Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters old or new Ruger77 accuracy

I've read posts about Ruger 77s less than stellar accuracy. Something about headspacing. There's a pretty little 77 ultra light in .257 Roberts at the local gun shop w/older tang safety. Were these older models any better?

IME the M77 MkIIs with Ruger-made barrels are the best rifles Ruger ever made. I had a rifle exactly like the one you're looking at. It was alright, not real accurate, but good enough for deer hunting at common ranges. Ultralight rifles with pencil thin barrels typically aren't the most accurate anyway. I would bet that you would get along just fine with that old tang safety Ruger. I found one just like it at the gunshow last weekend but passed on it. I would rather have the MkII version. If you find one of those, I think you should snatch it up.

I've owned 10 M77's so far, and the 3 that had accuracy problems were all early MKII's. Rebarreling was the only cure that worked.

The tang safety M77's and the recent MKII's I have owned have all been good shooters for me.

Donning my flameproof suit.....

I haven't found the early M77's to be exceptionally accurate--but I've found them to be plenty accurate for hunting......besides every rifle we buy is a bit of a risk in the accuracy department.

Early heavy barrel M77's seemed to be very accurate though.

Regardless, I'm a fan of tang safety M77's, and I sure wouldn't pass up a lightweight one....in 257R no less......

Casey

I have had several tang safety 77's in the past as well as several #1"s, and currently have two77's one a 257. Out of the 12-15 rugers of that vintage that I have owned all shot just fine to exceptional. I wouldn't worry any more than buying a rifle from any other vendor. That s/b a sweet little rifle.

Saved this quote from Boxer..aka 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."

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 the trigger, but then a lot of factory rifles do.

The big problem I've seen with some of the tang-safety rifles is very long throats in some older chamberings, such as 7x57.

I own a tang safety ultra light in 270 Win. It has always been a quite accurate rifle. In fact, a buddy of mine who (in pre-marriage days-lol) went through many rifles was so impressed by its accuracy that he always told me if I got rid of it he wanted it no questions asked. I would get the Roberts in a heart beat.

I have heard from a few guys that owned M77RSIs, that some
wont shoot very well no matter what you do with them.

The only ruger I ever owned that shot like well crap, was an early one in 280 Remington, noting I could do to it, would make any difference. Still it was accurate enough for most Big Game hunting I did at the time. A friend wanted it, so he got it. I had before I paired down my collection a M-77 Mk in 6.5 x 55 and once I replaced the trigger, the smith messed up and was un safe. Along with a bedding job, I would shoot for money with that one because I could take a box of Norma 156 gr loads, and pile of of them into a one inch stick on orange dot with a little room left over. I use to bet 5 dollars a shot that I could do that, after the fourth guy at the club I belonged to at the time, there would be no other takers. For a while I though I could make a living as a rifle range hustler. Ruger makes a good strong hunting rifle. They are a lot of gun for the money.

I've had a number of these rifles. An M77 in .35 Whelen and 7x57 were mediocre shooters but plenty accurate for hunting. An M77 UltraLight in .30-06 was horrible, about 3" groups at 100 yards. A couple of M77 .250 Savage UltraLights were relatively accurate along with a .250 Savage Mannlicher model. M77 MKIIs in .223, .308, and 7.62x39 were accurate. Three M77Vs in .220 Swift (on its second barrel), .25-06, and .308 remain exceptionally accurate. Have had these last three for more than fifteen years.

I have a Ruger Tang Safety Ultralight in .250-3000. It has been bedded and the trigger worked on and shoots inside an inch with 100gn Hornadys or 100gn Ballistic Tips. As the hole is only .257 of an inch, there is still a fair bit of meat in the barrel.

My .308 MKII Ultralight, on the other hand, has very thin barrel walls due to the bigger bore size and the same barrel contour. It still puts three 150gn Hornadys or 130gn Speer HPs into an inch to an inch and a half. This rifle shoots better with a little bit of pressure under the barrel at the end of the stock. It has also been bedded and has a Timney trigger.

