Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Ruger 77 Mk II .350 Rem. mag. ?

Can anyone tell me what years they made the Ruger M77 Mk II
in .350 Rem. Mag.? I have a line on a NIB one with no iron
sights/22" barrel at a price that's hard to pass up.
The only thing stopping me is case price/availability.
Also, any bullet weight/brand recommendations for hunting muleys in an area where grizzlies reside? My other option would be an '06 and I probably would not want to shoot farther then about 300 yds.

If you're talking about the stainless All-Weather version sold around 2006, that was one of the better production 350RMs made in my opinion. Big mag box, correct twist, fed well, accurate, compact, fairly light and well balanced. I believe they were actually manufactured and sat at Ruger a year or two prior to hitting the distributors.

Best

Ruger made both a blue/walnut and stainless/synthetic for about 3-4 years...I think they stopped two years ago now. I have one of the stainless synthetic guns that some young man in Alaska had customized by having the barrel shortened to 18.25" and NECG sights put on. I use it as my 4-wheeler/rainy day rifle...



The scope is a Tasco Titan 1.5-6. Had a Leupold 1.5-5 on it at one time but this one gathers more light.

I accumulated a lot of 250 grain .35 caliber bullets and use this rifle for shooting them. As far as cases go...how many do you need? 3-5 boxes will last a lifetime of shooting.

Some good information on .35 bullets and reloading the .350 if you have not done so before...

http://35cal.com/35bullet_study/35bullet_study1.html

If you reload for it send an empty test round to Lee and get one for their Factory Crimp Dies...a real plus when reloading for this round...

If you are looking for "one bullet" the 225 Nosler Petition is the one... I like the 220 Speer and is a much tougher bullet than it looks... My friend has dropped 3-4 black bear with them and decided a 25 cent Speer was more than good enough..

Bob

Great looking, working rifle!

Didn't Ruger offer the 350 why back when Remington was trying to kill it off in the late 70s early 80s?

I only wish the rifle in ? looked like yours; however, it's
blue/wood. I also need a rifle for hiking and traveling in Canada this summer and a "synthetic" would certainly fill the bill. Thanks also for the bullet info.

RJM,
That is the definition of a blue-collar working rifle right there. Pretty darn neat! Too bad that Ruger doesn't make one just like it.



Johnny $

contender,

That Ruger M77 MkII in 350 mag is a powerful and versatile rifle. I would not hesitate to get it for the purposes you describe.

My 35 is also a Ruger M77, but it's a tang-safety model and chambered in 35 Whelen. The ballistics are identical to the 350 Rem mag. I have had good luck with the 250 grain Speer Hot Cor bullet. I believe the 250 grain Hornady RN and SP would also be excellent. At the velocity we get from these calibers (around 2500) it is not necessary to buy expensive premium bullets. That makes things simpler in that you can just load and shoot and not worry about separate loads for hunting and practice.

Get the good Ruger M77 MkII.

I'd use a good 250 or premium 225 grain bullet if you're worried about big bears.

To answer the question...yes Ruger did make a Flat Bolt/tang safety in both .350 RM and .358 Winchester back in the 1970s I believe.

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=217166769

I had a friend who had one of each. They also made an 18.5" Carbine in .358 that I bought one of a few months ago and then traded of to Ken (firearms44) for his custom M7 stainless .358 Winchester.

When the stainless MKII came out I wrote Ruger suggesting they make both calibers and got a nice letter back from them...and they did... The problem was the rifle they put it in... I suggested that it be a stainless with 18.5-20" barrel and open sights...just like their Light Magnum is today... It is too bad they wouldn't make a run of these is .350 RM...

These rifles still come up often on GunBroker...usually in the $450-600.00 range.

What I still can not understand is the guy who made up this rifle was in Alaska and sold it on GunBroker for less that what the rifle was wholesale at the time... You would have thought he could walk through town with a "FOR SALE" sign stuck in the barrel and been mobbed...as it was I was the only bidder....

Bob

They are around...

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=222848728

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=217261435

Another thought...the .358 Frontier... Weatherproof, power, easy to carry...yes I have one...this one on GunBroker is a bargain. I put a front ramp on mine with a NECG rear peepsight...or you could just go the conventional scope route with a 1.5-5 Leupold...

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=228744095









Nice big doe in Pa...using the 1.5-5 Leupold...and 220 Speer...



