Anyone Shooting a Ruger M77 .308 ? Advice Please

[1bighead]

Hi. I'm highly anticipating the arrival of my new (used) Ruger M77 .308. I'm hoping to get out to the range and sight it in next weekend with a scope ( Bushnell) I took off my old Lee Enfield. I dont want to blow the bank but was thinking about getting new optics for it ( Max 275.00, new or used/ dont mind) My shots probably wont surpass 125 yards, and I'll likely only use it on Whitetail / Maybe Moose in fairly closed terrain, hardwoods/ cedar swamps, some fields, West of Ottawa.

What are people using for ammo ? I've heard 150 grain is a good pic for Whitetail. What about sighting in and range time ? I want to fire a few boxes through it to get comfortable, and have a bit of fun, before putting some hunting loads through it to confirm my zero at 100 yards.

If you do own one what do you think of it ? I've always really liked Ruger and cant wait to get my hands on it !

 

[sunray]

A good 165 grain hunting bullet will let you kill anything you care to hunt. If you're not reloading, you'll have to try a box of as many brands as you can to find ammo your new rifle shoots best. The price of said ammo means nothing.
"...before putting some hunting loads through it to..." You'll have to sight in with any ammo. Then practice, off hand, at 100, at a 9" pie plate until you can hit it every time with your hunting load.

 

[kamlooky]

If got one tricked up a bit.
I use 150 grain Hornady Interlocks.
IMR 4320.......... 45.8 grns.
Works out to 2700 fps.
Works fine for me and I wouldn't hesitate this
on moose either.

 

[1bighead]

pie plate

A good 165 grain hunting bullet will let you kill anything you care to hunt. If you're not reloading, you'll have to try a box of as many brands as you can to find ammo your new rifle shoots best. The price of said ammo means nothing.
"...before putting some hunting loads through it to..." You'll have to sight in with any ammo. Then practice, off hand, at 100, at a 9" pie plate until you can hit it every time with your hunting load.

Good advice, now I have an excuse to buy a pie ! I did buy an old box of IVI .308 hunting loads, for 10$, at the Eganville gun show and also have some some Winchester 180grain Super X from LeBarons. I'll start with the IVI's move onto the Winchesters at 100yds.

 

[604shooter]

I'd look for a used Leupold fixed 4 or a Redfield 2-7x33 for your price range.

 

[Kilo Charlie]

Nothing wrong with upgrading optics, I have a couple nice Leupolds myself, but is there something wrong with the Bushnell? I needed a scope quick ten years ago and got a new Bushnell Banner Dusk & Dawn (3-9X40) for a hundred bucks. I expected to upgrade later, but after a decade I'm still happy with it. Go figure. And I've used it to take some dandy bucks just west of Ottawa.
I've bought a couple of Burris Fullfields on sale and in your price range. If you can find one at $275, either a 2-7 or 3-9, they are a good deal.
I hear great things about Bushnell Elite 3200's, haven't used one but was impressed in the store....
And a used Leupold is ALWAYS a good choice: no matter how old or who was the original owner, their warranty will cover any problems. Not that you'll need it....they are rock-solid dependable.

150 or 165 loads are fine for deer in the .308, and lots of guys get by with the non-premium 180-grain for deer. If moose is a realistic opportunity, go with a good 165 or 180-grain.

Stittsville is a good place to sight-in and practise. I hear the day guest fee went up to $20 from $15, but there is a decent pro shop and a 300-yard range.

Congrats on the new rifle! I bought my first Ruger a couple years ago (Hawkeye in .257 Roberts) and it's an accurate rifle that has a very ergonomic stock, and an action that locks up THUNK, like a bank vault closing.

 

[Ontario Gunner]

For your scope go down to ther exchange of optics section. Prophet river has leupold vx-1 3-9x40 on sale for $259. Great deal and leupold has a lifetime warranty

 

[1bighead]

Nothing wrong with upgrading optics, I have a couple nice Leupolds myself, but is there something wrong with the Bushnell? I needed a scope quick ten years ago and got a new Bushnell Banner Dusk & Dawn (3-9X40) for a hundred bucks. I expected to upgrade later, but after a decade I'm still happy with it. Go figure. And I've used it to take some dandy bucks just west of Ottawa.
I've bought a couple of Burris Fullfields on sale and in your price range. If you can find one at $275, either a 2-7 or 3-9, they are a good deal.
I hear great things about Bushnell Elite 3200's, haven't used one but was impressed in the store....
And a used Leupold is ALWAYS a good choice: no matter how old or who was the original owner, their warranty will cover any problems. Not that you'll need it....they are rock-solid dependable.

