Ruger M77 MII and Winchester opinions

[Brambles]

I'm thinking of giving Ruger another chance, My family and I haven't been Ruger fans, for myself its mainly because the only ruger I owned was very very picky about what bullets it wanted to shoot. If I remember correctly the ruger m77 could have barrels made by anyone and the quality varied.

What are your guys experiance with the Ruger M77 MII rifles as far as accuracy and quality. Are they better than they use to be?

Another rifle that I am thinking of giving another chance is the winchester m70, I have an early 1990's push feed m70 in .270 that was bought for me by my grandfather, although I love the gun it was never super accurate. Good enough for hunting and has downed its share of game but not something I would brag about.

I also heard that winchester went through some times where there quality wasn't up to par with previous years.

Most of my rifles are M700 remingtons and you can always count on them to shoot well.

Between the Ruger and Winchester which would be the better rifle for quality and accuracy?

I haven't decided on the caliber yet but am toying with the 300wsm
Thanks
Brambles

 

[MK77]

i would have to say the ruger. very comfortable actions, forward scope mount option while it takes a bit to get used to can be very good depending on where and what you are doing, but while i can't speak for any other rugers then mine my ruger(in 7-08) doesnt' lke lighter bullets. anything under 140grs. doesnt' shoot well, i thnk it may have something to do with the barrel. it seems like a very stiff barrel. but it is also the most comfortable rifle i've handled.

 

[DarrylDB]

I have an old M77 in 25-06 and its a shooter so far. I've only had it for a few months, but it prompted me to trade for another. A MarkII stainless in 338 win mag (Havent shot it yet though).
I like em, I like em alot.
I can tell you, people say ruger triggers are ####, but my buddies M70 classic compact breaks at a clean 13 pounds.
It will all boil down to personal preference.

 

[BC Bigbore]

I have the newer Ruger M77 Mk II in .338 WinMag and it'll put 3 shots with factory 225gr into .875". Anything I've put through it so far has been acceptable, meaning under 2" which is fine for what my .338Mag is used for. I also have an older pushfeed Winchester M70 Featherweight in .270 Win. and with the right loads, it'll rip a single ragged hole in the target. If pinned down to have to choose between the two, I'd have to say I like the .270 better due to it's lighter weight and all around handiness...KF

 

[COREY]

Hello Brambles,

I have a Ruger M77 MkII LH in 30-06 and it is a great gun. I have a load using 150 grain CT BST bullets that shoot a 1/2" 3 shot group, and I have gotten a 1" group with 150 grain Accubond. I am more than happy with it shooting to an inch since it is my hunting rifle, but I am unsure as to what accuracy you are looking for. My Ruger is only about 10 years old so I know that they were using their own barrels by this time. I have never owned an older Ruger centerfire, but I have heard that they had long throats and the quality was hit or miss.

I had a Winchester M70 push feed in 270 also; I sold it since it was a right handed rifle. It would shoot no better than 1", but I only had it shoot one load past 1 1/2".

I personally like the Ruger better, but I would buy another Winchester again if one popped up.

Cheers,

Corey

 

[JohnC]

The ruger to my mind is a better hunting rifle. The large extractor athough not 100% Mauser controlled feedjust seems better than the Remington ( I had a Remington extractor fail in the 1980s) . If you want a short light manoeuvrable rifle the ruger Frontier with 16.5" barrel and choice of rear or scout scope mounting is hard to beat.

With handloads all my Ruger bolt actions (4) have given me MOA 5 shot groups.

 

[john-brennan]

ruger

I have a MKII in SS Laminate left hand 25-06 and i find it shoots 100-115gr bullets very well and the action is very smooth, and takes Max. loads no problem (very strong). The only thing i do'nt like is they are a little heavy. I also have a Win. featherweight in 270WSM. and they have control feed action and a sweet trigger that can be easily adjusted to any weight you like, light to handel and they fit me as comfortable as any factory gun, come with a decelerator recoil pad, the ruger is about $100.00 less in the blued version so both good guns for the money.

 

[HeadDamage]

Ruger M77, great hunting rifles!

 

[Rugerman]

I own several Ruger rifles in everything from stainless 77/22 to .300 Win. Mag. They are all totally reliable and very accurate. My .300 Mag still shoots MOA at 100m (5 shot groups). I love my stainless .308. It hasn't let me down yet. Even my mini shoots well. The only ruger I never kept was a .22-250 single shot 1V. Ruger was having barrel problems then and I never could get it to shoot consistently. We tried every load possible. You can't go wrong with a Ruger rifle.

 

[NAA]

I had a Ruger 77 MkII in 6.5x55mm that I bought NIB. It shot sub 1" right outta the box. Sold it when I acquired a Remington 700 'Classic' in 6.5x55mm. Still miss the Ruger.

I've also had a couple of the older 'tang safety' model 77's. First one was a .300 Win Mag. Shot 3 shot clover-leaf groups. Still have the one in 7x57mm. Haven't worked up a load for it but it shoots sub 1" with factory ammo.

The only Win 70 I have is an older 'push feed' XTR model in .30-06 with a 24" barrel. Shoots very well with 165 grain bullets. Was my 'back-up' rifle when I used to moose hunt.

 

[Red foreman]

I've got mk11 stainless in 30-06.It's my number 1 rifle,it's the one I have the most confidence in.Shoots 180's bang on all day long but doesn't seem to like the 165's.I prefer a heavier bullet anyways.Mine has the canoe paddle stock it's not what I consider pretty but man it's a rugged gun.I'm a hunter/shooter not a collector so this rifle gets used and somewhat abused.Never had a loading or extracting problem,I like the way the safety is.If it raining,who cares I'll take the ruger.If I'm going to be hiking through thick bush,no problem I'll take the Ruger.Snowing like a bastard,big deal the ruger will handle it.If someone stole it or if I somehow manage to break it(not likley)I wouldn't hesitate to buy another.I have some nice guns that I don't really like to take out too much because I don't want to screw up the wood or bluing(no m70's)but the ruger is always ready for action no matter the conditions.I've shot my buddies m70 featherweight though and I have to admit it's a pretty nice gun but I'd take my ruger over his.