Ruger American Rifle .243 Winchester
Model: 6904
Ruger American Rifle .243 Winchester
Model: 6904
Full Specifications
About This Firearm
The Ruger American Rifle is a synthetic-stocked bolt-action .243 Winchester built for deer and varmint hunting. Ruger has replaced it with the American Rifle Generation II, so it's a used buy. Its 22-inch barrel is cut 1:9, which stabilizes the light varmint bullets and the heavier deer bullets the cartridge is loaded with.
A one-piece Picatinny base is already on the receiver, with sling swivel studs in the stock and one four-round rotary magazine in the box, so only rings and a scope still have to be bought. Power Bedding locates the receiver in an integral bedding block and free-floats the barrel. The Marksman trigger adjusts, but reaching it means lifting the barreled action out of the stock. Length of pull is fixed at 13.75 inches with no spacers or comb inserts, there are no sights, and the muzzle is bare with no thread under it.
If you're cross-shopping, the Ruger American Rifle Generation II has an MSRP of $769 and trades 2 inches of barrel for hardware, with a radial-port brake on a threaded 20-inch muzzle, a stock that shortens on spacers and a magazine holding three. It is 0.10 lbs heavier than this rifle's 6.20 lbs. The Savage Axis II, also out of production, keeps the 22-inch barrel and sets its AccuTrigger at 2.5 lbs.
Best For
Strengths & Limitations
- The one-piece bolt has three lugs and a 70 degree lift, so the handle clears a low-mounted scope, and dual cocking cams keep that lift light.
- The rotary magazine holds one more round than the Generation II's box and it detaches, so unloading does not mean cycling live cartridges through the chamber.
- This is the longer-barreled of the two generations, which is worth a little velocity on a cartridge that likes length.
- Ruger's stock, magazine and accessory support now follows the Generation II, so a used buyer is shopping an ended line.
- There is no thread and no muzzle device, and paying to thread a barrel nobody makes any more is money spent on a part that cannot be replaced.
- The stock is fixed in every dimension, so fitting the rifle to a smaller shooter means buying another one.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Will Generation II magazines fit it?
No. This rifle feeds from a detachable rotary magazine and the Generation II from an AI-style box, so the parts and the capacities are both different.
What else changed in the Generation II?
Beyond the barrel and the stock, Cerakote replaced the matte black finish, the tang safety became a three-position type that locks the bolt, and the barrel picked up deep spiral flutes.
Is it a good youth rifle?
Not as it comes. The recoil and the weight suit a smaller shooter, but there are no spacers in the butt, where the Generation II shortens on one.
