Ruger Precision Rimfire Rifle Review
Part 1 - Introduction, Specifications and Summary
April 22, 2018

A few years ago, Ruger released their Ruger Precision Rifle and it was an immediate hit.  That rifle has a great price, great features and most importantly it can shoot.  I reviewed mine back in 2015 and you can see the review by going to this link.  Recently Ruger released their little brother to that rifle calling it the Ruger Precision Rimfire and clearly the styling of this new rimfire rifle matches that of the Precision Rifle.

When I first took a look at the Precision Rimfire, I had mixed feelings on my use of this rifle and struggled with how I might use this rifle if I added one to my collection.  The more I thought about it, the more excited I got with the thought of this new rifle simply being an economical training platform for precision shooting.  As I considered trying to shoot this rifle out to 300 yards and dialing in about 45 MOA or about 15 MILS of elevation, I felt that using this rifle could teach me a few things.  Another selling factor was the price on this rifle.  Ruger has it listed with an MSRP of $549 and most likely you will be able to get it in the mid $400s at your local stores or online and at this price it has the potential to be a huge value.

 

Before anyone barbeques me on initially having mixed feelings on this new rifle, I want to say first and foremost that I know precision rimfire shooting is a big sport where people put a great deal of money into rifles, optics and rests.  I have a good friend who does just that and has a tack-driving machine at 50 yards and I'm not exaggerating about the tack driving part - provided good ammo and the shooter does his job.  I also know there are other people who enjoy shooting rimfire at longer distances.  In my case, my struggle was more along the lines of why add a rimfire bolt action of this style to my collection and how would I really use it instead of letting it become a back-of-the-safe rifle?  Again, I came around to looking at this rifle as a value training rifle with the potential to teach new shooters the basics and learn more myself.  For those who are not wanting this as a training rifle, it has great potential to be very accurate and quiet for pest control or to be a starter rifle for learning how to shoot economically or many more reasons based on your certain circumstances.  If you are reading this review, you probably already know the reasons for your interest.

Another thing I want to cover before I start the review is the lurking question I had in my mind about why Ruger chambered this in the 22LR caliber and not some other rimfire caliber.  The short answer is I don't know for sure, but what I do know is that they created a platform with an ejection port that can easily handle 22 WSR.  My guess is that we will see other rimfire calibers in the future that sport bullet velocities much greater than the 22LR and their initial release of the 22LR caliber is just the beginning of many more calibers in the future. They had to start somewhere and the most economical round to shoot was a good starting point.

During my reviews I like to compare my results to the manufacturer's claims where possible so the following text in colored italics was taken directly from the Ruger website on 3/12/18 and gives an Overview, Key Features, and Specifications for the Ruger Precision Rimfire Rifle.  The , and are my way to keep up with details that I have covered in this review with either photos, commentary or both.

Key Features

  • Molded, one-piece chassis and adjustable buttstock assembly are manufactured with glass-filled nylon for strength, stiffness and stability, making a solid foundation for accuracy each and every shot. Adjustable buttstock features a flat Picatinny bag rider making it easy to affix a rear monopod. A molded-in window provides a tether point for your squeeze bag, and a metal QD pocket makes it easy to secure a sling
  • Quick-Fit adjustable Precision Rimfire stock allows length of pull and comb height to be quickly and easily adjusted to get proper fit over a wide range of shooter sizes, outerwear and shooting positions. Indicating marks molded into the chassis help you quickly return to a previous position.
  • Big-Gun bolt throw adjustment enables shooters to change from a rimfire 1-1/2'' bolt throw to a short-action centerfire 3'' bolt throw, reducing the chance of short-stroking your bolt in competition.
  • Ruger Marksman Adjustable™ trigger has a pull weight range of 2.25 to 5.0 pounds; adjusting wrench is stored in a buttstock compartment.
  • Ruger's own AR-Pattern pistol grip and safety selector incorporates an extended reach for maximum control and access to the 45 degree, reversible safety selector. May be configured with most AR-style grips and selectors.
  • Anodized Picatinny scope base includes 30 MOA elevation for increased long-range capabilities out of the box.
  • Oversized bolt handle for positive bolt manipulation (same as the Ruger Precision Rifle®).
  • 15" free-float handguard is made of hard black anodized aluminum and features Magpul® M-LOK® slots on all four sides, for improved scope clearance and easy mounting of M-LOK-compatible rails and accessories.
  • 18" target barrel is cold hammer-forged from 1137 alloy steel to create ultra precise rifling for excellent accuracy. Barrels can be replaced easily by a competent gunsmith using AR-style wrenches and headspace gauges.
  • Threaded barrel (1/2"-28) for standard muzzle accessories, like the Silent-SR® suppressor, comes with a factory-installed thread protector covering both the threads and crown.
  • Accepts all 10/22® magazines.
  • Also includes: one, 15-round BX-15® magazine.

