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77/22's can be a bit of a crap shoot. Some will shoot great others will need some work. Really depends if you want a Ruger, there are others that shoot better out of the box. Shot against many 77/22's scoped with a model 12 BSA Martini with peep sights in siloutte did not often lose. They can be great, but you may have to work at it. Any 22LR will have a "special" ammo that it really likes. Could take some time and money to find the right box of ammo.

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It seems any Ruger rifle that I ever owned was a crap shoot when it comes to accuracy, I never had any problems at all with function but accuracy was always very iffy, I can only recall one really accurate Ruger centerfire rifle I have ever owned (and there have been many) it was a little Mod 77 MKII Ultralight in .223 Rem. that little rifle would shoot 3/4" 3 shot groups at 100 yds all day long with factory ammo, every other Ruger centerfire rifle I have owned were 1.5" to 2" rifles, That's why I don't currently own any Ruger centerfires. it has been many years since I owned one of these little 77/22's but I have had 3 or 4 pass through My safe over the years and don't remember any one being a real "tack driver" I will say that I am impressed with the build quality of this latest 77/22 fit and finish are top notch with a real machined metal trigger guard and I already know how bulletproof the 10 shot rotary magazine system is.......Can't wait to get it to the range with some good ammo but I am trying not to expect too much in the accuracy department and avoid disappointment if this is the case.............Hb

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I have had several 77/22's. Out of the box they all needed a little tweaking to reach their potential, but then I have not owned many rifles of any caliber that don't. As outlined above the main things I did was to

#1 Free Float the Barrel
#2 do a trigger job (instructions at http://www.centerfirecentral.com/77trigger.html )
#3 polish the bore with Flitz Metal Polish
#4 shim the barrel if the barrel shank to receiver fit was sloppy (I placed a shim or shims between the bottom of the barrel and the forward portion of the receiver, a shelf if you will that the V Block Screws thread into to eliminate barrel droop)

I have had one lemon out of about a half dozen or so. This one was a nightmare. The Barrel Shank Hole in the receiver was not straight and true and the shoulder on the barrel that seats against the receiver was not straight and true, thus the barrel did not sit straight with the bolt face. A machinist buddy of mine straightened things out as best he could but it never did shoot as good as the other ones I have had.

I had a K77/22 Stainless Synthetic that I bought used that was a great shooter from the get go. I know it had had a trigger job done to it but it was not free floated. I should have left well enough alone but I had to free float it to see if I could get it to shoot better. It did not and is the only one I have had that free floating didn't improve the accuracy.

[Linked Image]

I ended up turning that one into a Full Custom 77/22. I reworked the trigger some more till it breaks like a glass rod at 1 1/4 pounds and had an overtravel screw installed. I installed a Clark Custom Guns 20" Stainless Bull Barrel and set it in a Volquartsen Laminated Stock. On a calm day this one will shoot sub MOA at 100 yards with Wolf Match Target Ammo.

[Linked Image]

I am currently in the process of restocking this rifle again. This time I am going to go with a McMillan Rimfire Magnum Varmint FIberglass Stock.

Larry

Last edited by Larry_in_SD; 01/22/12.
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my squirrel gun (a 1991 model 77/22) shot MOS for many years with a cheap tasco but wasn't what i would call a consistant tack driver. i shot a trunk load of squirrels with it over the years though. about 7 or 8 years ago i had the trigger replaced with an adjustable one and this past year i put a bushnell elite 4200 3-9x40 on it. it is now officially a tack driver. it will shoot dime sized groups all day with CCI mini mag hollow points. the cheapo ammo is ok but not nearly as good as the CCI. my remington 582 on the other hand likes the cheapo federal ammo the best. it is wearing the cheapo tasco from the ruger. i just picked up a 581 yesterday that has a vintage 3/4" redfield 4x on it and i just came in from shooting it and it is indeeded sweet. better trigger than the ruger or my 582.


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Today I got My new 77/22 to the range with a few different mid priced ammo's to see how she shoots. First off going by My last 3 or 4 77/22 rifles I didn't have high expectations at all for this new one, I thought I would probably need a new barrel or at least some trigger work done to make the rifle even a decent shooter. Boy was I wrong on that! I got this thing to the range today under some not so great conditions (15 Mph wind gusts with at least a steady 5 mph wind) actually the condition's were pretty chitty for shooting tight groups, I had already thoroughly cleaned the rifle when I first got it so all I did was start feeding it the cheaper Ammo I had to get the scope right, three shots at 25 yds had me close so I moved the target back to 50 Yds and staying with the same cheap ammo (Aguila Golden Eagle $4.95 Per Bx.)I commenced to shooting some 5 shot groups, the first group measured less than 1/2", I was pleasantly surprised but still not convinced until I shot two more 5 shot groups with the same results! Then I tried Federal premium HV Match, Wolf Match extra and got the best groups (3/10") with RWS Rifle match. This 77/22 shot every ammo I tried in 1/2" or less 5 shot groups under not so good conditions, I was not expecting these accuracy results and am stunned. The rifle seemed to cycle a little rough for the first 30 rounds or so but is now much slicker. The trigger while not as bad as I remember My old 77/22's to be is still a touch too heavy for My taste and will need to be addressed, overall I am very pleased with this extremely well built Ruger 77/22 rimfire, it is already one of the top 5 most accurate 22 lr's out of the 40 or so new rimfires I have owned over the past 25 years and I've not even tried any high end ammo yet...........Hb

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VA,

It looks like you picked a winner. wink

When was your rifle made?


