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How Ruger Improved the New American Gen II 6.5 Creedmoor

Is This the Modern Lightweight Hunting Rifle You Have Been Waiting For?

How Ruger Improved the New American Gen II 6.5 Creedmoor
Ruger’s new American Standard Generation II is a family of light and compact hunting rifles which offer a lot of performance for the money. (Photo by Michael Anschuetz)

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I will admit, my office chair has seen better days. It’s old, dilapidated and has endured the claws of a number of cats seeking attention. It had served an old friend well during his many hours of study. When he purchased a new fancy leather chair, I had adopted it. I suppose that was over 20 years ago, perhaps much longer. Over the decades, it has become an old friend, and I long ago lost count of how many articles were written while comfortably perched in its embrace.

Ruger American side views
The Ruger American Standard Gen II has a number of nice features which will make it appealing to hunters and sportsmen. (Photo by Michael Anschuetz)

Today, though, I was leaning forward staring at a page on Ruger’s website. What had caught my attention was the price of the rifle I had been spending time on the range with. After an enjoyable day punching small groups on paper, I expected the price of Ruger’s American Standard Gen II 46901 hunting rifle to be, well, more than it actually is. Between the looks of the rifle with its spiral fluted barrel and the way it shot at 100 yards, it just seems like a lot of rifle for an MSRP of $729. That’s a good thing in my book, especially with everything in life today seeming to be so overpriced.

I’m getting ahead of myself though, so let’s back-up to where our story starts. Our Editor-in-Chief, Vince DeNiro, is a hunter. and when Ruger announced this new model, he wanted to cover it. He knew this was something which would appeal to our readers. A bit of time went by and the rifle seen on these pages arrived on short-term loan from Ruger for this review. I wasn’t sure exactly what would be in the box, but was impressed to find a handy little 6.5-pound hunting rifle with distinctive looks.

I have tested different models from Ruger’s older Gen I American line in the past, and they have all been solid performers. While not the prettiest pieces, all were solid values for the money. While Ruger still offers an extensive line of Gen I models, the rifle seen here is a member of their recently introduced Gen II family of American rifles. This is a much more attractive piece with a number of nice features hunters and riflemen will appreciate.

Currently, Ruger offers three main groups of Gen II rifles: Standard, Ranch, and Predator models. The rifle seen here is a member of their Standard family, and is a model 46901 to be specific. This model number indicates it is chambered in 6.5mm Creedmoor, feeds from an Accuracy International (AI)-style three-round magazine and features a 20-inch spiral fluted barrel. In addition to 6.5mm Creedmoor, other calibers available in this model include 350 and 400 Legend, .223 Rem, .22 and 6mm ARC, 6.5mm Grendel, 6mm Creedmoor, .243 and .308 Winchester, 7mm-08 Rem, 450 Bushmaster, .30-’06, .270 Win, .300 Win Mag, 6.5mm and 7mm PRC.

Author pointing rifle
The Ruger American Standard Gen II would make a good hunting partner. (Photo by Ashley Jaderborg)

Standard models all share certain features. The most notable being a gunmetal gray Cerakote finish, a dark gray synthetic stock with a black and gray texture and a distinctive spiral fluted barrel. With this in mind, let’s delve more deeply into this specific model, the 46901. It is chambered in the very popular 6.5mm Creedmoor cartridge, which was originally developed by Hornady for use by competition shooters. It has proven itself to be very accurate, has mild recoil and is an effective big game load along the lines of the well-respected 6.5x55mm Swedish Mauser.

Author carrying rifle slung and kneeling shot
At just 6.5 pounds this model carries nicely on long hikes. The stock design is comfortable and it’s a fun rifle to shoot from position. (Photo by Ashley Jaderborg)

Weighing in at 6.5 pounds, the 46901 is light, well balanced and quick handling. It carries nicely and is swift to the shoulder. It swings fast and is comfortable in the hands. Ruger reduced its weight by fitting it with a 20-inch medium contour barrel which has been cut with spiral fluting. The fluting is visually attractive, increases surface area on the barrel and knocks a bit of weight off, especially towards the front of the rifle.

