Question. . .

[Deputy819]

Sent the target to NASA.

 

[Deputy819]

This is on "me", folks…

 

[kduffy]

Yes, almost always, the custom rifle & barrel would be unique and if assembed with care would be more accurate. - "all rifles are different and this rifle is mine"

At least consider squaring face of receiver to tread form & lapping bolt lugs. The over the counter bolt gun would not have this.

My stock Ruger Hawkeye 6.5 CM with the investment cast receiver, comes real close to performing as well as custom barreled rifle that has same kind of receiver/action, but custom barrel, & squared/lapped, in 6.5 CM with optimum loads for each rifle.

This here! I can not imagine removing a factory barrel and not cleaning up the action and lugs. Maybe even if I didn't have a place for it to go just yet.

 

[Rabid Fish]

Brother Ed, I have been tightening that front recoil lug for years. I bought an inch-pounds torque wrench from Amazon because I an incapable of getting that much torque with my hands and needed the leverage. I also pillar bed and torque the rear action scre to 40 inch pounds once that screw is pillar bedded. I tighten the center action screw just enough to keep it from backing out an d to keep the magazine box in place. I also have a Ruger 77/22 that I glass bedded and floated the barrel on. I know the action screw setup is different than the full sized Ruger screw setup, but if I play with the torque on the rear action screw the accuracy will improve. I am finding that 40 inch pounds is the best torque for accuracy.

I just finished working on a 1979 Ruger 77 tang safety in .270 Winchester. The owner told me the rifle was junk and not worth shooting because it was so inaccurate. That front recoil lug screw was set at about 40 inch pounds, the rear action screw was barely tight at all. The barrel channel was so tight that I could not slip a $1 bill anywhere between the barrel and the stock except for a small section of the stock before the barrel tapers out near the chamber. Once I started floating the stock I found the barrel to be seriously hitting one side of the stock more than the other. I spent more than 3 hours before I finally got the barrel floated. I plan on shooting this rifle in a couple of days. Due to the way this rifle was bedded there is no way it could have ever shot accurately.

I also have a Ruger 77 "round top, tang safety" iron sights, 30-06 made in 1979.
Owned it since 1984. Installed Leupold scope, rear base needed to be shimmed. ANY group less than one inch was the exception. About 1&1/8 could be achieved if I was diligent with cleaning, action torque, trigger adjustment.
There was no specific torque given for the slotted screws and no mention of the stock pressure point.
One season we hunted in 3 days of steady drizzle and it really messed with the stock.
I have fiddled and f***ed with this rifle and have since installed a Timney trigger. IT'S NOT A DROP IN.
No noticeable improvement.
These are not precision rifles and never will be.
Owned another in 7MM Mag that was great for a 2 shot group. Sold it.
I would not sink much $$$ into a Ruger, I'm keeping it because
Uncle Pete shot his first decent buck with it.

 

[FEENIX]

I also have a Ruger 77 "round top, tang safety" iron sights, 30-06 made in 1979.
Owned it since 1984. Installed Leupold scope, rear base needed to be shimmed. ANY group less than one inch was the exception. About 1&1/8 could be achieved if I was diligent with cleaning, action torque, trigger adjustment.
There was no specific torque given for the slotted screws and no mention of the stock pressure point.
One season we hunted in 3 days of steady drizzle and it really messed with the stock.
I have fiddled and f***ed with this rifle and have since installed a Timney trigger. IT'S NOT A DROP IN.
No noticeable improvement.
These are not precision rifles and never will be.
Owned another in 7MM Mag that was great for a 2 shot group. Sold it.
I would not sink much $$$ into a Ruger, I'm keeping it because
Uncle Pete shot his first decent buck with it.

As with everything else, we all have varying experiences and personal preferences. As noted in #22, I harvested games beyond 600Y with my Ruger M77 MKII in .338 WM. I purchased it used in 2003 for under $400. It came with a 3-port muzzle brake already. The only update I did was Spec-Tech trigger, B&C stock, bed the stock; all for under $200. I was gifted a Ruger M77 MKII in 7MM SAUM, but not done load development yet.

Using a Ruger action (or any action) as a donor is a personal choice. @Alibiiv had an excellent GS to build his set-up. A reputable GS makes a world of difference. IIRC (but I could be wrong), Kirby Allen (@Fiftydriver) built one for her teenage daughter. Kirby, my apologies if I quoted you incorrectly; it has been a while. Cheers!

 

[VinceMule]

I'll say this…..this past weekend I went to a shooting event and was edged out by .016" as far as group size goes. I was shooting a factory Savage model 10 action, Oryx Chassis and a custom 22 BR-A barrel from The Urban Rifleman. The rifle/shooter that BARELY beat me had a Defiance action, Brux barrel, McMillans stock, custom bedding, etc, etc. Considering ALL the variables involved I seriously doubt it was the "custom components" that smacked me for a ten thousandth of an inch. Oh, and "I" was actually driving the rifle off a bipod…..the other shooter from a custom high-end front rest.