Last edited by jim62; 01/23/12.

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Hb, does your 77/22 have a threaded barrel?


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When the 77/22s first came out , I had a bunch of friends who wanted one . We did a group buy on six . They all wanted me to Test them at 50 yards since I had about every Brand of Ammo known to man . Believe it or not , they all Grouped 5 shots into 0.5 Inches or better at 50 yards . I was pretty surprised ! I kept one or two ( it was so long ago , I can't remember ) . Anyway , I did'nt like the atrocious Trigger Pull . Guess what , in those "good ol days " you just sent the Rifle back to Ruger and you got a really nice Trigger back . Some say that when new Models are brought out , the Quality of everything is high . Then as time goes on , things go down hill . I've seen that with quite a few Firearms. I've owned at least three other reworked 77/22s and they were all accurate . I bought one Custom BenchRest 77/22 which looked like it would shoot one hole . It was the worst of the bunch .

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Jim, I guess like the saying goes "even a blind hog will find an acorn every now and then" applies here, usually My luck runs the opposite way with a new rifle (all bad) this is an older rifle with the clamp in barrel. I looked for one of these still NIB because I thought I would have to buy an aftermarket barrel to get the thing to shoot to My satisfaction but happily I was wrong this time. I would still like to try a new threaded barrel model in stainless synthetic, eventually I will................HB

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Originally Posted by VaHillbilly
Jim, I guess like the saying goes "even a blind hog will find an acorn every now and then" applies here, usually My luck runs the opposite way with a new rifle (all bad) this is an older rifle with the clamp in barrel. I looked for one of these still NIB because I thought I would have to buy an aftermarket barrel to get the thing to shoot to My satisfaction but happily I was wrong this time. I would still like to try a new threaded barrel model in stainless synthetic, eventually I will................HB


LOL.. My luck with new rifles runs that way, too.. I am truly glad for you that yours shoots that well. wink

And, great minds thick alike.. I am planning to pick up a new MGF stainless Ruger m77/22 as well.

Last edited by jim62; 01/23/12.

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Very good Jim, make sure and post your thoughts on the 77/22 stainless, I will be interested to read them...........HB

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I too have an interest in the threaded barrel 77/22's if anyone has a report.


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Mine was as accurate as my Rem 581s, so I sold the 581s. Then I put a 40x barrel on a 10/22, then sold the 77/22.

I shot the CCI minimag hp on squirrels.

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Got back to the range today with some RWS R50 but the 77/22 didn't shoot this premium ammo any better (close but not as good)than the RWS Match Rifle, I will try some Lapua Center-X for the hell of it when I can get My hands on some but the RWS Match rifle is going to be hard to beat. I think the process of trying all these different ammos is My favorite part of buying a new rimfire, damn it's fun! grin..............Hb

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Yes. Shaking out a rifle and loads is what I really enjoy. After that they tend to get more safe time. Still though, my 22 LR's get about 5 or 6 K rounds through them each spring.


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5 or 6 thousand rounds a year, man thats great, I don't shoot that many rounds in 5 years. and your right, after I find the load my rifle likes best she will sit in the safe and many times become a "safe Queen" until I sell it and start all over again with another new rifle grin I do realize that I am a sick man crazy..............Hb

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Mine was incredibly accurate box stock. Couldn't believe it because I had shot a couple of these that belonged to other club members prior and they were so so groupers. I mounted the T-36 on it with no intention of leaving it on the big rifle but as you can see, I will probably never take it off now.

[Linked Image]

[Linked Image]

It has lost some of it's gilt edge in the last couple of years or maybe it's me blush

Last edited by sheffieldshooter; 01/26/12.
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Figure you shot the barrel out wink


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Nice shooting, I really like the one in the upper left corner, that's the kind of accuracy I look for in IR 50/50 Sporter class, but it's hard to find a sporter weight rifle that will shoot that good and that's what it takes if you want to compete or else your chit out of luck................Hb

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I had two of the Ruger 77 22 mags. One a light barrel and one a heavy barrel with the laminate stock.
Accuracy was poor in both. I don't still have the records on them but recall they were about 2" guns.
I did have the heavy barrel receiver threaded and of course the barrel as well. Also had that barrel re crowned. That seemed to make little difference, it was still a poor accuracy gun.
I dumped both of these and bought an Anschutz 1720 sporter and have not looked back. It's a sub 1" gun with Hornady 30 plastic tips. I have not shot any other ammo in it.
Hind sight is 20-20 but I would have been money ahead buying the anschutz first and not wasting all the money trying to get the rugers to shoot.


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