Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats Ruger M77 Tang safety. Need opinions

I need some opinions on what I should do with my M77 in .338 cal. and I figure this is the perfect forum to bounce ideas around and determine if I am going in the right direction.

First off I should state that I love Winchester M70 with CRF actions. Call me old school but it is what I grew up respecting and I got that from the old timers that I respected as big game hunters that have since passed on. I was taught that push feeds were okay for target rifles but not guns you hunt with in the mountains. Maybe that is narrow minded but to me that is gospel. Sort of like Ford Trucks.


I own two custom built M700 with McMillan stocks, Hart barrels and trued actions and they are both sub MOA tack drivers. So I know they are solid rifles. Sort of like chevy trucks. Nice rides.

Now with that, I was always told that the Ruger M77 is a great action but Ruger's have crap for barrels. Maybe that is why I typically only get 2 moa out of them. Is there any truth to that? I love the mauser action for the CRF aspect. But am wondering if it is worth putting a custom Krieger or Hart barrel on it, a McMillan stock, and true everything up on it. Some have told me why would you spend all that money for just a Ruger. Why not just sell it and build a .338 on a Winchester or Montana Rifle action? Is there any truth to that?

I have found some difficulty finding reputable gunsmiths that work on Winchesters and even less work on Rugers. Meanwhile, everyone works on Remington actions. My old gunsmith told me that the remington action is like the chevy small block. Everyone learns on them because they are so easy because everything is round and easy to true. Gunsmiths all have the tools for remingtons, etc. but it takes real skill to work on mauser actions. Are Rugers like Dodge trucks? Nice because of the cummins engines but other than that, not really worth spending money on.

Have I just kicked a hornets nest? I respect most peoples opinions and just want to see what the members thoughts are on this.

I will use this for elk, moose and occasionally bear.

great fun gun stuff. coat the action and br. get stock made from what ever trips your trigger and have fun. mine turned into a 9.3x62 with manlicher stock at 21 inches. real fun stuff!

The problem with the older Rugers is that they outsourced the barrels and quite a few gave mediocre accuracy. Some however shot fantastic.
And since Ruger has started producing their own barrels most shoot great. I removed the 7mm barrel from one of my guides rifles that had a tang safety and screwed on a take off barrel from another 375 Ruger and it is an easy MOA rifle.

Nothing wrong with the tang safety Ruger actions. I have one for myself right now in my own wildcat (240 Artzer Mag). It's a solid half-MOA shooter. I'll be trying it out in 2 weeks on some Nebraska whitetail...

Tangers are good actions.

Just had a Shilen SS .270 Wby bbl mounted on a shot out 7RM for a good bud. The old action is smooth as glass, the trigger good enough to not need any work. I'm gonna glass the action, float the barrel. He already refinished the stock.

It'll be a great gun for years to come. He has fond memories of that gun, been a lot of places, killed a lot of stuff.

DF

And FWIW, the tang safety M77s are not CRF, even though they have the M70 type extractor.

sheepdawg,

Years ago I had a top gunsmith build me a custom .300 Winchester Magnum on a tang-safety 77 action, which had a shot-out 7mm Remington Magnum factory barrel. In his opinion the Rugers weren't any harder to true up than Remington 700's, and my rifle shot extremely well. (I never cared one way or the other whether tang-safety 77's weren't CRF, since the ones I owned always fed really well--but I really liked the safety!)

If the .338 is what you wanted in the first place, Ruger rebarrels their rifles for a very decent price, though only in the original chambering. Their barrels are REALLY good now.

Allow me to introduce Facts,to the Fiction.

Firstly,I've had/have Ruger's in the full gamut from Round Tops,to current guise RAR's. Have long had an affinity for MK I turnbolts,due as much their adjustable trigger...as anything else. Have yet to see a "bad" one,though I've not personally owned much more than 30 of 'em all told,nor have I stumbled across a "bad" one which someone else owned.

MK I's along with Transitions and MK II's,are purty particular in their assembly and receiver fastener torque. I reckon them constants have whooped more than a few asses,from Drooling Dumbfhuqks doing their "best",in regards to a rifle "critique". MK I pot metal bottom metal was a bane too and puked rather easily...none of which is factored towards barrels. Hint.

As to building on a Ruger L/A,they are no different than anything else,as it's always prudent to cite boolits first and then connect dots from there. MK I and MK II L/A COAL constraints are trite,even on 2.5" H&H based hulls,so you start pissing up a rope VERY quickly. Hint.