Savages just seem to hurt your pride, clunky rattle traps, they just shoot.

I kept reading of how accurate they are, shot an informal match beside a guy shooting one, and he was impressive.

I started acquiring Savage single shot actions, put on some custom barrels, 223 AI, 22/ 250 AI, 223, 6 BR with spectacular accuracy, all I did was replace the triggers to Sharp shooter triggers and used a custom recoil lug, pillar bedded in laminate stocks.

You Ruger 77 guys, freefloat your magazine box, only finger nail tighten the center screw or remove it all together for improved accuracy. Pulling down on the center screw makes for a bowed action with unstable harmonics....if you are striving for less than 1/2" accuracy. You are adding a tuner to the barrel if you bed infront of the action....I quit doing this practice.

 

[Alibiiv]

I also have a Ruger 77 "round top, tang safety" iron sights, 30-06 made in 1979.
Owned it since 1984. Installed Leupold scope, rear base needed to be shimmed. ANY group less than one inch was the exception. About 1&1/8 could be achieved if I was diligent with cleaning, action torque, trigger adjustment.
There was no specific torque given for the slotted screws and no mention of the stock pressure point.
One season we hunted in 3 days of steady drizzle and it really messed with the stock.
I have fiddled and f***ed with this rifle and have since installed a Timney trigger. IT'S NOT A DROP IN.
No noticeable improvement.
These are not precision rifles and never will be.
Owned another in 7MM Mag that was great for a 2 shot group. Sold it.
I would not sink much $$$ into a Ruger, I'm keeping it because
Uncle Pete shot his first decent buck with it.

I am sorry to read that you have had so much difficulty getting your Ruger 77s to shoot. I have two Ruger 77 tang safety rifles that were put together by the same gunsmith with the same components, both in .270 Ackley Improved. The actions were trued, the lugs lapped and a Lilja, 1:10, 26 inch contoured barrel installed. I got the actions back, pillar bedded the rear action screw, glass bedded the first 4 inches of the action and then floated the rest of the barrel out to the fore end of the factory stock. One of these rifles is a round-top action the other is the standard integral scope based action. I get 300 yard 3/4-1 inch groups with both rifles. Usually the first two shots are within 3/4 inches of each other, the third shot will walk due to the contoured barrel. I had the barrels contoured to the same as the factory barrels because I hunt with them and didn't want the weight do they are wispy, and I haven't seen any 3/4 inch deer to date! Mostly all I shoot are Ruger 77 tang safety rifles, not all of them shoot 300 yard groups, however I can get 1 inch or better groups out of them at 100.

You wrote in your reply that there were no torque specs for your Ruger, there has always been torque specs for Ruger 77s and to date the Ruger 77 Hawkeyes; 90 inch pounds on the front action/recoil lug, 40 inch pounds on the rear action screw and just enough tightness on the center trigger guard screw that holds the magazine box and trigger guard in place. You also wrote that after hunting in the rain for three days your Ruger got really fussy. Without seeing your rifle I can almost assure you that your rifle has a stock issue. I just finished working on a Ruger 77 tang safety rifle's stock. The owner's experience and sentiments are the same as yours. I spent at least three hours or more relieving that stock to where the barrel was floated in that stock. Whoever that worker was at the Ruger factory doing the inletting that day must have been working with a hangover!!! Ruger had a tendency to leave extra wood at the last 1/2 inch of the barrel channel to put upwards pressure on the end of the barrel. This was a good concept if the barrel was floated between the recoil lug and the fore end, however this was not the case, it wasn't! This last Ruger .270 that I worked on was hitting hard on the left side of the barrel channel, when I removed the excess wood on the left side of the barrel channel that created pressure on the end of the barrel channel. "If this had been my rifle" I would have taken a Dremel tool with a 1/2 inch sanding drum, removed 1/8 inch of wood from inside of the barrel channel and bedded the gun. I have not shot this .270 yet, I can guarantee that it will shoot now that the stock work is done and the barrel is floated.

The first photo attached is of the barrel channel of the .270 that I am working on showing where it was hitting hard. The second and third photo is a relieved stock prepped to get bedded, the last photo is the bedding in the stock after the action was removed.

