Anybody chrono-ed a Ruger compact???

[Omaha-BeenGlockin]

Went out lookin yesterday and came home with a stainless Ruger Compact in 7mm-08.

All my other rifles are on the big and heavy side so I wanted a little one to round things out---the Sako lightweight isn't exactly light in weight---so that was out----the Tikka's are all full sized----so as much as I love 'em----I had to look elsewhere.

It came down to the Kimber Montana and the Ruger----mainly because none of the others are offered in stainless and that I'll NEVER buy another Remington.

They only had 2 Montana's but both were in .243---they told me they could order a different caliber in --if I wanted-----the Ruger on the rack was .243 also-----I was wanting more of a hunting rifle than a varmint rifle and told them either a .260 or 7mm-08 was what I wanted. After some prodding I got them to go look in the back room---he came out after a bit with a shiny NIB Ruger in 7mm-08----looked it over and took it.

The Kimber's--while VERY nice---price kind of shy-ed me away from them------not that I'm opposed to spending a bunch of money on a gun---but I just recently dropped a bundle on a DSA-58 plus didn't want to wait to order one in as hunting season is fast approaching----so the Ruger got the nod.

I snapped the Ruger's trigger a couple times and it felt to be in the 4 to 5 lb range---I'll go shoot it before I decide if I'll make any changes there----my buddy said he'll polish rings for me---as Ruger rings tend to really scratch up scopes----either that or some aftermarket rings.

Anyway---back to the subject----anybody chrono-ed loads out of a super short barrel---like the Ruger???  Just wondering what velocity loss to expect from published data.

Thanks.

Sorry I got so long winded.

Forgot to mention----I didn't want a .308---First- because I have that in semi-auto military rifles and ----Second-the .308 REALLY kicks in the smaller rifles.

[targshooter]

:grin:
I've been interested in a Ruger Compact in .308. How is the accuracy? I see that they cannot be purchased with iron sights installed. Odd, as a lightweight with a peep sight is ideal for the backpacking use I envision. Also, IMO, I think iron back up sights belong on any hunting rifle, especially one that would be used in heavy brush where close in hunting is the norm. The Compact (.243) I handled in the store carried easy, shouldered well, and probably would have pointed well had it any sights I could have tried.

[Graybeard]

Perhaps you can help me understand something since you own one.

Why in the world would an adult buy such a rifle? I've picked them up in the store and looked them over. Seem like a relly nice little rifle for a child or small woman or even a really small man maybe. But for an full grown adult? Geez the length of pull on the stock just seemed so short it would be nearly impossible to keep the scope out of your eye.

So what am I missing here? How can a full size adult use such a short stocked gun? I have a really hard time adjusting to my wife's Model 7 Remington since we cut the stock to 12.5" for her. The Ruger at least to me "seemed" shorter still. I've seen a Ruger ad with a guy who looks nearly 6' 6" toting one up on the mountain. Looks like he has a toy in his hands.

On the subject of velocity tho. In a 15" Encore barrel Remington factory 140s exceed 2600 fps over my Oehler. From my wife's 18.5" Model 7 they are about 2700 fps or a wee bit more. Not sure the length on the Ruger but that should give you some idea what to expect.

[superdown]

i bought my mom one in 308 ssl for mothersday and she loves it the only reason i bought it 308 was the new reduced recoil loads from federal but after not being able to find them just went ahead got standard type ammo that thing doesnt kick hard at all ive had 308 in a mod 99 sav and mod 88win both kicked really hard thats  why i was so surprized when i shot it  my mom loves shooting it also. what about the single shot hunter loads from cor-bon for stuff like the encore and striker might be good since the barrel is only 16in.                                                                                                                                                      thanx,superdown

[ScoutMan]

Omaha,

My experience might be of some interest to you.

A friend and I decided that we wanted something light and handy for hunting whitetails in the Adirondacks of NY and the woods of NH.

We opted for the ruger. We got them in .308 caliber for the versatility of the ammunition available. My friend has a bad experience jumping a hugh whitetail at about 20 feet. At the time he was carrying a Remington 700 7mm magnum with a 3-9 variable scope. When he jumped this buck, and thew the rifle to his shoulder, all he could see when looking through the scope was hair, and no reference to the vital zone. Based on this experience we decided to opt out of a scope and go to a ghost ring setup.

Now the Ruger compact is just 35" over all in length, but it does not come with any iron sights. After much agonizing, we opted for the XS (Ashley)ghost ring set up. We sent both guns to Ashley, where they mounted their front sight for us, and drilled the receiver with one hole to mount their ghost ring sight.

Now this rig with sling weighs 7 lbs. Now everyone on this forum knows that I am a "scout rifle" disciple. By definition a scout rifle should not exceed seven pounds. Adding a scope with rings and bases would add another pound to the weight of the rifle, take it out of the "scout" class.

I also had a Timney trigger installed in mine. On the trigger pull scale mine breaks at 2lbs 3 oz. Light but safe on my rifle. I would have been happy at 3lbs.

At the range I got 2" 3 shot groups with the ghost ring and post front sight. Good enough field accuracy to 300 meters. Load: 165 gr nosler, 42 grains of 3031, mixed cases, and CCH primers.

I don't know what the velocity loss is with the 16.5" barrel, but the Company has stated somewhere, that they lost about 100 fps in all calibers from their 20" barrels. I'm guessing, but I think I am getting about 2,500 fps with my load. Plenty good enough.

[Omaha-BeenGlockin]

My main reason for asking was I read somewhere that velocity loss in the 7mm-08 was minimal in a shorter barrel-----something that the 7mm-08 in particular was extremely efficient------and was wondering if anybody's experience proved that out or not.

On the compact issue-----all my other guns are big---full sized rifles and I wanted something small--lightweight and handy-----the Kimber would have been my first choice but I went less expensive on this one----the Ruger is still going to have a Zeiss scope mounted on it---as I have 2 Diavari-C's laying around--unused. As far as gettin scope bit----a fairly long eye relief scope is sort of a fix for that---as you can back off the gun a bit---and the 7mm-08 isn't huge kicker or anything.

[safetysheriff]

you can easily (?) add to that length of pull by shimming the stock to move the recoil pad back a little bit.    a 3/4" piece of good-looking stock will do wonders if the scope is too close.....with some longer screws for that recoil pad, of course.

take care,

ss'