Winchesters,Sako's and the like are oft COAL mired,but have some options that MK I's and MK II's simply do not and 700's of course have greater latitude inherent. On a .532" donor,the L/A MK I and MK II's are an easy pass,due those inherent COAL latitude concessions and few things shine like a 700 there. Hint.

McMillan inlets better than nicely and I've had/have them in Ruger MK I/MK II S/A and L/A both,along with the 77/22 lineage and of course 10/22's. No issue there,as McMillan has never had ANYBODY else even come close to their highest of standards.

Painting a more poignant peecture,a .338" will require greater COAL on a like case than a .257",.264" or .284" will,due simply the increase in boolit length. No thang to incorporate some sensational .338" BC's into a build and they'll happily toss optimal results,with little fuss or fanfare,assuming there's enough COAL latitude to stoke them fires. That MOST important of facets,precludes the 77 MK I and MK II by literal default. Hint.

CRF is a fhuqking joke and a series of concessions,I'm ALL too happy to avoid. It is the Window Lickers Mantra and the bane of them who actually shoot out spouts,as a given course of business.

For a REAL Deal Meat & Taters Rifle,along the chamberings you hint at,the 700 assuredly has NO fhuqking equal. Mousers suck ass. Krieger has as of yet to show me much,mainly because I've more than a few. Hart has ALWAYS knocked it out of the Park and I think more than a touch highly of them,if only because I've a myriad of Custom spouts,in a multitude of chamberings. Hint.

Do cite what mounting systems,glass,ammo and particulars allow you to eek 2 MOA "performance" outta 77's?!? It WILL be fhuqking funny. Hint.

I get it that you do NOT have a single fhuqking clue,but your haste in setting the cart sooooooo far in front of the horse,will only complicate your Dumbfhuqkery. A modest contour/length 338Win spout aboard a 700,throated to Smooch 250 Skinners,will reliably blow fhuqking minds. Given your "acumen",recoil will shake you silly and you'll "get" another "bad" barrel. Laughing!

Build a 700 based 1-9" 280 and focus the 162 'Max,in a spout no longer than 22" and of less than Mag Sporter in contour. You'll get copious BC,favorable velocity,lotsa COAL latitude and recoil is minimal...in exchange for the pile driving ass. As an aside,you'll also get a minimum of (4) pokes in the belly. Hint.

Bullets matter more than headstamps and rate being mentioned again. I should add more than a few pics,if only to burst them pink colored bubbles.(grin)

Hint......................

In your shoes and with those questions, I'd be inclined to spend money having the rifle rebarreled by Ruger - if 2 MOA is where it's at right now, have the rifle tuned (after it makes the factory trip) so that it feeds ultra-reliably from both sides. Add a new stock if you're inclined to fret over such things. Remember, if you need a sub-MOA rifle to reliably humanely killed elk, moose, or bears, you might want to reconsider how you're doing things; the rifle isn't your problem. It rarely is.

I'll be damn. After closer examination of my bolt, you are right. Thank you for pointing that out to me.

I am leaning the way you suggest and yes, I know 2 moa is a fine for ethical kills on big game, but I do enjoy building loads and bragging about shooting sub moa from a bench. If I did ever shoot sub MOA in the field, I know it was all about luck and not skill. Thank you for the response.

I have three M77 tang safety Rugers. Two SAs and one LA.

All rifles have McMillans and are bedded with barrels fully floated. All had their magazines lengthened by my gunsmith. The SAs have the long discontinued McM ultralight stocks. The LA has the hunter stock. All rifles had had their barrels replaced. All three shoot well under MOA. None have been blueprinted which IMO is a waste of money.

I have machined three of the four barrels currently used in these rifles and I used an old 50's sheldon that is far from perfect.
One SA has a rem takeoff rechambered 243 now a 6mm-284 and the other barrel is a lilja in 338 RCM (this barrel done before I began doing my own work)
The other SA is a 284 which is a rechambered 24" 7-08.
LA is currently a 257 weatherby with a Lilja, my most recent job.

There is one thing you need to check before doing anything else to the rifle. Be absolutely certain the front action screw is not bottoming out in the blind hole! I have encountered this quite a bit. If the action was bedded epoxy will shorten the depth of the hole or the placement of the action in the stock has it sitting a bit lower. Either one will cause a false tightness and the stock will be moving during recoil ruining accuracy.

Just like JB I love the placement of the safety. While these actions are a bit heavier than a Remington they are strong. See what you can do with the rifle, even if you have to rebarrel. Let us know what happens.