Ruger m77 7mm mag
 

I have a ruger m77 7 mm mag with this tang safety. I have been trying to get good groups with this gun for 2t yrs now and cant seem to do it. I recently got the trigger redone, and that has helped. I was wondering if anyone with this gun has ever bedded them and floated the barrel. The shots seem to walk to the right when i shoot it a few times. I tried to see what clearance i have and cant even begin to slide a dollar between the barrel and the stock. Its leading me to believe that as the barrel heats up, the stock is putting pressure on the barrel. When i shoot three shot groups, my first shots all hit the same place, as do my second and third shots. Im getting like 3-4 inch groups across three shots. Good enough for deer hunting, but nothing like my 22-25o that a quarter can cover 5 shots. Thoughts?

try to find the right load. try everything you can buy, i know, 7mm rem mag isnt cheap but if you find the right load it will shoot well. My fathers ruger m77 rem mag loves 150 gr. rem core lokts.

I have the same gun, and like hunting kid said, mine loves the Rem. Core-lokt ammo. Though the 4th shot always seems to be a flier as well. The first three are always good to go, seldom outside on 1.75".

Questions --- How many different factoy loads have you tried? Do all spread to this extent? (That much spread seems pretty dramatic to me). And does this "left to right" spreading occur with each load that you have tried? If the groups are about the same with every load that you have tried, and the spreading is always "left to right", I'd say you are seeing the effects of barrel heating.

I have tried both the federal and rem core lokt, both in 150 grain.

This movement between shots has been consistent with both brands of ammo.

It just irritates me that my other rifles, I can get to shoot so well,...but with this gun, I basically feel like a terrible shooter each time I go to the range. All I can think of, with the consistency in the movement is he that barrel is heating p against that very tight stock.

I don't reload any of my own ammo, so I try to stick with standards. Do ou think 175 grain would do anything different

Since I am thinking about floating the barrel and lass bedding the action, I also have this question for anyone who has one of these rifles. Does our barrel need front pressure? I have read these guns like to have pressure on the barrel at the front of the stock.

So frustrated.....

Sounds like a tight barrell to me, I have the same rifle and the biggest problem i have is getting a gunsmith to lighten the trigger pull to 2 lbs, when i first bought it new the trigger pull was 6 lbs. I got it lightened to 4lbs but it is still too heavy for my liking. My barrel is tight as well but it has not effected my grouping. I shoot 150 grain nosler partitions with 63 grains of IMR 4831 powder and can put a half dollar piece over 3 shots at 100. Thinking about buying a timney trigger for it.

Just for the heck of it, I'd try 175 gr. and 130 gr.

To give you a real life example, I have a good hunting buddy that had issues with a Browning A-Bolt in 30.06 Spr. He tried sighting in a new scope using Core-Lokt (150 gr.). The groups were horrific. I am talking 4 MOA at best. I suggested he try a differnt load. He went overboard to say the least! Next week he showed up at the range with 11 boxes ... all different loads ... Remington, Nosler, Hornady, Federal, Winchester ... covering from 150 gr. to 200 gr.

Of these we found 4 that grouped very good and one of these 4 that grouped under 1 MOA consistently. Happened to be a Federal Premium using a 180 gr. Partition bullet.

Looks like i will be trying some more rounds and see what i can come up with.

After that, if things adent better, its getting a new float job.

My trigger was horrible too. My gunsmith was able tot ake it to right at 320 lbs without replacing it.

Okay, so I went out, got some ammo, and shot a bunch yesterday.

Here's the breakdown.

Federal 150 gr.: first two shots were damn good actually- half inch pair right where I wanted it. (This hasn't happened in the past.) third shot flew left four inches. Fourth shot flew low left about four inches. I made sure the barrel wasn't hot before shooting the second two, but it was still most likely warmer than when the first two shots were taken.

Remington cor lokt 150.: first shot was four inches left. Second shot was dead center in the bull (of course right.). Third shot was four inches low. Basically a crap shoot.

Hornady 162gr custom. First shot was 3.5 inches low and left. Second shot about 2.5 low and left. Third shot was 3 inches low. Fourth shot 5 inches left. Crap again.

