The Wastelander Rifle

A while back I was having a discussion with my friend Roman as we were developing an idea for a youtube channel that eventually grew to be something much more involved. We had discussed on numerous occasions what premise there would be for us to explore our numerous interests and experiment with costly things. We eventually settled on the idea of a post-societal-collapse “Wasteland” and things that could be done to improve survival, way of life, etc, etc. In our discussion the question was posed: What would be an ideal rifle for the wasteland?

Of course the first thought I will always have would be something like the Tier 1 rifle I outlined in a previous article (you can read that article HERE). However, I wanted to explore something a little less…Standard. I struggled to find the right word there, but the AR-15 really has become something of a standard for the gun industry. You can hunt with it, shoot competitions with it, it’s military contract versions in all it’s iterations serve military and law enforcement throughout the world. It is a versatile and modular rifle that can be built out for just about any point or purpose applicable to a rifle and it can easily switch roles by swapping uppers. There is a REASON it is such a popular platform. That being said, not everyone can get one, so exploring other options is a good idea.

Before I could begin the project I needed to settle on what my parameters would be. I wanted something that wouldn’t require a gunsmith to make possible, so I was looking for an off-the-shelf base for this project. It needed to be chambered in a common military/law enforcement caliber so that scavenged ammunition could be used. The ability to use STANAG-spec AR-15 magazines would be ideal. the barrel would be 16″ so it wouldn’t require a tax stamp to own. It needed to have a threaded muzzle so that at the very least it could be equipped with a flash hider. It would need an optic, likely an LPVO or at the very least a basic low magnification scope like a typical 3-9x40mm model that comes equipped on so many “first rifle” bundles.

With my parameters laid out I went to looking at what was available on the market. I went to Ruger thinking maybe a Mini-14 converted to take AR mags would be a possibility. In my search though I found that their American Ranch was chambered in 5.56mm, not .223 Remington like a typical bolt gun offering. And since the American Ranch uses AR magazines from the factory, has a 16″ barrel, and a threaded muzzle, it immediately fit the bill. So, I went to a local shop and got a Ruger American Ranch in 5.56 and set out on my project.

My first trip out with the gun it was almost completely factory. I had installed a Primary Arms 3-9x scope with a duplex reticle on it as well as a Surefire muzzle device. I mounted my .30cal suppressor to it and went to work. There were a few things about it I didn’t care for. The factory bolt handle is tiny. As is the stock. This gun as it comes would be a great rifle for a kid. I am not a kid. When I bought the rifle there weren’t a whole lot of options for improvements to the stock, but there were options for the dinky little bolt handle. I upgraded to a threaded handle and put a nice big “tactical” profile knob on it. This helped control tilt of the bolt during feeding a lot better and prevented jamming up the bolt during operation. The stock I had to wait on. There were chassis systems on the market, but they were limited in availability and none of them were really what I was looking for. When Magpul finally made their stock for this platform available to purchase I was thrilled. The muzzle device did eventually get changed out for a Griffin Armament EZ Brake with a taper mount so I can use my RECCE 5 suppressor. And, since it’s a wasteland application, I mounted a Surefire light to the MLok slots on the Magpul stock. So far the 3-9 has stayed put. I will eventually find an LPVO that will work for the budget on this gun, but for now, the basic scope is fine.

I enjoyed putting the concept of this rifle into practice. A bolt action with a 30-round magazine is exhausting in comparison to an auto-loading rifle. The advantage it offers is it is quieter when suppressed because of the action remaining locked, and the operator will not burn through ammo as fast. I feel this rifle would be perfect as a reconnaissance rifle in a wasteland environment. The optic offers range of vision, the bolt action allows it to make more effective use of a suppressor, the 30-round magazine can go on for what feels like forever, and in the 5.56mm chambering it could effectively work as a deer rifle, varmint rifle, or a defensive rifle on a homestead.

I know that there will be people out there that feel an AR is always going to be the answer, and that’s perfectly fine. For anyone who likes the idea of the American Ranch as a Wasteland option, I can sweeten the deal a little more. As of the writing of this article Ruger also offers the American Ranch in 300 Blackout, 7.62x39mm, 450 Bushmaster, 350 Legend, 6.5 Grendel, .223 Remington, and 204 Ruger. The American Ranch is a nice, lightweight, compact rifle and with the caliber options Ruger is offering, I feel they make a rifle that would fit the needs of just about anyone looking for such a platform. I’m going to continue playing with the idea of the Wastelander Rifle to see what I can do to improve it, but the performance I’ve gotten from the platform as I have assembled it has impressed me.

If you’ve gotten here, thanks for taking the time to read this. If you want to see the work my friend Roman and I have done and will continue to do, go checkout our blog at Wasteland Workshop. It’s in its early stages, but it will grow as we get more of the fiction written and we have time to work on our other projects.