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Value of Ruger American Rifle

2K views 13 replies 7 participants last post by  RockDoc65 
#1 · (Edited)
What would you pay for a NIB "banquet gun" Ruger American in .308 Win?

P.S. It's from a friend so no need to gouge, just a good deal for the both of us.
 
#2 ·
The regular Ruger Americans go for $319 at the LGS here. I'm guessing by "Banquet Gun" you mean one that was won at a NRA banquet perhaps? Does it have a scope? Or any special markings? Unless that means something special to you I wouldn't pay anymore than regular list price for a value priced gun like that, just my opinion.
 
#3 · (Edited)
No scope.

No special markings. I think they come with a base but no rings. Yes, you are right; he won it at a banquet. He said he'd sell it to me for whatever I could find as the cheapest price minus a certain percentage. Neither of us can remember what that percentage was. At first I thought of offering $250 but that felt a little like gouging. Even though he only paid the price of a raffle ticket for it he still deserves a fair price. I'm now thinking of seeing if he will take $275.

Normally I don't go for "value priced" things but I recently got an offer to go deer hunting this fall. As I've not hunted in ten years or so, the only gun I own that will take a Wisconsin White-tail is a 15-pound Winchester Model 70 with a 8.5-25X50mm Mark 4 scope. It's a little overkill and WAY HEAVY. Plus it might actually swing a little slow for woods hunting. I've read good reviews on the American so when he asked if I was interested I jumped. Now we just need to come up with a number.

Then it's time to go scope shopping. I love scope shopping. Hey, there's my next question. What's a good woods scope for deer? An American made scope would be awesome. Redfield? Leupold Rifleman? Leupold VX1, VX2? I know not all of those are made in America but let me know your opinions. 1-4, 1.5-5, 2-7, 2.5-8, 3-9, straight 2x, 2.5x, 4x? The land is half woods and half cornfields that will be harvested and open by deer season. I used to have a 3.5-10X40mm VX3 that would be awesome but those VX3's are spendy.
 
#4 ·
$275 would be fair I think. He'll have money in his pocket that he wasn't out to begin with, and you'll get a fairly good deal on a rifle. As cheap as they are, I have heard nothing but good about those, as long as you use them within their design.
 
#5 ·
With respect to the scope, I'd consider a 3-9X with a good eye relief. A .308 will have a decent eye relief. That gun will certainly be capable of shooting at a pretty good distance - I'd think you will want a scope with some similar, all around capabilities. 3-9X or 4-10X.

As a woods gun, what load are you considering? A .308 is ..."a lot"... of gun for the woods.
 
#6 ·
#8 ·
I completely agree on 3-9x.

A .308 can really reach after all. Who knows what else I might decide to hunt with it or where. I've decided to pony up a bit on the scope since I'm saving on the rifle. I think I'm going to go with Leopold's VX-2.

As for a load; I'm partial to Federal and I think a 150-grain would be enough for a white-tail. If they don't want to shoot straight I'll go heavier, the deer won't know the difference.
 
#10 ·
A .308 can really reach after all. Who knows what else I might decide to hunt with it or where. I've decided to pony up a bit on the scope since I'm saving on the rifle. I think I'm going to go with Leopold's VX-2.

As for a load; I'm partial to Federal and I think a 150-grain would be enough for a white-tail. If they don't want to shoot straight I'll go heavier, the deer won't know the difference.
You'll be all set with that combination!
 
#9 ·
Sounds like a good plan. Always makes me wonder when somebody buys a $800-$1000 rifle and puts a $30 Wal-Mart special scope on it. :scratch:

I think the Redfield would be a fine scope for it, the Leopold even more so. A lot of the reviews I have seen people have been getting 1moa out of the Americans for the first few shots anyway. Has such a light barrel it losses accuracy pretty quick from heating up with sustained fire. But I've never seen anybody hunting anything (except maybe hogs) doing multiple mag dumps in quick sucession. And if that's your thing, you may want to go pick up a deer hunting for dummies book.
 
#11 · (Edited)
Personally, I prefer a little lower magnification for hunting in this state. My two favorites are the old B&L Elite 4200 1.5x6 and the Bushnell Elite 3200 2x7. The new Redfield 2x7 is big bang for the buck and there are a couple of other really good choices. For me, the extra big field of view at 1.5x or 2x is more important than 9X or 10x magnification. Anything I feel I can hit in this state I can see just fine at 6x or 7x. If you hunt over wide open fields from elevated stands or the wide open spaces out west, then the 9x or 10x comes into play.

Just a couple of things to consider I guess.

Bruce
 
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