Have you ever looked at a rifle and thought: I think this rig is capable of “more”. That’s what I thought recently when looking at my Ruger Precision Rifle chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor. It’s been a consistent ~0.6 MOA rifle with a variety of quality ammunition and handloads, but I was not satisfied with those results. And then came the idea for some accurizing… The results were well worth the effort!
Before: Accuracy Results
Suppressed 6.5 Creedmoor Shooting, April 2016
From my previous Shooting the Ruger Precision Rifle Suppressed story:
And full load data for the loads used to produce this group:
6.5 Creedmoor 120 grain A-MAX load
- Bullet: Hornady 6.5mm 120 grain A-MAX
- Primer: CCI Large Rifle #200
- Powder: Hodgdon H-4350: 43 grains
- Brass: New Hornady 6.5 Creedmoor
- COL: 2.670″
Note: This load data is for reference only. Always cross-reference with manufacturer’s load data. Ultimate Reloader is not responsible for errors or possible issues you may have when using this load data. Use at your own risk.
Initial Groups, November 2015
This group was a part of my story covering reloading and hunting prep for the Ruger Precision Rifle:
Here’s the load data for the 120 grain load I started with which produced the group shown above:
6.5 Creedmoor “new” 120 grain A-MAX loads
- Bullet: Hornady 6.5mm 120 grain A-MAX
- Primer: CCI Large Rifle #200
- Powder: Hodgdon H-4350: 43 grains
- Brass: New Hornady 6.5 Creedmoor
- COL: 2.670″
Note: This load data is for reference only. Always cross-reference with manufacturer’s load data. Ultimate Reloader is not responsible for errors or possible issues you may have when using this load data. Use at your own risk.
Accurizing and Upgrading the Ruger Precision Rifle
1: Trigger
The first thing I looked at for Ruger Precision Rifle upgrades was to lighten the trigger pull weight. I ordered the following trigger spring kit from ebay:
This trigger spring dropped in with minimal work, and lowered the trigger pull weight to about 2.5lb, down to 1lb 1.1oz! That’s a HUGE difference, and it makes the rifle much easier to shoot for precision.
2: Lapping the Lugs
I inspected the lugs on the Ruger Precision Rifle (the rifle has ~800 rounds through it I would say) and even after that break-in, there was not even contact between the three lugs. So I lapped the lugs with some 400 grit lapping compound. I stopped when I had no less than 2/3 contact on all three lugs.
3: Magpul MOE fixed buttstock
For AR-type rifle buttstocks (including the Ruger Precision Rifle which uses an AR-compatible buttstock) I really like the Magpul MOE buttstock. It’s got good ergonomics, is economical, and has a sloped profile which is great for a variety of shooting scenarios.
I consider this an accurizing upgrade because of how rigid it is when installed on the rifle.
4: Handguard Upgrade
While upgrading the handguard itself didn’t contribute to accuracy (the factory handguard is free-floated), it did easily enable me to adapt my custom delrin front bag rider for benchrest shooting with the Ruger Precision Rifle. I chose to install a Trinity Force 15″ free-floated handguard from Midsouth Shooters Supply.
5: Shooting from a Bench Rest
Shooting from a bench rest and concrete table isolates more human/gear factors (example: loading a bipod and other related factors) from the shooting equation. This was one of the important factors for achieving maximum accuracy with the Ruger Precision Rifle.
6: SilencerCo Omega 300 Suppressor
The SilencerCo Omega 300 suppressor has never hurt accuracy in my testing, but it has in some cases enhanced it. So I thought this would be a great accessory to add to this “accurate shooting package”. This mounts directly onto the muzzle of the Ruger Precision Rifle which comes threaded 5/8×24 from the factory.
Results
The results speak for themselves! With Federal Premium 6.5 Creedmoor 140 grain Sierra Match King factory ammunition, this rifle turned in a 5-shot 0.251″ (0.240 MOA) group at 100 yards. WOW.
Expect to see more of this rifle in upcoming testing stories related to 6.5 caliber bullets, 6.5 Creedmoor components, and more.
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Thanks,
Gavin
Upgrades performed to my RPR 6.5 Creed Gen2;
Replaced Barrel after 2000 rounds with PVA 26″ Prefit made from a Rock Creek single point cut 8.1 twist 5R Barrel. This increased FPS by 150 same load and consistent sub .5 MOA.
Replaced Stock with Magpul Gen3 PRS
Current load;
140gn Hornady ELD-M, 42.4gn H4350, Hornady brass neck turned, neck sized with expander mandrel to 1 thousands neck tension. Bullet ogive 15 thousands off lands. 2813 FPS Average with sub 10 FPS SD.
Would like to see a video demonstration of lapping the rear side of lugs.
Thanks Rodney
Love the videos – very much appreciated. Here in Australia the blog arrives in time for reading/watching first thing in morning – always a joy. I’m with Rodney – if you can find another candidate for lug lapping, would like to see a demo. Til then, is it a matter of say, a few minutes of working the bolt to see results, or is it a longer process to see reduction of contact of the offending lug with greatest contact?
Did you have to remove the barrel and reset the headspace after lapping the lugs. A tutorial on lapping the RPR lugs would be great!! Thanks.
I have a stock RPR in 6.5 Creedmoor. Still working on 140gr loads. Hornady is my present front runner w H4350. Excellent article. Thank you
Help! I cannot find a source for 00 buckshoot for my MEC! Where can I find it?
Would like to see a video demonstration of lapping the rear side of lugs as well. This would be a great how-to for us.
Gavin, Can you post videos about replacing the trigger spring and about lapping the lugs? I want to perform both of those improvements.
Thanks