Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Rimfires Ruger 77/17 and 77/22's good, bad or ugly?

My 77/22 drove a tack, on the first try, at 50 yards one. I am not inclined to sell it

Terry -

I have a 77/17 VT. Shoots sub MOA with several, maybe most, kinds of ammo. I'm fussy about triggers. Even with the VQ sear and spring, it's borderline crappy IMHO ... smooth enough but too heavy for my tastes. I've cleaned it up to where I can get by with it, but that's it, just gets by, does not impress by any means.

I had the .22 LR version of the same gun. Shot maybe 1.25 MOA. I had the barrel shortened to 20" after a while. Didn't help or hurt accuracy, but it was easier to get in and out of the truck.

I've also had all-weather versions in .22 mag and .22 long rifle.

So I guess you could say I have the 77/xx bug. Probably the most useful of the bunch was the all weather .22 magnum. It was squirrel accurate to 100 yards or so and hit harder than the HMR on the bigger varmints.

The main issue you'll have if you do it is the quality of triggers. If you can find one of the older VQ sears that is yellow/gold colored, titanium nitride plated, rather than plain shiny silver stainless steel, grab it, they're a lot more satisfactory unit. The new ones are an improvement, but still need improvement IMHO.

Tom

I have 77/17VMBBZ, 77/22 Hornet VHZ, 77/22 All-Weather 22LR, CZ 452 VARMINTER 17HM2...all of them are excellent shooters, but my favorite is the HMR. I have about 5000 rds thru it and it will still put 5 touching at 50 yards if I do my part. In all fairness each one has new triggers (VQ). I have a Kimber 82M Cascade 22WMR but its still in the experiment stages, but now it too is a shooter.....

I have had several 77/22's over the years. I currently have two, both are .22 LR's. #1 is the very first Ruger K77/22VBZ I ever had. It had horrible barrel shank to receiver fit so I was advised by my local gunsmith to shim it for proper fit (which I did). He also advised me to put some lok-tite on the barrel shank when I put it back together. Well I didn't have any lok-tite, so I used what I had, JB Weld. In addition I tuned the trigger to a super crisp 2 pounds and free floated the barrel in the laminated stock. This one has always been capable of putting 5 of it's perferred ammo into 1" groups at 100 yards from the bench. I have recently shortened and recrowned the barrel at 20" but haven't shot it at extended range since. This one wears a Mueller 4.5x14x40mm AO APV Riflescope in High Ruger Scope Rings.



My other one is a Custom Ruger 77/22 I built a year or so ago. It started life out as a Ruger K77/22RP Stainless-Synthetic. I sold the original Barrel, Stock and Scope Rings on the net and started with a Clark Custom Guns 20" Stainless-Steel Bull Barrel. I spent considerable time polishing on the trigger and sear until the trigger breaks like a glass rod at 1 1/4 pounds. I then had the stirrup that holds the trigger drilled & tapped for an over travel screw. Once all done I set it in a Volquartsen Laminated Wood Stock with the bottom metal and action screws from a Ruger K77/22VBZ. I shot it for one season at our Indoor Shooting Range and then did some reshaping on the Volquartsen Stock.



This one wears a Weaver V-16 4x16x42mm AO Riflescope with a Fine Crosshair / Dot Reticle in High Ruger Scope Rings. With SK Jagd Standard Plus this one will print sub 1" groups at 100 yards from the bench.

Yep I do like the Ruger 77/22's. I think they are one of the best feeling Rimfires available. Yes I have done some modifications to the ones I have had but then I do those sorts of things to every new gun I get.

Larry

Thanks again guy's. The CZ 452 Varmint is sold and I ordered a 77/17VMBBZ. It should be here tomorrow.

Now for a scope!

Terry

Okay Ruger experts, I need some help/advice regarding my new 77/17VMBBZ. Bought just a short while back, rifle now has approx. 200rds through it. At 50yds it will barely make a 1" grouping for 5 shots, regardless of ammo. I can't blame the trigger, although a lighter pull weight wouldn't hurt. I love the rifle but won't tolerate this kind of accuracy so either I can fix it or down the road she goes. Any help most appreciated!

thats a shame mine is a shooter. How do you have it setup? Mine I floated the barrel, trigger has been redone with VQ sear & spring. I have a Nikon Buckmaster 6x18x44 mounted and mine loves Hornady 17gr Vmax. i am getting some GREAT 5 shot groups at 50 yards......