 

[Rabid Fish]

I am sorry to read that you have had so much difficulty getting your Ruger 77s to shoot. I have two Ruger 77 tang safety rifles that were put together by the same gunsmith with the same components, both in .270 Ackley Improved. The actions were trued, the lugs lapped and a Lilja, 1:10, 26 inch contoured barrel installed. I got the actions back, pillar bedded the rear action screw, glass bedded the first 4 inches of the action and then floated the rest of the barrel out to the fore end of the factory stock. One of these rifles is a round-top action the other is the standard integral scope based action. I get 300 yard 3/4-1 inch groups with both rifles. Usually the first two shots are within 3/4 inches of each other, the third shot will walk due to the contoured barrel. I had the barrels contoured to the same as the factory barrels because I hunt with them and didn't want the weight do they are wispy, and I haven't seen any 3/4 inch deer to date! Mostly all I shoot are Ruger 77 tang safety rifles, not all of them shoot 300 yard groups, however I can get 1 inch or better groups out of them at 100.

You wrote in your reply that there were no torque specs for your Ruger, there has always been torque specs for Ruger 77s and to date the Ruger 77 Hawkeyes; 90 inch pounds on the front action/recoil lug, 40 inch pounds on the rear action screw and just enough tightness on the center trigger guard screw that holds the magazine box and trigger guard in place. You also wrote that after hunting in the rain for three days your Ruger got really fussy. Without seeing your rifle I can almost assure you that your rifle has a stock issue. I just finished working on a Ruger 77 tang safety rifle's stock. The owner's experience and sentiments are the same as yours. I spent at least three hours or more relieving that stock to where the barrel was floated in that stock. Whoever that worker was at the Ruger factory doing the inletting that day must have been working with a hangover!!! Ruger had a tendency to leave extra wood at the last 1/2 inch of the barrel channel to put upwards pressure on the end of the barrel. This was a good concept if the barrel was floated between the recoil lug and the fore end, however this was not the case, it wasn't! This last Ruger .270 that I worked on was hitting hard on the left side of the barrel channel, when I removed the excess wood on the left side of the barrel channel that created pressure on the end of the barrel channel. "If this had been my rifle" I would have taken a Dremel tool with a 1/2 inch sanding drum, removed 1/8 inch of wood from inside of the barrel channel and bedded the gun. I have not shot this .270 yet, I can guarantee that it will shoot now that the stock work is done and the barrel is floated.

The first photo attached is of the barrel channel of the .270 that I am working on showing where it was hitting hard. The second and third photo is a relieved stock prepped to get bedded, the last photo is the bedding in the stock after the action was removed.

Outstanding and a sincere thank you for sharing your information.
The 30-06 I still have is a very huntable rifle.
I suspected the 7mm mag barrel had some stress issue. 2 shots touching then successive shots would walk around one o'clock.
No amount of cooling helped for the remainder of the day.

 

[cajun]

It's all about the barrel. Everything else we do is to not screw up the inherent accuracy of the barrel. If all else is equal I doubt most people can outshoot the difference in actions. I've got savages with custom barrels that will shoot with some of my full custom rigs.

 

[FEENIX]

You wrote in your reply that there were no torque specs for your Ruger, there has always been torque specs for Ruger 77s and to date the Ruger 77 Hawkeyes; 90 inch pounds on the front action/recoil lug, 40 inch pounds on the rear action screw and just enough tightness on the center trigger guard screw that holds the magazine box and trigger guard in place.

LOL! That's exactly why I provided the video in #22.

 

[Phil Rizzo]

It's all about the barrel. Everything else we do is to not screw up the inherent accuracy of the barrel. If all else is equal I doubt most people can outshoot the difference in actions. I've got savages with custom barrels that will shoot with some of my full custom rigs.

There are multiple concerns with factory actions that are not addressed normally.
Being true and square, even lug engagement and smooth ignition, integral pic rail, and integral recoil lug has value.
* and extraction as noted down below.
Peace of mind along with the performance is valuable, and rules out possible future issues. Depends on what a guy wants I suppose.

 

[adam32+P]

I've always wonder if somehow you could support a barrel securely, then use some sort of threaded piece on the chamber end to be able to hold the casing in place and whack the primer. Then you'd eliminate any and all variables the action would or wouldn't create and you would know for a fact if the barrel is accurate before even putting it on an action.

 

[cajun]

There are multiple concerns with factory actions that are not addressed normally.
Being true and square, even lug engagement and smooth ignition, integral pic rail, and integral recoil lug has value. Peace of mind along with the performance is valuable, and rules out possible future issues. Depends on what a guy wants I suppose.

Oh I agree. I just think most folks can't really outshoot the difference. Savages get a bad rap but that floating bolt head covers up some sins and makes for good alignment and contact with the lugs. The hard cocking is a deal breaker for some folks.

 

[buckbrush]

Oh I agree. I just think most folks can't really outshoot the difference. Savages get a bad rap but that floating bolt head covers up some sins and makes for good alignment and contact with the lugs. The hard cocking is a deal breaker for some folks.

And the extraction issues, feeding issues, trigger issues.