In his classic work, To Ride, Shoot Straight and Speak the Truth, the late Jeff Cooper defined the General Purpose Rifle as “a conveniently portable, individually operated firearm, capable of striking a single decisive blow, on a live target of up to 200 kilos (441 pounds) in weight, at a distance at which the operators can shoot with the precision necessary to place a shot in a vital area of the target.” Such a gun would be well suited for the vast majority of four-legged game as well as the world’s greatest predator… man.
As I walked up and down the aisles of the 2007 SHOT Show in Orlando, I walked through the Ruger booth to check out their extensive line of rifles. On the display, my eyes fell on a compact bolt gun with a forward mounted scope and I immediately thought of the Cooper’s General Purpose Rifle concept. I picked it up and decided that this gun needed a bit more investigation. I made arrangements to have one sent for test and evaluation.
