Ruger American Rifle Generation II: Full Review

Ruger's flagship rifle enters a new era with the Ruger American Generation II in 6.5 Creedmoor. Here's a full review.

November 18, 2024 By Guns & Ammo Staff

Ruger’s American rifle has been with us since 2011. It has been extremely successful, particularly with hunters and new riflemen. It has earned a reputation for being accurate, lightweight and inexpensive. It also benefits from a healthy aftermarket supporting the model with accessories. The aftermarket is how a gun company knows a product has become a darling among its consumers.

gaad-ph1-ruger-american-rifle-gen-ii-65-creedmoor-02-1200x800 — (Photo by Mark Fingar)

The first-generation American Rifle still possesses a sound mechanical design, offering excellent performance at a starting price of $599. The Gen II model enhances the feature list for a starting price of $729. These rifles are Ruger’s own creation. The action utilizes a bolt with three large lugs and a 70-degree bolt lift. The 70-degree lift strays from the more common 90-degree lift seen on just about every two-lug action in existence. Ruger’s engineers made the decision to keep the bolt handle away from the scope when cycling the rifle and to keep it easy to lift. Scopes have larger ocular housings, which can cause shooters to scrape their firing hand on the scope when quickly working the action. Ruger’s engineering team addressed this concern by incorporating the three aforementioned lugs and 70 degrees of lift.

gaad-ph1-ruger-american-rifle-gen-ii-65-creedmoor-03-1200x800 — The Gen II American Rifle maintains a three-lug bolt action with strengthened radius contours between and around each lug. The bottom lug is positioned at 6 o’clock for ideal feeding from the centered cartridge at the top of the magazine. Within the bolt head is a large extractor tooth and AR-style ejector plunger. (Photo by Mark Fingar)

Ruger also identified the ideal orientation of the three bolt lugs. When the action is open, one lug rides at the 6-o’clock position. This places the lug in the perfect location to engage cartridges stacked in the detachable box magazine. The magazine is center-fed, so cartridges also sit at 6 o’clock, relative to the bolt. When the bolt comes forward, there is substantial contact between the bolt face and cartridge due to this arrangement. There is no better way to guarantee reliable feeding in a bolt-action rifle. While two-lug actions feed fine with standard (.473 inch) and magnum (.535 inch) case heads, the Ruger American is a more reliable choice among cartridges with smaller case heads.

gaad-ph1-ruger-american-rifle-gen-ii-65-creedmoor-04-1200x800 — The free-floating barrel features deep, aesthetically pleasing spiral fluting. It is finished in a Gun Metal Gray Cerakote. Barrels are available in .204 Ruger, .22 ARC, .223 Rem., .243 Win., 6mm ARC, 6mm and 6.5mm Creedmoor, 6.5 Grendel, 6.5 PRC, .270 Winchester, .308 Winchester, 7mm-08 Rem., 7mm PRC, .30-’06 Springfield, .300 Win. Mag., .350 and .400 Legend, and .450 Bushmaster. (Photo by Mark Fingar)

Bolt + Receiver

Smaller case heads are found on the .223 Remington (.378 inch), 6.5 Grendel and 6mm ARC (.441 inch). The .223 Rem. is great for predators and plinking, and the 6mm ARC is an accurate little deer cartridge, especially for new shooters. The 6mm ARC offers low recoil and produces respectable ballistic performance. The small-diameter cartridge feeds more reliably in the American Rifle than the two-lug counterparts because the bolt has more engagement with the smaller case head. Rifleman should first consider the Ruger American Rifle when shopping for an inexpensive factory bolt-action chambered in these cartridges.

gaad-ph1-ruger-american-rifle-gen-ii-65-creedmoor-05-1200x800 — Ruger engineered the three-lug bolt with a 70-degree lift that’s easier to cycle than a 60-degree bolt. It also prevents a shooter from scraping their hand against the scope. (Photo by Mark Fingar)

The American Rifle features a horizontal blade extractor that sits inside the lug and faces out the ejection port. This means that spent cartridges are ejected horizontally and away from the scope’s windage turret. The spring-loaded plunger-type ejector is at 5 o’clock on the bolt face and has no issue kicking empty cases out and away from the receiver.

