Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Ruger M 77 over time

That explains why my 77s had FULLY adjustable triggers.
1. 243, 2. 270s, 1 300 WM, 1. 338 WM. All but 1 of the 270s were bought new. The 338 didn't stay long.

My long time friend still has the 243.

I did adjust weight, travel / over travel w/o any problems. The 338 was the last Tanger I had and it was before 89 (?) don't know when it was manuf.

Jerry

edit to add : I also had a 257 R that I got from a friend and then traded back to him.
I don't remember adjusting or trying to adjust that one. He probably already had it good. Too long to remember.

I love the LC6 trigger on my 30-06 ultralight. It is just as it came out of the box and perfect for a hunting rifle.

I have the M77 Hawkeye in 257 Roberts. I like the slimmed down stock on this version. I always thought the original M77 was clunky. When I first bought the gun the action was a little "sticky" but over time it has become the slickest bolt throw of any gun I've owned. I'll try to post the pictures from the gunbroker listing when I bought it.

Can anyone tell me how to attach pictures to this post? I don't see a tab for this.

I started buying Ruger 77s in 1980 because they were the only new rifles that could be purchased in 250-3000, 257 Roberts, and 7x57. Since then I've probably bought, sold, and gifted nearly five dozen of them in all sorts of configurations. Still have a few, mostly 77 RSIs, with the most recent being a 77 Hawkeye in 6.5 Creedmoor that is waiting for a McM McM Hunter to arrive.

I like the tang safety 77s and have installed Timney triggers on those that I shoot occasionally. My only gripe with that installation is that the original alloy trigger guards were really brittle and would often crack/break when you opened up the rectangular hole for the Timney trigger to fit. I now use a stainless trigger guard when I do the Timney installation and save the original trigger and trigger guard to covert back to the original configuration, except for the stock work to fit the larger Timney unit, if desired at some future point in time.

My oldest Ruger 77 is a flat bolt in 6.5 Rem Mag from circa 1969. My oldest Ruger 77 that I bought new is a 77R in 257AI that I bought at Pat's Pawn & Gun in Ogden, KS, in 1982. It was the vehicle for my initial forey into the world of wildcat cartridges and one of the few AI rifles that I still have.

Ive owned all three version. The tangers were very accurate, the MKII's took some tinkering, hawkeye's seemed more consistent.

My favorite version would be the Hawkeye with a MKII floorplate. That hunk of steel ruger calls a floorplate on the hawkeye needs a serious diet.

At S/N 79-50000 a modification was made so the bolt could be opened while the safety was on.

I bought my first M77, a Liberty Model, in 1977. They were also making the rifle in .458 with a steel floor plate and trigger guard. I immediately ordered from Ruger the steel bottom metal because I don't like aluminum bottom metal. The steel bottom metal is now installed on a 7X57 M77 RS which is a keeper.

I read about those steel guards, but never saw one on a rifle. Wonder if a Hawkeye guard would fit?

MY first Ruger was a .270, with the tang safety. Ruger had a "recall" on the trigger, where they sent you a replacement screw that was soft, and if installed correctly, was difficult to get out, and eliminated the capability of reducing the sear engagement. I still have the screw, in case I buy another tang-safety Ruger, I can drill out the "upgrade"
and have some ability to maybe reduce the trigger creep. I think I would like another 270.

I'm sure Ruger changed the trigger primarily because they decided it was safer to not give the customer the option of adjusting a trigger. They were probably right. I always thought the original stock design was one of the nicest ever available on a factory rifle (along with the early Number One stock). The Hawkeye stock continues the slide downward of Ruger stock design. It is painful to look at. GD

I have no experience with the original M77 so I have no opinion there. But I'll have to disagree with you about the Hawkeye stock. I have both M77 Mk.II and Hawkeye and the Hawkeye stock is the better design. Nor do I find anything aesthetically unpleasing about the looks of it.

I presently own all 3 models of the wood stock 77's (tang, MKII, and Hawkeye) and I haven't had a problem shooting any of them. As far as the aesthetics of them, that is why I bought my 1st one back in 1980 which was also my 1st 25/06. Loved that rifle then and have never regretted getting any of the ones I have owned, although I have regretted selling a few of them.

Sorry, but I never understood the love for these rifles. There are some positive aspects, like the stock design, the forward guard screw angle, and the claw extractor. I never could past all the problems, but I relented and purchased an M77/22KMZWmGtRwhatever in .22WMR. It remains the least accurate of all the rifles I own.