Specifications

  • Model Number: 8400
  • Caliber: 22 LR
  • Stock: Quick-Fit Precision Rimfire Adjustable
  • Capacity: 15
  • Barrel Length: 18"
  • Overall Length 35.13" - 38.63"
  • Grip: AR-Pattern
  • Handguard: Free-Float Magpul® M-LOK® Aluminum Handguard
  • Finish: Hard Black Anodized
  • Thread Pattern: 1/2"-28
  • Length of Pull: 12" - 15.50"
  • Sights: None-Rail Installed
  • Barrel: Threaded Cold Hammer-Forged 1137 Alloy Steel
  • Weight: 6.8 lb. Review rifle weighed in at 7.1 lbs without magazine and 7.4 lbs with magazine
  • Twist: 1:16" RH
  • Grooves: 6
  • Suggested Retail: $529.00

This review is broken down into multiple parts with this page providing links to each part along with an overall summary of the specifications, pros and cons, and my final "bottom line" comments.  Make sure you take time to checkout the other parts of the review because they contain many photos and lots of commentary.  Also, there is an extreme amount of detail in those parts which is not covered on this page.

As you read these Pros and Cons below, keep in mind that it is hard to keep my particular preferences from creeping in the equation.  Therefore, it is important that you take the time to look at the other parts of this review so you can decide yourself on items which may be more of a personal preference.

Pros:

  • Very good crisp trigger pull
  • Sub-MOA capable with the right ammunition which I proved using CCI Standard Velocity
  • 30 MOA upper rail on the receiver proved to allow me to dial in my 300 yard shots using my elevation turret on my riflescope
  • Simplified single lever adjustable buttstock was simple to use and I was able to quickly adjust as needed
  • Long 15" handguard allowed stable shooting position using either a bipod or bag
  • The price point of this rifle provides a huge amount of value if you are wanting to purchase this style of rimfire rifle

Pro/Con/Comment (you decide)?:

  • The slim handguard and heavy profile of the barrel makes the ends of the screws for installing M-LOK accessories very close to the barrel when fully tight.  I did have the bolts actually start making contact with the barrel when installing one of three different sections of rail and you should look at this closely when installing M-LOK accessories.  Of the three accessories I used, the one which was a true Magpul accessory did not have screws too long while the other aftermarket value accessories did have longer screws.
  • I found it difficult to get the standard 10-round rotary magazines out of the rifle.  It seems that the 10-round magazines have a slightly longer length front-to-back and get wedged into the magazine well where the BX-15 will drop free when the magazine release lever is depressed.
  • Weighing in at about 7.5 lbs loaded with a 15-round magazine and without an optic, and most likely around 9-ish pounds with mounts and optic, makes me think that this rifle may not be the best choice if you are not planning to shoot from a bench or prone.

Cons:

  • I debated on whether or not the two items above (M-LOK accessory screws and 10-round rotary magazines) should have been a "Con" or "you decide" item.  Since neither impacted the rifles out-of-the-box functionality and you know up front these circumstances, then these may not be an issue.  On the other hand, if you have a bunch of 10-round magazines that you were planning on using, then you may be disappointed that they don't drop free during a magazine swap.  The same applies if you install some M-LOK accessory and make your handguard effectively touch your barrel (no longer free floating) and shift your point of impact.

You can see the video version of this part of my review below.

 

Bottom Line:

My goal for this rifle was to see if it would be a good training rifle for precision shooting and I'm convinced that the Ruger Precision Rimfire rifle would be an excellent rifle for this role.  At about $0.08 per round, you can learn a great deal at a low cost.  I proved it could be setup and used out to 300 yards and most likely longer provided you found some higher velocity ammunition that gives you the accuracy needed at those longer ranges.  I used CCI Standard Velocity and was able to hit 6" steel targets at 306 yards.  The price point for this rifle provides for great value and it has a solid set of desirable features that you would want in a precision rifle.  If you are considering this style of rimfire rifle then I highly suggest you take a close look at the Ruger Precision Rimfire and I can honestly say this rifle will be making many more trips with me to the range and I don't see it becoming a back-of-the-safe rifle at all.

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