interesting on Ruger cast receivers. They gave the Palma team 20 IIRC, hand built Palma rifles off the 77s. IIRC only a couple out of the 20 were accurate enough to use. Personally I think it was not the cast issue but the fact they probably didn't go through and true them all up and take the time to put em together correctly. Making a heavy barrel 308 shoot is not rocket science generally.
I've seen some 77s shoot really good though. I hate the diagonal bedding screw though, but it is what it is. I try to avoid em like the plague. Never owned one. But I've had to work on a lot of em to get em to accurate. But like I said once you worked on them they were pretty accurate.
My only Ruger rifle now is a 10-22 with so many parts replaced its a receiver only... and a Ruger 1.
I would not doubt it. In Stuart Ottesons book he mentions ruger receivers being beat with hammers to straighten them up enough to be usable.
To me Rugers have as always been cheap looking, crude recievers.
The issue with the Ruger Palma rifles wasn't there accuracy per se, it was that the rifles and the ammo were delivered to the team very late and there was a an accuracy issue stemming from the COAL of the ammo and the rifles throating. It wouldn't have been a big deal to rectify but time was so short as the Rifles were delivered right as the practice sessions were starting. There was no time to work thru the issue and so most of the team members decided to run the practice sessions and then the match with their own rifles. I know that at least one of the team members went on to shoot other matches matches with the Ruger rifle and had no problem with its accuracy.
The receivers for the ruger palma rifles weren't even really M77s, when you look at the rifle the action is extended forward ostensibly to support the heavy palma barrel and they have a straight not angled screw and the trigger assembly is not the standard M77 Trigger. Obviously the actions were custom made and I don't know if they were cast or forged. certainly neither of the two I have inspected has purpled as do many of the original M77s do.
Using the Ruger Pamla rifles to say anything about production M77s let alone MKII/Hawkeyes is misleading
