Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Rimfires Ruger 77/22

Need to hear from 77/22 owners. Good and any negatives. Have been offered a pair from an estate. I've always been a 10/22 shooter. Any of you fans?

I like 'em.....

Accuracy up to 10/22 standards? Maybe that's not a good comparision since my 10/22 have all had new barrels and triggers, so let's go with good by your standards with preferred ammo.

the opinions on these are going to vary, i own two at the moment and have had two additional ones in addition. i like them, they are a full size feel rimfire rifle with good looks and gets the job done. just like the 10/22's there are tweaks that can be done to improve them if they are not up to your liking.

If they are sporter barrels , its about a 90% certainty they will need to be properly bedded to shoot well .Other than that ,if you like 'em and get them.bought right, rock on. You could do worse..

I like mine.

I've had several in various formats over the years. I didn't sell any of them because of problems, I sold them because I found that I wasn't actually using them. Same reason I sold my 10/22s.

Last I bought was around Christmas last year, plastic stock, stainless. Fussed with the trigger a little. I bought the shim kit everyone recommended but it turned out mine was tight enough from the factory even the thinnest shims wouldn't fit. I bought a front extension ring so I could mount the short bodied Leupold 4X RF special on it. Tried a couple loads, sighted it in, cleaned it, put it in the closet, and haven't looked at it since. I reckon I'll probably sell it just like I did the others. Great little gun, but great ideas are only great if you use them.

Tom

They're dependable rifles that look good, have the best magazine and safety and they come with rings. A trigger job, bedding (as jk16 said) and the right ammo was necessary on mine with the standard sporter barrel to get decent accuracy.

Hatari: I have two Ruger 77/22's - and love them both.
Reliable, accurate and a wonderful magazine system for reliable feeding and quick reloading.
One of my 77/22's is a boat paddle stainless sporter weight gun with a Leupold 3x9 scope and the other is a heavy barrel stainless model with a Weaver V-16 (4x16 variable) scope.
The triggers on these are IME hit or miss - they are either good or great and I chose to add the Volquartsen trigger improvement kit to my heavy barrel 77/22.
I really enjoy my 77/22's and have had no problems with either to date.
They both balance (feel right!) for me and both look very good.
Plus their re-sale value is VERY strong.
Yeah I am a big fan of these.
Good luck if you acquire the two in question.
And... maybe sell me one!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Another great thing about the 10/22 or 77/22 mags is that they fit real nice into old fashion speed loader pouches for easy carrying in the woods. My self I would rather carry a couple of loaded flush fitting factory mags than to have on of those 25 round deals hanging down and getting in the way.

good solid rifle.........

although mine is a 17M2..........Lilja barrel........Vortex 2-8x32......DB HP

my only complaint.......damn magazines are always empty..........

helluva p/dog short range removal tool.........

My experience as well, but never got mine to be a accurate as I needed, so sold it.

I've got a 77/22 SS/Synthetic in 22LR and a 77/22 blue/walnut in 22 Mag. Both rifles have been problem free and accurate enough for my uses. The earlier 77/22 rifles also had the same type of barrel attachment as the 10/22, so barrel changes were easy to do. The newer 77/22s have threaded barrels and you can't change the barrels as easily.

I have one in 22 and another in 22 magnum. They are both sporter weight barrels. It's hard to quantify, but when I hold them, they feel like a quality gun. There is nothing cheap feeling or looking about them. Mine are fairly new purchases. They have made one trip to the range for sighting in and testing. I ran 3-4 types of ammo through each at 50 yards. Both gave me groups that eyeballed less than 3/4 inch. That's bone stock. I suspect I'll be able to beat that with a little more experimenting. They are easily minute of squirrel head at 50 yards.

I had an early blued one, which shot poorly, and later had a stainless boat-paddle gun, which shot some ammo exceptionally well. Neither would float my boat, though, and I went to CZs, which have shot better. They weren't bad, but something about them didn't turn my crank. I can't quantify it, but we all know what I mean.

Hatari,

If you can get them relatively inexpensively, do so. Then send them to Clark Custom in Louisiana and have their medium weight barrel installed and crowned at between 18 and 22 inches, depending on how you prefer a rifle to balance. Also have them do their trigger job. These rifles will shoot with an Anschutz for a lot less money. I have multiples of both and have shot them in side by side comparisons.

RS

I've had mine since 1987. Walnut, blued, with rings and sights, lightly used when I got it. Accuracy was always good, but I had a lot of light strike misfires. Finally took it to a smith who replaced the firing pin and did a little trigger improvement. Don't know exactly what the "trigger job" amounted to, but it ended up with a very nice light crisp trigger. It's been a great little rifle since. I have an old 4x Bushnell .22 scope on it. It's accurate enough that I used to use old 1cent stamps for targets at 50 yds (and hit them!).

They are flat out fugking awesome.




