Ruger Guide Gun Review

[JWB300]

A brief review of my initial thoughts on the Ruger Guide Gun in 375 Ruger. Yet to test it on game but I’ve got some loads sorted now. The rifle is topped off with a Zeiss Duralyt 2-8x42 Illuminated.

The guide gun has a 20 inch barrel and comes with open sights and scope rings (bases built in to the action).


Pro’s:

- Good magazine design and CRF action – feeds well and top loads easily

- Flexible muzzle options (threaded cap/break/balanced weight that is supposed to deliver the same POI when swapped with break)

- Accuracy (I have had the rifle bedded)

- Low felt recoil – effective muzzle break

- Adjustable stock length

- Very nice open sights

- Stock design – strong and points well with short barrel

- Scope ring design – scope can be removed and returned to the rifle very close to its original position.

- Relatively cheap way to get into a DG rifle


Con’s:

- Action was rough – comes sand blasted but isn’t really ‘finished’ at the factory. Feed rails and the ramp into the action needed a fair bit of work– this has improved with repeated cycling of cartridges and a bit of light sanding.

- Rough bolt face – was leaving scratches on the back of cycled cartridges until I removed the offending bur

- The stock length inserts are crude

- Aesthetics – not the prettiest looking rifle

- Laminated stock – Personal preference… I prefer synthetic

- Weight – the rifle (with scope) is a shade over 9lb. With the break you could easily drop a 1lb off it and it would still be reasonable to shoot. Again personal preference – I prefer lighter rifles.

- Bolt clearance – a little more clearance would be nice


Overall it's not a bad option for a cheap DG rifle. I am most impressed with the accuracy of this rifle. It seems to produce good accuracy with almost any load that I have fed it. I’ve only tested 235 and 270gr TSX’s as that is what I plan to use. This is a 4 shot group at 100yds using 235gr TSX’s with 73.5gr 2208 travelling at ~2700fps (2 squares/inch on target). I’ve had similar results with W760 with the 235’s (~2780fps) and the 270’s with 2209 (~2675fps).

A few more images


Safety

Bolt Clearance

Open Sights (sorry this was the best angle I could get with the scope mounted)

Muzzle and options

Factory Scope Rings (I had to get 30mm rings from Ruger to fit my scope)

Butt Spacers

Cheers,

JWB300

 

[CTDolan]

Thank you for the review!!!

I've often thought of one in 416 Ruger (even though I know that the 375 Ruger is infinitely more versatile and practical, it being for all intents and purposes equivalent to the 375 H&H).

 

[PaulT]

Very fair, and objective, review with some good pics also.

It may not be the prettiest tool in the rack but it may just be the most practical.
It's all business, and I think that may be the big attraction of these rifles.

A good friend of mine designed an entire range of rifles and cartridges based on the same principals, the B&M range.
Short and light rifles chambered for compact cartridges.

You could take this anywhere in almost any climate/environment and have to worry little about maintenance and be confident that it is going to function.

I particularly like short barrels on any of my big bores and this one again proves that short barrels are inherently accurate, generally speaking.

I have the exact same scope on a 9.3x64mm.
What are your initial impressions of the scope. ?

Thanks for posting.

 

[JWB300]

Thanks Gents,

PaulT - I guess my initial attraction to this gun was the practicality aspects. It has all the right fundamentals it's just missing the finish of some higher end rifles. It is certainly acceptable and can be improved relatively easily.

WRT the scope - I chose this scope as it appeared to be the best value euro illuminated scope. Personal choice but I believe that euro optics are superior quality to others countries of origin. I stick with a small number of manufacturers that have been producing quality optics for a long time. Not intending to put other brands down but this is my personal belief. This Zeiss was a good way to get into a low power illuminated Euro scope. It is certainly no Z6 but it was also a third the price. Generally I am happy with it - light transmission is good but at full zoom the clarity around the outer edge of the FOV is a little blurred. The illumination is great - the fine adjustment makes it very suitable for low light hunting.

Cheers,
JWB300

 

[700xcr]

I have the same rifle. Love mine. Only problem I had was the original stock cracked at the tang of the stock. Called Ruger and They gave me a RGA number and UPS picked up the rifle. Very good customer service. Ruger only had it 2 day in their hands. Took more for shipping. They replaced the stock with no questions. I have chronographed the factory Hornady 270gr. ammo and averaged 2777fps. I used Alaskan Arms low quick disconnect rings and a Leupold VX-3 2.5-8x36mm duplex reticle. I have used this combo on a damage control deer hunt this last December. Took a mule deer doe at 150yds. off hand. Hit her high in front of shoulder and exited just behind the opposite shoulder. Dropped her in her tracks. Hunting partner was watching through 10x42 binoculars. Verily heard the rifle but diffidently heard the connecting hit. He said he seen the shock wave in her body as her ears and legs folded. Broke her spine and exploded her lungs. Very little meat damage, only wasted about 1.5" of the back-strap where it meets the neck.
I have a co-worker that has the same combo that he used on a cow elk at 265yds. with the same results. He retrieved the bullet and got 80% weight retention on the same bullet. This was his first rifle elk kill. Now this is his dedicated elk rifle. I believe this cartridge would cover any big game and dangerous game in North America as possibly in other countries.
As for as reloading for this cartridge I have used RE-17 powder with the Hornady 300gr. RN #3720 and got 1/2" groups at 100yds. Average velocity was 2432fps. Only problem is Hornady discontinued that bullet. I have a box of Woodleigh 350gr. PP bullets that I am going to try. Woodleigh emailed me load data and said that 76.0grs. of RE-17 would be 2360fps. whether that is a 20" or 24" barrel I will find out. When I find a load with that bullet I will try it in media or water jugs and try to retrieve a bullet.
Note: I have only fired this rifle with the muzzle break installed. It has been pleasant to shoot, fast to get on target and very deadly on game on the 2 game animals I know of.

