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I have a Ruger M77 MkII chambered in 260 Rem. I have always had a difficult time getting the gun to shoot well. Average groups with handloads and factory ammo is 2-3 inches on the norm. Very occasionally I get a random group just under an inch, but cannot usually replicate it. I would sell the gun, but it was given to me by my late father when I was 18, so I am hanging on to it. I am , however, trying to get it to shoot better. I put a Boyds Laminated stock on it, free floated the barrel, got a friend to bed the action. Then I remembered something about the magazine box binding the magazine. Ok, so we will remove the box, single feed some, and see if that improved it. So I removed the box, and reinstalled the action screws. I have a torque screwdriver that maxes out at 65 inch lbs, so I set it at that and tightened the front screw. Then I noticed that no matter how tight I made the screw, the latch that goes over the edge of the magazine box still had play in it, I could not screw that front screw down hard enough to get rid of the slop. Hm, that really has my mind going. That front action screw must really have been putting pressure on the magazine box. So if I relieve the grooves on the bottom of the box, I will have a bit of sideways slop in my floor plate? This seems odd, wondering if someone can give some advice here.

I'll make a stab at it, off the top of my head, since no one else has, but I'm not entirely sure I'm getting what you are talking about.

That front action screw and plate primary function is to hold the action down tight in the stock with the rear of the recoil lug tight against the front of the recoil mortice. I like a little clearance on front, bottom, and sides of recoil lug. The action and barrel should drop right into the stock, with at most, very minor resistance. IMO.

That hinge does nothing except position/flip the mag box cover, which doesn't have to be snug, as long as it latches securely at the rear, and holds the cartridges in, or releases them as needed.

This is if I am understanding the problem right - plus, I only have OM tanger's myself , but I think they work the same. Which I'll have to go look at now...Been years since I've handled a MK II

Some things to think about : Probably you have done some already.

Your front and rear action screws should go from snug to tight in 1/2 turn. Less is better. This means your action is bedded in flat, and not torquing/warping the stock, which could affect it's harmonics. I guess... Center screw should just be snug enough to not back out on it's own.

Is the crown good?
Make sure the front action screw isn't protruding into the lug-recess inside the action, if so designed.
Make sure your scope base & scope screws are also not protruding where they should not be, but all are snug.
Make sure your scope is GTG, and -as said- mag box isn't binding. Anywhere.
Try reloads that have been fire-formed in your chamber, but only neck size them, insuring a perfect fit IN YOUR RIFLE - Some Ruger chambers are a bit deep... You can use your FLD, or buy a neck-size die. Do not bump the shoulder back- in fact, I would not even resize all the way to the shoulder- just close.
Do your "work-up a load" thing with them.
You can try messing with the "jump to lands" I've been researching this myself, and the only right answer is what the rifle likes.
Do not discount forend tip pressure point. Most of my rifles ar bedded/free-floated, one is full lenth bedded.


I hunted for years with a Rem 700 in .243, factory 100's, with much the same accuracy as you are getting. Killed a lot of stuff with this "inaccurate" rifle. (Close is good!) Then I removed the pressure point, glassed and free-floated. No change. Eventually I went back to messing with the fore-end tip pressure point and got it down to MOA with paper shims, then epoxied in a permanent one. Not quite right tho- as it is now 1.25 MOA with the epoxy pressure point. Close enough for my hunting. PP has to be just right....

You could also try (off the top of my head), other torque settings for the action screws. Me - I don't even own a t-wrench usable for that. IMO- they are most useful for bench-rest shooters and people who need to warp their stocks to fit the action. (See above "snug to tight!" Consistency for something that is working is never a bad thing tho. You have it, so use it.

One other thing - does your bullet weight match the twist? My Rem 725 .260 only likes 140 gr bullets, or so I've found so far. But they work, at MOA factory, so I haven't gone all anal on it... All other factory load weights I've tried run 3-5 inches, Barnes TSX 120's the worst. Even reloads.

Good luck.

I'm sorry, but I know a lot of you guys like clearance on the recoil lug. I don't: I bed them tight. Your action should snap into the stock, not just fall into it. That loosness causes accuracy issues. I've seen it many times, not just on the Ruger 77, but also model 70's. A good bedding job should surround the recoil lug, and keep it from moving around. You guys that have your recoil lugs sitting lose are the ones that complain about the POI shift, after you remove and reinstall the barreled action back into the stock too, then say you have to torque to a certain value. This is all bull schidt. Another thing Ruger 77's generally like is the little pressure pad on the stock. Don't freefloat the barrel, you could be asking for trouble. Remember 2 points of contact is really what you want/need.