I have bought three new Rugers in the past couple of years in 257 Roberts, 35 Whelen and 303 British and all three barrels have been as smooth as I've ever seen on any rifle from any company. I know Ruger had a bit of a reputation for bad barrels several decades ago but the barrels they are putting out now are pretty good I reckon.

I've owned a few Ruger 77's with mixed results. My first M77 was a .270 in the 70's and it was accurate, although I had floated and glass bedded it. I had a M77V in .243 around 1980 that was disappointing, so it went away. I have a M77 .30-06 from the 80's that shoots well. I recently acquired a M77 (circa 1983) .270 that shoots well.
I have a KM77 MkII .30-06 that was not accurate when new. After break-in, and some JB bore paste, and time, it is now about the most accurate .30-06 I own. On a good day, it puts 3 shots in 1/2" at 100 yards. The CRF action is smoother than a New Haven M70 CRF.

My own experience with at least 4 tang safety varies from as good as it gets - very good indeed - to entirely satisfactory. Dave Wolfe had a tang safety in .220 Swift which Neal Knox wrote up as the most accurate factory rifle around Handloader magazine at the time - well under half an inch at 100 yards from benchrest. Myself I'd have trouble demonstrating such accuracy even if it existed except maybe evening diurnal wind switch with still air but I have had bragging groups that small from a tang safety Ruger myself.

Rumor says accuracy varied with the barrel maker and that there were several barrel makers depending on demand and I suspect but don't know bore size and tooling at Ruger itself. It's certainly true that the angled front screw into the recoil lug was associated, right or wrongly, with problems in hard kickers as well.

The cast receivers on the Ruger and anodizing on older Leupolds makes a nice purple match.

I do have a Gradient Hawkeye borescope to reduce the crapshoot the goes with buying a rifle of that vintage and hoping for the best condition and remaining life. I'd worry a whole lot more about an individual rifle of that age than about any stories about Ruger quality.

Ya think? My pre-warning 7x57 shoots fine even though the throat is long. It also doesn't show any pressure signs with loads that make the bolt on my MkII lift really hard. Rounds for the old gun loaded with 175 Hornadys have the crimping groove about a eighth inch forward of the case mouth, and they still don't touch the lands. It's a great old rifle, but I still prefer the MkIIs. At one time I had two MkIIs in 7x57, but I traded one away. That was stupid.

I have owned only three Model 77's but I have probably shot a hundred or more. After bedding, all shot better than OK and some were exceptional. I recently got one of the long throat, tang safety models in 7x57. The throat was not only long but was pretty big as well and it just bugged me so I set it back a half inch and re-chambered it. It shoots well (sub moa) but the barrel is homely enough inside that I doubt I'll be able to leave it alone. I'll probably re-barrel before next fall. Hard to say how it would have shot before I messed with it. Probably would have been just fine. GD

I've had a M77R's tang safty's in 22-250, 6mm Rem(should have kept that one) and in 30-06. All shot well.

Had a M77 MKII in 300 Win Mag and it shot well.
Son had a MKII Target in 25-06 thatI was able to make shoot.

The only goofy one was a Hawkeye on 257 Roberts. It was accurate enough to hunt with but seemed to finiky so it went away.

I have a Hawkeye in 7 mag now and it shoots well enough with most bullets I try in it.

I have a tang safety M77 in 30-06. It only shot well (3/4 inch) after I full-length bedded it.

A 7x57 that I traded away did between 1 1/4 and 1 1/2 inches with factory bedding. I have no doubt it could have done better with a good bedding job.

I have 5 old style tang safety Ruger's .220 swift .257 rob .270 30-06 and .243. all will shoot under an inch at 100 when I do my part. none have been bedded or floated. Some with factory loads and some with handloads. Been lucky so far to get good ones. Best is my ol flatbolt .243 1/2 in. all day. A couple Mk II's in .308 and .260 and one hawkeye in 6.5 creedmoore. havent shot the creedmoore yet but its coming. Ruger has been known for bad barrels before the mk II's. but thats over now. Ruger might not be the most accurate hunting rifle on the market but they get the job done.

The most accurate rifle I ever shot was a tang safety Ruger 243. That thing was unbelieveable! Less than half-inch all day long.