Ruger M77 as a Long Range Rifle?

[AZShooter]

I am another fan of Ruger rifles. I use mine for big game hunting. I would say you could build one for long range hunting but many components would end up being altered or switched out. That is pretty much the same for any rifle that would get used at longer distances.

Installing new barrels in these old Rugers is very easy. No bolt recess just a 1 x 16 shank thread. I do my own work and also like the fact you don't have to align the recoil lug as you do when installing a barrel on a Remington.

My first rifle was a M77 tang safety which I still own. I always liked the safety arrangement and in time ended up with two more.

All three tang safety Rugers have been rebarreled, restocked and all of them had their mag boxes lengthened. Mag box alterations were done by Joe Reid at Harry Lawson co, Tucson Az. All barrels are full floated with only recievers bedded.

Original rifle a SA and was purchased new in 1983 as a 6mm Rem. Is in a long discontinued McMillan Ruger ultralight stock chambered in 284 win. Mag box was lengthened to 3.1". It has a timney trigger. This package uses 7 Rem mag takeoffs shortened .600'' and threaded and chambered for 284 win. This rifle being my oldest and for a time my only rifle. It has taken numerous elk, coues wt, mule deer, javelina as well as jackrabbits, cottontails and coyotes as a 284 win.

Second rifle is also a SA in another McMillan ultralight stock. Also has a 3.1" magazine. Tuned factory trigger. It has two barrels. A Lilja SS in 338 RCM and a Rem 243 takeoff rechambered to 6mm-284.

Third rifle is a LA. It is in a McMillan hunter stock with a 27" Lilja SS 3 groove in 257 weatherby. Mag box is now 3.475''. Tuned factory trigger. Using 115 VLDs, longest kill on a coues wt was 525 and antelope 560 yds. (it was also once a 338 win mag and 7mm rem mag )

While I own other manufacturer's rifles, these three rifles are my favorites. If I were pressed to thin out the herd in the safe, these would be the last to go.

Thanks to the other posters for the links on alternative rings/bases.

 

[Don A Parsons]

That's awesome AZ, how true on the modifications on most rifles are as you mentioned,,, Remington, Savage, Ruger, Wheatherby, Tika and others see the owners tinkering with them too get better accuracy. We could imagine that lower end frugal budget firearms need a bit more of work overs, but that is too be expected.

My 2 pals up in here in Western Canada "now retired" from competition shooting did 80 to 90% of their own work overs, lots of Remingtons, Old British 303's, war surplus Muaser's, Parker-Hails, as well as every other brand before entering the stages of competitions around the world.

Long time Pal C Ganter took on the challange in Australia horizontal, pron, sitting, kneeling, standing at the 1000 yard match too qualify 219th out of the best 1600 that took part.

C Ganter built a simple 303 British chambered too 308 that he self funded him self, "the whole" build and trip on his dime.

He was and is well excepted into the group as a world class shooter since he competed on the world stage for over 20 + years in Canada, England, Europe, Australia, as well as 5 too 7 other countries.

He still says too this day that all well dialed in rifles with time and effort can go into competition, it is the hands of the shooter that brings it together that makes it happen.

If I could afford $16 too $20.000 dollar rifle, then a large percentage of the shoots would be taken care of, but the majority of us folks have too compete with less, this is where us home folk shine.

Limited budget firearm, limited funds on after market parts, and lives working too pay for it all on top of getting time to shoot and change things along the way.

C Ganter, my self and others live for this challange, its something too do along the way.

Maybe the time will come when I too limit my projects too none, but the way it looks is that this project is soon too get under way since the price is frugal and after market stuff is readily available

Hope too game plan this winter on a solid build here in the Northern America's.

Western Canada Pal Don

 

[FEENIX]

What kind of accuracy you get out of your ruger edge?




Here is a good looking base for the 77 with the built in bases.

Leatherwood Hi-Lux 1-Piece Tactical Picatinny-Style Scope Base Ruger


Here is one that fits the ones without built in bases Ruger M-77 Picatinny Rail Mount: Evolution Gun Works Inc.

Another option >>> https://www.jackweigand.com/Ruger-M77-MKII-Rifle-Scope-Mounts-No-Drill.html

 

[johnlittletree]

A couple of years ago, I came across a used .270 Ruger M77 for dirt cheap. It's an older model with a wood stock, the tang safety, and blued barrel/action.
Now, I realize that 99.5% of long range shooters choose the model 700, but what I'd like to know is- why? Can this old Ruger be made to shoot with the 700's? What kind of obsticles am I looking at, compared to reworking something more common?
I've always kind of liked doing things a bit different, and I guess this is no exception.
Any ideas?