150 or 165 loads are fine for deer in the .308, and lots of guys get by with the non-premium 180-grain for deer. If moose is a realistic opportunity, go with a good 165 or 180-grain.

Stittsville is a good place to sight-in and practise. I hear the day guest fee went up to $20 from $15, but there is a decent pro shop and a 300-yard range.

Congrats on the new rifle! I bought my first Ruger a couple years ago (Hawkeye in .257 Roberts) and it's an accurate rifle that has a very ergonomic stock, and an action that locks up THUNK, like a bank vault closing.

Great advice. I actually belong to both Connaught Ranges and the Leeds and Grenville Range at Prescott ( 45mins south of Ottawa). I prefer Leeds and Grenville cause its never crowded, people there are super nice, and dont take themselves too seriously.

 

[Kilo Charlie]

I was closest to Stittsville (Carleton Place).

 

[H4831]

! I did buy an old box of IVI .308 hunting loads, for 10$, at the Eganville gun show.

I do not call that a bargain!
Imperial IVI could be the worst factory ammunition made in Canada.
The velocity is probably closer to the 30-30 range than it is to the 308. It is good brass, though, so save the brass.
A hundred times, or so, I have read one of sunray's favourite bits of advice--"buy a half dozen different brands of ammunition and see which one your gun likes."
This is completely at odds with my way of thinking.
Anytime you acquire a rifle, the first thing you should do is test it to see if it is properly tuned (read bedded.) Do this by using the best rest you can get and fire five rounds through it, one after the other, so the barrel gets hot.
Provided there is nothing wrong with the barrel, a properly bedded bolt rifle should make a fairly small group, with no pattern to it.
If the bullets start to walk, after two or three, that is go out of the group, usually up and often also to the side in a pattern, that means the rifle is not properly bedded and changes point of impact as the barrel heats up.
If your rifle will shoot a group in the area of 1.5 inches, or even a bit more if you do not have a perfect rest and hold, and point of impact does not change as the barrel heats up, it will most likely shoot a similar size group with any of the stand by factory loads you want to fire in it. One will likely be as good as the next.
To put it another way, if your rifle shoots the same, hot or cold, it will "like" all the brands of ammunition.
My own experience is most of the bolt action rifles I have, or had, required bedding alterations, before they would shoot both hot and cold. I was able to cure every single rifle, except one. I hate to say so, but the one rifle that I could not get to group well, although it wouldn't walk the bullets, was a Ruger77! This was an early 243. I did my best to bed it and I tried every weight and type bullet I could buy for it, but it just didn't "like" any of them.
Then I found out that Ruger farmed out the barrel making for their early 77s and some just had inferior barrels.

 

[NAA]

Scope Upgrade....

Take a look at the new Bushnell Elite 3200 3-9x40mm series. They are in your price range. Come with a warranty. And the brand new ones now come with Butler Creek scope covers included.

On "older" factory IVI .308 Win ammo.... I still have a few boxes of it [150 gr SP's]. IMHO, it's not too bad in the practical accuracy department....

Five shots, first four touching, the "flyer" was operator induced... :

NAA.

 

[1bighead]

All great advice gents and, of course, you get what you pay for. I'm confident I've made a good choice for an all round rifle. As it was, I searched for a month or so for a Win Model 70, my first chioce, but couldn't find one to save my life. A couple of weeks after I bought the M77 I went to the Eganville gun show and guess what I saw on the first table ? An early model 70 in .308 (f*ck) If I wasn't there to buy a rifled barelled shotgun I would have probably taken that as well !

As for the ammo I'll get through the box of IVI and hopefully get on the paper with the iron sites, then scope. As for the scope I do have a Bushnell variable 3-9 power (I think 30mm) that I have from my Lee Enfield. It will suffice for now and hopefully help get some venison on the table. I would love a new scope but I've been on a bit of a firearms spending spree lately ( on account of selling a motorcycle), just ordered my new safe as well, and am quickly running out of capitol.