Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Ruger M77 ST ever made in 7x57

The is a 77ST 7X57 with a 24 inch barrel. I handled one in the 80's

Doc

Doc,
It would sure be nice to find it!!

As I recall, all 77's came with Ruger rings originally, it was afterward that they began offering the "round top" model to please dealers who wanted to sell mounts and rings with a rifle...

Well it looks like Big Redhead actually had one and Uncle Jim ended up w/it. I was a member at the time and don't know how I missed it. I'm so broke now it wouldn't matter if I found one...if it wasn't a shooter I couldn't buy it anyway. I do not want anything to collect. I want one I can bust the brush with. powdr

Here is one, but it is a 22" standard barrel.
Doc Cash will be at Tulsa next month; I'll ask him if he ever saw one with the 24" medium weight barrel.
http://www.rugerforum.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=195948

I don't know why you assume that the round tops were to please dealers.

I like the round tops. They have the same hole spacing as the Rem 700. This greately increases mounting options. The only thing that I did not like about them are the open sites...especially the front site which is not removable.

I have a 200th year Ruger. It is a round top...no sites. According to Ruger, that gun was never produced in that confiruration. It was, however, purchased new in the box.

I remember this as El Numero states it above. My cousin had a 257 Roberts with the medium weight barrel; I had a Roberts with the standard 22" barrel. We used both on piles of VT woodchucks,crows etc.

But lots of funky stuff went on at Ruger when the M77 first came out. One shop in our area had a tie-in to Bill Ruger or someone at the plant.Bob Chatfield-Taylor occasionally wandered in there and was a buddy of Bill Ruger. Feel free to connect dots. I could only surmise

As a broke college student at the time I could not afford some of the uncatalogued goodies that showed up but saw a lot of them; they included early runs of 7x57,257 Roberts 256 Newton(! ! yes I saw them in the flesh),and 416 Taylor (3-4 as I recall),250-3000 and some others I can't remember. I was offered a Newton but could not afford it.

So I would not be surprised if a medium barrel 7x57 popped up from somewhere,although I don't recall any. Many guys at our club bought 7x57's but they were all 22" light weight barrels.

Bob, my dealer had a whole rack full of Rugers and they were selling like hotcakes. This was in the fall of 1973 I believe. I wanted a 257Roberts at the time so didn't even ask about a 7x57. I paid $137.50 for the 24in round top w/medium barrel...I still have the hang tag. powdr

powdr: My first M77 was a 30/06...second was a 270. They cost me about $125-130 bucks. So your pricing is about right. People did buy them like hot cakes....they reminded some of a pre 64 M70,and smelled gunny when you opened the box.

I owned a bunch. The Roberts came later.


The early one's were nice. Later the stocks became fat and they used Wilson barrels. I stopped buying them.

My friend has one of the Newtons. the 256, I think. He thinks the other was a 30 Newton. The whereabouts of the later is not known. I am remembering they went out West to a FOB (friend of Bill). Would be interested in more Chatfield-Taylor stories. I have his No.1, which is now a 7x65R. It is #21, started life as a 1B in 280. RC-T takes it back to Newport and had it made into a 7x65R with sights and an Alex Henry forearm. A bit off topic here, but the point is, anything is possible. I still don't think the M77ST was "cataloged" with a 24" medium barrel in 7x57, but some sure could have got made.

Bob, the Brownell influenced stock, the checkering and the whole way it was designed reminded me of the Pre'64 as well. It is what drew me to the gun to begin with. I was a poor infantry soldier at the time but while stationed in Germany I was able to save $1500 over the course of 16 months while gone. Upon returning on leave in the fall of '73 I immediately bought the 257Roberts ST and a 250-3000RSI. Wish I still had them both. Anyway, it's nice to know at least one is out there and probably more. Nice to dream. powdr