Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Predators and Varmints Ruger 77/22

This is the first comment on the Savage I have read....it seems the CZ is the top dog in this race.

That was my experience....and I really liked the little rifle so I spent almost as much as I paid for it on trying to solve the problem including a new trigger (RB IIRC) and having it set back and a match chamber cut by CPC but it never did shoot MOA.

That was about 15 years ago and I've read (on the internet so it may or may not be true) that Ruger is making headway in the accuracy dept but the bad taste lingers.
I still buy and shoot their hand guns and praise them for their great CS every chance I get but for small caliber rifles CZ gets my business these days..

The character of this post rings loud and clear and is not at all uncommon.....

Does this trip anyone's trigger?

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/762683534

that's a funny-looking CZ.......

I'd take a single shot hornet. Then there's Sako, and Browning A-Bolt.

I've never heard anyone complain about a Browning in 22H....
Matter of fact I know two guys that like theirs so much they bought a second one and converted them to 17AH's.
I'd take a chance on a Sako too.

The triggers can be fixed. They come heavy and gritty but with the Volquartsen sear and replacement spring, and a little fine tuning, they can be pretty good. I'm always surprised how good I got the trigger on my 77/17 HMR. Trigger is not a show stopper IMHO ... and I'm a trigger snob, I do not put up with heavy or rough triggers.

Feeding etc .. no problems.

I was trying to use the pointy Hornady Hornet and 40 grain VMAX ... had to seat those deep or they wouldn't go in the rotory magazine. The 35 grain VMAX functioned very well.

Accuracy .. I had two of the 77/22 VT hornets. Both were inch and a half guns. I never gave either a real fair chance to test accuracy because I had another problem with both: the chambers were cut real sloppy and I was getting 1-2 reloads max per case before the heads separated ... and that's with neck sizing only. On the 2nd gun, I had a few case head separations with WW factory ammo. I was in a hurry, didn't have time to screw with them or wait for Ruger, so I sold them cheap via a shop that promised to make sure the customer knew what they were getting. If I'd had time, I'd have had a gunsmith set the barrel back a half inch or more and cut a clean chamber. I'm sure they'd have worked fine. A buddy had a good one that shot the 50 grain vmax with AA#9 very well.

I wouldn't hesitate to try another now if I needed a rifle in that niche. I'd go Ruger before I'd go with something with a cheap looking sheet metal magazine sticking out the bottom.

Tom

So.......plastic magazine good.......stamped steel magazine bad......got it.

Well, yes, in the big picture. The real crux of the issue is flush mounted magazine vs one that protrudes below the bottom of the gun. Happens that Ruger's plastic (and steel) magazine is flush mounted, few others are. The reason it matters is that the magazine is at the balance point on the gun so if you're carrying it one handed, you've either got a smooth Ruger surface to hold onto or you've got sheet metal gouging you in the hand.

If you've got some other magazine that flush mounts with no protrusion, good. If you've got one with a smooth floor plate ala 700 or 70, good. If not, bad.

Simple. And it doesn't require being an asshat playing childish "got it" games to "understand."

Take a pill Nancy.....to each his own.



I'd rather deal with CZ's magazine than roll the dice on Ruger's sketchy accuracy which you admitted to.

" I had two of the 77/22 VT hornets. Both were inch and a half guns. I never gave either a real fair chance to test accuracy because I had another problem with both: the chambers were cut real sloppy and I was getting 1-2 reloads max per case before the heads separated ... and that's with neck sizing only. On the 2nd gun, I had a few case head separations with WW factory ammo. I was in a hurry, didn't have time to screw with them or wait for Ruger, so I sold them cheap via a shop that promised to make sure the customer knew what they were getting."

Your BS story about making sure they went to folks who were aware of the problems was entertaining though.....thanks for the laugh.

my 77 hornet shot like crap until I re barreled to 17AH, Did the trigger and bedding before re barrel so that wasn't the problem. Afterwards it was a shooter

The CZ magazines have never seemed like any kind of problem to me. I can't ever think of a time when I've been carrying one that I was bothered by them. Certainly don't stick out as much as an AR grip and magazine which people seem to deal with pretty well.

Fieldgrade - Really nice looking cat AND rifle. What caliber? Custom barrel and custom-shortened mag?

Thanks Ac......yea.....Pac-Nor barrel chambered in 17FB....mag shortened by RVB.

imo, most barrels when heating up lose accuracy.

Maybe, but the Savage 25's were not going from like 1" groups to 1.5" or 2". After a couple shots they were off the paper. So much so that I thought maybe I'd forgotten how to shoot or there was some crazy wind happening that I couldn't feel. So I'd switch guns to my 22 hornet or 17hmr and both would be making tiny little groups. Might be a different issue than heat, it just seemed like I'd get a couple shots near where I was aiming, then suddenly it was shooting off the planet.

I've had my Ruger M77 Sporter (20" barrel) since maybe 1990-91, and the first loads through it were factory, both Winchester and Remington. It was a solid, 2" shooter at 100yds.

I changed the sear and trigger spring with one from Timney, and that helped a bunch.

Next, I started using Hodgdon's Lilgun powder and the groups went to MOA, or a bit better, and then switched to small pistol primers and now it usually shoot's sub-MOA. Back when my kid's were little, they called it the 'penney shooter' as it is accurate enough to hit pennies at 100yds.

A buddy bought the same rifle, and with the Timney Spring & Sear kit and Lilgun powder, it is also a very good shooting rifle.

I have read quite a few stories about the 2 piece bolt and shimming it to increase accuracy, but our bolts are stock.

on my Ruger 77 in 17 HMR, and also one in 22 Mag...

about 15 minutes with a honning stone, both of them had more than acceptable triggers
and the accuracy? easily minute of prairie dog target at 200 yds at the range..

as far as sage rats, both of them are more than capable out in the field...
wacking little sage rats 150 yds plus all day long....

even when 'handicapped' with a $75 Tasco 4 x 16 World Class Scope on top...

[quote=APDDSN0864]Vapodog,

I wonder if dale06's 77/22 Hornet was an early one without the hammer forged barrel like they have now?

I can't speak to the 77/22 Hornet, but the 77/22 lr I had was very accurate and the trigger was acceptable. Not in the same league as my Browning Micro Medallion .22 Hornet, but it can be remedied.

There are a bunch of .22 Hornet afficionados that lurk on both the "Ask the Gunwriters" and "Varmint Rifle Reloading" forums here. Maybe post your question on those forums and see what kind of responses you get.

Yes, both of mine were very early Ruger 22H rifles.