New Hampshire Rifleman’s winning combination is the Ruger American – Predator Rifle in 6.5 Creedmoor\u00a0winning Hornady bullet and winning Leupold VX-6 3-18x 44mm CDS scope.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Rifle<\/strong><\/p>\n

The rifle that won my value driven pocket book is the Ruger American for under $400 dollars yet shoot sub-Minute of Angle at 100 yards as my Test Rifle. Not long ago it took a few thousand dollars to shoot groups like that. Adjustable Trigger, floating barrel and so much more that you have to read the spec sheet below. http:\/\/ruger.com\/products\/americanRiflePredator\/specSheets\/6973.html<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

In particular I have tested two of the rifles, one in 243 Winchester and the other in 6.5mm Creedmoor in the Predator series. Both shot sub MOA out of the box and both were in the $400 price range. Exceptional performance from these rifles was uncanny. I bought them both but later sold the .243 as recoil was similar to the 6.5 Creedmoor and it delivered more energy punch hands down. Wow! Accuracy? We got it!<\/p>\n

The Cartridge<\/strong><\/p>\n

The 6.5 Creedmoor Cartridge is just slightly smaller than the .308 Winchester yet with a 143 grain bullet at 1000 yards it beats the long standing military champ .308 or 7.62 NATO in both trajectory and wind deflection. As a first time 1000 yard shooter, I was able to break 8 inch balloons at 1000 yards. If you couple that with an Extremely Low Drag Bullet you have a fabulous combo for Target, as that was the original intent\u00a0of the cartridge, but what about Hunting? The 6.5mm Creedmoor can handle a wider array of big game bullet weights than the 6mm\/243 Winchester. I suspect the 6.5 will in time overshadow the 6mm at least as a big game hunting round as it delivers a bullet in the .270 Winchester class with the mild recoil of a 6mm. Of course bullet velocities are a bit slower. The .270 Winchester is still a faster bullet as is the 7mm Remington Magnum but at a higher cost of recoil as well.<\/p>\n

The Bullet<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hornady Precision Hunter ELD-X\u2122 in 143 grain with new Heat Shield\u2122 Tips Patent Pending with AMP\u00ae Advanced Manufacturing Process. Mushroom design as low as 1800 fps and stays together out of the barrel. ACCURATE-DEADLY-DEPENDABLE<\/p>\n

In testing by Hornady, the Hornady Precision Hunter ELD-X\u2122 Extremely Low Drag Bullet has\u00a0a very impressive G1 Ballistic Coefficient of .625\/ G7 BC .315 for hunting at any distance within the delivered Energy Envelope for the game hunted such as 1000 ft-lb for deer 1500 ft-lb for Elk size game. Click the video below.<\/p>\n