A bit over four years ago, Sturm, Ruger,
& Co. entered the crowded AR-15
market with their SR-556 rifle. At that time, Ruger did not
want to build just another “me too” standard AR, and they
built the SR-556 to be one of the best gas-piston ARs on the
market. It uses a simple, rugged, and reliable piston system
with an adjustable gas regulator, to function under a wide
variety of environmental conditions, and with a large variation
of ammunition power and quality. Ruger built their rifle to be
as functional and reliable as a semi-automatic rifle can be,
regardless of the quality of the ammunition or the cleanliness
of the weapon.
Almost as soon as the SR-556 was introduced,
shooters have been hollering for a 7.62x51mm version. Ruger
has added to the SR-556 lineup with variations of that rifle,
and have now built their 7.62x51mm version; the SR-762.
I have been very anxious to see Ruger’s new
SR-762 ever since hearing that it was in development several
months ago. I had high hopes that it would be pretty much a
slightly larger version of their SR-556 design, and upon opening
the box which contained the new rifle, I was not disappointed.
Ruger upsized the SR-762 to fit the larger cartridge as
necessary, without making the SR-762 unnecessarily bulky nor
heavy. The SR-762 weighs in at eight pounds, nine and one-half
ounces on my scale, and balances very well. The approximately
sixteen and one-eighth inch hammer-forged chrome-lined barrel is
heavily fluted under the hand guard to reduce weight and to
promote cooling. Forward of the gas block, the one-in-ten-inch
twist barrel measures .695 inch diameter. Along the top of the
upper receiver and continuing along the top of the aluminum hand
guard is nineteen inches of continuous Picatinny spec rail for
the attachment of optical and mechanical sights, as well as
other accessories. Extra sections of rail can be attached as
desired along either side or on the bottom of the hand guard,
and two sections of rail are included with the rifle, as are
three sections of rail cover. The pistol grip is the very-comfortable textured Hogue unit.
The SR-762 retains Ruger’s excellent gas
piston system, including the adjustable gas regulator. A piston
gun is a bit harder to build and still hold the weight to a
manageable level, but Ruger did a fine job in keeping this rifle
handy and well-balanced. The two-stage piston is chrome-plated,
and is a very simple and reliable design. The regulator has four
positions, one of which completely closes off the gas, to
effectively make the weapon a manually-operated design, if
desired. The normal position for the gas regulator is position
“2”, but it can be adjusted down or up as the situation
requires, simply by rotating the regulator.
The SR-762 wears an excellent set of folding
mechanical sights, with the rear being easily adjusted for
windage, and the front adjustable for elevation. The rear has a
folding aperture leaf, for use at close and long range.
The buttstock is the familiar M4-style six-position
telescoping unit, and is attached to a Mil-spec buffer tube. The
overall length measures between 34.75 to 38 inches, depending
upon the position of the buttstock. The trigger is standard AR
style, and the pull weight measured slightly over eight and
one-half pounds on my scales, but the release was crisp and
clean. For bench work and hunting, I prefer a lighter trigger
pull, and any standard AR-pattern trigger can be installed into
the SR-762 rifle. The bolt and bolt carrier are chrome plated
for easier cleaning and durability, with the Ruger logo showing
in the ejection port with the bolt closed and the dust cover
open. The upper receiver has a forward assist and an A2 style
empty case deflector.
The magazines supplied with the SR-762 rifle
are the excellent Magpul twenty-round polymer magazines, and
thankfully, three magazines are included with each rifle, as is
a soft zippered, padded case to contain the rifle, magazines,
and accessories.
Shooting the SR-762 was both enjoyable and
uneventful. As expected, the Ruger SR-762 fed, fired, and
ejected every type and brand of 7.62x51mm and 308 Winchester
ammunition that I thumbed into the Magpul magazines. For
accuracy testing from the bench, I mounted a Leupold Mark 4 8.5
to 25 power scope, attached using an ArmaLite one-piece mount
atop the rifle’s Picatinny rail. I boresighted the scope using
a LaserLyte laser boresighter, and
then proceeded firing on paper at twenty-five, then fifty, and
finally one hundred yard targets to evaluate the rifle’s
accuracy from the bench. I rested the SR-762 into a Target
Shooting, Inc. rifle rest, firing three-shot groups at one
hundred yards. Accuracy was, as expected, excellent. The most
accurate ammunition tested was the Buffalo Bore Sniper 175 grain
load that uses the Sierra Match King bullet. This load has
proven to be very accurate in other 308 rifles, and was once
again the top performer in this new Ruger, with every group
fired measuring less than one inch. Other excellent performers
were the Black Hills 168 grain HP and the Federal 150 grain soft
point hunting load. Recoil, even from the bench, was light, due
to the rifles design, delivering the recoil straight back into
the shoulder, with no tendency to smack the shooter’s face at
all.
With the new Ruger SR-762, Ruger has
delivered an excellent rifle that has been long-expected, and
delivered a rifle that is every bit the quality of their SR-556
rifle, but packing a lot more power with a very small increase
in size and weight. The SR-762 is an excellent choice for a
long-range informal target gun, a hunting rifle, or as a rifle
for fighting, if needed. With just the addition of a target
trigger and a quality scope, it would serve very well for
long-range paper-punching and formal target shooting.
The Ruger SR-762 is available now, and as of
the date of this writing, it has a manufacturer’s suggested
retail price of $2195 US. It is not the cheapest semi-automatic
308 rifle on the market, but it is certainly one of the best,
and you never regret buying the best.
Check out the extensive line of Ruger
firearms and accessories online at www.ruger.com.
To order accessory rails and magazines for
the SR-762, go to www.shopruger.com.
For the location of a Ruger dealer near you,
click on the DEALER LOCATOR at www.lipseys.com.
To order the SR-762 online, go to www.galleryofguns.com.
To order high quality 7.62x51mm and 308
Winchester ammunition, go to www.buffalobore.com,
www.midsouthshooterssupply.com,
and www.luckygunner.com
Jeff Quinn
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