Ruger ?
 

Ok, I recently got 2 Rugers.. One I bought and One I traded for.. The first is a Ruger M77 Compact in 7mm-08 with a 16.5" barrell and the 2nd is Ruger M77 in 22-250.. Both of them I am having trouble with in getting tight groups.. The 22-250 I know what the problem is.. I had Bass Pro Shops put a scope on and the base screws were not tight.. But the 7mm08 seems to be another issue.. Not sure if it is me or what..I have shot a Weatherby my entire life so this is my first experince with Rugers.

Anybody else got any input on the Rugers?

RE: Ruger ?
 

Probably junk.....

Sell 'em to me and I'll worry about it.

What's the best group you are getting?

Ammo? Bullet weight?

Bought 'em new or used?

Brand of scope?

Ect...................................

RE: Ruger ?
 

Need a bit more info one these issues besides "having trouble with in getting tight groups". My first suggestion is try different ammo - different loads, different bullet weights, etc. Without more specific, there's too many variables.

RE: Ruger ?
 

Out of the 7mm08I am shooting the Rem 120 Grain HP.. I was able to get.. An example of last weeks shooting.. I had 1 bullet about 3" left of Bullseye, 1 about 2 inches left of bullseye.. 1 rigth at the top of the bullseye and 2 touching at about 2" inches above bullseye.. So I am not sure if it me or the gun.. But I am leaning towards me.. Been thinking about getting a vice to put the gun in..

RE: Ruger ?
 

What's you experience with Riflery.....just curious.

One needs to learn how to drive before they can race........

Practice, practice, practice...

Only move to make.

RE: Ruger ?
 

Well...Assuming all the stock and scope screws are tight, the bedding solid, the scope reliable and you know how to shoot...

Try another brand of ammo...The man that tries one brand of ammo in his gun and shoots 1 1/2 inch groups out of a factory rifle is a very lucky man indeed...

RE: Ruger ?
 

Just curious....what brand scope and model did you get put on the 7-08??

RE: Ruger ?
 

Well.. I have been shooting a Weatherby 243 for the last 20 years.. Never had to shoot it much.. Just a couple of rounds thru it each season to make sure it is still on.. This year I have exapaned my collection of rifles and put new scopes on all of them. So I am shooting more than ever.. The Ruger isa Compact with a Nikon Prostaff on it..

I think I know what the problem is.. Me.. But since I don't have a alot of experience with Ruger I was a bit concerned. I am going to invest in a good rest and do some more practice..

RE: Ruger ?
 

Its likley a combo of things barring everythings tight and ready to go(scopes good and tightened down and everythings clean and no barrel pittign). Get a few diff boxes of ammo in diff manufacturers and bullet weight/types and practice. The mix of the two should leave you more satisfied not only with the guns performance but yours as well.

If that does not solve the problem you could always have a smith look at it and see if there is a hidden underlying problem.

RE: Ruger ?
 

All the posts have been right on so far. My limited experience with Ruger (M77, 300 Win Mag) is that: Rugers triggers leave something to be desired. I had mine in for a trigger job at my local gunsmith. When I went to pick it up he showed me another problem. When he put the action in the stock and snugged up the front screw he told me to look at the point where the barrel and action met as he tightened the rear screw. The barrel moved about 1/8 of an inch away from the stock. He told me that it needed a bedding job. His prices are reasonable so I had him do it. The rifle shot much better with the trigger and bedding jobs but was still fickle about what I shot out of it. The only thing it would shoot well (at least to my self imposed standards) was 180 gr. Sierra Game Kings with hot loads of IMR4350.
As for the 7-08, I have two of them. The Browning Micro Hunter likes 139 gr Hornadys and The Savage 11 prefers the 154 gr Hornadys and different powders for both. This just solidifies the fact that different rifles prefer different ammo. So like everyone else has said, try different ammo before changing scopes, bedding, etc.

