Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats How come you dont see custom rugers?

If aluminum is an issue get hawkeye bottom metal.

The idiot angled screw draws the bottom metal in two directions at once... getting EVERY stock identical in something like wood which will move there is no way to do a proper one piece.

Greydog may think the two piece BM is not needed, but not having it would increase the fitting problems.

Glass bedding is not an issue as it fixes the issues... but why? The angled screw is simply an idea best left on the cutting room floor.

The angled screw was supposed to be cutting edge. They must have let the admin assistant "engineer" that gem. A tightly bedded vertical lug doesn't need to be "sucked back" against the stock, it can't move regardless.

You might note that I said the angled guard screw didn't make two piece bottom metal mandatory but the use of two piece metal allowed some tolerance. As you surmised, the use of one piece metal would require very precise location of the bottom metal. I alluded to this as well.
On my single shot M77, I installed two vertical screws in the solid bottom (the tang floats). Since it is a single shot and there is no floorplate, the different angles become a non-issue. I did reject the idea of making one-piece metal for the reason given however. No point in buying trouble!
I had a couple of friends (brothers) who built their own actions for benchrest rifles. They liked the angled screw concept and incorporated this into their actions and into their action sleeves for Remingtons. This was before glue-ins were common and they were very accomplished shooters and consistent winners. I don't know how much the angled screw helped but it certainly didn't hurt. By the late seventies they, along with everyone else, were gluing the rifles together so screws became superfluous.
These guys also liked Rugers and shot varmint rifles based on Ruger actions. They often used chromoly barrels which they left unblued and just let them rust "I'm pretty sure I'll burn it out from the inside before it rusts through from the outside", said one of the brothers.
I can understand complaints about the triggers. They could certainly have been designed a little better. Not the worst on the market though. GD

I think that the MKII/Hawkeye trigger is a big plus, Its a simple open design that can be easily tuned and won't collect dust or ice. In fact leaving the open trigger design is one big negative for the SC m70s in my book.

A little polishing and spring can change a MKII or hawkeye trigger into a nice 2.5lb trigger. Yes it does require more than turning an allen screw. If that to complex there is always a timney.

In my mind the ideal hunting rifle would be a stainless pre-64, but of course that doesn't exist, The m70 classics (compared to a MKII or hawkeye) of course have more latitude in scope mounting, a better safety design and lack the stupid angled screw. Those that don't like the square reciever of the M77 may mention that as well. On the other hand, the M77 has a one piece bolt, a lighter reciever than the winchester and if you like the ruger scope mounts, a very sold system for scope mounting.

Ruger makes over-engineered stuff that takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin', that's what they do. They leave the refinement and polish to someone else.

When I customized my three Model 77's I just put new stocks on them that were made to fit me personally. I left everything else factory stock - barrel, trigger and action. Okay, trigger jobs on each, but I didn't swap it for a Timney as there was no need, the factory triggers break clean and crisp at 2.25, 2.75 and 3.25 pounds for the three rifles. The .25-06 and .308 are as accurate as can be asked, 5 shots well under an inch. I could spend $300 or more for a new barrel and another $200-300 to have the action trued and barrel fitted to do what - maybe shave two or three tenths of an inch off of the groups? The .223 is a bit disappointing, it barely shades an inch with 5 shots. After I burn out the existing barrel in 20 years I might get a good one for it.

I've always found it interesting that so many people wouldn't consider a Ruger rifle as the basis for a classy custom (with the possible exception of the #1), yet a lot of other people will spend beaucoup bucks turning a Blackhawk into a work of art - barrel band front sight, new round or octagonal barrel, action jobs, new cylinder pin, new grips, even line boring an existing cylinder to a larger caliber - fancy shmancy. Admittedly they generally can use a trigger job and some firelapping but beyond that nothing need be done to a Blackhawk to turn it into an uber-reliable very accurate handgun.

Ruger doesn't have any competition when it comes to a readily available mass produced base model single action revolver as a basis for a custom.

GD, does having a lug that angles downward cause any unusual stress's during recoil as opposed to an action that would just try to move only backwards (or parallel ) to the stock ? It would seem that in the case of the Ruger, that having the recoil lug on a 45 degree angle that the action would move backwards and downwards during recoil, no ?

The bering surface of the lug isn't angled. It functions just like any other lug. Its just the screw that is angled.