 

[larry4831]

Being Ruger has its own sighting system would you be able to put quick detach mounts on there?

 

[CTDolan]

Yes. I believe that Warne makes a set for the Ruger system.

 

[CTDolan]

http://www.brownells.com/optics-mou...d-receiver-line-qd-ruger-rings-prod26091.aspx

 

[CAustin]

Guys I love mine. PaulT said it....the gun is all business and it dies what it's intended to do.....bring down game. I have the 416 and am thrilled with the work done.

 

[CTDolan]

CAustin, do you have any images of the 416 in the field? I see the one of you and the elephant, in your profile image, but it's a bit small and grainy.

 

[Wheels]

Being Ruger has its own sighting system would you be able to put quick detach mounts on there?

Yes. The poster above you mentioned Alaska Arms. I haven't used their Ruger QD rings but have used their CZ QD rings and they are great. You shoot, remove the scope, replace the scope, shoot and the bullet goes in the same hole. Call Morris. He will take good care of you.

 

[bassasdaindia]

I have the 416 Alaskan , which I really like a lot . It is a great rifle to carry around , I have warne QD mounts with a VX3 1.5-5x20 . I also find the rifle to be very accurate, although I have never fired it past the 50 m mark.

 

[CAustin]

Here you go CT

 

[CTDolan]

Nice, thank you!

 

[larry4831]

Yes. I believe that Warne makes a set for the Ruger system.

Thanks for your help. The Alaskan company up here makes a set of quick detach mounts. I'm going to go that route and scope it up with a leopold straight fixed 6 power scope.

 

[WildRose]

Good review. I picked up a barely used 375 Ruger Alaskan. The guy said it had less than a box of shells through it and I believe it. The only complaint I had was the trigger pull which was a bit rough and stiff. A slight modification to the spring and a little honing on the trigger and it was very quickly changed into a very nice, light trigger with a clean, crisp release.

The simplicity of the M77 is something Remington could certainly learn from!

I added an aftermarket brake to the Rifle just to make it more fun to shoot and it did just that. Accuracy with factory Hornady ammo has been more than acceptable at between 1-1.5 moa with all three of the Hornady offerings I've tried.

Nosler is coming out in the near future with factory 375R ammo as well with offerings in the Accubond and Partition as well as I think a solid.

As for it's performance on game it has been ideal. My zebra stud ran about 200yds trying to circle after a perfect last ribt to opposite shoulder shot at 200yds. He paused at about 250yds and the second shot landed within 2" of the first taking out both shoulders.

Everything else was a frontal shot right above the sternum and none took even a single step.

I'm not one to jump on new calibers as I think they are fad's engineered solely for the purpose of selling proprietary guns, ammo, dies etc but this is a caliber I think that has real legs and will be with us for at least the next fifty years or so.

 

[bassasdaindia]

Good review. I picked up a barely used 375 Ruger Alaskan. The guy said it had less than a box of shells through it and I believe it. The only complaint I had was the trigger pull which was a bit rough and stiff. A slight modification to the spring and a little honing on the trigger and it was very quickly changed into a very nice, light trigger with a clean, crisp release.

The simplicity of the M77 is something Remington could certainly learn from!

I added an aftermarket brake to the Rifle just to make it more fun to shoot and it did just that. Accuracy with factory Hornady ammo has been more than acceptable at between 1-1.5 moa with all three of the Hornady offerings I've tried.

Nosler is coming out in the near future with factory 375R ammo as well with offerings in the Accubond and Partition as well as I think a solid.

As for it's performance on game it has been ideal. My zebra stud ran about 200yds trying to circle after a perfect last ribt to opposite shoulder shot at 200yds. He paused at about 250yds and the second shot landed within 2" of the first taking out both shoulders.

Everything else was a frontal shot right above the sternum and none took even a single step.

I'm not one to jump on new calibers as I think they are fad's engineered solely for the purpose of selling proprietary guns, ammo, dies etc but this is a caliber I think that has real legs and will be with us for at least the next fifty years or so.

I also lightened the trigger and polished the action .

 

[WildRose]

I also lightened the trigger and polished the action .

Something I routinely do with every new factory rifle I buy is just bathe the action in lapping compound and work it for as much as an hour or two. For anyone afraid of getting themselves in trouble with a file or by completely disassembling a trigger/bolt assembly it's a great way to keep yourself out of trouble as well.

Often the only difference in a good custom and a factory action is just that little extra bit of work.

I spend much of the summer indoors during the middle of the day so I have lots of time to tinker.

 

[JWB300]

I've since been able to use the rifle a bit - it is fast becoming one of my favourite rifles. It's just so accurate. I don't use the muzzle break any more after letting a shot go at a fallow deer without hearing protection. I now have permanent hearing damage.

I took this old bull in the Northern Territory in July.

 

[WildRose]

Ouch! I only know of two muzzle brakes that allow you to shoot a large caliber rifle without the risk of serious ear damage and the factory brake on the Ruger is not one of them.

That's a big ole boy! Out of curiosity what bullet? Where was the shot placed? More than one?

What little I know of the wild water buff is that they are close in size and toughness to the cape buffalo but generally not as bad tempered, at least until they are hit.

I can only imagine what a task it was getting him out of that mud flat!

Congrats.