The Ruger American Rifle is a synthetic-stocked bolt-action .30-06 Springfield built for deer and elk hunting at the low end of the price range. Ruger no longer makes it, so it is a used buy, and the Generation II has taken its place. Its receiver sits in Ruger's Power Bedding system, a pair of bedding blocks moulded into the stock that locate the action and free-float the barrel, so the barrel never touches the stock as the synthetic flexes under a sling.

One magazine comes in the box and it sits flush with the stock. No sights are fitted. The Marksman Adjustable trigger can be set by the owner, the tang safety falls under the thumb, and a soft rubber buttpad takes some of the .30-06's push. Nothing is threaded at the muzzle, and the stock has no comb or length adjustment, with pull fixed at 13.75 inches.

If you're cross-shopping, the Ruger American Rifle Generation II has an MSRP of $769 and is the direct replacement, 0.2 lbs lighter at 6.4 lbs, with a shorter barrel, a factory muzzle brake on a thread and a three-position tang safety. A used Savage 110 Hunter is the other way to spend less, at 7.50 lbs with comb inserts and butt spacers the Ruger's stock has nothing to match, and Savage has ended that model too. On a used American, confirm the magazine came with it, because a flush-fit box is easy to leave behind in a drawer.