Author pointing rifle right with right side view
The rifle is quick to the shoulder and the tang safety is well-placed and easy to manipulate. (Photo by Ashley Jaderborg)

At the muzzle, you will find a radial port muzzle brake. While effective at reducing felt recoil, it is not large and gaudy. It looks right at home on this model. However, if you choose it can be removed and replaced with a sound suppressor or other muzzle device. The barrel Ruger selected is one of their cold hammer forged tubes with five groove rifling and a one turn in eight inches right hand twist. The barrel is fitted to a beefy, modern looking action. This is nicely contoured for good looks and features a 1913 rail on its top for easy mounting of optical sights.

ruger muzzle brake
The barrel is cold hammer forged and features spiral fluting to reduce weight and a radial muzzle brake to reduce recoil. (Photo by Michael Anschuetz)

Riding inside the short-action receiver is a rugged looking one-piece bolt with three locking lugs. Ruger’s design features a beefy-looking claw extractor and plunger ejector. It features cock-on-opening, and dual cocking cams are utilized to ease the initial upward bolt stroke. The three-lug bolt features a relatively short 70 degree rotation which enhances speed. An easy-to-reach three-position tang safety is southpaw friendly and out of the way of low-mounted optics. It is easy to manipulate while also allowing safe unloading of the rifle. The receiver features a bolt release on the left rear of the receiver. Depress this and the bolt can easily be removed.

ruger bolt
The bolt features three locking lugs, a robust claw extractor and plunger ejector. (Photo by Michael Anschuetz)

The American Gen II features Ruger’s Marksman Adjustable trigger. As its name implies, this design is user adjustable. A safe pull weight of between three and five pounds can be easily achieved. A trigger mounted safety is fitted which must be fully depressed before you can pull the trigger. Rather than a traditional Mauser-style internal box magazine, this model feeds from a three-round AI style synthetic magazine. The magazine release is an easy to reach ambidextrous paddle at the rear of the magazine well.

The barreled action is dropped into a grey-textured synthetic stock. This feature’s Ruger’s Power Bedding integral bedding block system. This is designed to positively locate the receiver and free-float the barrel to enhance accuracy. The stock also helps to reduce weight. Plus, it is adjustable for length of pull via a spacer system. Length of pull can be adjusted from 12 to 13.75 inches. A rubber recoil pad not only reduces felt recoil but it keeps the butt from sliding around when mounted. The top of the pad is contoured to help prevent snagging on your clothing when quickly shouldering the rifle. Another nice feature is that the comb height is easily adjustable using different height combs. Additional butt spacers and comb options are available at ShopRuger.com. The stock features sling studs and the rifle has an overall length of 41.2 inches. 

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The short 20-inch barrel makes this rifle fairly compact and handy, but it will reduce muzzle velocity a bit. It’s a nice length though for stalking through the woods with, and is a good length if you plan on mounting a sound suppressor. The muzzle features standard 5/8x24 threads, so is suppressor ready once you remove the radial muzzle brake.

I like the bolt’s short rotation and it’s a fairly smooth and fast action once you get the feel for it. The trigger is also quite good. A single-stage design it exhibited no creep and broke crisply at four pounds with almost no over-travel. The safety is well placed and easily manipulated through its three positions. The bolt handle is nicely shaped, placed in easy reach and offers plenty of leverage.

With no optic mounted, the rifle balances just in front of the magazine well. Getting ready for the range, I mounted a Hawke Frontier FFP 3-15x50mm scope and a sling. Ready for the field, the American Gen II carried nicely. So, I selected a few of my favorite 6.5mm Creedmoor loads, ranging in weight from 130 to 147 grains, and headed to the range.

Testing began by shooting groups off a rest at 100 yards. Four five-shot groups were fired with each load. Now keep in mind, this is a lightweight 6.5 pound hunting rifle with a fluted medium weight barrel. Typically, hunters consider three-shot groups sufficient for a rifle of this type, but I shot my standard five shots anyways. However, I did take note of the first three shots of each group as I went about my work.

Winchester group
Here is a five-shot group fired with Winchester’s 140-grain Match load, note the first three shots all went into the hole on the right. (Photo by David Fortier)

The Ruger’s three-shot magazine loaded easily and inserted with a simple upward push until it locked into place. Rounds fed smoothly, and empty cases ejected cleanly. The trigger is good and aided accuracy. Despite its 6.5-pound weight, recoil is very mild. Thanks to the radial muzzle brake, and soft recoil pad, this is an extremely comfortable rifle to fire. I did not find the muzzle brake offensive either. It is a very pleasant rifle to spend time behind, and I enjoyed shooting it.

