# Ruger Compact?



## huntnflorida (May 24, 2008)

Anyone have a ruger compact? Was thinking of getting one for my son. They are only 35 total inches, and come in a bunch of calibers.


----------



## Splittine (Nov 24, 2007)

Great guns, perfect for a youngin. I wouldnt venture to much outside of 100 yards unless you are a pretty good shot, the 16.5" barrel is a little short for longer ranges.


----------



## huntnflorida (May 24, 2008)

Good point, I didn't think of that. However I wouldn't expect him to shoot more than that, but I will keep that mind. Any suggestions on a good small centerfire rifle. The companies build these youth rifles for young adults 10-12 year old kids, and I want to start him at 5 (I did!!). He's 4 now and has been going since last year and he's ready to do some shooting!!


----------



## Baitcaster (Oct 4, 2007)

Splittine said:


> Great guns, perfect for a youngin. I wouldnt venture to much outside of 100 yards unless you are a pretty good shot, the 16.5" barrel is a little short for longer ranges.


please elaborate


----------



## Splittine (Nov 24, 2007)

Baitcaster said:


> please elaborate


 
The longer the barrel the more accurate. Think about it, what would you think would be more accurate a .308 with a 16" barrel or a .308 with a 22" barrel.


----------



## SAWMAN (May 24, 2010)

*HUH ?? What ??*

The "theory" that a longer bbl is more accurate is total nonsense. It is usually spewed forth by the same people that refuse to own a shotgun with a bbl under 28 inches.

What does the length of the bbl have to do with it's accuracy. Ever see a professional benchrest shooter with a "long" bbl ?? Most use a 20" and that is strictly for stiffness. And to bring there groups down below .250".

I own a Ruger M77 MKII Compact chambered in .308. It has one of them dreadded 16.5" bbls. It will shoot .750" groups at 100yds all day long with my handloads. (Got targets to prove it if needed) 

Yes,I agree......."think about it". ----SAWMAN
EDIT: to the OP ---> Please PM me if more details needed.


----------



## Garbo (Oct 2, 2007)

I agree that the shorter barrel will be less accurate than other options. 
A longer barrel will make a better platform for the young shooter than the shorter barrel. My opinion is based on shooting a Ruger M77 Compact right beside the sister it, the Ruger M77. 

I own a Ruger Compact in .308 and 7mm:08. I like both of them but they are neither capible of producing as nice a group as the sister rifle of each of them the Ruger M77. Now, Ruger is not known for producing extremely accurate rifles and when you take an M77 apart it is easy to find loose tollerances which create lack of accuracy. M77 barrels are not known to be terribly great either. But I love Ruger products and the M77. 

Some of the Round Options that the Compact are Chambered and produced in could create a lack of accuracy problem as well. The volocity of the .308 and certainly the 25:06 is so fast that the 16 1/2" barrel is potentally too short for a consistantly complete powder burn. More or less that the bullet could possibly breach the muzzle before the complete energy from the powder burn is accomplished. This is not a huge problem at shorter distances but would become greater accuracy problem at greater distances. The greatest potential for this to be an issue is in the inconsistancy of each shot potentially being at a different FPS at the Muzzle due to different and inconsistent gas levels at the time the bullet breaches the muzzle. This potential problem can be overcome with handloading specific powders, bullets and recipe. 

My recomendation for your young shooter would be a Winchester Model 70 Ultra Light Chambered in 7mm:08 or a Remington Model 7 chambered in the same 7mm:08. 

I do hope this helps. I wish you luck in finding the right rifle for the young shooter, and most of all enjoy getting him hooked on our sport.


----------



## Splittine (Nov 24, 2007)

Ok, take a Ruger with a 16.5 barrel and one with a 22 or even 24" barrel and I gaurantee it will not shoot as good. Most long range shooters shoot over 20" barrels. You cant get the velocity out of a 16" barrel to shoot at long ranges like you would a longer barrel, that it just gun physics.