The provided scope rings were too high for mounting anything but the Hubble telescope. If you wanted a normal scope mounted low, you went shopping for (mostly) unavailable medium or low rings.

The trigger pull was horrendous, typically pushing 7 lbs or more. Now you have to buy a new trigger.

So, you paid more for a Ruger M77 than a Model 70 or 700, THEN you had to spend another $150-$200 just to get the scope rings and trigger fixed.

The tang safety is noisy in the woods. The change to their 3 position safety is proof that folks didn't care for the tang safety. The resultant 3 position safety is clearly an after thought.

Finally, the idea that an Express model was chambered in anything BUT Express calibers always seemed strange. Then, when Ruger did offer an express chambering in a rifle, it was called the Magnum.

To each his own...

3584ELK...that's what makes the rifle market so great, is that it gives everyone an opportunity to pick and choose what they like! I never have liked the Monte Carlo stock. I've owned some, including the Rem 700 BDL and loved the day I traded it for a tang safety 77 UL in a 270. The only rifle I have ever HAD to change a trigger on was a Rem 788 in 6mm I bought for my wife. I couldn't shoot it, it was so bad so I put a Timney on it. But, I will concede all of my Rugers did not have a great trigger on it.

The one thing I will respectfully disagree with you on though, is the "noisy" tang safety. I have always been able to click the safety off or on where even a person in the stand with me didn't know I had slipped it off. Just a little practice with a finger behind and a finger in front should do it. I have killed a number of deer out of climbers with my 77's with the deer within 15-20 yds. of my stand and have never been busted. I was taught as a kid how to use that method on the safeties on the trigger guard and have used it on other types of safeties over the last 40+ yrs. I get amused when I watch a hunter on TV "click" the safety off and the deer look up at them. Maybe amused isn't the word...maybe amazed would be more like it that they have hunted for years and don't know how to keep it quiet.

I believe the MkII and Hawkeye are the most underrated of rifle actions today, and much prefer the MkII to all previous.

A real Mauser feeding capability (CRF), superb safety that holds the striker back As well as locking the bolt and trigger, and an open trigger design that is highly reliable and can very easily and safely be worked down to a crisp pull of about 3#. The integral scope mounts are terrific (no worries about hidden base screws coming loose), and if a person doesn't like the Ruger rings, Leupold and others make dandy replacements. I've also found the barrels of this generation of Rugers to be mostly very accurate.

I'm a little surprised this action hasn't captured more of the "McSwirley" custom market than it has. It's a sleeper.

I had a M77 ranger in 7mm rem mag that I bought when I was 18. I was in love with that rifle but truth be told it was about a 4 moa shooter and the trigger, while adjustable, went down to about 5 lbs at the minimum. I finally rebarreled after I got older and got it shooting pretty well. Sadly it was stolen in a break in at my Dads house. I love the tang safeties and think that's where they should be on all rifles.

If the supplied scope rings are not to your liking, Ruger will let you exchange them for the proper size for free provided the originals are still in their package. they use to just swap them out regardless if they were used or not but that policy apparently got taken advantage of. The factory trigger can be cleaned up to 3 lbs or a tad under with about 20 min of stone work.

The last 4 Hawkeyes I've got came with 1" rings. Called CS and asked if I could exchange for 30mm rings. They promptly sent me 30mm's and said keep the 1" rings. Can't beat that kind of service.

I have had 3-MkII's (30-06, 300WM,.223), 1-boat paddle (.338WM), and 1-Hawkey (.308). The .223, 300, and 338 were great shooters, but the 30-06 was awful with several loads and the 308 was the only poor shooting 308 I have ever had.

I like the design, just heavy but reliable if they shoot. The new Nat Gear camo stocks I do not like.

I happen to concur with this.

Mule Deer:
" I've owned a pile of 77's of all eras. While one barrel truly sucked (a 7x57 with a bore that had numerous loose spots, with the tight spots measuring .287), all the others shot anywhere from acceptably to very well. My acceptable rating is three shots in an inch for big game rifles, and five shots in an inch for varmint rifles, and very well is half that. Most of them required some work on the bedding and trigger, but then a lot of factory rifles do."

Boxer - Big Stick:
"I've Ruger familiarity and accept them for what they are. Light or bullet proof they are not, though curiously enough they are oft maligned by the masses for "accuracy" woe which I've yet to see, though of course I shoot a bit, which tend to tip numerous scales."


This 77 was taken in on a trade and sold right of way for reasons not related to accuracy or handling characteristics.