Ruger M77 Tang safety. Uncanny accuracy

[bigBolin51]

I kno ruger and accuracy are rarely associated when it comes to the M77's. I picked one up at a gun show a while back in 243 win. Stock and blueing were in great shape, has a varmint contour barrel and was overall a great rifle for my purposes of smoking coyote's. I put a set of red field rings and a NIKON Buckmasters 6-18x40 scope on it and I was able to adjust the trigger down to about 2.5-3 lbs and it breaks very crisp. With factory ammo I was easily getting 1-1.5 inch groups. This is on a rifle without a bedding job and the barrel is not floated, yet the groups are better than what I need out of the rifle. I recently got into reloading, less than a month ago. Living on a farm I can load some and walk out my back door and test them off of sand bags. First load was minimum and I was getting 2 inch group at 100 yards using remington brass, sierra 75 grain HPFB varminters. Worked up to 42.1 grains of ramshot biggame, same bullet, winchester primers seated to a oal of 2.715. Was amazed that I was getting consistent .75 inch groups. So I tried the factory crimp since they would be loaded from the magazine and I just put a light crimp on it. First group was and amazing .25 with following groups no larger than .6 measured with a caliper. Has any one heard of this before out of a ruger rifle?

 

[BrentM]

Had 2 in 220 swift and both would easily shoot .25MOA with hand loads. Don't have much experience otherwise but these two shot well enough.

 

[bigBolin51]

I'm just interested because I hear so much negative on ruger when it comes to accuracy

 

[Freedom2live]

Well am glad someone else got the same rifle. But mine is not vermite .. Its 1978 1-9 twist. Loves 80-85 grains bullets.. Now am reloading berger 105 gr hunting vld . With overall length of 2.960. Case trimmed to 2.035

 

[highridge1]

I had a ruger 300 win mag that would easily put several different loads into 1/2 inch.

 

[bigBolin51]

Mine is a 1-10 twist. I think it would be a deer eater with some 87 grain bergers and some spicy loads of h4350.

 

[MudRunner2005]

I have 2 of the 77 tang-safety models that I have had for years and years, both stainless synthetic skeleton stock models. 1 is 7mm-08 and the other is 7mm RemMag. Both are tack-drivers, especially with handloads.

 

[bigBolin51]

I'm very pleased with mine. I've got less than 400 bucks in the gun and about 250 in the scope and rings. I'm in the hills of Tennessee and shots beyond 450-500 yards are kinda rare. Especially around the mountains. Most places I coyote hunt have max ranges of about 350. This setup is more than capable. Extremely pleased

 

[azsugarbear]

The early model 77's had the tang safties and were generally great shooters. I had a bull barrel 77 in 25-06 that I bought used in a Houston pawn shop back in the mid-1980's. It shot .25 to .50 MOA all day long with anything from 87 grain on up to 120 grain bullets.

The later model Rugers did a nose dive in quality control and Ruger lost its reputation for accuracy with their model 77's.

 

[7stw]

I too at one time had a super accurate M77V, in 22-250. It would frequently, and predictably shot groups that rivaled bench rest rifles. I was told by someone a while back, that there was a period when a lot of the 77v's had Douglass Supreme barrels. Whether that is fact or fiction, I don't know, but I do know that I wish I had that thing back. It also had a gorgeous piece of wood also!

 

[MudRunner2005]

My 2 stainless skeletons will stay just like they are, which is how they came from the factory. The 7mm-08 was my first bolt-action deer rifle when I was about 12. Dad bought it brand new for me for Christmas that year. That was 15 years ago. That thing loves the 139gr Hornady SST's. I just loaded up some 140gr Accubonds to try in it, but always seem to forget to take it to the range with me. LOL It still has the old Tasco World Class 3-9x50 sitting on top of it, back when Tasco was still decent scopes.

Got it's big brother (7mm RemMag) when I was working at the outdoors store 11 years ago. Both are nasty accurate. I believe the 7Mag was made somewhere around the same time frame as the 7mm-08. I think I remember calling the Ruger with the S/N to find a mfg date. But that's been so long ago that I can't remember specifics.

Either way, both of them will stay in their original factory form, b/c they are rarity these days, and are both tack-drivers. Even though the actions would make great platforms to build a couple customs off of.

 

[bigBolin51]

I looked on ruger's website concerning serial numbers. I believe it to be around early 80's model gun. It's pretty heavy but I don't mind. Fat girls need lovin too

 

[Lefty7mmstw]

I looked on ruger's website concerning serial numbers. I believe it to be around early 80's model gun. It's pretty heavy but I don't mind. Fat girls need lovin too

rofl on the latter comment.

I've got two ruger rifles and both are moa pipes on a bad day. My #1 in 338 will often act like a varmint rifle when it feels froggy. Even when she's mad at me she'll still put up moa and she's got the hard pad, a 3-9X Nikon, and no brake; so she's not set up for anything but putting meat in the back of the truck. My 77 is a 35 whelen and she's a steady moa pipe to 200 yards.

 

[MudRunner2005]

I wouldn't mind having a #1 in 7STW or .257 Wby Mag. I hear properly barreled they can be serious tackdrivers.