Ruger Precision Rimfire .22 LR: Review

in Bolt-Action, Gun Reviews, Rifles, Rimfire, True Pearce

Updated: August 26, 2018 BY True Pearce

The Ruger Precision Rimfire with Leupold LRP scope, SilencerCo Sparrow, and Harris Bipod.

I own quite a few .22 LR firearms and think that they are fantastic for practicing, teaching, varmint hunting, and just having fun. I own a number of conversion kits so that I can practice without using expensive ammo. With a rimfire or a rimfire conversion, I can use a gun that is either the same or very similar to what I would use for hunting or competition but not spend hours reloading or hundreds of dollars on ammo.

Pre Obama, I used to shoot piles of rimfire. I tried to get out at least once a week and burn 500 rounds. As all of you likely remember, after Obama was elected, finding .22 ammo that didn’t cost $100 a brick became almost impossible. I almost entirely stopped shooting rimfire during that period of time and I really lost interest in rimfires almost altogether.

My only and most recent rimfire purchase in years was when I went to a local D&B Supply and found a Ruger Precision Rimfire in .22LR for 10% off. I became the proud owner.

By removing a small ring on the bolt you can make the RPR mimic a centerfire short action rifle bolt throw.

The Ruger Precision Rimfire (RPR) Model 8400 is a bolt action .22 LR made to mimic a full-size precision chassis long range centerfire rifle.

The cold hammer forged barrel is 18 inches long and is made in-house at Ruger. It features a ½-28 threaded muzzle and a 1:16 twist rate. The barrel can be easily removed or replaced using standard AR-15 armorer’s tools.

Mounting and leveling the Leupold LRP on the Ruger Precision Rimfire.

The fact that the muzzle comes threaded was a big deal to me because I’ve had to pay to have other muzzles threaded for suppressors. It’s an added value that I want in guns that I purchase.

The handguard is a free float AR style handguard with M-Lok slots all the way around so that should you desire to deck it out to the max, there will be no shortage of real estate to attach to. I added one rail on the bottom of the handguard to attach a bipod too.

The handguard is free floating and features M-Lok attachment points all the way up and down the handguard

The action/bolt is where things start to get really interesting. You have the option of keeping the bolt throw really short as is standard on a .22 rimfire bolt action or you can, by pulling the bolt out and removing the bolt stop ring that is attached to the bolt, achieve a bolt throw that is substantially similar to working the bolt on a short action centerfire rifle.

The RPR features an oversize bolt handle.

The store I bought my rifle from had two Ruger Precision Rimfires in stock and I played with both of them. I chose the rifle that had the better trigger pull. The trigger is adjustable from 2.5 to 5lbs so they both could have likely been adjusted the same but I wanted the one that felt better out of the box.

The trigger is Ruger’s Marksman trigger and it features the safety blade in the center that must be depressed to make the gun fire. I think the trigger is fantastic as it breaks very crisp in my rifle.

My trigger came out of the box set at 2 lbs 2.2 ounces as averaged over 5 trigger pulls on a Lyman Digital Trigger Gauge.

The safety is similar to working the safety on an AR15 and according to Ruger is interchangeable with most AR-15 safety selectors on the market.

The grip is also interchangeable with AR-15 grips so if there’s one that you love (my personal preference is ERGO Grip) it will bolt right on.

The SIlencerCo Sparrow 22 is shown attached to Ruger Precision Rimfire.

My initial impressions of the stock were that it was kind of cheesy. However, my initial impressions were off. I actually really like the stock as it’s completely adjustable with one lever. I set it to have a perfect length of pull and a cheek weld. I can switch the stock in 15 seconds to fit a four-year-old and switch it right back for myself without any tools. I actually did this when I took some kids ages 4-13 on a shooting expedition. Because of their different sizes, they all need a different length of pull and a different cheekpiece height. The gun was adjusted between every shooter.

The stock on the RPR is one of the Author’s favorite features. The length of pull and the cheekpiece can be adjusted quickly for any size shooter with just one toolless lever clamp.

The Chassis itself is made from polymer and aluminum and feels solid. While I didn’t pull it off and weigh it I know it couldn’t be very heavy as the entire rifle only weighs 6.8 lbs.

The fully adjustable stock even features a flush cup on the stock for a QD sling attachment.

The rifle I bought shipped with an excellent single stack 15 round magazine made by Ruger and I own a few 10/22 magazines and they fit and function perfectly as well.

Accuracy has been excellent with most .22LR ammunition with the CCI Mini Mags and Federal AutoMatch turning in the best groups. The bulk pack ammo also shot good but not quite as good.

Groups that could be easily covered with a dime were pretty easy to shoot at 50 yards.

Shortly after purchasing the RPR .22 I took it on a ground squirrel depredation hunt in Nevada on my dad’s ranch. He had an infestation of ground squirrels eating his hay crop. The gun made several thousand ground squirrel kills over the course of a couple of days. Hits with the rifle ranged from six feet to a little over 200 yards. The infestation was so bad that even after shooting nearly 3,000 rounds and with a very high hit ratio you couldn’t tell I’d been there. The rifle also took out about 150 jackrabbits in the dark with a spotlight. I have pictures of the rabbits but I’m afraid too many people might find the photos offensive and so you’ll have to take my word for it that the rifle is an effective management tool.

Overall this Ruger Precision Rimfire is a high quality, accurate, adjustable, ergonomic, and fun to shoot rifle. I own a few guns that If I were to lose in a fire that I wouldn’t replace. I’d try something out I haven’t owned yet. This RPR isn’t one of those, I’d immediately replace it. I own other bolt action .22 LR rifles and they now sit untouched in the safe. My two favorite features of the RPR .22LR are the quickly and infinitely adjustable stock and the bolt throw that is similar to a real centerfire rifle.