanding to get a good free float.

 

There is no way any of the out the box 10/22's I've ever owned, shot better than any of my bolt action Ruger Americans!...Period! I've owned plenty of BOTH!