Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Ruger rifle quality

Hope this has not been a thread here before (I couldn't find it if is was) but as I recall from some place, Ruger bolt rifles are supposed to be of better quality in the last few years than in the past. Most I've owned were older models and would not shoot very well. Last year, I bought a new lam. stainless MK II in .223. No matter what I try, 2" to 2.5" groups are the best it will do. Free floated, fore end bedded, doesn't matter. Did I get a the odd bad one or are they still hit and miss for accuracy (pun not intended).

Telly,



I've heard the same thing, and it had me a bit worried since I got a new SS 300WM a year ago. It sat, out of state, for a while and I've just now, started load development. The worst I've been able to do with no modifications like bedding, etc. is about an 1 1/2" @100yds. The best groups are 3/4". I'm expecting it to be a one inch rifle. Needless to say, after hearing the stories, I'm real relieved ... I certainly hope you can get yours dialed in. I'm also curious in regards to other people's recent experiences.



A little editing here, I shoulda added- 1) You're not going to like this and 2) the trigger creeps on forever.



-Dan

After 8 duds that wouldn't best 2" groups, ranging from .223's, .22-250's, .30-06's (three of them) and two 7mm mags, I won't be owning another one. I could have built a NICE rifle for what I have lost on Ruger's. They don't sell worth a darn either around here.

On a good note, I did shoot a bone stock Ruger Varmint laminate yesterday that would shoot 13" groups at 800 yards. It was refreshing, but it still wasn't all that neato. Flinch

The guys at Sierra (Paul Box, Rich Macholz) tell me that the newer Rugers have better barrels than they have seen in years past.

That said I've known of older Rugers that shoot very well; and we seem to see new ones which don't.

If accuracy is going to prevail over fondle factor, Savage has no peers... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Dan

I had a M-77 Heavy barreled 308 with the 2 stage trigger that was a 1/2 minute rifle. I thought it was one of the best factory target triggers I'd ever tried. I also have a M-77 RSM that is about a 1 minute rifle when I'm not living up to the previous posters name. In 458 Lott it will touch holes if I can hold it well enough off the bench. My 7 Rem Mag was occasionally very accurate but seemed to be inconsistantly so, it varied from range session to range session more than my other 7 Rem mags. Supposedly when they bought their own barrel making machines their quality has improved, if I was buying one I would check for the 5R style rifling (i.e. the off side of the rifling is angled instead of 90deg) they are using on thier newer barrels.
So Ruger can make very accurate rifles with good triggers, it a shame they don't do it more consistantly......DJ

I've had over 30 Ruger centerfire bolt guns and all have done me right.



Above,is the result of The Pimp's latest aquisition from Ruger. That is the first 3 shot cluster at 100yds outta his Factory barreled 77/22 K-Hornet and R/P 45gr SP Factory fodder was utilized in the forming process(because he scored a box of it,when purchasing the rifle).

The Factory tube was bobbed to 20",recrowned and the chamber punched to K-Hornet. Results illustrated are typical,as it is a combo my pards and I have all done,numerous times.

I cain't cuss Ruger centerfire boltguns. Would suprise me little,to learn the action screw torque is askew on the 223 laminate in question. Not saying it's impossible one can't slip through the cracks,but I've never seen a "bad" one.

Were it a Winny,I'd of never punched a key..........................(grin)

About a decade ago Ruger started hammer-forging its own barrels. Before then most were purchased from Wilson, a "custom" barrel company still in business.

Most Wilson barrels were pretty darn good, but quite a few sucked. My first Ruger was a 77 .30-06 purchased in the 1970's that would shoot around 1/2" for 3 shots at 100 yards after I learned to handload for it. This was with the barrel free-floated and trigger tuned.

I have also seen a few bad ones. The worst was on and other tang-safety 77 that a friend traded to me, saying he could not get it to shoot. That was OK with me; if I could fix it I was home free, if it didn't I'd rebarrel it. I tried some favorite loads and the best it would do was about 1.5 to 2", and that only for a few rounds after cleaning, then it went south. Slugged the barrel and found the diameter varied considerably, and the TIGHT spots were .287"!

The new Ruger barrels are much more consistent. I have owned several, and all have shot acceptably or much better. Among these have been 4 No 1's (.300 Wby., .375 H&H, .22 Hornet, .405 Winchester) and three 77 Mark II's in .223, 6.5x55 and 7x57. Some of them were simply outstanding, including the .300 Wby., .375 H&H, .22 Hornet and 6.5x55.

I've bore-scoped several of the latest factory Ruger barrels, and they appear to be lightly lapped. No wonder they shoot well.

Now, anybody can make a bad barrel, but very often a rifle written off as having a bad barrel is simply suffering from bad bedding. Far more rifles come out of the factories with that problem than bad barrels, in my experience.

