Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Alaska/Canda working rifle

I recently returned from a hunt in Northern BC and the guide carried a 30 year old Ruger 77 wood blue 338 win mag with a Leupold - 2-7x33. The gun had been used hard - very little stock finish left, no blueing at all and covered in rust and the scope was severely dinged up - however the gun still shot, held poi, and the guide had full confidence in it.

It got me thinking about putting together a rifle setup this winter after hunting season with the idea of producing a working rifle that would be bomb proof - much like this guides rifle. My use for it mainly would be setup as a backup/loaner rifle that I could loan out as needed but something that needs to be a step above a RAR or the like. This project would also cure some rifle looneyism this winter.

Anyways, this is what I am thinking:
Ruger Hawkeye Stainless 30/06 or 338 OR possibly a Older Model 77 that had the iron sights from the factory on it.
Black McMillan Ruger Pattern Stock
6x40 Meopta in Ruger rings.

Bed the rifle, tweak trigger as needed, and get everything mounted and secured. Such a setup could take a whole lot of abuse for a whole lot of years and would make one heck of a near "bomb proof" setup. Thought?

IMHO the M77 mk II is one of if not the best rough duty hunting bolt action rifles made. I don't recall hearing of their bolt handles falling off, triggers rusting up and I've yet to fire one that wouldn't shoot reasonably well with factory ammo, and likely better with handloads. Unless you just want to spent money, the factory tupperware stocks are fully functional.

First three handloads I put through my 350 rem mag allweather M77 mkII



Gun hand a grand total of 10 factory loads through it, nothing done to the trigger or stock and was topped with a 2.5x compact leupold.

Seems like bedding it, tweaking it and dropping it in a mccmilan stock is the opposite of what the guide had.

That guides rifle had taken abuse for a whole lot of years without a thousand dollars of upgrades. I get what youre trying to do but what you are describing isnt the same thing and isnt nearly as cool as what the guide had.

Sounds like a SS Hawkeye or boat paddle Ruger in factory form (tune trigger) and a Leupold 4x or 6x and you'd be happily in business for a long time.

Go for it. But, take some advice.....I've gotten bored a lot in the winter, and found myself working on "projects" that didn't make much sense to me later on.

Hiaring8, That was my attempt in 1989. One rifle for everything, except maybe pass shooting geese . A Win. 70 (push feed) action (tefloned)Douglass SS barrel, folding express sights, McMillan stock, Pachmyar pad, Leupold QD base/rings ( with 2 Leupold scopes same zero's). Same set-up every year, same bullet ( though I did change about 4 years ago), same charge, and same zero. memtb

Exactly

Ruger 77 rebarreled to 35 Whelen with a 20" SS barrel bedded into a factory wood stock was my "always ready and never let me down" Alaska rifle for 8 seasons. I killed about everything up there besides sheep and goats with it and some form of 250gr bullet, never needed to shoot anything twice either.

Yea, that has happened once or twice....I don't really have any big winter plans - this idea is as close as I have and not 100% sure on if I even want to do it....

Montana Rifle Company in whatever is their current synthetic. Have a .338Fed. Shoots well and I doubt if one will break it easily.

If you can find a tikka stainless in 9.3x62 with your choice of 2-10 power scope.

Oh and my 77 has always worn a 2.5 Leupold in factory rings. Shot stuff out past 300 yards with it more than once and never wanted more, was never worried about having too much magnification up close either.

I got a Ruger Hawkeye African (black with walnut stock, express sights, and no muzzle brake in front). I din't want to mess-up the walnut stuck and bought a McMillan "classic," I believe, (around $500.00) with a Decelerator recoil pad. Also, I got a gunsmith to check my LOP before I ordered the stock, and McMillan cut it to the right length to include the recoil pad. This stock does not need bedding, so I din't do anything to it. Mounted a nice Leopold scope on it.

It sounds like what drew you to the rifle was it's character which sounds like was well earned. And I'm not sure that a man can re-create that in the shop. But, that's my opinion.

Sounds like a job for a 98 Mauser chambered in 338-06. Stock and trigger to your fancy!