Yes they can. The problem is this! Any ignorant person with an IQ under 83 can true up a Remington Action with very little in the way of machinist skill or knowledge. The second you add a flat bottom, metric threads and integral recoil lug you have to actually have some skill and some knowledge. That is why Winchester M70 with CRF, Mauser 98, Howa and the rest are freq. passed over. It is the Chevy Small Block V8 all over again. The Chevy Small Block V8 was a terrible design from a performance stand point but they where dirt cheap for a long time, had not changed much over time, and everyone and their mom that was chasing after a soft market made parts for it so that kept prices down. Oh and it was not at all hard to improve on the factories terrible machining and low quality parts.

A lot of people fail to understand that the Remington 700 was designed to be a cheap to produce rifle same as the Savage 110 line. Compared to a Mauser, Springfield 1903 and Winchester M70 pre-64 they where dirt cheap. Because they where round any moron with a lathe could true them up. People used to double sleeve the bolts to get rid of the 20+lbs. of side load on the bolt lugs, bush the firing pin, cut new threaded so that everything was concentric and plumb etc....Remington never machined the action very well and their barrels where junk almost forever but they where cheap and easy to true up.

Should add that not everyone's idea of truing up a Remington action is the same. On top of that it depends on what you are doing building a hunting rifle, tactical/practical comp rifle or wanting to build a BR gun.

A real gun smith or machinist would not have a hard time truing up any action with a lathe and endmill.

I am only 45 years old and I can remember when BR competitions had mostly Remington, Mauser, Springfield actions. High Power almost never had anyone using custom actions. Likewise I can remember when High Power and Palma where insanely popular! In fact it is Palma that gave the Ruger M77 tang safety a bad reputation.

Another problem is how much faster people can spit out a "semi-trued" Remington action they can do 3 Remington Actions in the time it takes to do one of anything else and there is no shortage of work. People still buy anything Remington kicks out the door no matter how poor the quality is. A Gunsmith would be stupid not to go after the easy money Remington trued/blue printed action market. Sadly most of the "blue printed" Remington actions today are terrible sloppy in terms of the level of machining precision. You do not even see anyone offering to sleeve the bolt so the bolt body becomes the caming surface taking the 20+lbs. side loading off of the bolt lugs. Lapping the lugs does nothing for the side loading on the lugs when locked in battery.

The Remington 700 also had a much faster lock time than most of the more traditional actions.

So for anything that is practical shooting like F-Class, High Power, Tactical Shooting, Silhouette, hunting etc....the action is not the limiting factor not if we assume all of them are at the very least trued up. Many other things like reloading components, reloading consistency, precision, barrel, quality of machine work, ability to read wind, shooter skill are all far more important. This assumes the actions are not total junk.

The further you go back the less people could "buy" a win. You also did not see as many people hung up on the idea of needing to copy the gear of current champions or needing custom actions to win etc....People where just less nurotic about these things.

So do not try to turn the Ruger M77 tang safety into a BR gun but for anything else it can be made into a really nice rifle.

I am not sure why Ruger does this but a lot of them had longer than ideal throats. Everyone I know that reloads has Ruger's that shoot tiny little groups. On the other hand finding a Ruger that shoots tiny little groups with factory ammo was rare! I think it is the longer than ideal throats. My M77 MKII VT in 308 Win is like that. My hand loads shoot 1/4-1/2 inch groups from a bench. If I load factory ammo into it the groups open up to 1-2 inches at 100 yards. For fun I once took some American Eagle ammo apart and cleaned up the case necks and reseated the bullets out further to match the factory chamber and the groups shrank from 1-2 MOA to 3/4 MOA with no other changes.

So it is just a matter of find a good smith that works on them to true it up and re-barrel it for you!

 

[NEMTHunter]

The smith I use in MT has no problems doing a Ruger M77. Interesting thing is He told most Ruger M77 actions do not need much to make them true. They for the most part are good.

I personally like the angled recoil lug. Bedding a M77 mark two is a dream.

 

[Holycity73]

Here's my contribution. Started out as my 270Win and ended up a 25-06. Has a number 5 Shillen and shoots .25" groups.
I carried this barreled action as a .270 for many years. I had it rebuilt after my groups went from a solid 1.5" to 3". The action is still top notch and the trigger is a crisp 1.5#
It's not a stalker, but it's deadly on a bean field.
The stock is an HS Precision.
The lack of accessories is the only shortcoming I know of with a Ruger... and I have quite a few.