Ruger 77 Rifle Accuracy

[Borty77]

I just wanted to check with you guys to see how your Ruger rifles shoot. I have a Ruger All Weather .30-06. This is a great shooting rifle and its accuracy improved after I had the trigger pull lightend. I have dropped two deer in the past week. I also dropped it in the creek and had to clean it thouroughly, to get all the sand out of it. I shot it yesterday before I went hunting and the first shot at 50 yards was a bullseye, moved out to 100 yards and took 2 shots that were almosttouching.

[jmfa1957]

I don't intend to badmouth Ruger because the M77 MkII is a beautiful rifle and an excellent value. However, after buying one in 2001, I finally traded it in frustration for a Remington 700 BDL last year. The problem was unpredictable accuracy from the Ruger.

I tried everything - - trigger job, floating the barrel (disaster,) bedding (better than floating but still shot wild,) tuning the tension of the action screws (no effect,) checking all the obvious things like crown, scope, scope mounts, yaddah yaddah etc and so forth, plus every imaginable iteration of careful handloads. One five shot 100 yard group would be 4+ inches, the very next would be 0 5/8" with the exact same load. Cool barrel, hot barrel, no difference. Tried David Tubb's Final Finish bore polishing bullets, which did help some, but the darned thing was just INCONSISTENT. It drove me to tears, because I loved that rifle. The Mauser style action was exactly what I wanted. I was obsessing over the accuracy problems that neither I nor my gunsmith could solve. I finally decided to get rid of it so I could concentrate on something else.
My Remington, on the other hand, is extremely stable out of the box. It has a nasty heavy trigger pull but it is at least crisp, so I haven't messed with it. With 49.8 grains of IMR 4064 underneath Remington 165 grain CoreLokts it will print about an inch or so if I do my part and if I let the barrel cool between shots. The accuracy out of the box satisfied me to where I have not done anything to improve it other than the Tubbs bullets, which made cleaning the bore much easier and reduced fouling quite a bit. On the other hand, it only has the two position safety, it is a push feed, the extractor is wimpy and if you want customer service you'll get better from Ruger than most anyplace else. I had good reasons for choosing Ruger over Remington the first time, things just didn't work out the way I wanted. [X(]

I still put wild boar and deer in my freezer with the Ruger. In reality, even the 4" patterns it would throw would be adequate to fill the freezer at ranges of 100 yards or less, but my confidence in shooting it was destroyed. I hope the next owner can sort out what the problem was; I couldn't, nor could my gunsmith. Every manufacturer can turn out a lemon product once in awhile from an otherwise fine product line, and I just happened to get one.

I wouldn't hesitate to buy another Ruger sometime, but I wouldn't hesitate to dump it either if it started giving me problems.

I never was a ruger fan, until I say mossyoak33's two rugers shoot. I was impressed. .7MOA or better. All

[James B]

I have had half a dozen Ruger rifles. For the most part they shot well after a trigger job was done. The Remingtons that I have owned (which is in the several dozen zone) have been better shooters and I can do the Remington triggers myself. Therefore I mostly buy Remingtons. The Savage with accu trigger will be my next rifle as soon as I decide on a caliber. I am leaning toward the 270 WSM. I need one of those like the Arabs need more sand but I am still thinking about trying one. I should be able to crank 270 Win. Velocities from it without pushing it and thats plenty of velocity for me.

[Drew Jaeger]

Nick,

I have a pair of Ruger KM77 MkII all weather rifles;

223 with the old style of synthetic stock with a Leupold VariX-IIc 3-9x40mm,
30-06 with the laminated timber stock with a Leupold VX-II 3-9x40mm.

The 223 consistently shoots 0.5" 5-shot groups at 100m with Speer 52gn HPs. The only thing I did to the rifle was a polish the sear and change the trigger spring. Otherwise, out of the box.

The 30-06 consistently shoots under 1" 5-shot groups at 100m with Speer 165gn SPs and 0.5" 3-shot groups with Nosler 180gn AccuBonds. To get the 30-06 to shoot like this involved floating the barrel, bedding the action, lapping the scope rings, polishing the trigger sear, changed the trigger spring and shimmed the trigger (too much side play).

This is a 0.39" 3-shot group at 100m with Nosler 180gn AccuBonds.



As much as I love my Ruger duo, my next rifle will most likely be a Remington 700 SPS Stainless in 7mm-08.

[Rammer]

I also had a Ruger M77 MKII 30-06 that was unpredictable. It would shoot a 4-6" group at 100 yards, then out of nowhere it'd put 'em under 1". I had a buddy that had the old style all weather one in 25-06 that was a tack driver, another buddy has one in 243, and it is a tack driver. I do know the triggers aren't anything to brag about, and if your picky like I am you will want to have a trigger job done.

[Roskoe]

Although some Rugers shoot really well, there are quite a few floating around that aremediocre shooters. When you look at whatfactory take-off rifle barrels bring on websites like Gunbroker and Auction Arms, used Ruger barrels have very little value. Remington take-off barrels bring from $50 to $100.

[Portage]

I guess it depends on which M77 you are talking about. I have suffered through the heartbreak of Ruger M77 tang safety models for years. I've spent way too much of my money and time on themonly to have one that shoots great and others that don't. I had owned 9, 3 were great shooters, 2 were fair/average, and 4 stunk. The most accurate factory rifle I have ever owned was a M77 in 22-250. The most innaccurate was a 30-06.

Conversely, I have been around 6 or so MKII's in the past 2 years (I own 1). All of them have been accurate, 1.25 inches or less off a bench at 100 yards, while a pair of 270s that my buddy purchased are outstanding. My own 7x57 shoots every factory load I can find to 1.1 inches or less off the bench as a stock rifle.

I dearly love the feel and how the old tang safety models fit me. Unfortunately, they will not be getting any more of my time (and $$) when the newer MKIIs appear to be significantly more consistent.

[eldeguello]

I have owned only one M77, so based on a sample of 1, what can you say?

Mine is a "tang-safety version, the round-top that uses regular scope mount bases.

This is the first 100-yard group I ever shot with it, using five rounds of REMINGTON 175-grain round-nose Corelokt factory ammo with a Lyman All-American 4X scope! The aiming point is a 1" square black GI target paster.....

It shoots better with handloads.

[Pawildman]

I agree wholeheartedly with the jist of the conversations. I've owned at least eight Rugers over the years-----still have some of them.
Most were fair shooters,and one 270 in particular shot scary good groups with Rem. factory ammo. A220 Swift in varmint weight drove me nuts. Action bedding, free-floating, hand loading, etc., improved very little.
I guess whatI'm telling you is you can get a good shooter out of the box, but maybe not as easily as with another make. Good luck----