RE: Question on improving my factory rifle
Does it have a tang safety or the 3-position safety???
The trigger on the tang safety can be safely adjusted down to 2 1/2 to 3 pounds, with no creep or over travel by a good gunsmith...Doing so will help with your groups as a heavy trigger that creeps before it fires hurts your grouping...
If it has the 3-position safety it is easier to remove and replace with an aftermarket safety, like a Timney...
New, these rifles are not free floated, I would leave it that way until you have tried at least 4 different factory loadings and see if there is one it likes (groups) best...
What stock does it have??? Wood or Synthetic???
Ruger produced some synthetic stocks with a narrow butt area and hollowed out butt stock...Those rascels kicked like a mule, not good for the shooter and you can develop a nice case of flinching....I had a buddy that had one in .270 and he finally got rid of it...If it does have this stock, I'd put an after market stock on it...
After shooting and finding out the potential of the gun, you might want to consider free floating the barrel, but I would wait until you have more time behind the gun before I did this...
It should group 3 shots into a inch and a half group at 100 yards, measuring the holes center to center...
I would also check the screws that hold the barrel and action to the stock, the front screw should be very tight, the rear two screws, snug...Tighten the front screw first...If you remove the barrel and action, this can affect groups and your sight in on the gun...