I mounted a 4x12x40AO Leupold scope and went shooting. Haven't touched anything on the trigger or inletting yet, but obviously I'll need to start soon. I used to have the same rifle in 22mag and it also was a lousy shooter, traded that off for the Savage 17HMR that I traded for this,LOL!

Do the groups tend to string verticaly? Are they in the sahpe of a verical oval?

Ruger likes to put bedding pads inside the foredn of their rifles, and many of their barrels shoot best floated,

So, I do a temporary ,reversable test of this.

Would get an old credit or bank card(thick plastic) and cut a few shims to fit uinder the action bedding areas. This will lift the action up off of the stock and should get the barrel up off the stock as well. If it works properly, you should at least be able to slide a peice of typing paper between the barrel and forend all around it.

Take it out and shoot it. If the guns shoots better, I would go back and sand out the barrel channel so their is about a 1/32" gap all around the barrel and call it good.

My bet is it shrinks your groups by at least 25%. It will also maintain it's POI better over time and NOT be sensive to use with a bipod or a sling.

Well, BYE.......

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That's harsh...LOL

No, groups are mostly round shaped. Often times I'll have two or three almost touching and then the next shot goes way out, can be up or down or side to side. I'll try shimming up the action and see what happens, thanks for the tip!

John...

Barrels are funny things .

Some have weird harmonice due to internal stress

Floating still may belp..

I would also check the crown.

Terry,

I did have a Model 77 very much like the one pictured, with the laminated stock and steel grey finish. It was a 22 Magnum.
I had zero problems with the rifle, and it was as accurate as any other 22 mag of similar cost on the market. I did do a number on the trigger to get it where I wanted it, a great 16 ounce pull. Other than that, I didn't do much to the rifle. The reason I sold it is because of the lamunated stock, and that steel grey finish. That's just not my cup of tea. If I would have bought one blued with a Walnut stock, I'd still have the rifle. The reason I bought the rifle I did is because it was on the shelf and available. It was the only 22 mag in the store, and I "HAD" to have a 22 Mag at the time..

Jim,
Didn't have any old credit cards to cut up so just put a few thicknesses of old business cards under the front end of the action inletting, not bothering to try and fit anything under the tang. Took it out and now it shoots upside down V shaped groups, first one was pretty decent but the next two weren't. I checked the crown and it looks fine to my eyes.

john55, just for grins check the barrel locking lug to see if the screws are tight, check action screws too. if it is a head space issue, which does happen with the rugers and their 2 piece bolt design. two options to fix that issue are as follows. have shims made and installed between the bolt halves to correct the head space issue, or have the barrel removed and have the shoulder set back by a competent smith to take up the diference in head space (a better aproach IMO but cost more. then when you replace the barrel back into the action, use loc-tight on the shank to receiver fit but be carefull you do not get it where it shouldn't be. i can't remember which one (i think it's Lilja) but one of the barrel makers actualy recommends this approach. anyway these are some things (if this is your issue) that could help.

Thanks for all the tip guys, much appreciated. I'll check all the screws/bolts this evening. If it is a headspace problem, how do I check for it?

John..

As long as the barrel is mounted solidly and pulled back tightly in the receiver by the vee block bolts,there should NOT be any excess headspace. Period.

Head space is the FACTORY'S responsibility IMHO, and is WAY beyond minor tuning.

If it has a problem like that, it is a safely issue as well as an accuracy issue and the folks than made it SHOULD FIX IT..

That is the line I draw when tuning any factory rifle.

If it's got a problem that severe, it goes to back to the factory. And you will be doing them a favor by bringing it to their attention.

I agree. I'm going to mess around with various shims, etc and see if that yields much of an improvement. If it does I'll break out the sand papaer,LOL! If not, then it's time for a new toy...life's too short to aggravate oneself with an inaccurate rifle...especially one that costs this much! Thanks again for all of the help.

Funny stuff. I picked the rifle up this afternoon. When I brought it home, I opened the box and pulled it out for the wife to see. Her response was "That looks terrible, why did you pick that one?"

I guess you just have to warm up to them. If it shoots it's a keeper. I'll tell everybody it belongs to someboby else and I borrowed it

Terry