Dave

Chose the Ruger over a 541T and a Browning bolt 22, in the 90's, Close in price, did not want a Jap gun, after a bad Weatherby, did not like the 541 mag.
I truly like the Ruger, but, 541 would have been more accurate, probably. Also I would not have had to spend money and work on the trigger.
Wish I had bought different.

work all the time, feel great for balance, never had one that shot as good as it looked

I have two boat paddle 77/22's, one in .22 LR and one in .22 Magnum. The magnum has killed probably 4,000 prairie dogs and consistently shoots W-W Super-X 40 grain HP's into 1.5 MOA. The .22 LR shoots just about anything into less than an inch at 50 yards. Both feed flawlessly and feel solid. They are my favorite .22 rifles. They aren't making them any more, so if they are reasonably priced, I would sure consider buying.

My thoughts exactly. hatari should buy it/them.

One of the most accurate 22LR's I've ever owned.

Bed it for sure. Spring kit for the trigger would be a good idea.

Watch schit die after that.

They simply feel like a quality rifle, rather than "just a rimfire."

I have a Ruger American 22 that will shoot hands down better than any one of the 3 77-22's I had,

Out of the box- with no mods- my 22LR American also shoots better than the 4 m77/22s I have owned since 1985.

With its favorite ammo, my American will run with my CZ 452, which is saying a lot.

I've had a couple and worked on a couple. My main .22 at present is a SS RSI. They often need a little trigger work or a replacement, but that's easy and cheap. I haven't bedded one yet, but might tackle the job on my RSI, the forend cap, at least.

They are overbuilt for a .22, but are strong as houses, and have good features, especially the magazine, which doesn't hang out the bottom like most. Mine is acceptably accurate for small game and practice, but if you want bug holes, there are easier and cheaper ways to get there. I sold a much more accurate CZ to buy my RSI and don't regret it, as the Ruger is a joy to carry and looks great. I will tinker with it later to improve the accuracy a bit, and refine the trigger beyond what I accomplished with changing the spring. The Target model my son has is quite accurate. I put a Timney sear in that one which helped the trigger a lot.

My gunsmith told me he was looking for a magnum model for parts. A local butcher had one with 500,000 rounds, and needed sprucing up.

BTW, older models have slip-fit barrels that allow you to switch calibers within the cartridge family (.22LR-.17HM2, .22mag-.17HMR) if that's of interest to you. If you find one you like, better snag it as cartridge choices on new ones are very limited; no .22s. The Americans are taking over that niche, it seems.

If I could find one in the 300-400 range in 22 magnum I would buy it, but they are usually almost twice that or more when i see them.

My Savage Rimfires shoot better than my Ruger 77 rimfires. But I have never found a use for their better accuracy. It's satisfying at the range, but in the field the Rugers do what I want them to and they look and feel a lot better doing it.

only accurate rifles are interesting. Why settle? Ruger American shoots as good as the Savages, feeds better, handles better, and will still outshoot most 77/22

Settle for what? A rifle that shoots as well as I need it to and doesn't feel like a cheap toy?

My notion is that all accurate rifles are interesting, but accuracy is only one attribute I look for in a rifle. I don't sit at a bench punching holes in paper all day, unless I'm testing ammo or tuning. I've killed a bunch of small game with .22s that probably wouldn't shoot in an inch at 50 yards, and can't recall ever missing because my rifle couldn't make the shot.

hey if a 2-3 MOA floats your boat go for it, they work and feel good . If you want looks they are pretty good. they just don't shoot as good as several rifles in the same price range

I've yet to see a 77/22 shoot 2-3 MOA.




Dave

Rreat rifles once they're tuned.
All it takes is
Set back barrel and recut chamber with a match reamer
Re crown
Tune trigger
Shim bolt
Bedding job
Properly torque action screws

Mine will shoot well under MOA with quality ammo

You haven't shot enough of them then.

Unaltered some of the old walnut sticked sporters shot pretty schitty.

I bought a very nice used one several months ago and just got around to shooting and it is a tack driver. If I remember correctly, this was one from the 90s or late 80s. I really wanted to like it, but was worried about things I had read about accuracy - I was thrilled when I shot it. I think that you will have to spend a fair amount more money to find a rimfire that is built as well - they are solid, but not at all clunky. But you can probably spend a lot less to get something that shoots as well. I have heard of spotty accuracy, but my limited experience of one rifle has not confirmed that. I was shooting a Browning T-bolt 17 HMR at the range the same day and was wishing it was a 77/17

I messed around trying to make a Leupold 2-7x28 rimfire work on the 77/22, but it's just too small. I pulled an old vari-x II 3-9x40 off my 25-06 and it is perfect. Shipped it off to Leupold to have the parallax adjusted

I'll try and find some more.



Travis

Yeah, for now I've got the 4X RF special mounted with a Ruger extension ring, but if I keep it, I'm going to have their custom shop build me a 3-9X VX II with parallax set at 60 yards, windplex crosshair, and CDS.

