Ruger is now offering BX-25 magazines with a clear side panel that allows the shooter to see the magazine’s internals and the ammo contained. The BX-25 is the only extended magazine that I have used that comes close to the reliability of that standard 10 round magazines for the 10/22. The new clear panel is just a very cool bonus for an already useful magazine.
Over the weekend, I came across an infographic from Brownells that gelled a impression that I have had for a while now. Suppressors (or silencers) have more momentum now than ever and I can’t help but think their eventual removal from the NFA is inevitable or at least very likely.
The infographic that I mentioned above may not seem like a big deal but it shows a shift in the perception of suppressors from cool guy gear or military specific gear to functional safety equipment. Brownells, an industry giant, has taken on the mantle of educating the 200,000+ firearm owners who follow their Facebook page about the benefits of suppressor use. This is a big step toward mainstreaming them.
We even have a suppressor specific advocacy group in the ASA or American Suppressor Association. The group already has significant industry involvement and have already been working along side various groups to improve the legislative landscape for suppressors around the country. They supported the recent successes in Iowa and are currently working in other states in addition to introducing legislation at a nation level in the Hearing Protection Act.
One of the most important recent developments for suppressors came in the announcement of Ruger’s Silent-SR. Ruger’ entry into the suppressor market came and went without much fanfare. I think that many people missed the significance of the event. This is likely the very first time that a publicly traded company has produced a suppressor available for consumer purchase. That in and of itself is pretty amazing. Couple that with Ruger’s brand recognition in consumer groups that otherwise might not be interested in owning a can and their history of pumping millions of dollars into firearm advocacy and you have potentially earth shaking development.
There is no way of knowing how long it will take for suppressors to rightfully be removed from the NFA and made widely available but there is more momentum now than ever.
You can support USA Shooting (the national governing body for Olympic shooting sports) and have a chance at landing one of the coolest (and hardest to find) Ruger revolvers ever made.
Ruger is auctioning a 9mm Speed Six and all the proceeds will benefit to USA Shooting. The Speed Six, Service Six (fixed, integral rear sight) and Security Six (adjustable rear sight) have long been discontinued but they were truly excellent revolvers. The 9mm chambered version of the Speed Six is particularly desirable and hard to find. The one in this auction was manufactured in 1983 and features a blued finish with a 2-3/4″ barrel, fixed sights, six-shot cylinder, and round butt frame design.
The introduction of the Ruger Precision Rifle (RPR) made some pretty serious waves late last year. The demand for the is still strong and that has lead a few manufacturers to create replacement hand guards specifically for the budget precision rifle.
Midwest Industries has introduced the MI RPR Handguard. This rail is based on their SP-Series AR-15 rails. It features plenty of M-LOK compatible slots, 6061 aluminum construction, and comes with a Magpul M-LOK 5 Slot Polymer Rail section. It is available in 15″ and 18″ lengths.
Seekins Precision is now offering the SP3R Ruger Rail System. The SP3R Ruger Rail features the same flat bottom shape that is found on the AR-based SP3R Rails. The flat bottom helps when shooting off bags or a barricade. This rail also features KeyMod or M-LOK attachment slots, QD sling swivel sockets, and 6061-T6 aluminum construction.
Ruger’s new Ruger Precision Rifle (RPR) is ambitious to say the least. It manages to shoehorn a staggering amount of features, interesting design elements, and forward thinking modularity into its steel and aluminum chassis. If it manages to live up to its marketing, it could turn the market on its ear.
Ruger has not received enough credit for how they have improved the quality of their barrels. They are hammer forging many (if not all) of their rifle barrels in house and they have seen accuracy improvements across the board including in the Mini 14, which is now MUCH more accurate than the internet thinks. Even Ruger’s budget American Rifle exhibits excellent accuracy so it makes sense that they would build this new precision rifle around one of their hammer forged barrels.
Barrel aside, the RPR’s real headlines are being generated by its chassis. The receiver is steel which rides in an aluminum chassis. The barrel can be changed and headspaced with a standard AR-15 armorers tool and headspace gauges which is more than just a little cool. This use of a barrel nut that is compatible with AR-15 armorers wrenches also means that the RPR can accept AR-15 rails like the Samson Evolution KeyMod rail that is included.
The RPR’s top rail has 20MOA of elevation built in. It is attached to the receiver via screws and easily replaceable.
The chassis allows the use of AR-15 buttstocks via a carbine receiver extension. The RPR ships with an adjustable Precision MSR Stock that appears to be very well suited to intended use of this rifle. The user could also use the stock of their choice as long as it is compatible with an AR-15 carbine receiver extension.
The grip and 45 degree selector are standard AR-15 parts so the user can customize them to suit their tastes. The included selector is reversible for left and right hand use.
The Ruger Marksman Adjustable trigger is externally adjustable from 2.25 – 5 pounds via a wrench that is stored on the rifle.
The innovation continues to the magazine well where you will find an adaptable system that can be made to work with 3 different types of magazines that are common to long range precision. The RPR can accept SR-25 pattern magazines like those from DPMS and Magpul’s PMAG LR. It can also accept AICS magazines and some M-14 magazines.
The RPR is loaded with even more meaningful features than I can cover here outside of a review. It is well worth looking through Ruger’s RPR website to get more information. As amazing as all the engineering and features that are crammed into this rifle are, the price may be the most impressive. It will be available chambered in .308, 6.5 Creedmoor, or .243 Winchester for an MSRP of $1399.00. The actual street price will likely be down around $1200.
This is a strong offering from Ruger, especially following the release of the strangely packaged and marketed SR-556 Takedown.