The 77 Mark II trigger is also really easy to fix, if you have any experience with triggers at all, far easier to work with then the tang-safety 77's--which weren't exactly diffcult.

JB

John, that was a very concise summary of your life with Ruger CF rifles, and I certainly agree with your statement about factory bedding. I also suspect that there are more inaccurate Ruger rifle shooters than there are inaccurate Ruger rifles....

I've had mixed results with Ruger 77s as well. I bought my first one, a 7mm Rem. Mag., in 1977, and it did not shoot all that well, or so I thought at the time. But then, I was nineteen/twenty years old back then, and I've often wished that I could get that seven-mag back today and see what I could do with it now.

My two best Rugers were an M-77 .338 Win. Mag., and an M-77 Mark II in .280 Remington. The .338 was one of the last M-77s, and it was the version that came with an uncheckered brown laminated stock. It didn't shoot so well in the beginning, but with a trigger bob, a bedding job, and handloaded 250 gr. Hornady's, it shot like crazy.

The .280 was purchased at a discount retail store here in Oregon and it just drove tacks right out of the box. All I did was tighten the screws and work up one handload built around 140 gr. Nosler Partitions.

Foolishly, I sold both of them..........

My feeling is that, fundamentally, if you have yourself an accurate and reliable Ruger, you have yourself a very solid hunting rifle at a very fair price.

ADay

No doubt an accurate reliable Ruger would be a fine rifle. The problem is finding one!!

Take a known scope and place her in the saddle. Tighten fore and aft action screws tight and go easy on the middle fastener. Clean bore and feed it good ammo.

That's a recipe for success and it's about that easy.................

None of the regular methods worked on this one, and quite frankly I'm tired of trying.

"Regular" meaning a screw driver?

EVERY Ruger that pards had,that "wouldn't shoot",definately responded to proper action screw tightening sequences and torque values.

5 minutes,really isn't THAT long.................

I recently got my son a SS/grey laminate Ruger 77, 243 and am happy to say she is a shooter right out of the box.

Trigger was heavy but a little stoning and spring work has it feeling pretty good.
The bolt travel has a little drag from the extractor as the ring that surrounds the bolt rubs a very little but no big deal and I figure it will wear in anyhow.

Never tried factory fodder through her but we are cranking 65 gr. vmax's at 3600 fps into tiny clusters and putting the hurt on vermin near and far. Just received some 85 gr. triple x Barnes and can't wait to see how that wicked looking bullet shoots.

I recently picked up a used stainless M77MKII in .223 with the boat paddle stock. The previous owner had a trigger job done on it, so all I did was clean the bore, tighten the front and rear action screws "tight as hell" with the middle just snug, and mounted a 3200 elite in the rings. With Black Hills blue box 52 grain HP it has averaged just under 1" for all groups (3shot). With initial handloads of Varget and 50 grain v-max bullets, it has averaged just over 3/4" for all groups (3shot).
Out of eight M77s and MKIIs I have owned or do own, only one was a problem child. It found a new owner.
Screw tension is the key, IMO.

Amen.

It worked for me on a Model 70 which normally shot an inch or better. I had just given it a very thorough cleaning and the groups opened up to 2-3 inches. Re-did the center screw and it settled right back down to under and inch. The problem was it took me a month and a half to figure it out. (Finally a very helpful person on one of the forums suggested I check it.) Talk about being a slow learner <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> .

John

Do you think Ruger would rebarrel a tang safety M77 in 7X57mm with sights with the same in their new hammer forged barrel for a MK II? Am I correct in thinking the barrels are physically the same? Mine has a very long throat and so far I haven't got it to shoot really well BUT I really like the rifle and can live with it as is if necessary. Thanks...Bill. BTW, we still enjoy all of your writings (and the Mrs. also).

model70man--

I don't know, but suspect they might. Most all the factories will rebarrel rifles--but only to the ORIGINAL caliber. Otherwise they'd be beseiged by rifle loonies wanting to try something new this year. The price is generally very reasonable. I'd ask them and see.

Glad you like the articles!

JB

I've often thought the same as A. D. . I believe there are way more poor shooters than there are poor Rugers .



My experience has been way more positive than the Ruger naysayers............



Telly, I've had a stainless .223 for a couple of years........it is a 3/4 moa rifle with about any good load , all that has been done to it is mount a K6 scope...........

I had my M77 (tang safety) in 220 Swift rebarreled by Ruger a year or so ago. They will only rebarrel to the original configuration of the rifle. It cost me $171.50 complete (I'm sure varies with caliber, configuration), including return shipping. This rifle is an amazing shooter with fouling being nearly non existant. Good luck. Kyle

Kyle, who do you contact at Ruger to inquire? thanks tom