The MRC 1999 is available in stainless, has the claw extractor (CRF), 70-style open trigger, 3-pos. 70-style safety, gas flange on the bolt shroud, c-collar like a 98, and one piece bolt (no handle to fall off). I'm not sure how robust the bolt stop design is, however.

I like the 77/Hawkeyes, and in theory the ringmounts seem bombproof. I believe the claw extractors are now MIM, and recall some stating failures. I don't like the safety as well as the 70 style, but that is just me.

There are reports of newer Win 70 rifles with bolt handles coming off. I think Brian Pearce has written about it, and D'Arcy Echols pins the handles. Of course, there is no c-collar, nor gas flange on the bolt shroud. The little gas baffle that clips to the bolt body doesn't seem effective, based on the reports I've heard.

I'm sure there are more details that I'm missing.

As much as I like these types of discussions, I bet metal corrosion and scope/ring/mount issues are bigger problems but I don't have any experience making a living with a bolt action in the cold and wet

I was in a similar situation a few years back. I found myself with a bunch of "specialty" rifles but no all around/loaner riles so it was the perfect reason to buy a few.

at the time I had lightweight mountain rifles and a few nice big bore rifle so I wanted to get backups/loaners guns that I could just haul out and not even think about. I was looking for things I wouldn't upgrade, id just slap a scope on them, throw them in the skiff, on the snow machine, loan out, not worry too much about maintaining them past the basics.

What I ended up with was a Winchester 70 extreme conditions in 30-06 with a Leupold 3-9x40 and a Ruger Hawkeye all weather in 270. Over the years those 2 guns have been on more hunts than any of the expensive ultra lites and big bores. I still use those, but they are sort of purpose driven guns. When I go for blacktails or sheep, I take one of my kimbers or even a Weatherby, For bears, I pull out my 375HH (hopefully I'll use it for bison or muskox at some point.

For everything else, as long as im not backpacking in, its either the Ruger or a Winchester, if Im boating, floating, horseback riding or day hunting, Ill all take one every time. I don't sweat it if I ding them up, I dry them off and run a patch through the barrel and thats about it, no modifications.

A few years back when I moved to Alaska, I was convinced that everybody was going to be rocking high end custom big bore rifles, what I found was that most people I met outide of the road system were using rifles much like that your guide had. The first guy I ever went moose hunting with was/is a hardcore subsistance hunter, he hunts strictly for meat, his rifle was an old browning xbolt 338WM, I was sort of embarassed to be all decked out in gear with a nice gun when this guy showed up to get me wearing a yellow rubber rain jacket with his beater old rifle. Now I sort of try to mimic the locals a bit more than I used to.

I have a Model 70XTR that was fixed up and customized by Red Morton in 1981. It is a push feed 300 Win Mag with a Bell and Carlson Medalist stock and a simple Leupold 4X with lyman target dot with weaver bases and rings. It holds 4 down and feeds like poop through a goose. It is one rifle that would be the last rifle I would sell or trade. 1st moose, 1st sheep, 1st black bear, 1st grizzly- thing shoots about 1.5 moa after thousands of rounds. I hunted exclusively with that rifle for about 15 years. Somehow when the time comes it kills. It has made some wonderful shots. I have thought about fixing it up with a new mcmillan stock and cerakoting. Maybe put a hart match barrel or a Proof research barrel on it. It weighs about 9 lbs all up but it points right and someways I just want to make memories with other rifles.

I would take an old quality M98
Feed it with stripper clips
Keep the orginal trigger
Original safety
Put a heavy duty peep sight on rear bridge
McMillan stock
In 9.3x62

Like Darcy Echols has done to this Win 70

My "go to work rifle" is a Remington 700 in .30-06. I have shot 25+ deer with it, countless other critters as it serves as a truck rifle also....

My sister, wife, father, grandfather and several friends have all used it from time to time. It's beat up. Has dings in the stock.

But it shoots dang good. And when it's really time to kill a deer that's typically what I grab. And it typically works.

Lots of other options, and it's nothing fancy.

I don't think you can build that over a single winter. It's gotta be something you've drug around with you for a while.

-Jake