Any General opinion on Ruger international in .243 or .308?

[jimmyp50]

How accurate are these guns?  Any major problem with the FL stock? What velocity could I achieve with the 18 inch .243 and 100 grain Nosler bullets??

[Coyote Hunter]

I have always shied away from the full-length stocks as I prefer my bolts to have the barrels free-floated.  Never understood the attraction of the full-length stocks, but then I never understood many things...

[Buckfever]

I have a CZ-550FS in a full stock with a 20" barrel.  Very accurate, easy to handle, light for a wood gun and swings nice.  Would suggest you also take a look at them if you are into the looks of a full stock.  Buckfever

[Brithunter]

Ahhh Coyote Hunter,

       Perhaps if you were to aquire a rifle which has a properly Air dried and seasoned Walnut stock ratehr that the awful poor quality Kiln Dried stuff which is foisted on us now then you would find that this free floating nonsense is not required

      Free floting barrels is the modern quick and cheap way to make rifles which does not mean it's better. And yes I do have a full stocked Stutzen styled rifle, only the one and I ahve very happy with it, my other rifles are half stocked and a couple are free floated but came to me that way, the majority are not floated and do not require it either  but then again most of my rifles are older and have decent age seasoned wood and not kiln dried crap on them

[jimmyp50]

I have read various opinions on the accuracy of the guns, the new ones are supposed to have better barrels. I am a sucker for something a little different and I do own other bolts that are more suited to long range shooting!  If this gun would shoot into a minute or two at 100 it would do for me!

[totallycustom]

I would love to have one, Ive been looking but they seem a little hard to find around here and I am not interested in getting one from the online auctions or anything.

Very nice all around rifle especially with the New England Custom Guns  peep sight seems a like real winner.

-TC-

[bucktales]

Always liked fullstocked rifles. 

[Cement Man]

I have three full stock models - a Ruger 77 Mk II International in .308, a Ruger #1 International in 30.06, and a custom 1909 Argentine Mauser done by Walt Sherman in 30.06.  The Argentine customization was featured in GUNS magazine in late '93. (not my gun, but Walt's methods for the custom job)  My .308 does somewhere between an inch and 1.5"" with Hornady 150 gr. factory ammo and a Leupold 2.5X compact scope and Timney trigger.  I don't keep records and don't measure with calipers - those are pretty informal measurements.  Maybe when I retire and reload more I can be more precise.  The Ruger #1, I have shot very litttle, it must have been under 2" with random 165gr factory ammo or I would have gotten rid of it or fixed it.  I have neglected to shoot this gun much - I surely need to retire.  My Argentine, though I have shot enough to know it is 1" or less - just as it was guaranteed by Walt when he customized it.  (Walt was FLA State Police armorer and built their sniper rifles if I recall.  He is renowned for his "roller" action jobs on Colt Pythons as well.)  He took the original Arentine stock, cut it down, reshaped and refinished, making the end cap from the bayonet lug.  The barrel is not attached at all to the stock, although it is fully bedded the entire stock length. He installed surplus FN '06 barrels, blueprinted the action, Timney trigger, and model 70 safety. He would only work on Argentine milsurps as they are primo quality and smooth as silk.
Having said that, I still think that full stock rifles could have some potential accuracy issues - but I haven't seen any significant problems in my small sampling of three guns.
It is true that one stock is more stabile than another.  I had purchased a few Model 70 push feeds in the mid '80s, and two of them had pretty "wild" stocks on them - every other week the stock seemed to be tight against the stock in a different place than the week before.  These were supposed to be floasted barrels with bedded recoil lugs.  I sent the both back to USRAC and they replaced the stocks with better ones, after which I had no problems.  These weren't full stock rifles, but certainly were indicative of ill effects of snaky wood. 
I guess where I am headed with this, is if you really like the International Model 77, I'd get one and I believe Ruger would stand by any issues - if there were any.  I've had no problems with mine.  It is a really fine handling gun, and I really like the classic looks of them.

[wncchester]

I love the .243 and also love mannlicher stocked woods rifles, the Ruger should be great.  BUT, don't get one in .243, go for the .308 instead due to the difference in expansion ratios.  In a short barrel a large bore will lose a little velocity but a smaller bore will lose quite a bit.  Meaning a short .243 loses a lot of velocity but the .308 loses little!  Since those short, full stocked rifles are best suited for snap shooting at short ranges - in the woods - having a bigger bullet will give also you a much better "brush buster". 

[mikedb]

I love the .243 and also love mannlicher stocked woods rifles, the Ruger should be great.  BUT, don't get one in .243, go for the .308 instead due to the difference in expansion ratios.  In a short barrel a large bore will lose a little velocity but a smaller bore will lose quite a bit.  Meaning a short .243 loses a lot of velocity but the .308 loses little!  Since those short, full stocked rifles are best suited for snap shooting at short ranges - in the woods - having a bigger bullet will give also you a much better "brush buster". 

From tests I have read no bullet is a brush buster.  In reality a brush buster is a short gun with a big bullet to put down the animal so you dont have to track it far in brush.

[wncchester]

mikedb, I agree, no bullet is imune to impact with brush and I know that from experience, not just reading.  But the quality of brush busting is a relative thing; bigger is always better than smaller and faster is better than slow.