RE: Ruger ?
 

ruger rifles are like ford 302 engines they are hit or miss you get a good one or you dont. I dont mess with rugers much anymore other than 10/22's the last 3 M77's I had were junk couldnt get them to shoot for nothing.

RE: Ruger ?
 

I have heard many complaints about Ruger rifle accuracy. But I have been using various Ruger rifles, mostly #1's, since 1972 and have yet to encounter one that won't shoot. However, all the ones I've used were used with handloaded ammo, not factory loads. I don't know how much of a difference that makes, since at least in the beginning, all of them were fired with ammo originally loaded for other rifles. However, tailored loads were developed as well, and with these most of my Rugers shot MOA or better. The best one was a 1B in 7mm Rem Mag., which started out shooting 1" groups AT 200 YARDS.

Without knowing what, if anything, has been done to your rifles to make them shoot, I can't give much in the way of suggestions, other than to recommend trying to develop some handloads for those rifles that will give better performance.

RE: Ruger ?
 

As stated above I too have owned and still have a couple of dozen in my personal collection at this time. I would stack any of them up against and other manufacturer out there for reability and accuracy. The triggers can be fixed with very little problem if you know what to do and every one of them will have a sweet spot for a certain ammo as well. This certainly don't make them junk( as stated in anothers post) It just makes them a little more tempermental in what they like. Take some time and check all of the items mention before, like scope, bases, rings, and have a good rest. I would suggest going to a heavy bullet. The 120 doesn't match the rifle twist in the Ruger 7mm-08 (try 139 or 140grain) Federal or Hornady. This will help you out greatly.

Mike

RE: Ruger ?
 

I had a Ruger M77MkII Varmint/Target 22-250 that will shoot an honest 3/4 MOA all day long with the cheap Winchester White Box 45gr JHP. With handloads and 55gr Nosler Ballistic Tips 1/2 MOA was common. I wanted to cry when I had to sell that rifle.[:@]

My question would be, do you shoot the .22-250 and .243 consistantly better than the 7mm-08? If so, maybe you have a flinch. 7mm-08 isn't a brusier, but it does kick a substancial bit more than the .243 Win you're used to. I'd recommend you do a "dummy drill". Have a friend load an unknown (to you) number of rounds in the magazine (or use a snap cap randomly inserted with live rounds if you have one), and better yet have him/her cycle the bolt too, so you don't know if there is a live round in the chamber. Then sit down and shoot a group as you usually would. Have your buddy watch you as you shoot. When you drop the hammer on the dummy or empty chamber, any flinch will be obvious to both of you. Do it several times. If you flinch once, you have a flinch. If not, then you're a better-than-average rifleman.

I used this technique to get rid of my flinch when shooting my .454 Casull revolver. Using this drill, focus on squeezing the trigger as smoothly as you can. The shot should "surprise" you. A technique I learned in the Corps was to actually say squeeze (sotto voce) as you squeeze the trigger, but stretch it out until the shot breaks. It should sound something like "Squeeeeeeeeeeee*BOOM*ze". This focused concentration over a few boxes of ammo will eventually break the flinch. Do it at least until you can shoot an entire box of ammo (2 boxes is better) with a dummy round every 1-3 rounds with mo flinch at all. This will "cure" the flinch...at least until you decide to step up to a much more powerful round.

Don't feel bad if you do have a flinch. I've spent a lot of time (usually waiting for a barrel to cool) at the range observing guys shoot their rifles, and it's rare I can't see a flinch when their groups are crappy. Actually, it's rare I don't see a flinch at all with magnum rifles.

Good luck,

Mike

RE: Ruger ?
 

Well. I think it has to do more with a lack of shooting.. For years. I have not had to shoot regularly.. Just a couple of rounds at the beginning of the year to make sure the gun was still on.. For 20 years I never had to adjust the site on my 243. Which was my only rifle.. This year I have acquired 4 new rifles and have been doing a lot more shooting.. None of them shooting great groupings, but I am more concerned about the 7-08 because it will be my primary rifle..

RE: Ruger ?
 

My vote is the lawyer trigger.