Whats up with the Ruger M77 model rifles?

dgradinaru

dgradinaru

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well im looking into the ruger m77 models- and surprisingly I see that they are not to popular. When I go into a hunting shop almost no one carries them?

Ive read some reviews about the older models not having great accuracy. What about the newer models?

What are the pros and cons on these rifles?

IM looking at a 1983made one in 280 rem, with tang safety, rings and a older decent scope- the owner claims it shoots 1 moa with factory ammo. bore condition 8/10. Wood seems good, blueing 85%.

What would be the value on the one above mentioned?
I would like to hear from people who have owned and used these rifles before.
 
I have one in .308win and it's a work horse.
Nothing fancy and I have heard the odd one not being accurate.
Remons in every brand I suppose.
Good shape, five brown ones.......give or take.
Make sure you get the rings with it.
 
I have a M77 Mark I (angled receiver, tang safety) [as opposed to the Ruger M77 Original which had a tang safety, but round receiver] in 308 winchester. Ruger outsourced barrels at that time before they made their own (Mark II), so quality was hit or miss. The 7x57 Mauser was especially inaccurate due to the way the chamber was cut.

My 308 Winchester is 1 moa capable or better with factory premium ammo, and I wouldn't say I'm an excellent shot. I achieved that group the first time I shot it. I'm sure it's even better with handloads and more time behind the gun.

Mark I's are not CRF, but rather push feed, with a claw extractor that snaps over the rim when the cartridge is chambered. The ejector is a plunger style.

Ruger switched to CRF and external ejector like a Mauser action on the Mark II. The safety was also moved to the bolt shroud and is a 3 position style. Apparently Mark II's had heavy lawyer trigger, which Ruger tried to fix with the newer LC6 trigger in the Hawkeyes.

The Mark I trigger is user adjustable, and people say the stock dimensions are nicer. The recoil pad is nice looking, but it's a brick. And after years, the rubber gets really hard. I found that the LOP was a little short for me, so maybe a new Pachmayer decelerator would go nicely to fix that. The receiver is angled, which is cool, and takes their proprietary rings, pretty decent setup. Mine comes with an 3-9x40 Bushnell, it's good enough for the 308 Win cartridge. Overall it handles well, and the bolt is slick.

I think the Mark I's usually go for around $450-600, but really you should shoot it to see if it is capable of good accuracy.

They use an angled bedding screw, that has preference for a certain amount of torque. I think there is a method to tighten the action screws to get it just right, but I'd have to look it up on google.

Lastly, there was a recall on the tang safety Rugers, and there should be a T stamped on the underside of the bolt to indicate it went back to the factory. Mine has something that could be a T or not, I'm leaning more towards no. But I don't have any problems with mine so far. I think the problem was some screw backing out making the trigger mechanism unsafe, so they glued it or something in place at the factory. It's on the Ruger website.
 
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I have a an older model (tang safety) M77 in .308. I can get groups about 0.75" at 100m with some factory loads. No worse then 1.5" with anything ive put through it. Price of the load has squat to do with accuracy in my gun.

I paid $450 for mine with an old scope of negligible value. i would say that was a good price. Ive seen similar guns priced at $600+. its by far my favourite rifle. Lightweight and carries very well. A little shorter then the average bolt action.
 
Mark II's are pretty close to a true Mauser action, but not genuine. If you want a true Mauser, look into FN, older Browning and Husqvarnas.

I think they deviate at the point at which the claw gains full control of the case when being fed into the chamber. I believe a true CRF picks up the case rim much earlier from the magazine than on commercial CRF actions like the Ruger or Win M70, which is closer to 1/2 or 3/4 of the way.

I'm not sure, but on original Mauser bolts, the left locking lug has a slit for the ejector to pass through it. I think on Ruger, the left locking lug is solid, hence stronger.

rug77intlcntfed.jpg


Here's an image of the evolution of the M77 bolts, from l to r: Tang safety, Mark II, and Hawkeye? *Note the plunger ejector and the ejector slit is on the bolt body rather than through the left locking lug.

RugerBoltFaces01.jpg
 
dgradinaru said:
So the MkII are the ones with the mauser style action? Im intrested in the mauser style control feed.
Click to expand...

Also check out the CZ 550 series if you want a closer M98 action. Or Zastava (although they are a bit rough).

Ruger rifles are plenty accurate, look nice, and balance pretty well. Good enough for hunting or any defensive work. They are rugged and reliable. If you want precision accuracy, there are better platforms.
 
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mosinmaster said:
Also check out the CZ 550 series if you want a closer M98 action. Or Zastava (although they are a bit rough).
Click to expand...


I already have a zastava m70 in 9.3x62, and original mauser action from older sporters, also the newer win m70 control feed, but I was also looking to have the ruger m77 mauser pattern action. So I guess ill pass on the one I mentioned above and look out for the mkII or newer.
 
These rifles are tanks. Some lack a bit of accuracy and their triggers aren't worth their weight in dog sh!t but I do not think you will find a better built rifle (rifle to rifle that is) in its price range. Once again, they are tanks and will give you years and years of worry free service.
 
My '76 vintage tang safety in 257 Roberts is one of the most consistently accurate rifles I have ever owned.
Of the last 4 Ruger 77s I bought two were really good and the other two were not so...
 
I have a half dozen Ruger Hawkeye's and love them. Great rifles for the money. The 3 position safety is my favorite style and the triggers are decent. All are more than accurate enough for hunting and only one took some fooling around with load development to get it to shoot well enough.
 
I had 3 or 4 m77's over the years. The first 2 M77Mk1 tang saftey's shot TERRIBLE!!!
2-3" at BEST at 100! I was very disappointed! No matter what I tried, I could not get much better.
Around that time I was fortunate to get the opportunity to make my own barrels from scratch. With the custom barrels, they shoot very well! Average around .8" , and often shoot into 1/2" groups. Love the silky smooth bolt!

Restocked the 25-06 recently. Hope you like the pictures.







 
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Wife has a tang safety 30-06 that is really accurate. They would be much more popular in Canada if they had a detachable magazine.
 
dgradinaru said:
well im looking into the ruger m77 models- and surprisingly I see that they are not to popular. When I go into a hunting shop almost no one carries them?

Ive read some reviews about the older models not having great accuracy. What about the newer models?

What are the pros and cons on these rifles?

IM looking at a 1983made one in 280 rem, with tang safety, rings and a older decent scope- the owner claims it shoots 1 moa with factory ammo. bore condition 8/10. Wood seems good, blueing 85%.

What would be the value on the one above mentioned?
I would like to hear from people who have owned and used these rifles before.
Click to expand...

My .25-06 M77 is the most accurate rifle I shoot. To 300 yards its indeefatigable, and I suspect if I heated up some loads I could toss some lead, even further, with relative ease.
 
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Im kinda leaning towards The ruger MkII sporter which is stainless in a blonde laminate stock. Hopefully I can find one in 280Rem.

Something like this.

Grouse rivers have them but their asking 929$.....I was thinking to find one in the 750-800$ mark place.


 
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