That was a 338wm that I used exclusively for elk hunting. it shot well:


It would keep 5 shots into a nice cluster^^^^



I'd love to discuss the finer points of glass bedding and trigger tuning on these great rifles, but I've got somewhere I have to be today. Good luck to the OP. Hopefully he gets it figured out, or send it to someone that can.

Nice work BSA !

Jevyod, it's always hard to diagnose stuff 'long distance' but it certainly sounds like your Ruger is a prime candidate for bedding with pillars.

Pillars with the correct angle milled to match the angled recoil lug are available from Brownell's and PTG. Since they're a bit of a pain to jig up for, I made a bunch some years ago. Since the screw goes in the bottom of the lug, that needs to be tight to the bedding as well as the back side of the lug....which is the recoil bearing surface. I allow generous clearance (.020) in front of and on the sides of the lug. Clearance on the front and sides allow the recoil force to act on the rear only...which is what you want. I have no bedding under the barrel shank and the barrels are free floated regardless of the barrel weight or caliber..no pressure point. There's also clearance on the sides of the receiver to prevent binding. The mag box shouldn't bind anywhere in the stock. I bed the bottom metal as well but that can be optional depending on your fit when it's done.

Done this way, the barrelled action will fall free from the stock when the screws are removed. If it doesn't, there's a bind somewhere.

Excellent bedding compounds are Pro Bed 2000 and some of the many Devcon products. Marine Tex has been a good one but there have been some recent problems reported...not sure because I don't use it. AcraGlas Gel is pretty easy to use but I don’t like it's flexibility for action bedding or longevity.

The Rugers done this way have shown good accuracy and dependable zeroing season after season.

Hope this helps. -Al

I bought a used 77 mii 260 for my boy years ago. It was never consistent. I tried it all. Sent it back to Ruger and they shot a 1/2” group at 50 yards. Well so did I and at 100 yards but the next one would be 2 inches and over yonder. I paid them $350 I think it was to put a new hammer forged barrel on it. Problem gone.
F01

Oops. My bad on clearance bottom of recoil lug for the 77. Thanks Al.

I'm working a M70, for which it is correct.

ive had to bed and float all of my m77 mark II's to bring in the third shot flyer and by that I mean one inch out instead of two. they were all picky eater guns, my .204 shot this 10 shot group at 100yds. This is not a common thing for ruger apparently. That being said, you might need a barrel if all else has failed. Im pretty sold on bedding and floating. some say you need to find a pressure point on the barrel with tape and the build up that area, Idk never had to go that far. just some data for you to mull over.

LAS said "Make sure the front action screw isn't protruding into the lug-recess inside the action, if so designed." I want to be sure you understand his comment:

I have encountered several Rugers, including some of my own, that once bedded the end of the action screw is bottoming out in the blind hole! Or some bedding material is in the bottom of the hole. Sometimes the action screw has to be shortened.

It is the first thing I check when a Ruger has been bedded.

I use a modified 1/4-28 bottoming tap in the blind hole. It squares up the bottom and normally gives another full thread of thread engagement...plus cleaning all the grunge out. -Al

After reading the comments I have to agree that you may have given yourself a headache by free floating it. I’ve had a few and recall free floating a carbine in 223 and screwing things up. Never did it again. My current M77 Hawkeye in 35 Whelen shoots amazing and wears a Hogue overmolded shock that is pillar bedded.

I’ll preface all of my comments by saying I am not a gunsmith.

My Mk II compact is in 308 and sub 1” at 100 yds if I do my part, with factory ammo. It has the factory laminated stock and as best I can tell, that stock cradles the barrel from the receiver to the front end of the stock. I can’t find any gap.

The “recoil lug” isn’t the traditional flat plate, it’s an angled wedge type thing machined into the front of the receiver. I’m assuming your gun is the same set up. It is a snug fit, but there is a small gap at the back of the receiver.

It shot loose in the stock last fall and caused some cracks. When I fixed the stock, I found that ruger recommended 80 inch lbs on the front screw, and 20 inch lbs on the rear screw, with the middle screw just snug. I’ve never played with these, but didn’t need to. Maybe I will have to when I take it to the range after the stock fix.

Some people bed the actions, some Ned the barrels as well. These are easy steps to take on your own before looking at a rebarrel. I would also think that the crown would have to be completely trashed, noticeably, to make that much difference in. 100 yd group.