As you know, over the last few weeks we’ve been polling you (our readers) for your votes for the best gun related products of 2015. After literally thousands of responses – a more than adequate sample – there was one clear winner for the Best New Rifle of 2015: the Ruger Precision Rifle. To say Ruger walked away with the award is an understatement. The gun won in a landslide victory. Reading Tyler Kee’s review I can absolutely understand why. We’ll be presenting Ruger with their award at SHOT Show 2016 in between our carpet-bombing coverage of the firearms industry event. Stay tuned the rest of this week – at 11am EST – to find out which products won in the other categories. Thank you for your votes!
A very well-deserved honor. The RPR is a real game-changer.
For 1k, I’d take one in 6.5. Maybe next year places other than gunbroker will have them.
Try GT Distributors. Ordered one from them for $899. It took a while for them to get it (Ruger is completely slammed with orders), but get it they did . . . .
Really? They’re local to me, here in DFW, but their website has no RPRs listed. Did you have to go in and order it in person?
Yup, special order. You can probably do the order over the phone (although, of course, you’ll have to pick it up in person to do all the BATFE paperwork).
Did that require a LEO/EMT/whatever ID, or will they sell at that price to us “great unwashed”? That’s the first thing they ask, so it’s very much a cop shop, and we “civilians” get mediocre pricing.
Also, WTF TTAG, why can’t I reply to someones reply to me?
RB, I’m not LEO or military, and I’ve been shopping at their Austin location for years. Always have gotten friendly and excellent service.
Except for post-’86 select fire stuff and a few items like Siminutions, I’ve not seen much that GT carries that they won’t sell to non-LEO’s. Some items (like new Glocks) will be priced lower for LEO’s, but that’s because of the terms of their contract with Glock and not any GT animus toward non-LEO’s.
Any chance of more detailed results? Top three/five/ten?
Congrats, Ruger.
Preferences vary, but even so, it’s really hard to go wrong with a Ruger anything. I’m more familiar with their pistols than their rifles. Even so, they’re such a quality outfit, that even if they suddenly came out with toaster ovens, I’d consider theirs were I in the market.
I’ve got an SR556E, the discontinued “budget” alternative to their standard SR556. It is an extremely well made rifle
I saved up my quarters last year and after a great deal of research (thank you TTAG and the Interwebz) bought the AR I have been wanting for many years. Even at a premium price the Ruger SR-556 Carbine is a sweet shooting rifle with a smooth trigger. It cost extra out of the box but I have never for a moment considered that I needed to go anywhere and buy anything extra to replace factory components or make upgrades.
Unfortunately, I’m out of quarters and can’t get a Ruger Precision Rifle. Damn.
I made some slight changes to mine, swapped out the A2 grip for a Hogue, put a Magpul ACS-L buttstock on it, added an Aimpoint, light, and sling, and was done with it. I’ll never sell it unless I run into some financial catastrophe
Really digging the RPR. I pre-ordered my 6.5 from a shop in Portland.
It took a while, but it came in. I’d put it up against a $5K custom rifle any day of the week.
It’s a fantastic shooter.
We live in amazing times when “cheap” production rifles have encroached the capability once only attainable by custom, gunsmithed, precision rifles not even a decade ago.
This is not surprising at all. Shooting the 6.5creed you guys were reviewing at Tyler’s ranch was just amazing. What an incredible rifle at any price point, The fact that street price is less than some bare bones M4 knock offs just absolutely crushes anything else in the running. Add to that AR parts compatibility for the tinkerers among us. This thing with the Seekins flat front rail and a Magpul PRS is about as near perfect as you can get without spending 3k+ for a custom rifle. Well deserved Ruger!
And there I thought the MCX would win. Finally an AR without a buffer tube to bend, lighter than ACR, cheaper then SCAR
What my vote counted? Best man won.
Any truth to the rumor that Ruger has suspended production of the RPS because of a patent infringement claim? It was posted in a local forum but I cannot confirm or find any information.
Gun Tests Magazine this month had a shoot off between 3 rifles, The Ruger Precision , the Savage 112 and the Howa 1500 rifle in 6.5 Creedmore a caliber known for extreme accuracy. The Savage 112 beat them all in accuracy. Its not surprising as Savage has a reputation for accuracy and quality at an affordable price.
Be sure not to order one with a barrel shroud next to the thing that goes up. What, am I kicking a dead horse with that stale joke?
Sometimes dead horses just need to be kicked.
In Russia, dead horse kicks you!
As much as I love the potential accuracy of this rifle in 6.5 Creedmore, I have to say I’m leaning towards .308. The ammo is cheaper, I like the 20″ barrel option in .308, and I can use my M1A mags.
