FOG HORN September 2019

Twobirds Flying Publications

RUGER PRECISION RIFLE (RPR) Gen 3

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 RUGER PRECISION RIFLE (RPR) Gen 3
RUGER PRECISION RIFLE (RPR) Gen 3
By: Sal Palma
What would you pay for a rifle that ships with a
fully adjustable buttstock for length of pull and
comb height? How about, if it was built on a
lightweight chassis and fed from a 10 round
detachable magazine? Now, what if that same
gun was capable of sub minute of angle
accuracy right out of the box?
This level of performance usually requires the
gifted hands of a custom rifle smith, a
significant lead time and about $3,500 to
$5,000. Yet Sturm, Ruger & Co. was capable of
delivering such a rifle at a street price of $1,200
- 1,300. Shazam!
In this review, I’ll take you through one of the
best values in a precision rifle on the market,
the Ruger Precision Rifle Gen 3.
Before getting into the nitty gritty details, I’ll
answer a question that comes up frequently –
what are the differences between the various
RPR Generations.
The Gen 1 did not have the muzzle brake and it
had the Samson Evolution handguard.
Gen 2 has the re-designed Ruger handguard,
aluminum bolt shroud and hybrid muzzle break.
2019
Gen 3 has the 15″ free-float M-LOK(r)
handguard made of hard anodized aluminum
and features M-LOK(r) slots on all four sides.
The 12 o’clock rail was eliminated to provide
clearance for long range optics with large
objective lenses. The bolt body is nitrided for
corrosion resistance, smooth operation and
durability, Gen 3 also ships with a hybrid muzzle
break.
The first thing I noticed when shooting this rifle
was its relatively low recoil, even without the
muzzle brake installed. Its recoil impulse is
markedly lower than most similar caliber rifles
I’ve fired. Everything on this rifle is aligned in a
straight line so the recoil is dissipated and
directed back to the shooter’s shoulder. It
literally shoots like a .223 with virtually no
muzzle flip.
Copyright 2019, Towbirds Flying Publications. All Rights Reserved.
 RUGER PRECISION RIFLE (RPR) Gen 3
Like the Gen 2 version, the Gen 3 RPR ships with
a two chamber hybrid muzzle break. Ruger
claims a 58% reduction in the recoil impulse.
The RPR break is removable exposing 5/8 x 24
threads for attachment of additional muzzle
devices or a suppressor. The company’s
engineers took all of the pain out of timing the
muzzle brake by using an external jam nut that
locks the muzzle brake in place once properly
aligned. Removal and installation of the muzzle
brake could not be easier.
There are a number of factors accounting for
the rifle’s organic accuracy but at the very top
of that list is its 20 inch hammer forged medium
contoured 5R barrel.
5R refers to its rifling. Standard rifling is
stepped, meaning that you have sharp corners.
5R rifling does away with the sharp edges using
rounded or ramped rifling. The legendary M24
built on the Remington 700 action used 5R
rifling as well; its accuracy was superb.
Copyright 2019, Twobirds Flying Publications, All Rights Reserved
2019
Contributing to its exceptional accuracy is also
the Ruger Marksman Adjustable™ trigger; this is
an externally adjustable trigger with a pull
range of 2.25 to 5 pounds.
My review sample came in at approximately 2.5
lbs.
The RPR’s trigger breaks cleanly and crisply not
quite the feel of a tuned rifle but extremely
close. Its barrel, chamber and trigger all
contribute to exceptional accuracy for an off
the shelf rifle.
My range session consisted of sending some
.308 Win 168 gr. Federal Gold Medal Match and
150 gr. TULA 100 yds. down range with some
very satisfactory result.
 RUGER PRECISION RIFLE (RPR) Gen 3 2019
Ruger was ingenious in its decision to pattern
the RPR after the AR. That path opened a
superfluity of options for owners.

Any grip that fits on the AR platform can be

used on the RPR; the use of an AR receiver
extension opens the door to several mil-spec
buttstocks, like Magpul Industries PRS® GEN3
Precision-Adjustable Stock; the RPR’s safety
selector is fully ambidextrous and functions like
the AR selector; and the bolt even locks back on
an empty magazine, something that took me a
couple of magazines to get accustomed to.
I fired all rounds off a bipod with no other
support. The TULA 150 gr performed
satisfactorily with some vertical stringing. The
168 gr. FGM did extremely well, as expected. It
will take a couple hundred rounds to break in
the RPR barrel at which time I expect to see sub
MOA groups especially with some RUAG
Ammotec SWISS P.

The RPR features a left side folding stock

adjustable for length of pull and comb height.
Although the Ruger buttstock is flexible and
comfortable it left something to be desired.

Copyright 2019, Twobirds Flying Publications, All Rights Reserved

 RUGER PRECISION RIFLE (RPR) Gen 3 2019
I would give serious consideration to upgrading Manufacturer Specifications:
to a Magpul PRS. The conversion is something
that can be readily done without sending the  Stock: Folding, Adjustable Length of Pull
RPR to a gunsmith - replace the receiver and Comb Height
extension with a full size rifle variant and install  Finish: Type III Black Hard-Coat
the PRS, done. Anodized
 Barrel Length: 20"
 Barrel: Cold Hammer-Forged, 5R Rifling
 Thread Pattern: 5/8"-24
 Twist: 1:10" RH
 Grooves: 5
 Weight: 9.8 lb.
 Capacity: 10
 Height: 7.30"
 Overall Length: 39.25"-42.75"
 Length of Pull: 12" - 15.50"
 Folded Length: 31.60"
 Width: 3.30"
The icing on the cake for me was Ruger’s multi-  Suggested Retail: $1599.00
magazine interface, which functions
interchangeably with AICS and M110/SR-
25/DPMS/Magpul-style magazines. Ruger ships
the rifle with two Magpul 10 round magazines.

I’ve been behind quite a few pricy precision

rifles: Accuracy International, Ashbury
Precision, Sako TRS, Remington MSR, CZ 750
and KAC M110, all superb weapons and each
has something to love, but if you showed up to
the party wearing Ruger’s RPR you shouldn’t
feel out of place. Ruger delivered a highly
modular rifle of exceptional performance at an
M.S.R.P. of $1,599, making it the best value in
precision rifles on the market. It is a great entry
point into precision shooting worthy of your
serious consideration.

-SP

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