----------



## Baitcaster (Oct 4, 2007)

Splittine said:


> Ok, take a Ruger with a 16.5 barrel and one with a 22 or even 24" barrel and I gaurantee it will not shoot as good. Most long range shooters shoot over 20" barrels. You cant get the velocity out of a 16" barrel to shoot at long ranges like you would a longer barrel, that it just gun physics.


you're losing roughly 50 fps per in. loss in barrel length , so If you're shooting a 7-08 with a 20" barrel @ 2700 fps and go down to the 16" barrel your velocity would be roughly 2500 fps - still plenty of speed for a 200 yd shot .

Granted , I understand we're talking about a rifle for younger shooters , but It just seemed to me you're underestimating the potential of this rifle .


----------



## helo_hunter (Oct 2, 2007)

Have a Ruger M77 compact and really like it. 243 caliber and it does what I have asked of it on deer and hogs. Haven't tried any shots over 100 yards yet. Bought it for the wife then she decided she wasn't going to hunt and I kept it. Hope to have the grandkids 9when they arrive) use it.


----------



## Splittine (Nov 24, 2007)

Baitcaster said:


> you're losing roughly 50 fps per in. loss in barrel length , so If you're shooting a 7-08 with a 20" barrel @ 2700 fps and go down to the 16" barrel your velocity would be roughly 2500 fps - still plenty of speed for a 200 yd shot .
> 
> Granted , I understand we're talking about a rifle for younger shooters , but It just seemed to me you're underestimating the potential of this rifle .


I'm not underestimating the gun I fell in love with that gun past year and bought one. I agree the velocity isn't everything but 99% of the time a longer barrel within reason will out shoot a 16"barrel all day long. It would not be a great choice for a young kid or inexperienced shooter at 200 yards. 

Take a .44 mag and shoot the same bullet out of a rifle them a pistol and let me know which one shoots better at 50 yards.


----------



## Splittine (Nov 24, 2007)

And I'm not saying it won't shoot out to 200 just saying there are better rifles for that job.


----------



## Joraca (Dec 29, 2007)

I think it would be easier to make a perfect short barrel than a perfect long one.

My 10" contender pistols shoot accurately at 100 yds. I don't have one in .44 mag, but the .357 mag shoots in about 2" at that distance. In still air, the .22 is even better.

If longer is better, why isn't everyone shooting 30 inch barrels or longer barrels, like in the civil war?

Joraca


----------



## Baitcaster (Oct 4, 2007)

Splittine said:


> And I'm not saying it won't shoot out to 200 just saying there are better rifles for that job.


good point . I agree .


----------



## ScullsMcNasty (Oct 4, 2007)

Jake, i bought Brandy a youth model H&R .243 and she loves it. its a good cheap gun and i think they have the gun at mikes with a scope for less than $250 but dont quote me on that.. it shoots good too!!!! its a single shot with a sythetic camo stock and it looks really cool.


----------



## Big B (Sep 7, 2009)

I know someone who has a 38sp with the titanium snub barrel revolver . Being so light it has a stronger recoil and also has a long trigger pull like a keltec. It is ok for a backup gut gun but any accuracy is just not happening after about 8 ft. But on a good note is is very small and light. Would hardly notice it when carrying.


----------



## byrddog (Aug 3, 2009)

Jake, Aidan killed a deer Sunday afternoon with a model 7 Rem 7.08 and he had no trouble at 6 years old. Ill see you at Thanksgiving dinner!!


----------



## kaferhaus (Oct 8, 2009)

> If longer is better, why isn't everyone shooting 30 inch barrels or longer barrels, like in the civil war?


In long range bench rest they are.... 28-30" barrels are the norm.

The accuracy issues with many of these short barreled "compact" rifles isnt' the length of the barrel it's the weight... they're skinny whippy barrels that just don't have good harmonics.

however, what is the mfg to do? you want compact and light..... you can't have compact and light and have a heavy stiff barrel that has good harmonics for great accuracy.

