Cheap upgrades

[Keystone7mm]

I'm looking for anyone that has experience with buying a Ruger American Predator and dropping it into a chassis and throwing the green stock away.

I would like to purchase a 204 Ruger for hunting prairie dogs and plinking. I'm between a Ruger M77 Hawkeye Long Range Target and a Ruger American Predator with an MDT Oryx chassis.

The M77 will be around $1600 and comes with a laminate stock that has adjustable cheek height and length of pull. Or....I go with the Predator at around $550 and get the chassis for around $425. The saved money could go toward better glass.

My son soots a Predator in 6.5 needmoor that has been easy to load for and really shoots well for a cheap rifle. The negative about the Predator is I lose 4" of barrel from the M77, and the added velocity that comes with it.

Who has dropped a Predator barrel and action into a chassis, and has it worked well for you? I thank you in advance for the help and feedback.

 

[MagnumManiac]

I am prejudiced, I never buy entry level cheap rifles, even if they have a reputation for great precision. Have owned and worked on many M77/Hawkeye rifles and they are easy to get to shoot well, in fact my 25-06 M77 MK II was the most accurate factory gun I ever bought right out of the box, it was a genuine 1/2 MoA rifle. It is now highly modified and will shoot into 3/8 MoA-1/4MoA regularly.
If it were me, I would just go with the Hawkeye, I had one of those laminated stock 204 Ruger models, it really liked the 32g Armageddon pills.

Cheers.

 

[ShtrRdy]

It seems the Predator does amazingly well for an inexpensive rifle. I don't know if you would gain any accuracy improvement by dropping it into a chassis.

Replacing the trigger with a better one would likely be an improvement.

 

[marksman1941]

My brother has a couple m77's and an American. The American flat shoots, as good or better than the m77's. It feels cheap; the bolt is rattly, the stock feels like dog doodoo, the mags are plasticky. And yet, the dang little rifle is ungodly accurate. He went the full Bubba route on his American; home barrel cut and crown with a dremel, Stockys laminate stock with a custom cheek piece (aka a foam knee pad held onto the stock with spray adhesive and staples). It has a huge accuracy window for most of his loads, and is the most fun of all the guns to shoot.

If you don't need the fit and finish of the m77 and just want a shooter, save the money and get the American. If that extra prettiness or extra velocity really matters to you, go with the m77. But you can be fairly well assured that neither will let you down in accuracy

 

[del2les]

I am prejudiced, I never buy entry level cheap rifles, even if they have a reputation for great precision. Have owned and worked on many M77/Hawkeye rifles and they are easy to get to shoot well, in fact my 25-06 M77 MK II was the most accurate factory gun I ever bought right out of the box, it was a genuine 1/2 MoA rifle. It is now highly modified and will shoot into 3/8 MoA-1/4MoA regularly.
If it were me, I would just go with the Hawkeye, I had one of those laminated stock 204 Ruger models, it really liked the 32g Armageddon pills.

Cheers.

I have one of the first M77 MkII Target/Varmint Stainless in 25-06 from decades ago, and from the first load I put through it, 85gr NBT with 60gr MRP, it shot 1/3 MOA groups at 200yds. Since that load, it has always shot everything well under MOA and usually in the 1/2 MOA range.

I bought that same rifle in 223 and 243 also, and similarly, they are great shooting rifles. The only better shooting "factory" 243 I own than the MkII Varmint is an older 1979 Remington 700 BDL Varmint that has been a true 1/4-1/3 MOA with varmint bullets and a routine sub 1/2 MOA with many hunting bullets.

A couple of friends owned the same rifle in 220 Swift and 22-250, and those rifles performed very well on several 600yd+ varmint shoots.

 

[Keystone7mm]

I also own a M77 Varmint Target in 220 Swift. That rifle is why I was looking at the M77 Long Range Target.

My only holdup is that the Predators shoot so **** well for way less money lol.

 

[bdlesh]

If they both shoot equally well, it cones down to looks or cost. I am a function person. If it works just as good as something more expensive, I choose the cost savings.

 

[marksman1941]

If they both shoot equally well, it cones down to looks or cost. I am a function person. If it works just as good as something more expensive, I choose the cost savings.

Or, if OP has the money, that cost savings would be best spent on better glass. If the gun shoots inherently accurately, glass and trigger will make or break it.

 

[gohring3006]

Drop it in a chassis, work the trigger and beat it up. Those entry level rifles are nice to use as utility rifles. It doesn't hurt so much to see it thrown around getting nicks and scratches, and shooting extended strings getting the barrel hot. You get a few years out of it and move on. I was able to work the trigger on mine to 2.5 pounds. It was very accurate, it got even more precise when I dropped it into a Boyd's stock and no longer had the bipod influencing the shots. I can only imagine a chassis would be even better.

 

[Taylorbok]

I have a Ruger. I bought it as a cheap rifle to not care about. I stuck a timney trigger and an adjustable kydex cheek piece on it. It hammers.
If I was going to stick it in a chassis I'd go to a Tikka that has more options for upgrades down the road. You'll also save money on the trigger by just sticking a spring in the Tikka

 

[marksman1941]

I have a Ruger. I bought it as a cheap rifle to not care about. I stuck a timney trigger and an adjustable kydex cheek piece on it. It hammers.
If I was going to stick it in a chassis I'd go to a Tikka that has more options for upgrades down the road. You'll also save money on the trigger by just sticking a spring in the Tikka

bic pen springs with a few coils shaved off make great Tikka triggers. Another nugget from my mad scientist brother

 

[cynjon]

I did pretty much the same as Taylorbok...bought a Ruger American Predator in .223 and dropped it into a KRG Bravo with a Timney trigger. Shoots very well (never shot it in the factory stock), with 73 grain ELD-Ms, so I never really messed around with dialing in any other loads.

 

[Keystone7mm]

Update: I ordered a Ruger American Predator in 204 Ruger yesterday. When it gets here I will do load development and do some groups for you guys. I have already decided that I am going to put the gun in an Oryx chassis. I will shoot groups with the cheap stock, and I will shoot groups in the chassis for comparison. Stay tuned...

 

[cynjon]

Update: I ordered a Ruger American Predator in 204 Ruger yesterday. When it gets here I will do load development and do some groups for you guys. I have already decided that I am going to put the gun in an Oryx chassis. I will shoot groups with the cheap stock, and I will shoot groups in the chassis for comparison. Stay tuned...

As I read your post, I realized that I had mistakenly said I put my RAP into a KRG Bravo...I actually put in in an Oryx. Still shoots great, I think you'll be happy with the combo!