Ruger Gen II Mag view
The rifle feeds from a detachable AI-type box magazine with a three-round capacity. (Photo by Michael Anschuetz)

Best accuracy was obtained using Black Hills Ammunition’s 147-grain ELD-M load which averaged an impressive 0.75 of an inch and posted a best of 0.68 inch for five shots at 100 yards. Velocity was a bit sedate at just 2,366 fps. What impressed me about this load is the Ruger would consistently put the first three into a tiny cloverleaf. Switching to Berger’s 140-grain Hybrid Target load improved velocity, but the five-shot average opened up. This load averaged 1.1-inch for five-shot groups at 2,577 fps. The first three shots with this load averaged an impressive 0.68 of an inch. Winchester’s 140-grain BTHP Match load averaged 1.2 inches at 2,585 fps. The first three rounds fired with each group averaged 0.5 inch with the best measuring 0.3 inch. Lastly, Federal’s 130-grain Hybrid Gold Medal Berger load averaged 1.25 inches at 2,668 fps. Again, the first three shots with each group cloverleafed and then group size grew as the barrel heated. If the barrel had been allowed to cool back down between each shot, groups would have been much tighter. But, I didn’t think that would be realistic.

Berger Group
Here is a three-shot group fired with Berger’s 140-grain Hybrid Target load at 100 yards. (Photo by David Fortier)

Next, I moved to running the Ruger offhand and kneeling at 100 yards. I have a variety of steel targets on my range and I ran some speed drills to see how the American Gen II would perform. Running these drills, the compact Ruger really came into its own. The rifle is quick to the shoulder, and easy to snap-shoot. The 70-degree bolt proved fast and feeding was flawless. The lightweight carbine proved not only quick handling but extremely fun to shoot. Recoil is very mild and the stock is very well designed. The comb is angled so you feel nothing on your cheek and the pad soaks up what little felt recoil is left after the radial muzzle brake does its thing.

Black Hills
The Ruger shot well with all the loads tested but preferred Black Hills 147-grain ELD-M load. (Photos by Ashley Jaderborg)

One thing you will notice looking at the accuracy and velocity chart is the reduction in muzzle velocity from the short barrel. The 6.5mm Creedmoor has become hugely popular in recent years and there is a variety of fine performing modern hunting loads available for it. Teamed with a good modern expanding bullet, the 6.5mm Creedmoor will perform well on whitetail deer and similar size game animals at reasonable distances. Accuracy is excellent and recoil is very mild.

Winchester Ammo
Winchester Match 140 grain Match Boat tail Hollow Point (Photos by Ashley Jaderborg)

Should you choose the 6.5mm Creedmoor over an identical model chambered in .308 Winchester? For typical eastern USA whitetail hunting where the shots are close, probably not. The .308 Winchester is old and mundane, but it does put a larger diameter and heavier payload on target. It remains a very accurate cartridge and at typical Eastern hunting ranges, like I experienced growing up in Maine, it is hard to beat.

Federal Ammo
Federal Premium Gold Medal Match 130 grain Hybrid. (Photos by Ashley Jaderborg)

If the 6.5mm Creedmoor is too “hip,” and the .308 Win too “mundane,” seriously consider the classic 7mm-08 Remington. A fantastic old cartridge, it adds a bit of versatility compared to the 6.5mm Creedmoor as there are heavier bullet choices in 0.284-inch and the added diameter certainly doesn’t hurt. The 7mm-08 Rem shoots flat, is well proven on a wide variety of big game animals and has mild recoil when running lighter 120-grain bullets. Luckily, the Ruger American Standard Gen II is available in a wide variety of modern and traditional calibers. So, you have a lot of options to choose from.

I’m delving into other caliber options for this model as I came away impressed with this new offering from Ruger. It’s a fun little rifle which would make a steadfast hunting partner. It is good looking, and in my opinion the spiral fluting and radial muzzle brake combined with the Cerakote finish really sets this model apart from the old Gen I models. The synthetic stock is not “expensive” and you can see that in the integral trigger guard. Even so, it’s very functional and comfortable.

Accuracy data
(Data Provided by Author.)

The three-shot groups this rifle averaged was surprising. For a lightweight hunting rifle, I found the accuracy to be excellent. This is especially true for a rifle in this price range. Keeping in mind the MSRP is $729, I think Ruger’s American Standard Gen II is a solid value for the money. If you are interested in a lightweight modern bolt-action hunting rifle with good looks and performance to match, this is one to consider. 

RUGER AMERICAN STANDARD GEN II SPECS

  • Action Type: Manual rotating bolt with push feed
  • Caliber: 6.5mm Creedmoor
  • Capacity: 3+1 detachable AI box magazine
  • Barrel: 20 inch Cold Hammer Forged, 1-8 inch twist
  • Overall Length: 41.25 inches
  • Weight: 6.5 pounds with empty magazine
  • Finish: Gunmetal Gray Cerakote
  • Length of Pull: 12 to 13.75 inches
  • Trigger: Ruger Marksman Adjustable trigger
  • Sights: None, MIL STD 1913 rail
  • Safety: Ambidextrous Tang
  • Price: $729.00 MSRP
  • Contact: Ruger.com, (603) 865-2442



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