Sturm, Ruger & Co. announced a new version of the American Rimfire rifle. Called the American Rimfire Stainless, the new bolt action gun features several changes including a satin stainless finish.

The new guns use 416 stainless steel for the barrel instead of an alloy steel used on the original American Rimfire rifles. The barrels are cold hammer forged and free floated. Barrels in the American Rimfire Stainless line are threaded for the addition of a muzzle device like a sound suppressor. Ruger uses 1/2″x28 threads for this. The original model 8301 did not have a threaded barrel, but other models did have this feature.

Ruger opted for a one piece aluminum scope rail factory mounted to the receiver instead of including iron sights. While open sights are still popular, many people prefer to use some type of optic. When adding a can, iron sights can sometimes have clearance issues, so allowing the shooter to simply add the sight system he or she wants may be the better option on this gun.

As with other American Rimfire rifles, the Stainless version comes in three different chamberings: .22 LR, .22 WMR (aka 22 Magnum) and .17 HMR.

Ruger is shipping these guns now. So, if this one strikes your fancy, your local dealer should be able to order one for you. The suggested retail price is $429 for any of the three calibers. This is a premium of only $40 over the blued rifles with iron sights and threaded barrels.