Tom

I have an old stainless boat paddle w/green inserts M77/22. It has a Baush & Lomb 3x9x40 in the Ruger rings since about 1995. It was my farm gun for years, killing problem coons, groundhogs, skunks, crows, fox and coyotes with zero troubles. No way could I estimate the number of tree squirrels myself or my son has killed with it over the years. It isn't fussy, about any decent ammo groups under 3/4" @ 50 yards with the better loads running at half that group size. I like it... a lot.

Picked up a stainless with a laminated stock. Never shot, never scope mounted. Buddy says send me a check for whatever.

What is a fair "whatever"? $550? $650? more?

If it's stainless with the laminated and never shot it would probably sell for about $600. Depending on location or selling on the internet.

Friend pricing should bring it down to $500 or $450 I would think.

Ingwe sold me one in .17 HMR for a song.



Dave

I had a stainless (target gray) 77/22 magnum with the cinnamon laminated stock 20 years ago. I never could get it t shoot. I sold it to a guy who was a bit of a tinkerer. About a week later he showed me a 9 shot group that was way better than my best 3. He had floated the barrel and torqued the action screws to spec. I saw one like it in Cabelas yesterday for $998.

I think I'd tell my buddy to tell me what he wants for it.

I think that would be about perfect for it. They seem to be a bit difficult to scope - they don't work too well with large ocular (rear) bells or short tubes. I tried a few scopes and the issues I had were either I couldn't get it back close enough to my eye or interference with the bolt handle.

I was using an extension ring with the 2-7 as well and will try to ditch that for a regular ring when I get the 3-9 back from Leupold.

If you get one that shoots, I can't imagine ever wanting much more out of a bolt action 22 - well built, but easy to carry and not bulky, nice looking and I love the Ruger mags. Unfortunately, sounds liking getting a shooter may take a little luck.

Or you could buy a CZ and just shoot it with the $$ left

Nobody ever tinkers with CZ's...

On the left is a group from my 77/22. The little orange dot fell off due to abuse.

Could you Gruff diagram that target please, via sharpie.

Tear font.

I can never tell if he's explaining a range session or a football play.




Dave

Today, a buddy of mine, and I, went to a local range with 3 Ruger RAR rifles. All three of them outshot the two 77/22s I owned, my buddy's "regular" full-sized .22 showed some real genuine love for Velocitors, too. My Predator is pretty good, but his rifle put mine to shame, and he was pleased with his HMR compact, too.
While I liked the 77/22s, the RARs seem to outshoot them for half the price, or less.

I have yet to find a Ruger American that won't shoot either.




Dave

The centerfire Leupold 2-7x33 scopes will work on them. I've used the Vari-X and the VX1. IMO they're not too big for the rifle and are brighter with better eye relief and faster target pick up than the smaller rimfire scope. Leupold will reset the parallax to rimfire distances for around sixty bucks or you can do it yourself. There's a good thread on this at "Rimfire Central". It's not that hard to do. I'd try it before resetting it. It might work fine as is.

The old M8 4x28 will work on it too. At that low a magnification there was no need to change the parallax setting on mine.

Those RAR rifles will out shoot my Marlin 39A's too at near 1/3 the price but I don't see not acquiring any more of them if one comes along again. Just saying.

I wish I had one to try!

CZ's shoot nice out of the box but if you want a Stainless Steel rifle, flush fitting 10 round magizine or a proper 3 position safety you need a 77/22. Plus it gives me the advantage of cheap practice and small game hunting with the same platform I use for big game.

That group on the left you shot at 25 yards is somethin else..wow.

I have two and I guess I was "lucky" didn't have to do anything but trigger jobs on them and they shoot. Both are boat paddle stocked - one was a .22 magnum that I installed an after market .17 HRM barrel on and shoots around 1" at 100yds consistently with 17g VMAX; the other is in .22LR that I use as my rainy day squirrel rifle and my informal target gun (we have local shoots here in western PA at 100ft offhand for meat and wood walk shoots at steel target) and it does pretty good at these shoots which are dominated by rifles that are typically very accurate (i.e. Anschutz, CZ, Winchester 52s, Remington 40X and 541s, Coopers, 77/22s even a few RAR are showing up).

I shoot my .22LR with a Nikon EFR that seems to be just about right on this rifle.......I would offer around $450 for it, your friend could probably get a little more if he wanted.

PennDog

Some day I might find the time to shoot mine and see if it's decent or not.. It's still NIB... Dangit..

I had my 541 stolen out of my truck in the early 90's. At the time, Remington had suspended production on them and was concentrating on center fire only due to Clinton so I was unable to order another one. I bought a new 77/22 Walnut. For some reason I was never able to get it to shoot as good as I had hoped. I moved it about a year later once the 541's were once again available. I have never owned another or ever felt the desire. I know it was only a sample of one, but have several friends that have various models of the 77/22. I have yet to find one that I feel I would care to own. Just my opinion, but the CZ is a much better rifle in my hands. I really enjoy a fine rimfire and have several from various makers. Maybe someday I will try one again.

Dang... Sorry to hear of that. Those 541s can flat out SHOOT. I have a 541T and with Eley ammo it will put shots into basically one hole if I do my part.