rebarrelling a ruger 77

[bigBolin51]

Anybody have any experience with rebarreling a m77. got a good mind to rebarrel to a 243 AI when my barrel burns up. wanna chamber it to shoot the 100-115 vlds and maybe as low as 95s. thinkin 1-7 twist. or do i need faster to stabilize 115 dtacs? what is the estimated price for a smith to do this

 

[AZShooter]

Have had many Rugers rebarreled. All are the older tang safety M77s. Barrel shank is Ruger is 1" (.998") diameter 16 TPI shank length .690" long. There is no cut for extractor on this design. It is one of the easier machining jobs.

The Remington takeoffs can be easily machined to fit as the shank is 1.1".

My gunsmith charges approx. $150 to install a barrel. I finally got around to learning how and now do all my chambering and installations myself with an old 50s Sheldon lathe.

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The minimum twist for a 6mm 115 gr bullet generally is 1 in 7.5 I tried the 115 DTACs in a 30" 1 in 7.5 6mm-284 with poor results. Read where the 115 Berger VLD might come apart with the higher velocities of the 6mm-284. Here is what one guy said:

"Forget the 115 bergers, the d-tacs are the only 115 that will hold together as far as I know."

When the 105 Berger hybrid came out I moved to it and never looked back. I had read the hybrids were not seating depth sensitive so I seated it to fit and feed from my SA Rem 700 with a Wyatt's mag box. Jump to rifling is .065" and it shoots inch groups at 500M.

Have the next barrel ready and it is a 1 in 8 twist as I won't even consider any 115s. That Berger hybrid has a BC that is higher than Berger's older 115 VLD!!! So why bother?

Berger115 Match VLD Target G1.545 G7 .279
Berger 105 hybrid target G1 .547 G7 .278

 

[bigBolin51]

AZshooter, so a machinest with a lathe and basic machining knowledge could re barrel my ruger. It's a tang safety. I'm thinking about ordering my barrel and that way when one day mine goes out I'll have another. My good friend is a machinest with a full machine shop. What are some essential tools. I'm gonna order the barrel chambered for 6-284 or 243 ai. Haven't decided yet. May just go back to the good old 243 just because of the issues with bullets vaporizing in a fast twist

 

[shortgrass]

A machinist is one thing and it'll depend on what 'kind' of work he's been doing. Barrel installation is best accomplished by a gunsmith experienced in that area. A gunsmith who does barrel work will already be familiar with the nuances of the job at hand. There are several tools and set-up requirements for barrel fitting that a general machinist doesn't normally use. JMO Why a pre-chambered barrel?

 

[AZShooter]

I briefly taught machine shop in high school. I was a vocational teacher for over 30 yrs but mostly automotives. I learned quite a bit but never had any gunsmithing type experience.

I wanted to learn so I watched several videos on the subject. Darrel Holland's, Gordy Gritter's tapes. Went to Practical Machinist website. I also asked questions of my gunsmith who was kind enough to let me watch. (he is my age and took the machine shop classes where I later taught) I took notes. I asked every gunsmith I knew their version of rebarreling. I read extensively on line.

Then I assembled tooling that would work for my old Sheldon. I installed a spider on left end of spindle. Got a few dial indicators with magnetic bases. Made a simple floating reamer holder. Practiced making threads. Made a few form dies from old rifle barrels. When I rethreaded and rechambered a rem takeoff as my first barrel and had a very hard time getting the headspace exactly right.

Found out about the Lambeth-Kiff Micrometer Adjustable Reamer Stop which made the headspacing a breeze.

Lambeth-Kiff Micrometer Adjustable Reamer Stop

I does cost money to tool up. Reamers are expensive too. BUT nothing can replace the pleasure of doing it all yourself and then seeing tight groups as the result of your labors.

I am certain your machinist friend could do it but it will cost some bucks to get the necessary tooling.

 

[bigBolin51]

A machinist is one thing and it'll depend on what 'kind' of work he's been doing. Barrel installation is best accomplished by a gunsmith experienced in that area. A gunsmith who does barrel work will already be familiar with the nuances of the job at hand. There are several tools and set-up requirements for barrel fitting that a general machinist doesn't normally use. JMO Why a pre-chambered barrel?

pre chambered barrel to keep me from having to buy a reamer