Ruger M 77

[bearrug]

I have a ruger m77 in 7mm rem mag,it was made in 1983 ,did any of these rifles have accuracy problems,i cant seem to get good groups with mine ,they average around 3 to 4 inches at 100 yds with factory ammo and reloads using different brands and bullet weights. A couple of years ago i bought a ruger mk 2 in 338 win mag and that gun gets great groups, an inch or under.In the m77 I have rebedded the stock and changed different scopes to see if that made any difference but it didnt change anything, just wondering if anybody has had the same problem with this rifle.

 

[M_Shock]

I learned to shoot with my dads m 77 in 7 rem mag. Not sure when it was made but probably mid 80's. That thing would always print 1.5in or lees (mostly sub moa) groups no matter what. Maybe take it to a smith and have them look at it, could be the barrel is shot out?

 

[Overkill338]

Yes, there were some pre MkII M77's that had accuracy problems, but I don't know the exact details about it. shootersforum.com is a good place to look, I've seen it mentioned there several times.

 

[MachV]

Have herd Ruger outsourced barrels but dont remember the years that where real iffy?
I aquired a used M77 in 7mag back in the late 80s and still have it today. It looks to have had some action/barrel work done to it as the blueing doesnt match. I about peddeled it again as it shot groups like yours.
Talking to an old timer he convinced me to try a couple of things before giving up.
#1 We freefloated the barrel, added pillars, bedded the action AND the first 3" of the barrel. This helped some as its hard to keep the center screw torqued just right without doing this BUT
#2 Relieveing the back of the tang really helped!
#3 The barrel is the worst fouling barrel I own and it likes it that way=Fouled (Just like my M77 243 sporter did from the same area) . Shoots rounds 4-30 great and then its time for some aggressive cleaning to get it clean so I can waste 4 rounds to get it dirty again
Properly fowled this unit will group under an inch with the old blue boxed Federal classic 140 grain factory ammo and back when I had a # of that real slow lot of R22 would shoot a lot closer to ½" with 160 Partitions and 162 Amaxes.
For some reason I like that rifle????
A new barrel might save you a lot of messing with it but everything I did is nice to have done to them anyway.

 

[Gene]

I have owned several Ruger 77's and none of them shot well, despite my best efforts at floating the barrel , various reloads, etc. I am told the newer models are much different and generally shoot well.

About 20 years ago I was in a local gun shop and heard the owner talking to a customer who wanted a Ruger. The owner, a gunsmith, told the customer that he ordered a Ruger 77 for another customer, with new scope and factory ammo. A week later the customer was back, complaining that the best groups at 100 yds. were around 2-3". The gulnsmith took the rifle and a short time later went to his range and shot it. The customer was correct, groups were lousy. So he returned the rifle to Ruger. Soon thereafter, it was returned with a note "The firearm performs according to our factory specifications". I heard the shop owner tell this potentiaL customer: "No Ruger will ever come thru my door again".

 

[FEENIX]

I guess I got lucky with my M77 MKII in .338WM, bought it used for $399 as is ...

Replaced mount and rings and topped it with Burris FFII 4.5-14x42 with BP reticle ...

Shoots factory load Hornady .225gr SSTs ...

Currently have a B&C stock backordered to replace the paddle stock .

 

[bearrug]

Feenix I have the same exact gun you have pictured in 338 win mag and i get good groups with it ,I guess i will have to do more work on my m77 maybe i will get it figured out.

 

[MontanaRifleman]

I learned to shoot with my dads m 77 in 7 rem mag. Not sure when it was made but probably mid 80's. That thing would always print 1.5in or lees (mostly sub moa) groups no matter what. Maybe take it to a smith and have them look at it, could be the barrel is shot out?

I'm guessing you have the tang safety M77? I have the same rifle which I bought in 88. I got a cheap aftermarket fiberglass stock for it and it shot well for a long time. Most factory ammo about .75 to 1.5 MOA and hand loads about .5 to .75 MOA. After about 1000 rounds it went south. The stock compressed and the tang screw came up out of the receiver and interfered with the bolt - not good. Also got the bore scoped and the throat was cooked. Another thing to look for in the M77's isthe front angled action screw. That will often end up touching the stock in the hole drilled for it which will affect accuracy. I dont have a clue what Ruger was thinking of when they came up with the angled front screw??? Anyway, your accurracy problem may very well be one or a combination of these things. Other things to check, make sure your bed is clean and dry, scope mounts and rings, scope itself and crown.

If I ever use my m77 for a build, I will have the front screw drilled and tapped into the reciver the right way and pillar bed the stock.

Mark

 

[Overkill338]

Feenix I have the same exact gun you have pictured in 338 win mag and i get good groups with it ,I guess i will have to do more work on my m77 maybe i will get it figured out.

All three of my boat paddles shoot sub-moa. But these are MkII's, the original question was about a pre-MkII M77. Two different animals.

Top to bottom:
.338 Win Mag
.300 Win Mag
7mm Rem Mag

Feenix, how much you want for that paddle stock ?

 

[elkaholic]

I just finished accurizing a m77 ruger for a friend of mine.(a 300 saum) It was shooting baseball sized groups (on a good day) at 100 yds. I pillar bedded it. Glassed the entire action including 2" ahead of lug. Clearanced and floated the barrel and had the terrible trigger worked on. It now shoots 3/4" groups consistently. Many of the rugers I've seen and heard about can benefit greatly by simply relieving pressure points in the barrel channel.......Rich

 

[FEENIX]

Tang,

Very nice collection! I fully understand but I was responding in general due to the comment ...

"No Ruger will ever come thru my door again"

PM sent. Thx.

Ed

 

[MontanaRifleman]

I'm guessing you have the tang safety M77? I have the same rifle which I bought in 88. I got a cheap aftermarket fiberglass stock for it and it shot well for a long time. Most factory ammo about .75 to 1.5 MOA and hand loads about .5 to .75 MOA. After about 1000 rounds it went south. The stock compressed and the tang screw came up out of the receiver and interfered with the bolt - not good. Also got the bore scoped and the throat was cooked. Another thing to look for in the M77's isthe front angled action screw. That will often end up touching the stock in the hole drilled for it which will affect accuracy. I dont have a clue what Ruger was thinking of when they came up with the angled front screw??? Anyway, your accurracy problem may very well be one or a combination of these things. Other things to check, make sure your bed is clean and dry, scope mounts and rings, scope itself and crown.

If I ever use my m77 for a build, I will have the front screw drilled and tapped into the reciver the right way and pillar bed the stock.

Mark

Some of you may have been confused with this previous post and for good reason. I meant to be replying ot the OP, bearrug and quoted M_Shcok by mistake

I have a ruger m77 in 7mm rem mag,it was made in 1983 ,did any of these rifles have accuracy problems,i cant seem to get good groups with mine ,they average around 3 to 4 inches at 100 yds with factory ammo and reloads using different brands and bullet weights. A couple of years ago i bought a ruger mk 2 in 338 win mag and that gun gets great groups, an inch or under.In the m77 I have rebedded the stock and changed different scopes to see if that made any difference but it didnt change anything, just wondering if anybody has had the same problem with this rifle.

 

[7 loader]

Try floating the barrel. Some trigger work, and work up a load for 150 gr CT silver tips using rem nickel brass,and imr7828 with cci 250 primers.My 77 shoots sub moa groups now. On the trigger work, mine is at 2.5 lbs.gun)

 

[BARatdistance]

I got a Ruger M77MKII in 6mm rem and handload. The best groups I get are when I allow the barrel to cool down between shots, otherwise the groups run wild, no matter which handload I use. Just my 2 cents.