Ruger M77 Tang

[hugetacticles]

I've got an elk hunt coming up in October, if covid doesn't get in the way. I've got a 1970's model Ruger M77 7mm rem mag tang safety that was passed down to me. I've shot 5 different boxes of ammo through from Barnes to Nosler, to Hornady. The best group I got was from the Barnes TSX 160 grain. It was a little under 2 inch group and it wasn't consistent. I'm having a smith float the barrel but he said he really only uses aluminum blocks for bedding and it would cost me $150 to do it. My question is this, if get the rifle back from the smith after floating and it's not shooting any better am I better off cutting my losses and putting the $150 into a different rifle? I've never bedded a rifle and I was thinking about attempting to glass bed it myself before going a different direction, but with no experience I'm wondering if I'll do more harm than good. I've been reading that tightening the lug and action in the correct sequence can do wonders for accuracy as well. I'll make sure and check it out once I get it back. I don't really need it to shoot 1/4 inch groups but getting down to a consistent 1-1.5 inch rifle would be nice. Anyone with experience with the Ruger M77 tangs have any words of wisdom they might impart on me?

 

[L.Sherm]

Clean the crap out of the barrel and have your Smith borescope the barrel to see the condition of it may not be worth it. I love the old tang safty Rugers. My 6.5x300wsm is built off of one its pillar bedded and shoots awesome dont know what he means by aluminum block. If you like the rifle and the barrels in bad shape I wouldnt hesitate to rebarrel then bed.

 

[Frog4aday]

Once it is free-floated, torque the front screw to 40 in/lbs, rear screw to 25 in/lbs and middle screw to 5in/lbs (just enough resistance it doesn't fall out...virtually no torque.) Go shoot. If 1" or better, call it good. If accuracy poor, increase front screw torque to 45 in/lb. Try again. Still no good? Go 50 in/lbs on front. Stop at 60 in/lbs (it won't get better beyond that.) Go to rear screw and increase to 30 in/lbs. Then 35. Then 40. Don't go beyond 40. At some point you should find the sweet spot. Write those numbers down and save it for future reference.

If still not getting results, recut crown.

Still no good? Try Tubbs FinalFinish ammo

Save glass bedding for last. It is a tricky pain in the heinie on the Ruger 77s, but do-able. Just not an ideal 'first gun, practice bedding' project.

I love the tang safety Rugers. It should shoot 1moa or better. Usually just a matter of getting action screw torque right. But on any USED gun that won't shoot, you have to suspect the crown has been dinged up at some point.

Boring as it is, some accuracy issues are as simple to fix as a very good cleaning to get all the old copper out of the barrel. Sweets 7.62 cleaner can help solve that. Good luck!

 

[shortgrass]

Find a different gunsmith......

 

[Shane Lindsey]

I have had a few tangers. My current 300 WM has been worked over so may not be much help. It shot about 1.25-1.5" with the old barrel, bedded wood stock, and the sear replaced. Now it sports a new barrel and stock.

As mentioned clean it back to bare steel.

Then I would order the Rifle Basix Sear. It will reduce trigger down to manageable pull weight. Very inexpensive start. Mine was very heavy. https://riflebasix.com/product/ruger-ru-t/

I think you could float the barrel yourself with a little patience. Bed the front lug with just a little epoxy.

I did that on an old varmint 308 and it shot lights out for a factory older gun.

 

[moosekiller99]

I bedded my Ruger tang in 2 separate stocks. First in a Ram-Line and finally in its original stock. Both jobs were easy and came out quite well. Get rid of the forend pressure point first and try a few groups. Freefloating alone, with the Ram-Line, made a significant improvement in group size.

 

[pttp]

I have read multiple times that the mag box should be loose to the point of rattling. Otherwise, puts undue pressure on the action when torquing down the screws.
To reiterate, no personal experience with this other than my smith doing it as a matter of course when bedding a newer Ruger into an aftermarket stock..

 

[hugetacticles]

Awesome advice so far. Looks like there are quite a few things to try before abandoning the project. Maybe I'll get lucky and the only thing I'll need to do is float the barrel. I'll post updates as I go. Thanks again for the awesome info.

 

[hugetacticles]

Well floating the barrel was the ticket on my old mans Remington 700. 2 three shot groups touching at 100 yards. Mine however was 2 three shot groups that were 4 inches each. Back to the drawing board.

 

[CVCOBRA1]

How is the trigger? A friend had an old tang that you couldn't pull the trigger with a tractor. Got that lightened up and it was a great shooter.

 

[shortgrass]

Before you go much further you need to know the condition of the barrel (inside)... Bedding a 77 , tang safety or the MK II, needs to be undertaken by someone who is familiar with the eccentricities of this action.

 

[Frog4aday]

The triggers ARE adjustable on the tang safety models. No need to replace them. When they went to the three position safety, no more adjustable trigger. Hopefully free-floating, cleaning the copper out, and getting the actions screws to the right torque gets the gun shooting well.

 

[hugetacticles]

The trigger is at 3.5 lbs. I think that's decent for a hunting rifle. I trust the smith that did the floating, he's been doing this for longer than I've been alive. He said the barrel inside looks really good. I'm not looking at undertaking the bedding myself. Though the smith that floated the barrel said he would only pillar bed the action. I'm thinking if im going to have it done I'd be best to have someone glass bed and pillar bed it at the same time?

 

[frostop]

I currently own three M77's two MkII and one tang safety.

I would do all of the above, each thing will help. All three will make it shoot well.
In my opinion tightening the screws a certain way without doing the bedding is a crap shoot.
I have personally floated and bedded all of my 77's, if the action doesn't stay flat when tightened than there is no point to tightening a certain way.