TK, probably now time to tweak your seating depth to find that sweet-spot. I've found that sometimes it only takes a few thou' either way to get that node that puts a big smile on your face from a dinky group on target.
At this juncture, neck tension also comes into play; something to take note of and consider too. Consistency is the name of this game.
The 204R is a unique animal. Not many calibers work well with such extreme bullet jump, but the 204R continues to show us that not all reloading/caliber dogma is true. My 204's are not my most accurate rifles, as some of my other rat rifles outperform them easily on paper, but in the field at extended range, that screamin' velocity with 'adequate' accuracy sure puts the hurt on varmints.
If your Ruger American shoots in the 1/2" range with hunting loads, I'd say "you've arrived".
You can easily spend more to gain more, but one must consider cost/benefit. My "SPOD" (the
Silver Princess of Death) started out as a stainless M700, got blueprinted, barrel threads re-cut and trued, action face trued, lugs trued, Pac-Nor SS Super Match barrel chambered with my custom reamer for zero freebore (thanks Todd), Holland surface ground recoil lug, HS Precision chassis stock, skim bedded, 8 oz Jewell trigger all under a Leupold Vx3 6.5-20X LR scope with M1 elevation, it now shoots under 1/4" with her pet load, but it took time and money to get there. I suppose in the end it's like building race cars....."how fast do you want to go? Speed costs!"
The
Silver Princess doing what she does best.....launch and/or vaporize small varmints way out there (head shots at 300 anyone?).:
Don't believe that? Just ask Skipper about his sweet custom Speedy G. rifle.
Good luck with your Ruger project, looks like she's comin' along!