Ruger designed the most efficient-to-manufacture receiver since the Model 700. Flats are milled to the side of the receiver, which dresses it up a bit, too, but the American Rifle receiver starts out as a thick-walled tube. Removing the barreled action from the stock revealed this. Ruger improved on the round action by more than doubling the action screw engagement. There are two action screws that hold the receiver in place when installed in the stock. Unlike the 700-pattern, Ruger’s action screws thread deeply into the receiver. Ruger then mills two V-shaped sets of flats at the 5- and 7-o’clock positions on the receiver’s underside, allowing steel V-blocks in the stock to slip inside the receiver. The two steel V-blocks take the place of the single recoil lug. Ruger’s arrangement is possible because the American Rifle’s receiver wall is thicker than most actions. Ruger put the thick wall to good use by designing enough thread engagement and slots for four total recoil lugs.

gaad-ph1-ruger-american-rifle-gen-ii-65-creedmoor-06-1200x800 — Ruger’s patented “Power Bedding” features an integral bedding block within the stock that helps properly position the receiver and floats the barrel for accuracy. (Photo by Mark Fingar)

The action screw thread engagement, and all those recoil lugs, immobilize the barreled action inside the stock when the rifle fires. This relationship is the foundation that must be correct if a rifle is going to be accurate. It appears that no Guns & Ammo contributor has ever tested an American Rifle that wasn’t accurate.

Related to the action is a better three-position adjustable trigger installed on the rifle’s tang. One position is fire and the second is safe with the bolt unlocked to allow cycling. The third position is safe with the bolt locked closed. The new third position offers peace of mind when moving through brush because the shooter doesn’t have to worry about the bolt opening and unloading the rifle at an inopportune moment.

gaad-ph1-ruger-american-rifle-gen-ii-65-creedmoor-07-1200x800 — V-block recoil lugs hold the barrel action firmly within the rigid Gen II stock. A ball-head wrench is necessary to remove the action. The Gun Metal Gray Cerakote finish on metal parts compliments the stock’s color, which features a black, painted, web-like texture. (Photo by Mark Fingar)

Gen II Stock Enhancements

The American Rifle stock is another component that bears scrutiny if one is to understand why these rifles shoot well. The American Rifle uses an injection-molded polymer stock, and the Gen II is one of the most rigid ever tested. The stock walls are thick, and there is a robust reinforcing web that runs the length of the forend to ensure that it doesn’t flex or come into contact with the barrel. The two steel V-blocks that function as recoil lugs are embedded in the polymer stock but continue through the stock as pillars. The bottom of these pillars is the surface against which the polymer magazine well attaches, too. It is an efficient way to guarantee the correct magazine height once all components are installed.

gaad-ph1-ruger-american-rifle-gen-ii-65-creedmoor-08-1200x800 — The adjustable trigger includes an integral safety lever. G&A’s test rifle featured a trigger that measured 4 pounds, 4 ounces in its default state. The three-position tang safety can lock the bolt and prevent it from opening. The rifle can also be loaded with the safety engaged. (Photo by Mark Fingar)

The second-generation stock is where Ruger saw fit to introduce improvements. The detachable magazine well now accepts Accuracy International (AICS)-pattern magazines. A detachable box magazine made by Ruger holds three rounds. Since the rifle takes AICS magazines, the magazine release is the classic lever-type located just forward of the triggerguard. In order to access the second action screw and remove the barreled action from the stock, the lever must be held out of the way to allow a ball-head hex wrench access to the screw. It doesn’t take much effort, but disassembly does require a ball-head wrench.

gaad-ph1-ruger-american-rifle-gen-ii-65-creedmoor-09-1200x800 — Magazine compatability with aftermarket AICS-pattern mags is a strength of the American Rifle Gen II. A version of the rifle chambered in .223 Remington accepts AR-pattern magazines. (Photo by Mark Fingar)

The remaining improvements that were given to the American Rifle Gen II stock occur behind the grip. The rear sling swivel stud is recessed and angled into the toe. This makes use of a rear bag more easily and effectively while on a bench. The angled stud also retains the buttpad. Loosening the stud allows users to change spacers to adjust length of pull and access the removable cheekpiece. The rifle ships with the low comb height (half-inch) installed, but an accessory kit includes two additional models with five-eighths of an inch and three-quarters of an inch. The three-quarter-inch model, when combined with the length of pull shortened to 12 inches, makes the Gen II an ideal rifle for small-statured adult shooters and youth. Ruger also offers a weight kit that, once all the weights are installed inside the stock, adds 1.6 pounds to the rifle. This kit makes sense for those looking to minimize recoil or those shooting with a suppressor who are particular about how the rifle balances.