Can someone talk me out of this? (am I making a total mistake that I will regret?)
You can get arguments either way. Probably can’t go wrong with either.
If I had cash in hand, it would be a tough decision for me too. However, I’d still go with .308 because of how established it is and the mags you have. 6.5 Creedmore does have the edge long-range wise, .308 is pretty much summed as “good enough”. Yes, it is possible to push the .308 long and hard (hehehe), but there are better choices to do the same thing, better.
Thanks for weighing in… Yeah, I’m definitely on the fence.. but still leaning towards .308 as of now. I won’t be shooting over 700 yards (longest range close to me) – and mostly much less than that (if I take it out to the blind, etc). I don’t plan on competing in accuracy comps… I already ‘compete’ (or try to) in cowboy action, some informal 3-gun/practical rifle comps at the range, and just getting into USPSA.
I like the handiness/weight/balance of the shorter barrel version in .308, and I have a buttload of .308 in the safe already. I just found this article (not linked above) where it looks like Tyler struggled with this same question as well:
http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2015/11/tyler-kee/gun-review-ruger-precision-rifle-in-308-win/
LeverDude,
If your good on .308 and know ballistics for it, and won’t be shooting past 700 yards? Stick with it. Oh, and it’s lighter too.
You may or may not tinker with bullet weights, speed, etc with handloads, but if you do?
Switching to the 6.5 was a bit of a paradigm shift for me. Not too big of a stretch, as I’m kind of a ballistics freak, but it was a definite switch.
The only thing I’m worried about now is bullet performance on big game at long ranges. Berger bullets is a proven. Nosler is awesome on the books, but I’ll need to see its performance on game.
Just my personal take.
Pretty sure 6.5cm rounds will work in your .308 aics-style mags.
Also, my net research shows 6.5cm and .308 factory match grade rounds same price (no cheap surplus or Russian stuff in 6.5cm, but of course we are talking about a precision rifle)
Interesting… (They’re actually M1A/M14 mags though, and I already have the .308 ammo in spades)
Ammo costs and mags aside, I think comes down to 1 lb less weight and 4″ of length. I guess I like a handy/shorter/balanced rifle. But, I also like accuracy – so it’s definitely a trade off either way for me…
Leverdude,
The .308 has the advantage in short range power, ammo availability, and non-reloading ammo cost. If you don’t reload, and don’t already own a .308, then I’d get the .308. The 6.5 Creedmoor isn’t a complete oddball caliber, but there’s a whole lot more .308 and 7.62 NATO in this world than 6.5 Creedmoor by a few orders of magnitude. I think the .308 is at it’s best inside of 800 yards, but the round can be accurate to 1,000 plus yards, but will go subsonic and can destabilize significantly past 1000 yards.
If you regularly shoot at distances of 600-1200 yards, the 6.5 Creedmoor is a sweet round. The 6.5 has a long range trajectory similar to the .300 Win Mag (unless you have the sweet new 210 grain Nosler Accubond) and is remarkably efficient and accurate. The recoil is also quite mild, especially in heavy guns. It takes roughly 400-500 yards for the 6.5 to surpass the .308 in terms of energy, depending on the load being used, and also has significantly less long range wind drift. The 6.5 can stay supersonic to around 1,600 yards under optimal conditions, which is impressive given the light recoil. Using that range and accuracy requires a high quality scope, which in my opinion will run you an additional $1000 -ish (Leopold Mk 4, Burris XTR II, Bushnell ERS, Vortex) or more (Nightforce NXS, Leopold Mk 6, US Optics).
My $.02.
Just a weigh in here , I think the Creed is a lot closer to the 06 in range and ballistics and I would only consider it if you don’t own an 06 or want more mag cap in this type of ranger . I know a lot of the younger gen never got into the 06 and invested heavily in 308 but for us older guys the old reliable is still hard to beat and if you’re like me and reload and have for years the 06 is the Creed and will get you out there as far and as accurate as you want to go and as far as mag capacity and long range accuracy I broke my piggy bank open last year and dropped a few bucks on a Noreen BN 36 and couldn’t be happier .
Don’t get me wrong , I LOVE Ruger guns and I have no doubt that this RPR is a winner in all the calibers it comes in at a great price and if you were to get one under a grand , you will have gotten a value firearm and the service is great , so I am glad Ruger got the nod .
HAPPY NEW YEAR TTAG > ROCK ON
My local Academy had one about a week ago. It was very hard to walk away from…
Did… did my post get deleted??
It looks good, but are we voting on looks?
How well does it shoot ?
Unless it’s the Creedmoor, like shit. We are voting on looks, apparently.
Can we link your content at http://www.RPRnation.com ?