Look back: this is the original feature-by-feature deep dive on the Ruger Custom Shop Precision Rifle in 6.5 Creedmoor, published on the channel October 4, 2022, right as Ruger launched it. It is a detailed walkthrough with some initial range footage, not a full accuracy test. Ruger provided the rifle for testing and evaluation and did not see the video before it was published. Details below are as filmed in 2022.
Squat Squad, you knew it was only a matter of time. Ruger had already done Custom Shop spinning guns, a Custom Shop 1911, and a handful of Custom Shop little pew pew guns. Then they made the Custom Shop big pew pew: the Custom Shop Ruger Precision Rifle. It’s like they had been watching me gucci out every RPR I got my hands on and decided to save me the trouble. Well, except maybe for the red parts.
I’ve covered this rifle twice since then: my two-year long-term review (groups, steel, ownership) and a PRS competitor’s take on whether it’s match ready. This article is the launch-day teardown: what Ruger actually changed compared to a standard RPR, part by part, front to back.
Why a Custom Shop RPR exists
For a long time Ruger was the conservative company: rugged, reliable, never sexy. That changed in 2015 with the first Ruger Precision Rifle. It combined a bolt action with the modularity and ergonomics of an AR-15, and people could buy one, buy some ammo, and consistently shoot sub-1-inch groups at 100 yards with a factory gun. That helped the Precision Rifle Series grow and is one of the reasons PRS added the Production Division, where you can compete without an equipment race. The Custom Shop RPR was built specifically for that division.
Every change, front to back
1. Barrel
A 26″ stainless steel barrel instead of the chrome-moly barrels on the production rifles. Stainless generally tends to be more accurate, at some cost to barrel life, but 6.5 Creedmoor is not an over-bore barrel burner, so that shouldn’t be a big deal. The profile is also a bit heavier, which helps with heat and keeps accuracy as the barrel warms up. It’s threaded.
2. Muzzle brake
A three-chamber brake (an APA Little Bastard). 6.5 Creedmoor isn’t a shoulder buster, but in PRS you have to call your own hits and misses. If the brake doesn’t keep you on target to see the impact, you’re on your own.
3. Handguard with a Swiss ARCA bottom
A new rail, similar to what we saw on the 6.5 PRC and 300 PRC Magnum RPRs. The big difference from the standard rail is a Swiss ARCA rail on the bottom, plus M-LOK slots on the top, both sides and the bottom. Gun owners finally learned what photographers have known for years: ARCA is cool. In a match you’re shooting off barricades, rooftops and obstacles, and ARCA lets you move or pull bipods, barricade stops and bags without tools. It also clamps straight onto a standard tripod for standing, sitting or squatting positions. My FAB spike bipod, which had been on my 6mm ARC AR-15 five minutes earlier, went right on with an MPA ARCA adapter.
The furniture is gray instead of boring black. Not my first pick, but it sets this rifle apart from the hundreds of thousands of other RPRs out there.
4. Receivers with M-LOK in the mag well
The upper and lower are new too. Those holes in the sides of the mag well took me a few days to figure out: they’re M-LOK slots, for things like spare-round holders. They’re recessed on the inside so they don’t interfere with the magazine. The lower is more streamlined than the angular one on regular RPRs.
5. Barricade stop
The first piece of “propaganda red.” Bolted to the front of the mag well, it creates a right angle to brace against a barricade, instead of the angled mag well face on a stock gun. Don’t need it? One bolt and it’s off.
6. Safety
Ambidextrous selector, same as standard. Just red.
7. Stock
Same folding stock design, adjustable for length of pull and comb height with the locking levers, with two changes: it’s gray, and the bottom Picatinny section that used to chew up rear bags is replaced with a smooth piece with two M-LOK sections. Ruger includes an M-LOK rail section in the box if you still want a monopod or bag rider. Out of every RPR I’ve handled, this one has the tightest stock fit. Everything feels solid with no wobble.
8. Pistol grip
A Magpul MOE-K2+, polymer with rubber overmolding and a more vertical angle. I’m generally not a Magpul grip guy, but it’s an improvement over the standard RPR grip, and a more upright grip helps you pull the trigger straight back.
9. TriggerTech two-stage trigger
The last piece of red, and the big surprise. I could have sworn I heard “TriggerTech” on the phone and assumed I’d misheard, since TriggerTech didn’t make RPR triggers at the time. I took the gun apart to prove it: it’s a TriggerTech two-stage. As it came, the first stage averaged 1 lb 7 oz and the second stage broke at an average of 2 lb 4 oz. Both stages adjust: about 1 to 2 lb on the first stage and 20 to 44 oz on the second. Yes, you can turn a standard RPR trigger down, but this one is flat with no safety blade and has a much cleaner break with less grit or mush.
10. The little things
A Ruger Custom Shop logo engraved on the left side of the lower. The serial number also started with “CS11,” which I’m guessing marks it as Custom Shop product number 11.
Is it worth it over a standard RPR?
You’re getting the four upgrades people most often do to an RPR (heavier stainless barrel, a better brake, a better grip and a better trigger), and if you bought those parts yourself you’d still pay for parts and a gunsmith. On top of that you get the barricade stop and the ARCA handguard. Standard-caliber RPRs don’t have an ARCA bottom; to add one you’d buy an M-LOK to ARCA plate (like Area 419’s) or a replacement handguard with ARCA built in (like the Catalyst Arms Fast Track rail), both available from Anarchy Outdoors.
Is it exactly how I’d trick one out? Not quite, and I cover what I’d change in a separate video. But it’s a major head start.
One accessory everyone should buy: a proper metal AICS-pattern magazine. 6.5 Creedmoor RPRs take both AICS and SR-25/AR-10 pattern mags, and the rifle ships with two 10-round AR-10 style mags. Those work, but the follower stays up, so you can’t close the bolt on an empty mag. If you want to single-feed, you need an AICS mag.
Our take
The original RPR redefined the factory precision bolt gun, and the Custom Shop RPR raised the bar for factory semi-custom, competition-ready bolt guns. It was built as an entry into the PRS Production Division, but you don’t need to shoot PRS to appreciate it. If you want something a bit unique that’s ready to hit the range out of the box, this is it. For how it held up over two years, and what a PRS competitor thought after running one in matches, check the follow-ups linked above.
Links and related
- Ruger Custom Shop Precision Rifle (6.5 Creedmoor, current gray Cerakote model 18084): KYGUNCO
- Magpul MOE-K2+ grip: Magpul
- ARCA plates, rails and precision parts (code SlavGuns on Anarchy-manufactured items only): Anarchy Outdoors
- Long-term follow-up: Ruger Custom Shop Precision Rifle: 2-Year Long-Term Review
- Competitor’s view: Is the Ruger Custom Shop Precision Rifle Match Ready?
- Everything else I run: SlavGuns Amazon storefront
- Support the channel: join the Squat Squad on YouTube
Do you like the gray and red, or would you have kept it black? Would you buy the Custom Shop or build up a standard RPR yourself? Let me know in the comments. Thanks for reading, and keep on squatting!
Some links are affiliates.
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