Ruger Precision Rifle 300 PRC Review: Sub-MOA Magnum on a Budget?

What’s up Squat Squad, and welcome to Slav Guns. Last time out I was shooting something really small — the 224 Valkyrie — so this time I’m making up for it with something really, really big: the Ruger Precision Rifle in 300 PRC. I filmed most of this one at Sheepdog Warrior in Catskill, New York, at 32 degrees and snowing, so bear with me.

Disclosure: The firearm was provided by Ruger for testing and evaluation. Ruger did not see the video prior to publication.

Why this rifle matters to me

The 300 PRC was designed to be, in essence, a 6.5 Creedmoor or 6.5 PRC in a 30 cal — comfortable at 1,500 yards and beyond with sleek, heavy, high-BC 30-caliber bullets in the 225 to 250 grain range. In a way it’s a more efficient 338 Lapua Magnum. Ruger was once again the first mainstream manufacturer to give us an RPR in the new 30 cal magnum.

This specific rifle is also partly responsible for this whole precision rifle series. It’s the gun I hit my first targets with at a mile, 2,000 and 2,300 yards, down at FTW Ranch during the Ruger media event. Like your first car, it holds a special place in my heart.

Not actually a chassis gun

As I covered with the 6.5 PRC version, the Ruger Precision Rifle looks like a chassis gun but isn’t one. The barrel goes into the receiver and the buttstock attaches directly behind it, so the recoil impulse has a straight, inline path. Traditional rifles and chassis guns typically attach the barreled action with just two bolts. That inline design gives you more accuracy potential.

Barrel, brake and rail

The 26″ barrel is cold hammer forged with 5R rifling, which is becoming the standard in precision rifles — fewer sharp angles, so less bullet deformation. Ruger doesn’t guarantee accuracy, but their barrels are well known to shoot sub-MOA out of the box, and that’s what I found with the RPR and the Hawkeye Long Range Target in 6.5 PRC.

Despite being a big magnum in the same space as 300 Win Mag, 300 Norma Mag and 338 Lapua, the gun is honestly pleasant to shoot thanks to that behemoth muzzle brake, which you can adjust and tune to your heart’s content. The barrel is threaded 5/8×24, so if your state allows it you can throw on a suppressor of your choice. Over it is an 18″ anodized aluminum handguard with M-LOK on all four sides; M-LOK on top gives scopes a little more clearance without extra-high rings.

Action, bolt and trigger

The upper receiver and one-piece bolt are hardened 4140 chromoly steel. The bolt is a three-lug, 70-degree throw design with a nitride finish. The oversized bolt knob is threaded 5/16×24 if you’d rather swap it, and there’s a disassembly tool stored in the bolt. The lower around the mag well is 7075-T6 anodized aluminum with an extended mag release that gave me no issues.

AR-15 features are a big reason people love the RPR: ambidextrous safety and pistol grip are swappable with AR parts. The Ruger Marksman Adjustable trigger is fantastic, user adjustable from 2.25 up to 5 pounds, with the wrench stored in the bolt shroud. It’s bladed — I keep going back and forth on that myself.

The 30 MOA base

On top is a 30 MOA base, versus the 20 MOA rail on the 6.5 PRC variant. It helps you click further before holding over, but make sure your scope has at least about 60 MOA (roughly 18 mils) of internal elevation, or you may not be able to zero at around 100 yards. That’s exactly why the Sierra 6 BDX scope I’d planned for this gun went on the Hawkeye instead. The optic in the video is the Leupold Mark 5HD.

Stock, mags and weight

The folding stock rides on an AR-15 buffer tube, so you can run any AR stock you like. It adjusts for comb height and length of pull, has a solid rubber recoil pad, and a rail underneath for a rear monopod or bag rider. You get two 5-round AI-style magazines that are really good — there’s even room to load longer; my handloads at 3.85″ overall length fit fine. Empty, it’s 15 pounds; with ammo, scope and mount you’re approaching 17 to 18 pounds, which soaks up even more recoil.

On the range

At FTW Ranch, a thousand yards felt almost effortless (my camera died before the mile-plus shots, unfortunately). At Sheepdog Warrior I was mostly playing with early 300 PRC handload development and ringing steel out to about 450 to 600 yards.

Groups with Hornady factory ammo at 100 meters (about 110 yards):

• First five-shot group: 1.24″ — and the first round had a slightly deformed case with a velocity well off the rest.
• Second: 0.715″.
• Third: 0.827″ — basically sub-MOA.

Shooting just one box through this gun would be a travesty, so I opened another and shot steel and groups at 300 meters. The five-shot group was 2.743″ — shockingly, better than what the Mossberg MVP Precision did with some factory loads at a mere 100 meters. Interestingly, this action felt smoother than the brand-new 6.5 PRC RPR; this is the same well-used rifle I shot my first mile with.

Bottom line

This thing is a monster. The Ruger Precision Rifle — in 300 PRC, 6.5 PRC or any caliber — is one of the best values you can get in the precision rifle game. Keep in mind it’s entry level in that world: it won’t compete with a Desert Tech or a GA Precision, but it’s also less than half the price tag.

My only complaint, no surprise: the stock adjustments get a little too loose. FAB Defense sent me their new RAPS rapid adjustable stock to replace it, and it’s a lot cheaper than a Magpul PRS. It’s sub-MOA, even better with handloads, and will shoot past a mile and a half — next I’m trying 250 grain Hornady A-Tips.

Related: Savage Elite Precision 300 PRC · Ruger Hawkeye LRT 6.5 PRC.

Gear I use: slav.li/amazon. Squat Squad perks: join the channel.

Keep squatting.

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300 PRC or 6.5 PRC for your RPR? Let me know.

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