Remington cor lokt 175 grain. : first three shots were touching in a group two inches high (where I want it) and two inches two the left. Best this gun has ever shot. So I adjust my scope to the right. It's now shooting a 2inch group of three shots two inches high still, and about an inch and a half to the right. (Must have over adjusted.). Adjust it back left, and it shot the first shot right where I wanted it. Two inches high, and dead center left and right. Next shot was still 2" high, but to the left two inches. I'm thinking my barrel was heating up, or I could have possibly jerked it.

Looks like I will be using the 175gr rem cor lokt, but do you guys have any clue why it would shoot a slower, heavier bullet, better (and higher on target) than a faster, lighter bullet? Just doesn't make sense to me....

Still thinking after this season, this gun will be bedded, and floated to see how that changes things.

M77 Ruger
 

You need to bed the barrel and get your trigger pull to 2 pounds.
If that doesn't do it you probably need a new barrel.

I have a Model 77 in 7mm mag. It is a later model however with the three position safety. It shot pretty lousy groups at first too. First, I installed a better trigger and got the trigger pull down to 2 lbs. Then I free floated the barrel. It will now shoot at least 1.5 inch groups with either 150 gr Coreloks or 160 gr Nosler partitions.

Great. The plan is to bed it and float it....it's the lst thing I can think of....

Btw, I figured the newer models would come with a floated barrel.

Thinking on this a bit, how long have you had this rifle? How many times have you shot a heavier caliber than say a 30.06?
I found after several range sessions that many of my fliers were because of me, not the rifle.
It has been shown to me, by the rifle, that it is far more accurate than I am, with it (this is usually the case with most hunters).
It might save you many hundreds of dollars to spend more time with it at the range, and get to know your weapon first, before you invest the money on glass and a new trigger.

What I do, when I go tot he range is take a medium towel with me, and fold it over a little to simulate the heavy clothing I wear while hunting (think northern MN and WI in November). Doing this greatly increased my accuracy, with all loads tested. I also invested in a quality range bag to help prevent slipping during the shot.

I've had this gun for three years and put over 150 rounds through it at the range. I always shoot off of sandbags.

I learned to shoot on .300 savage 99 and could shoot 3" groups with that old gun off hand standing.....

Next time out I'm going to have my buddies shoot it just to see if they can do ny better....

Mojotex,
I saw your reference to a friend and a Browning A Bolt that wouldn't shoot well. I had the same problem and it turned out to be the trigger. I ordered a new trigger spring and presto a tack driver was born! You might pass this info to your friend.

Heavier bullets usually hit a target higher because they recoil more and are slower...This means they are in the barrel longer and the barrel jumping up (recoil) sends them higher...Doesn't make sense to some but that's the way it is...You see this especially in handguns and muzzleloaders...

Now, to your other problems...I bought a Ruger M-77 in 1980, still have it...Now, mine is in .243 but I've done a little work to mine to make it shoot better...First, before I took it home I had the gunsmith adjust the factory trigger to 2 1/2 pounds...

Second, and this happened 20 years later as my gun shot well for years...The barrel on those guns are not free floated, they come with pressure on the barrel...Now, I have helped some rifles by increasing this pressure...Take a shotgun shell, cut a 3/4 inch section out of the middle, then cut this in half and slide it between the barrel and upper forend...Adding pressure gives you a stiffer barrel and this could fix your problem...

Now while we are on this...You are certain your scope is OK??? This is crucial...Also, with that gun you can check all the scope screws so make sure they are tight...Finally, turn the gun over, there are 3 screws...Two for the trigger guard and the tang of the barrel and one under the floor plate...To tighten these screws start with the larger one under the floor plate, tighten the heck out of that one...The other two, make sure they are snug but don't over tighten...Changing the tightness of these screws will change bullet impact...

So far, everything I've mentioned is free, so they are the easiest to do...You might even want to put another scope from another rifle just to make sure your scope is good...

Finally, I did end up shooting my barrel out about 10 years ago and I was losing accuracy...I considered rebarreling to a 7mm-08 but I had a bunch of .243 ammo so I had it rebarreled and free floated and pillar bedded at that time...

