Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing Ruger 77 slam fire

The rifle is a fairly new Hawkeye in .204. I have put about 200 or so rounds down the tube in the last few weeks working up loads. While down to my last 2 rounds yesterday it would go off when I closed the bold. If I held the trigger forward when closing the bolt it wouldn't go off but I could push the back of the bolt and it would send the firing pin home. I took it out of the stock last night and no dirt or anything abnormal looking. I am guessing it is in the bolt. Any ideas on where to start?

Sear engagement is where your problem is. Did you or someone else "lighten" or polish the trigger?

Don't know if this helps but in 1970 I bought a new Ruger M77 short action with the old tang safety. After about 100 factory rounds, wasn't satisfied with the trigger pull and, being a starving USAF E-5 with our first baby, decided to adjust the trigger to improve the let-off myself. Got it too light and, upon working the bolt smartly, put a 100 gr Norma factory round through my ceiling/roof. After scraping my wife off my back and changing clothes, I readjusted the trigger back for a heavier pull and I've never had a problem since. Recently had the gun worked over by Hill Country Rifle as part of their accurizing service and I'm very satisfied. Nothing wrong with the Ruger trigger, just some Ruger owners.

Don Boyd

After adjusting a trigger, I tend to test it on an empty chamber.

+ 1 on empty chamber tesr!


Ed

The only way you can "adjust" a current Ruger trigger is by reshaping areas that have no business being reshaped by unskilled people. In skilled hands the Ruger trigger is easily improved, but in the wrong hands they can be ruined beyond help.

BadHabit, unless someone screwed around with the bolts cocking piece, I'm pretty sure the bolt isn't your problem. The sear engagement surface has either been ground short, or, the trigger spring is weak or missing. I would suggest starting there.

I have absolutely not monkeyed with the trigger. The only time it has been out of the stock is to free float the barrel. This may be a good time to put a new trigger in it, though.

I did notice after about a hundred rounds the trigger got lighter but stayed probably 4 lbs and I attributed that to just breaking it in.

Perhaps something made it's way into the trigger assembly preventing the sear from fully resetting. You can pull the bolt and look in from the top while moving the trigger to see how much engagement is present. With the bolt removed you can push on the sear with a flat blade screw driver to see if the sear will push off of the trigger and you can use it also to check engagement and function without having to disassemble the gun.

I will give it a try. Thanks.

I have one of the Mark II 77, 7 X 57's. The factory trigger was reeaally bad. I replaced it with a Timney and have not looked back. This is by far the best shooting factory rifle I have ever had. It will keep 5 shot groups routinely @ 1/2 inch with 140 grain bulets. The new trigger helps alot with this.

fyshbum et al:

It isn't a question of replacement with a Timney trigger until one has first determined the cause for the slamfire; take it to a competent gunsmith or send it in to Ruger warranty service (AT YOUR COST since you dinked with [bedded] a new rifle)and have it fixed.

If the trigger has not in fact been toyed with, it still needs to be inspected and repaired/replaced.

My R-77 trigger always has worked fine, but yours has a real problem now.

I haven't had time to screw with it. Been busier than a 1 legged man at an ass-kicking contest and I was also in San Diego last weekend. By the way, if Delta Airlines is reading this thank you very friggin' much for letting us sit on the ground for 2 hrs before leaving San Diego. I really enjoyed my unplanned night in Atlanta Monday night! Grrrrrrr.

I finally got time to screw with the rifle this afternoon. I started by flushing out the trigger assembly with ether hoping there was a little dirt or something in there. It is a new rifle so I don't know how it could be dirty but what the heck. It didn't work. Next I took out the trigger. It was a lot easier than I figured- just 2 pins and 1 spring. The sear had a gob of half dried white grease on it so I took it off. Still no-go. Next I took the bolt out of the rifle and put it in a similar rifle. I could not push it off in the second rifle. Verdict- the trigger is strewed up! What trigger do you ladies recommend to replace it with?

I have experience with Timneys in a Ruger, and recommend it. I don't have any experience with any of the others.

Did it fit OK? Seems like I saw a article recently- maybe Precision Shooting- where a little stock work and grinding had to be done.

I haven't had to mess with the stock any, yet, but on every one I've had to file the safety to fit. It's too long, and you fit it, takes about 15 mins at the most. If stock grinding were to be involved, I'd speculate there'd be very little. Just remember to re-seal it if it is wood. Mine have all been synthetic.

The Timney is a huge improvement over the Mark II trigger, but I've been able to tune the LC6 trigger to where it is usable, maybe not quite as light as you could go with a Timney. But, I haven't played with springs, just cut a coil off and stretched it back to original length.

Bad Habit:

The principle seems to be missed here...a brand NEW rifle's trigger should NOT be screwed up, and I think Ruger will agree with that if you [had] contacted them!

Ruger will want to know about this from a liability/safety standpoint!

Despite your bedding job, Ruger would have very likely offered to fix it for free despite an initial offer from you to pay [THAT prospect may be off the table now that YOU have removed the trigger...but Ruger should nevertheless be contacted].

The guys above have some good advice.
I only want to add that, if you decide on replacing the trigger, go with a Rifle Basix. I've done 5 77/Hawkeye triggers, two using the facory parts worked over, plus a Spec Tech, a Timney and a Rifle Basix. The Rifle Basix has a simplified way of dealing with the safety that the other two do not. With the Timney and the SpecTech, you must file metal off a shelf on the trigger itself to fit the safety lug, so that the safety works. Rifle Basix has a better way that involves no filing at all. With the others, it's easy to file off too much metal, and when you do, you no longer have a functional safety.