The Ruger AR-556 MPR really is a 'multi-purpose rifle.' Shown with the Leupold Mark 4 4.5-14X50mm LR/T riflescope.

A pair of Ruger rifles recently showed up here at the shop. Their existence is now a matter of public knowledge, so we can take a look at them. I've not done exhaustive shooting with either rifle, but both have considerable appeal. The first is the Ruger American Rifle Ranch in 7.62x39mm. A Sov-bloc round, the 7.62x39mm has ballistics similar to the .30 WCF but with a streamlined projectile. It's short, meaning the guns using it can be reduced in size. Like the aforementioned .30-30, the 7.62x39 can fill a large space in the close-to-medium ranges within which many people hunt. As the "Ranch Thirty" is short, lightweight and handy, capable of using magazines from the Ruger Mini-Thirty, and has a synthetic stock, it appears to be a great choice for those living and working in the great outdoors. A great round for feral hogs, the Sov-30 is good on a range of critters and for a selection of farm and ranch chores. Ammo is easily found and US-made ammo is easily obtained. The second Ruger is the Multi-Purpose Rifle, an AR-556. A carbine-length gun (18" barrel) with a rifle-length gas system, the precision barrel with 5R rifling, a new free-float Ruger handguard that features M-LOK attachment slots and the Ruger Elite 452 trigger, it's handy and light, fitting a wide range of uses. At less than seven pounds, it does not have a heavy profile barrel. It's a factory provided 3-gun rifle out of the box, while it serves the needs of ranch and farm use, varmint hunting and target shooting.

Slim, trim, light, accurate and fairly powerful -- Ruger's "Ranch Thirty" is a well rounded package. The Trijicon Accupoint 1-4x is a great scope for this application.

The barrel is key to the concept: cold hammer-forged 4140 chrome-moly steel with a 1:8" twist rate that stabilizes bullets from 35 to 77 grains, and a 5.56 NATO chamber. M4 feed ramps and the matte black nitrided finish along with Ruger's muzzle brake round out the package. The trigger is not a GI trigger. It is firm enough that I had no issues with rounds going early, but it's very clean. I tried a couple of optics with the Ranch Thirty. The first was a favorite from the Trijicon ACOG line, a 3x30. Trying the lazy guy's way isn't always smart: set up to co-witness on an AR, getting a cheek weld was problematic with that glass on a bolt gun. I attached another Trijicon, the Accupoint – a great 1-4x variable. The ammo I used was steel case Hornady 123 grain SST #8078, the only type I had. At 100 yards, I put five hits into just over two inches. The day before I'd been hitting the ca.-220 yard steel gong target using a 6 o'clock hold with the ACOG. I think the rifle shoots just fine. The MPR was really no surprise. It's remarkably smooth to shoot, feeling like a rifle rather than a carbine. It's light considering the barrel length. The trigger is better than I'm used to. I'd mounted the Leupold Mark 4 4.5-14X50mm LR/T on the Multi-Purpose Rifle. Not a new optic, it's still a great scope – built like a tank. It was small effort to get the optic/rifle zeroed and we were off to the races.

The Ruger AR-556 MPR was a fan of the Black Hills 75 grain Match Hollow Point load.

Five 75 grain Match HP bullets from Black Hills Ammunition clustered into 1 ¼" – with a flier I caused. Federal Tactical Bonded 62 grain ammo yielded a one-inch group and the Federal Barnes "Triple Shock" 55 grain put five rounds into 1 ¾". Some ASYM 75 grain boat-tail HP I had left over went into an inch at 100 yards. Hitting the 220 yard gong was too easy. Ruger has a way of surprising us with guns we didn't even realize we couldn't live without. The Ranch Thirty – that is a good name for the piece – is light, handy, accurate and ammo is broadly available. Shooting compañero Mike Rafferty had been interested in the Ruger American Rifle Ranch in 300 Blackout. Now that the "Ranch Thirty" has arrived, he's reconsidering. Between ammo supply and magazine compatibility with the Mini-Thirty, he's pretty well sold on the latest offering. Problems? A "ranch" rifle should have iron sights. Optics always work, well, until they don't. It's handy to be able to jettison the glass and continue operations. The MPR does about everything well. I'm not a fan of 18- and 20 inch ARs, but this one combines a bit less-than AR rifle length with the rifle gas system, a smart move. I imagine it's not impossible to find spare mid-length gas tubes these days, but you stumble over mountains of carbine and rifle length tubes to get to them. Priced right and high quality describes both of these rifles from Ruger. Ruger Trijicon Leupold Hornady Federal Premium - - Rich Grassi