If you’ve ever built or configured a precision rifle, you may be familiar with an undiagnosed condition that has afflicted me for some time. The symptoms are broad, but it almost invariably includes the feverish desire to build another rifle, and it begins to foment as soon as the previous one is broken in.

One way I have managed to regulate this terrible disorder of mine is to embrace rifle systems over individual rifles. It may sound a bit like a weak defense, but let me explain. Rifle systems with similar chassis and features are easier to become proficient with and can be easier on your bank account depending on what you choose. Today, our topic is on a series of rifles that, much like a rifle system, share many features in common – the Ruger Precision Rifle family.
 

Just a Ruger?

You may have read my article about the Ruger RPR .22 LR or the piece I wrote about the 6.5 Creedmoor RPR. In both of those pieces, I mentioned the phenomenon that was the arrival of the RPR to the precision rifle world. Until Ruger introduced their rifle, the precision rifle world was dominated by custom-built rifles. The cost of admittance was high, usually to the tune of three or four thousand dollars just for the rifle itself.

Ruger managed to squeeze right into the vacant market for less expensive precision rifles at what seemed like the beginning of the Precision Rifle Series craze and, in a cunning move, swept up a massive share of the market that continues to grow like wildfire. The RPR has changed the way the PRS community looks at production rifles from mainstream manufacturers. Now, something that was once looked down upon is commonplace even at the podium.

Start Small With .22 LR Precision

 

Ruger Precision Rifle .22 LR
From adults to children, the .22 LR version of the RPR is great for competition, training, or just plinking. (Photo: Jeff Wood/Guns.com)


The National Rifle League .22 matches have proven that the precision shooting craze isn’t limited to centerfire rifles, and there is much that can be learned from rimfire shooting whether you are an adult or a youth shooter. The RPR .22 LR is the smallest of the RPR family and an excellent place to learn the basics of marksmanship. It is a bolt-action box-fed rifle built into a chassis system just like the entire RPR family. As with every member of the family, it features a fully adjustable buttstock, and the modular chassis is made to be accessorized. Great controls that are well thought out round out these rifles, making them excellent for training or for competition.

The .22 LR Ruger Precision Rifle can be used as a tool to perfect your processes and techniques if you plan on competing and, if you just like shooting, it can provide a lifetime of inexpensive plinking fun for both children and adults.

One of my kids just recently used the RPR .22 LR to pass his hunter safety program here in our state, and he even managed to get an honorable mention for marksmanship. The easily customized rifle was a perfect fit for what he needed, and he continues to shoot it still. Should he choose to keep with it, his experience from the wee .22 will carry right over to the next rifle.
 

The Original Ruger Precision Rifle

The original RPR came out as a short action chambered in .308 and 6.5 Creedmoor and is probably the most popular RPR of the whole family. Utilizing SR-25 patterned magazines and compatible components already available in the flooded AR market, Ruger made the rifle both appealing and familiar to the AR crowd. The controls my kids learned on the rimfire RPR will have them pre-familiarized with this larger version of the rifle.

The medium to long-range capabilities that came with the RPR opened the long-range shooting craze to folks who previously couldn’t or wouldn’t spend the money for a custom gun. The RPR produces incredible accuracy patterns. It punches above its weight, I guess you could say.

Another appealing benefit is the similarities of the RPR to America’s favorite rifle, the AR-15. It doesn’t just feel similar, it also looks similar. As much as we often pretend looks are secondary, the similar looks and aesthetics to the AR have certainly affected the RPR’s popularity. The rifle even created a market space that quickly started getting crowded with other manufacturers, with companies like Savage, Howa, and even Mossberg vying for a piece of the pie.
 

All Grown Up


The RPR has even been produced in the larger calibers, like .300 PRC, Winchester Magnum, and .338 Lapua Magnum. With chamberings such as those, there are few things out of reasonable distance for the RPR family. I’ve shot a few Lapuas in my day, and I was impressed with the way the Ruger performed. Just like its smaller siblings, the rifle just flat-out performed. Making hits beyond 1000 yards was like shooting 500 yards with a .308. Running the longer bolt and magazines was flawless, and the massive muzzle brake tamed the .338 to make it quite manageable.

Ruger Precision Rifle 6.5 Creedmoor
The RPR line offers the ability to customize the feel of the gun to the individual shooter and comes in an AR-like package that is familiar. (Photo: Jeff Wood/Guns.com)

As I mentioned at the beginning, a series of rifle systems can add value to your purchase. Learning to shoot long range on the 6.5 Creedmoor RPR makes it an easy step up to the magnum version of the rifle for even more distance. If you want to train on the cheap for a competition, the little rimfire RPR can help you work out the kinks in your game without spending as much cash. The RPR is still a production rifle, and you can tell the difference between a custom-built competition gun and the humble RPR. But once the timer starts, it depends a lot more on the nut behind the trigger than the price tags of the rifles being shot.
 

Conclusion

 

Shooting Target
You can expect a high degree of accuracy with small groups from an RPR if you do your part. (Photo: Jeff Wood/Guns.com)


Both young and old can benefit from the Ruger Precision Rifle family, graduating from one rifle to the next to increase familiarity and comfort for all. The modularity of the rifles can allow everyone to customize the gun to their own purposes, whether that be competitive or otherwise. 

The obvious popularity of the RPR family could be a result of some brilliant marketing over at Ruger, but I think thousands of happy and religiously loyal RPR owners can’t be wrong. I think it’s more a combination of a good product that’s marketed well to a customer base that was ripe with desire for just such a firearm. If you are looking into the precision shooting game, you’d be well served by looking at the RPR family.

revolver barrel loading graphic

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