Ruger M77 30-06 upgrades

[NEMTHunter]

I to have a Ruger M77 ll 30-06. Love the gun! I had the barrel change to a 28" shilon 1:10 twist. I then bedded the action and first 1.5 inches of the barrel then free floated the rest of it. Its throated long and with a a .250 jump to the rifeling and RL26 I can shoot the berger 215 Hybrid @ 2850 FPS.

My trigger is the factory trigger set to 2.75 LB. It can go lower. And may do it just to see how it feels. No its not adjustable BUT with some regrinding and spring work it dropped to that from about 6 LB.

 

[Rhino Hunter]

Nothing wrong with factory rings. .

I have multiple Ruger rifles with the factory rings. They are a very strong set up. But they all required substantial lapping.

 

[Alibiiv]

Hello all

I'd like to do some upgrades to my very first hunting rifle and looking for recommendations. It's more of a sentimental thing but would like to stretch the effective range as much as possible. Anyone upgrade one of these rifles before and have any recommendations?

To start with I would suggest glass bedding and floating the barrel. I have a safe full of Rugers, although I will not guarantee how your rifle will shoot, I can tell you that with all of the Rugers that I have bedded, it HAS improved accuracy. I float the barrel from four inches in front of the recoil lug. I also open up the screw hole in the stock for the front recoil lug/floorplate screw with a 3/8ths drill and glass bed that screw hole while bedding the stock. I will say that glass bedding the stock on a Ruger can be challenging and will cause you some aggravation if you miss any surface with release agent, especially if you miss the front recoil lug screw with it. I would also suggest that you replace the trigger. There may be other manufacturers, however I would suggest a Timney trigger install. I do not recommend installing the trigger yourself if you've never done one before. It takes some wood inletting/removal of the stock to get the trigger and the transfer bar for the safety to work properly. I've installed them, however it is worth the extra $125 and shipping to have the trigger installed by Timney if you have never done one. If you want to go further with your upgrades you could true the action, square the bold face, essentially blue print the action. I've had people comment on the short magazine box, thus rendering the Ruger 77 to not be a good candidate for a build. What I have found is that there are a lot of long range, accurate calibers that will fit in the magazine box to make choices from. It took me a while to find a gunsmith who wanted to work on Rugers and I finally found one in Montana and presently having him build two rifles for me. Good luck with the Ruger, I really enjoy all of mine.

 

[James L Holzhauer]

I took my Ruger model 77 in .30-06 to Africa and used it very successfully. I did not have it modified in any way. The groups you are already shooting are way better than what is needed for hunting but I too love those itty bitty groups. Consider a
Timney trigger and a stock with an aluminum bedding block. That looks like a fine piece of wood and bedding will help. If you hunt in wet weather it definitely will affect your stock. Good hunting and shooting!

 

[Shawn the printer]

Glass bed the action, free float the barrel, rifle basix, or Timney trigger, handloads, and have fun!

 

[benchracer]

Nothing wrong with factory rings. See no advantage in using a picatinny rail. IMO it would raise the height of the scope for a poor cheek weld especially with the factory stock.

One thing you could do is have a gunsmith lengthen the existing mag box. I had it done with all three of my M77s.

I agree that factory Ruger rings are a good strong setup and allow the lowest possible scope mounting. However, there are several advantages to going with a picatinny rail.

The reason I, personally, went with a picatinny rail (and why I recommend doing so) is to gain the flexibility to use any brand or type of picatinny rings desired. Previously, I have had to order Ruger rings when I needed them. Standard picatinny rings can be had anywhere and in whatever style desired or required, including QD rings, something not afforded by factory Ruger rings. Moreover, the Ruger rings do not offer a means to gain additional elevation in the mounts, as is often needed for long range shooting.

I have found it convenient to be able to utilize the same style of rings on all of my rifles, which makes it a simple matter to keep whatever I may need on hand, rather than have to chase down oddball parts.

As far as correct comb height is concerned, I had to use a cheek pad to properly align my eye to the scope, even with the factory rings. The only difference between the two systems was the thickness of the pad, which is not much of a downside.

As for lengthening the factory mag box, can you shed some light on who offers this service and what length they are able to achieve? I am aware of an option to purchase bottom metal that allows the use of 3.6" AICS mags, but I much prefer an internal magazine.

 

[AZShooter]

I will admit that if some wants to use 30mm Ruger factory rings they are a bit too high with the factory Ruger stock. 1" rings have a good cheek weld.

I am not aware of any magazine or service that can lengthen the magazine box. A gunsmith did it for all three of mine. He cut the sides near one end and added metal silver soldering the pieces into position. He also inletted the bottom of the receiver to fit the longer mag box. He also made changes to the three McMillan stocks.