As I said in an earlier post I collected Ruger rifles for several years. Their biggest issue was barrels. Ruger used Douglas barrels until about 1973, then switched to Wilson barrels. Ruger installed Douglas Premium barrels on the No.1 single shot. Every Douglas barreled rifle I've owned was accurate, some exceptionally accurate for hunting rifles. The Wilson barrels, in my experience were a 'hit or miss' proposition. Lack of quality control. Many of the Wilson barreled rifles I owned were "easy MOA' accurate. But some were not and nothing I did would get them under 2". I pulled a new ultralight .30-06 (M77RL) off the shelf at Bob Ward's in Boseman in about 1986. Upon looking at it I noticed the hole in the end of the barrel was off center. Didn't need any caliper to tell; you could see it with the naked eye! I handed it back an asked to see another one which I bought. That rifle would shoot almost any load into MOA or better. Yep, both Wilson barrels. Sometime in the 90's Ruger switched to in-house hammer forged barrels. All of the MKIIs I've owned have been consistently accurate.
No. 1s below serial number 130-05000 should have a Douglas premium barrel. Any M77 that dates to 1972 and earlier would also have a Douglas barrel.
Last edited by mcknight77; 01/27/22.
