I bought a Ruger tanger in the early '80's in 7mm Rem Mag. That thing shot a shotgun pattern. I sent it back to Ruger twice. The first time, they did something that brought the groups down to a little over 2". I was hoping for something better than that, so I sent it back, again. The second time they told me the gun was within specs and they would do nothing more on it. Based on that overall experience, I didn't buy another Ruger product for 40 years.
My wife is a lefty, and recently wanted her own rifle, i.e, meaning a left hand action. There are not a lot of lefty options in the market, but I found a good deal on a near new Ruger Hawkeye lefty in .223Rem at Cabelas. I grudgingly bought. It shoots factory ammo fine, nothing to get excited about, but can't complain for a factory rifle. Initial handloading is showing some good potential.
The first year of so the 77 MKIIs were push feed. Ruger got so much response stating they should have made them CRF they did. During the 80's accuracy was a crap shoot. You either got a good barrel or didn't. IIRC Douglas made barrels in the beginning and then Ruger contracted the barrels to another company. The fix was Ruger started making their barrels for better QC.
The Karma bus always has an empty seat when it comes around.- High Brass
There's battle lines being drawn Nobody's right if everybody's wrong
The All Weather models always felt better in my hands than the old standard 77 ( i.e the thick forearms, and the flat under the magazine bugs me, but its OK.) I traded an old Universal 30 carbine to a guy for a standard M77 tanger in 243 for my dad. It had a Weaver 3x9 WideView, but the guy had dropped the rifle, bending the scope tube down. It cost me $40 (late 70s) to have them repair it. Its trigger was "OK" and it shot very well, but it was heavy! ha That 308 Ultralight I tried was one kicking little devil too! ha It was one sweetheart of a woods rifle though. I just couldn't shoot it well enough to hit a 2 liter pop bottle at 200yds with it 1x4 Leupold. My first 77 in .280 was not terribly heavy, and I shot my first "long range for me" buck down a pipeline ROW with a handloaded Hornady 139sp. 276 long steps! Up til then, 90yds was my farthest. ( SE Texas) I traded that rifle for a brandnew 6" Colt Python .357 Magnum. That was the "loudest" 357 I have ever shot! Checkered grips hurt and the bluing was "too pretty" to put in a holster, ha. I traded it for my first Remington 700 Classic ('82) in .257 Roberts. Now, the Mod 77 and the Classic were very similar in shape , but the Classic became my favorite. BTW, in a local gun shop here, I saw an old Tanger 77 7x57 with a Leupold 2.5x8 for $750 if anyone is interested. Its at Daves Shooting Sports, Taylorsville, Utah. Older model...iffy on barrel make!
I have owned and shot about 20 Ruger 77s from tang safety to Hawkeye in 243, 250-3000, 257 Bob, 6.5 creed, 7mm-08, 7x57, 270, 280 and 30-06. I have had about 50% success rate in getting them to shoot moa or better. I like the look and feel of them though so it is worth a roll of the dice for me.
Always remember that you are unique, just like everyone else.
"That 308 Ultralight I tried was one kicking little devil too! ha It was one sweetheart of a woods rifle though. I just couldn't shoot it well enough to hit a 2 liter pop bottle at 200yds with it 1x4 Leupold."
Well, when I had my 308 Ultra Light I was shooting my 77 tanger 300 WM !! & my Friends 700 8mm RM !! SO I guess it was 'relative' at the time. NOT to criticize you.... I actually never noticed the recoil from the 308. Incidentally I now OWN that 8 RM. I actually shot it more than he did.
Mule Deer: " I've owned a pile of 77's of all eras. While one barrel truly sucked (a 7x57 with a bore that had numerous loose spots, with the tight spots measuring .287), all the others shot anywhere from acceptably to very well. My acceptable rating is three shots in an inch for big game rifles, and five shots in an inch for varmint rifles, and very well is half that. Most of them required some work on the bedding and trigger, but then a lot of factory rifles do." "My experience has been that bad barrels on tang-safety Rugers were extremely rare, and were scattered randomly throughout the years."
Boxer - Big Stick: "I've Ruger familiarity and accept them for what they are. Light or bullet proof they are not, though curiously enough they are oft maligned by the masses for "accuracy" woe which I've yet to see, though of course I shoot a bit, which tend to tip numerous scales."
I've owned 2 mark 2's. One 25-06 and one 7mag and one 77 22 hornet. None of the three would shoot to my liking sold all three. Won't ever go there again Anything but a ruger. There may be some great ones out there but after three duds that's enough for me
I seem to recall Jim Carmichael said one of the best classic stock makers in America designed the 77 tanger stock. Anybody know who it was? I'm thinking Joe Balickie but I could be way off.
I seem to recall Jim Carmichael said one of the best classic stock makers in America designed the 77 tanger stock. Anybody know who it was? I'm thinking Joe Balickie but I could be way off.
Leonard Brownell I believe....
Originally Posted by Judman PS, if you think Trump is “good” you’re way stupider than I thought! Haha
I seem to recall Jim Carmichael said one of the best classic stock makers in America designed the 77 tanger stock. Anybody know who it was? I'm thinking Joe Balickie but I could be way off.