The .308 is much bigger than the .243, especially so if a 180 gr. bullet is used, so the .308 is relitively much better than a .243.  I put the term in quotes to indicate that it isn't a cannon ball going through the woods but surely you would agree on the relative "brush busting" quality I attributed to the Ruger RSI in .308 as a fast handling woods rifle?

[Cement Man]

I have had two verified instances over the past 25 years or so where I cleanly missed deer at short ranges due to hitting some pretty light brush.  In both cases, I was unable to see the twig at all, to "poke" my shot around it. (I could see the animal very well, I don't take any guess shots)  I have to also say it is amazing what a relatively small twig will do to a .30 cal bullet at 2200 to 2700 fps.  In one case, it was a 170gr. 30-30, and the other it was a 165 gr. .308.   I have no experience with other cartridges hitting brush that I am aware of, although I have taken a lot of deer with 12 gauge slugs with no problems - just don't know if I may have nicked a twig or two with the slugs - always got the deer.
Anyway, I do recall reading some "testing" several years ago  (I believe in American Rifleman) where they fired a number of different bullets at targets through brush.  As I recall - the winner was the .270. Surprising - yes.  That kind of flies in the face of "common knowledge and logic". I don't know if there really is a foolproof testing method, but I personally am not convinced that any of the common deer cartridges are better than others to any reliable or measurable degree.  Just my opinion......

[targshooter]

jimmyp50;
I've owned two of these rifles, one in .250 Savage (sold several years ago) and the present one in .308 Win. Both were capable of under two MOA at 100 yards. I never had a problem with either due to the Mannlicher style stock. These rifles are light, especially in the short action versions, and handle great. I use my .308 77 RSI mostly for offhand target shooting at 200 yards. I put a NECG N-100 aperture sight on it and this has given two years of troublefree service and very decent accuracy over at least 1,000 rounds.

[mikedb]

mikedb, I agree, no bullet is imune to impact with brush and I know that from experience, not just reading.  But the quality of brush busting is a relative thing; bigger is always better than smaller and faster is better than slow.

The .308 is much bigger than the .243, especially so if a 180 gr. bullet is used, so the .308 is relitively much better than a .243.  I put the term in quotes to indicate that it isn't a cannon ball going through the woods but surely you would agree on the relative "brush busting" quality I attributed to the Ruger RSI in .308 as a fast handling woods rifle?

You bet.  I love short guns in the woods.  I am considering  a Ruger Compact in 308 right now.  It is hard to justify (to wife) because I have 2 Win 94's and a 45/70 Guide gun and am buying a Ruger All Weather in 3006 this weekend.

[mikedb]

I have had two verified instances over the past 25 years or so where I cleanly missed deer at short ranges due to hitting some pretty light brush.  In both cases, I was unable to see the twig at all, to "poke" my shot around it. (I could see the animal very well, I don't take any guess shots)  I have to also say it is amazing what a relatively small twig will do to a .30 cal bullet at 2200 to 2700 fps.  In one case, it was a 170gr. 30-30, and the other it was a 165 gr. .308.   I have no experience with other cartridges hitting brush that I am aware of, although I have taken a lot of deer with 12 gauge slugs with no problems - just don't know if I may have nicked a twig or two with the slugs - always got the deer.
Anyway, I do recall reading some "testing" several years ago  (I believe in American Rifleman) where they fired a number of different bullets at targets through brush.  As I recall - the winner was the .270. Surprising - yes.  That kind of flies in the face of "common knowledge and logic". I don't know if there really is a foolproof testing method, but I personally am not convinced that any of the common deer cartridges are better than others to any reliable or measurable degree.  Just my opinion......

I missed a deer at 40 yards due to a 12 guage slug being deflected by a half inch to one inch sapling that was about 10 ft in front of the deer.  I did not even notice it in my scope.  I could not believe I missed until when I went to check for blood saw the broken over sapling and no blood anywhere. 

[heartman]

The RSI's are great american made rifles.  Unique and good-looking.  These are great carry rifles - use mine for still hunting - accurate, light, and the MKII three position safety is, IMHO, a step forward from the tang safety of past models.  I owned a .243 RSI - wish I'd gone after the 308 when I had a chance.  Only issue is that they're LOUD at the bench, but than again, most short-barreled rifles are!!

Move forward with confidence - can't go wrong with an RSI!

[Luckyducker]

I hate to rain on anyones parade, especially so late after the thread was started but I just joined this site the other day.  I had one of the RSI rifles in 308 that I bought new from a local shop that is now out of business and I really liked the looks and handling of this short rifle, but that is where the love affair with it ended.  I shot this rifle with factory loaded fodder and rolled my own with different components and tried everything that I thought would help the accuracy.  I could just keep five rounds inside of a 5" round shoot-n-see target at 50 Yds.  BTW, I had a new Leupold Vari-x II mounted on it which is now on my Tikka T3 Lite 300WSM that will put four shots touching at 100 yds, so it was not the scope.  I wished like the dickens I could have made that little rifle shoot, but...... I had to trade it off and move on.   I would like to sometime get another 308Win but it won't be an Ruger RSI though.  I am not knocking Rugers because I have had a couple of others that were tack drivers that are now in the possession of my kids.

[Cement Man]

Luckyducker,
Welcome to GBO.  Glad to have you aboard.
5" groups at 50 yards is not typical accuracy for an RSI, or any other new centerfire rifle that I have come across.  Something was very significantly wrong besides ammo variances.  Did you take this up with Ruger under warranty?