Thanks for the advice everyone.

Bed job required. Likely requires to have some of the stock hawged out after to ensure it isn't getting any pressure points upon heating up. I am big fan of pillar blocks when bedding just makes for better mating.

The trigger doesn't have to break at 2 lbs in fact I would argue for hunting purposes that is a bit light. My big game hunting rifles all break clean at 2.75 to 3 lbs. The secret to a good trigger isn't where it breaks but rather the no travel or creep...it should be a wall!

When results are repeatable I thing your aok in regards to optics, mounts, rest and even shooter. Though the mind can creep into the later...lol.

Ammo...JMO but your wasting money if you can't get anything to group at this point. Its a barrel/stock touch issue once she gets heated up it strings. I bet if you shot 2 groups let the rifle return to ambient and fired then next 2 shot group you'd find better results on target. Not saying thats the fix...bc it isn't but until your ready to tackle the bedding issue thats what I would do for the time being. Get your mind focused on that cold barrel accuracy, pick the right load and dial it in. The first shot is always your best when it comes to hunting... Best of luck

Thanks. Pretty sure I'm just going to stick with the 175grains since they grouped the best three shot groups (time to cool n between). Already had the trigger worked to 3 lbs, and the creep taken out. After this season, it's getting bedded and floated....

Nchawkeye, I took our advice. The screws were all tight. So I then did your suggestion about a piece of plastic between the barrel and stock, and guess what? Bingo Bango,.....my groups instantly tightened. I'm talking 1 inch groups or so. I had a couple shots that I couldn't see where they hit, then found out I was shooting almost the same holes when I walked up to the target...

The unfortunate thing is, that today, the gun range hosted a sight in day where the weekend warriors could bring their rifles out to sight in for the deer season in two weeks so he place was a zoo. So the only open range was he 75 yard range. My shots were all grouped together, but about 3.5-4" high at 75 yards. I adjusted it down so they were grouping about 2-2.5" inches high at 75 yards.

In my mind though, at that range, the bullet trajectory is still going up correct? So I could assume it would be higher at 100 yards....

I want this gun sighted in 2" high at a hundred so that I can basically hold right on a Deers vitals anywhere 0-300 yards. Looks like ill have to find time this week to o out one last time to get it completely sighted in.

On a side note. I was using remmington 175gr or loks. I had one misfire today. The primer was dimpled, but no bang......first time this ever happened to me. Anyone ever have this happen?

NBH, I have had the miss fire one time. It scared the hell out of me. It was with a shotgun I own. Turned out to be a broken firing pin.

In my 7mm, I have not had a misfire, thankfully. I sight at around 1.5 in. high at 100yrds. I shoot a lighter bullet though.

Think you could work on floating the barrel yourself. Some carbon black on the barrel to see where it contacts the forearm and a little sanding till it no longer touches and you are done. I had problems with a barrel that would act similar to yours. Sent it back to the manufacturer who said the barrel was bad and replaced it with a barrel that shoots great.

If you had experience shooting shells you reloaded you would understand why one type of bullet shoots well and others do not. That is the reason why Browning has that Boss thing. I am not expert but read and heard enough to have a basic understanding. When your bullet goes off it starts a resonance in your barrel. Depending on the bullet and speed of the powder etc your bullet can reach the muzzle when it is dead center or at the outer edge of the vibration and off course anywhere in between. So when you shoot the same bullet with a variety of powder charges you will see some groups are not so good and some are great. The better groups are the ones where your barrel is consistently in that same spot. So that ammo you found is just more consistent in your gun.

When I had very similar problems Free floating the barrel was the most common suggestion

Oh and one other idea is if you get something like the lead sled or something similar you will remove you from the equation. I have a rest that has a shock absorber and you can shoot any gun with no recoil.

I would give floating the barrel yourself a shot and if you still have problems and want to have it bedded I would also have them look at the chamber to see if ti might be distorted in some way. Oh my son's gun shoots great but after the 5th shot it shoots like a dog. When he cleans the barrel it goes back to shooting great.

Might want to clean after every three shot group. You are probably just waiting for the barrel to cool anyway.