Many 'mountain" rifles have the same issue.... you want to save weight then shorter skinny barrels are the easiest way to get there.

Most deer hunting in these parts is at relatively short range. If you can find a load that gets you 1.5-2" 3 shot groups, you've got a bonafide deer killing machine. you should be able to get that with a little testing even out of a compact rifle.

I shoot both short and long range benchrest..... every short range rifle I own has a 19.75" barrel on it but it's 1.25" in diameter all the way to the muzzle. Every long range barrel is 28" long, 1.25" at the breech and .9 at the muzzle. these rifles all weigh between 16 and 25lbs....


----------



## Keith (Oct 4, 2007)

I have a Ruger compact in 7mm-08. It has very little recoil and is as accurate as any other rifle I have.


----------



## cain (Aug 24, 2009)

well if it shoots a .5 group at 100 yards or a 3in group at 100 yards,if the kid is shooting deer it dont matter,unless he is shooting dogs at 600 yards or somethin...just sayin


----------



## Joraca (Dec 29, 2007)

kaferhaus said:


> <snip>
> I shoot both short and long range benchrest..... every short range rifle I own has a 19.75" barrel on it but it's 1.25" in diameter all the way to the muzzle. Every long range barrel is 28" long, 1.25" at the breech and .9 at the muzzle. these rifles all weigh between 16 and 25lbs....


Thanks for the elaboration.

I assume that the short-range barrels are 19.75 inches for a reason. Are they more accurate (than the 28 inch barrels) or is it a rules requirement?

Joraca


----------



## K-Bill (May 14, 2009)

surprised the rate of twist has not been brought up at all. you can have a 30" barrell with one rate and and a 16" with another and it's very possible the shorter barrell with more twist will shoot better. we may be getting way too far off point there, but something to think about.


----------



## huntnflorida (May 24, 2008)

Scully and Byrd, if you get a chance give me an overall length of those rifles please!!
Thanks for all the input!!


----------



## kaferhaus (Oct 8, 2009)

Joraca said:


> Thanks for the elaboration.
> 
> I assume that the short-range barrels are 19.75 inches for a reason. Are they more accurate (than the 28 inch barrels) or is it a rules requirement?
> 
> Joraca


Weight is the primary reason... there's a weight limit in most classes. The other is a bit more complicated... that length with a straight tube barrel has shown the best harmonics with the velocities that we use for short range BR.

Barrels move in pretty much a circular manner when fired... the idea is to have the bullet exit the barrel at the same exact point of that motion every time.

Tailoring your load is pretty much trying to find the velocity that aids that.

Most barrels will have 2 or more "nodes" or different velocities that cause that to happen.... we usually try to find the fastest one (wind) that doesn't kill brass too quickly and stick with it. 

And it gets more complicated from there..

So you can see where a short skinny barrel is very counter productive to accuracy. The harmonics at the muzzle will be all over the place and even with much experimentation it's doubtful that you'd ever find a load that would compare favorably to a heavier stiffer barrel.

Long Range is a different story as velocity becomes a paramount concern, thus the longer but still very heavy barrels (although tapered.... again for weight rules)

Time to target is of extreme importance for 600 and 1,000 yd competition. The longer the wind has to play it's foul tricks on you the worse off you are. Very long heavy bullets are the norm for their ballistic coefficient and wind bucking abilities.

But for deer hunting.... LOL who cares? Most of these carbines will shoot 2" groups or so, some a little better with good ammo. That's plenty for a deer getter.


----------



## byrddog (Aug 3, 2009)

huntnflorida said:


> Scully and Byrd, if you get a chance give me an overall length of those rifles please!!
> Thanks for all the input!!


38 1/4" 20" barrel on the model 7 rem but you can change the stock out when he gets older.


----------