Good post JB. These guys can keep hating on the 77 and stick with their 700's. Bunch of crying [bleep] babies .

I see lots of banter here back and forth, but the only ones I see "crying like babies" are the M70 and pre-64 guys. Sure lots make fun of each other and like to rib each other, but the JOC crowd act as if you were calling their mother, daughter or sister a whore.

The question was why you do not see custom Rugers... Please giggle on and trade knowing winks while everybody else stands back and shakes their heads...

The answers are obvious...

Reminds me of a Cormac McCarthy line from the novel Sutree, I believe, and it involved an immature "Jeff" dryhumping his "Mutt", Sutree.

sic... The City Rat looked at Sutree and he looked back with a look the City Rat mistook for total admiration.

I would site the following reasons
1. Cast receiver bugs many folks, if you look you can see mold reminates , pitty looking marks etc. I have a Montana 1999 cast by the same folks you see the same things, in fairness you see things on other actions as well!
2. Angled lug throws folks into a tizzy. All others use either a 90 degree washer style or 90 degree lug.
3. Lack of aftermarket parts.
4. So so reputation for factory accuracy ( which s really much better these days)
5. Factory trigger lacking ( there are after market triggers that work well)
6. Thought competition from the Model 70 & 700, Howa / Weatherby/ Tikka T3( which many here love and it's got a ton of polymer parts but they always shoot)
7. Action does not cycle as smooth as some until it is used for a bit.

A Ford Pinto......that was funny....makes me think about the Vega by GM and the AM Gremlin.......there were some dandies over the years.......let's not forget my all time favorite the Yugo.

I believe the Ruger Hawkeye now is a pretty decent rifle for the coin. You get CRF if that's your thing, decent trigger, and they will usually shoot about and 1" or so out ofthe box. You see a lot of guides use them cause they are rugged and will almost always go Bang.
All that being said, I bought a 6.5 creedmoor with a 26"barreled factory rifle, added a rifle Basix trigger and this gun shoots 1/2-3/4" groups with the 120 grain NBT and a stiff charge of Ramshot hunter. It's a reall nice rifle for the money. I promise you it will always have a spot in my safe.
Goodshot

My first custom was based off a Ruger. Being a lefty, I could have either bought new and spent $500 plus on any of the rifles or looked used. I found a LH M77 with a beat up stock and gave $225 for the donor. It became 6.5x55 Swede with a 22" 1-8" twist Krieger #2 barrel in a LH McMillan Ruger MK II classic stock with a FL barrel bed. I had a Timney set at 2.25#.

The rifle is certainly a shooter; it will consistently cloverleaf Sierra Matchkings, put 140g Accbuonds into 1/2" groups, and print 5/8" groups with 140g Partitions and a stout load of IMR 7828. I've recorded well over 100 groups in my logs with this rifle and the aggregate accuracy from 100, 200, and 300y groups is 0.592 MOA. That's good enough for me.

Roger Ferrell of Fayetteville, GA built the rifle. He's certainly not had any issues getting the two Ruger's I've had him work on bedded. The only downside could be weight, but for Eastern hunting that's largely a non-issue.

Dammit buzz that swede won't kill a Canadian deer

The only posts suggesting difficulty in bedding the 77 angled lug are those supporting its use, not the detractors.

Telling, no?

I have bedded a whole bunch of them without issue... though there is some screwing around needed during preparation to make things work right.

I guess I have bedded 30 rugers and maybe a half dozen remingtons, I think its easier to bed the ruger, no screwing around tapeing a lug and if you rebarrel, no hoping the lug goes back exactly the same.

I believe the only short action stock being made for the Ruger MKII's and Hawkeyes is by McMillan. You also cannot get any good aftermarket rings for them unless you want to run "highs". They are also a very heavy action to start with. Those reasons alone don't make them a good candidate for something you want to "Customize."

I have bedded far more Remingtons for 24hr members than you have bedded rifles. And I have bedded far more 77s than you have... and frankly, you are nuts if you think lining up that angled screw in wet epoxy is neater and cleaner than a Remington.

Neither is particularly difficult. Hard to imagine the few seconds required to slap a little tape on the bottom of a lug is a bother worth mentioning.

Makes no difference to me what make or model rifle I am dealing with, a barrel change would always be followed by skim bedding.