As some of you may remember I purchased a Ruger M77 tang safety in 7x57 this past winter. After getting it into a Ruger wood stock again, purchasing Ruger mounts and a Vortex scope I finally broke away from farm work yesterday long enough to properly sight it in. My son in law wanted to sight in a new to him 7mm magnum Kimber so it was a good chance for both of us to have some shooting fun.
I did have the scope bore sighted in my shop but was still pleasantly surprised to find the scope in perfect L/R alignment and about 3 inches high at 25 yards with two rounds using Winchester Silver Box 145 gr. PSP.'s. I adjusted, then backed up to 100 yards. Still a bit high with 2 rounds touching and one flyer that made it a 1 MOA group. Adjusted again then fired 3 more rounds. You can imagine the grin on my face when there were 3 rounds touching in the bull at 100 yards. I stood down to let my son in law shoot.
He fired the better part of a box of ammo through his Kimber wearing a Leupold Scope using an expensive looking box of Hornady ammo. The rifle has a muzzle brake and is painfully loud. Side story: A wasp was buzzing just past his face and about two feet away from the barrel when he squeezed off a round. I was watching that wasp pretty close in case it decided to cause trouble. When that rile fired it looked like that bug had been fired out of a cannon. WHAM....it was GONE!
After most of the box he parked the rifle with his father in law (me) teasing him about settling for MOM (Minute of Meat) accuracy. I know it burned because he is an exceptional shooter with tons of training.
So the Ruger 7x57 had no real surprises other then very good accuracy. Typical stiff trigger, not much difference in recoil between the 7x57 and my 270 in the same rifle. Having owned a Ruger M77 since the 70's I admittedly have a bit of a soft spot for them. If I was a paper puncher, or had accuracy OCD, I suppose I could pursue some changes. But as it stands this little rifle will hold it's own on the range or out hunting and that satisfies me. I look forward to shooting it some more, but I really look forward to the day that I can give it to one of my 13 grandchildren.
Now if I can get some ammo loaded up for my 257 Roberts.......
I did have the scope bore sighted in my shop but was still pleasantly surprised to find the scope in perfect L/R alignment and about 3 inches high at 25 yards with two rounds using Winchester Silver Box 145 gr. PSP.'s. I adjusted, then backed up to 100 yards. Still a bit high with 2 rounds touching and one flyer that made it a 1 MOA group. Adjusted again then fired 3 more rounds. You can imagine the grin on my face when there were 3 rounds touching in the bull at 100 yards. I stood down to let my son in law shoot.
He fired the better part of a box of ammo through his Kimber wearing a Leupold Scope using an expensive looking box of Hornady ammo. The rifle has a muzzle brake and is painfully loud. Side story: A wasp was buzzing just past his face and about two feet away from the barrel when he squeezed off a round. I was watching that wasp pretty close in case it decided to cause trouble. When that rile fired it looked like that bug had been fired out of a cannon. WHAM....it was GONE!
After most of the box he parked the rifle with his father in law (me) teasing him about settling for MOM (Minute of Meat) accuracy. I know it burned because he is an exceptional shooter with tons of training.
So the Ruger 7x57 had no real surprises other then very good accuracy. Typical stiff trigger, not much difference in recoil between the 7x57 and my 270 in the same rifle. Having owned a Ruger M77 since the 70's I admittedly have a bit of a soft spot for them. If I was a paper puncher, or had accuracy OCD, I suppose I could pursue some changes. But as it stands this little rifle will hold it's own on the range or out hunting and that satisfies me. I look forward to shooting it some more, but I really look forward to the day that I can give it to one of my 13 grandchildren.
Now if I can get some ammo loaded up for my 257 Roberts.......
