Definitely give us an update after you get it and shoot it
Here's the update. the 8334 came in. I didn't know this, but i guess the guys on rimfire central have nicknamed this special edition model the "Ruger American Rimfire Predator" or the "RAR Predator.
anyway, i got a chance to go to the range. I put some rounds down the tube with the following different makes of ammo, and in the following order:
Blazer - 40 grain Round Nose - 1235 fps
Federal Automatch - 40 grain Round Nose - 1200 fps
CCI Standard Velocity - 40 grain Lead Round Nose - 1070 fps
CCI Minimag - 40 grain Copper Plated Round Nose - 1235 fps
CCI Subsonic - 40 grain Lead Hollow Point - 1050 fps
Federal HV Match - 40 grain Round Nose - 1200 fps
CCI Quiet 22 - 40 grain Round Nose - 710 fps
American Eagle (high velocity) - 40 grain - 1240 fps
I shot 5 shot groups from a bench at KHSC using a bipod and a rear bag. I'll post a pic of my groups below. The gun was sighted in for 50 yards with Blazer on bullseye. Note that the CCI Standard Velocity had a pretty tight group. I could cover the centers of all 5 shots with a Dime (with all marks easily covered with a Quarter), but they were really far below my point of aim.
Also note that I didn't run the bore snake through between groups. I kind of just jumped between the different ammo makes, one after another, without much of a break. I wasn't trying to take my time, but the barrel didn't get very hot. it was a mild warm to the touch. The bore was pretty filthy by the time I was done.
I downloaded the rifle targets off of Midway <https://media.midwayusa.com/pdf/downloads/rifle_target.pdf> . the gray centers are just about 1 inch in diameter (there's a little bit of black ring showing when you place a Quarter over it).
the rifle itself is pretty awesome. the barrel is free floated from the factory. the trigger is adjustable from 3 lbs to 5 lbs and is pretty crisp, but keep in mind that i'm not a trigger snob so take my opinion for what it's worth. Ruger says that the gun can be dry fired, so i definitely spent some time getting used to it while i was watching tv the night before. also, the trigger itself is pretty easy to work on. I followed some DIYs on rimfire central and snipped some coils off of the trigger spring. I'm not sure how heavy the trigger is now, but it's somewhere between 2 and 3 lbs if i were to guess. I snipped off one coil from the trigger safety spring and one coil from the trigger main spring. After the trigger job, i reassembled the rifle and slammed the butt of the stock against the ground a few times. the trigger didn't accidentally discharge so i think that it's still decently safe after the mods.
I really like the look of the medium contoured barrel. It measures just about 0.721" in diameter at the area right before the muzzle threads. The bolt handle is enlarged and seems pretty easy to manipulate. the mags fall free after pressing the mag release, so that's nice. The stock cheekpiece seems to put my eye right where i want it to be when mounting my 40mm objective scope as low as possible. My only gripe right now is that the length of pull is a little too long with the supplied LOP/cheek riser piece. I'm having a hard time mounting the scope far enough back to get proper sight picture. I think i'd need to go with the shorter piece, or go with a scope that allows about 4 inches worth of eye relief.
for comparison purposes, here's a group i also shot on the same day with a 10/22 that my dad built. it has some minor trigger work done to it, a nice laminate thumbhole stock, and a Tac Sol aluminum barrel. this is a 5 shot group with Blazer (not taking my time too much) using the KHSC rest and a rear bag. The measured difference between the two groups is negligible (less than 0.010 inches difference).