My friend is flying to Alaska this summer in his Cessna 172. He asked what takedown rifle was available for bear protection while camping. Found him a Browning BLR takedown/carbine in .358. He is using a handload of 250 Hornady RN at 2150 fps for lots of penetration.

Contender:

Like Big Redhead, I like the Nosler Partitions in 225 or 250 grains out of my 35 Whelen. The Speer Hot Core is also pretty good, but it does shed a lot of weight on elk. Now I prefer the 225 grain Nosler Accubond, as it out groups everything else.

Here's a couple samples of bullet performance for you to judge. Bullets @2650 fps to 2750fps: 250 Grain Hotcore, range 133yds, elk shot in the heart, no bone hit, recovered weight 56 grains, 225 Nosler Ballistic Tip, range 225 yds elk running away, shot hit behind ribs and traveled all the way to the briskit, recovered weight 206 grains. I like the 350 Mag, also, and I don't believe the price of cases would keep me away for it. This performance would be the same with the 350. Hope this helps out. BTW, if the rifle is twisted 16" it will still handle bullets up to 250 grains. Heavier than that, and maybe a 375 is in order.

Jerry

RJM,
That is a very nice looking rifle you have there. A friend of
mine had a NIB 77 flatbolt in 350RM awhile back and sold
it really fast.

The .350 was meant to be a "carbine" round...20" barrel and under. Short and handy....that was the concept of the Remington 600/660.

My "dream" hunting rifle would be a Remington M7KS Custom Shop in blackened stainless like the now gone M7AWR. I have one in the matte carbon steel but would just like an ultra-light .350 that was as waterproof/rust resistant as could be made. The KS loaded with sling is just over 7#...the 77MKII just under 10#...

As to using the Nosler Ballistic Tip or Accubond they will not work in box magazines where the LOA has to be 2.800" or under. They may work in the Ruger as it has a slightly longer box...

Bob

If Ruger would make the Compact Magnum stainless in .350 RM that would be a great gun...one day maybe they'll even chamber the .308 in stainless instead of just blue...

http://ruger.com/products/m77RugerCompactMagnum/models.html


Bob

Thanks again for the additional info. its given me alot to think about.

I had a walnut/blue Mark II in .350 for a year or so. It took a long afternoon to work over the rails and ramp to make it feed reliably. But it shot real well, especially with Ramshot TAC and just about any 225-250 grain bullet.

..some more information on .35 Bullets...

http://www.marlinowners.com/forums/index.php?PHPSESSID=6b9ddre9e5t4tbk3sgli3rj1n3&topic=7180.0

http://www.leverguns.com/articles/fryxell/35_remington.htm

Bob

Sold a SS model to a guy I hunted w/after he Hammered a fine 10Pt. WT deer.....he proceeded to take it to kill a record class elk, and since he did not properly pack/box my 225 Partition loads - he could not carry the ammo on his hunt. After he called me I told him, go buy some factory 200s and place your shot.

He did about 150 yds, and got his elk.

The other loads I used were Sierra 225 BTs for deer (cheaper) and 158 JHP/JSP pistol bullets for cheaper yet practice - turns milk jugs inside out at 200 yds!

The 225 PT and TSX are my fav in this round and similar 35s.

Brass can always be found, and worst case made off of other common belted cases but I'd never expect that to be needed.

Rugers and 350RM are both underappreciated.........IMO.

Contender,

I am fortunate to have a Rem 600 in .350 Rem Mag and a Remington Model 7 KS. Here is a subject that you need to keep in mind. In that the magazine well on some rifles is too short for some spitzer bullets. On my 600 I am limited to just a tad over 2.800", the KS allows a little more room 2.830". The Ruger magazine may allow you a longer COAL, which would be great. I would love it if either of my .350's allowed me to load 250gr Partition bullets, but they will not, as the ogive of the bullet will set below the mouth of the cartridge. I load the .250's for a Ruger 77 RS in 35 Whelen. Here are some loads that I have used over the years:
350 Rem Mag (as always start with a fewer grains of powder than listed)

Rem brass
Trim Length 2.160
Primer CCI 250
60gr of IMR 4320
Bullet Speer 220gr FNSP
COAL 2.730 slight crimp

My model (7KS ONLY)
CCI 250
58.3gr IMR 4320
Sierra 225gr Game King
COAL 2.830"

CCI 250
60gr TAC
200gr Barnes TSX (New Load have not fired)
COAL 2.785

CCI 250 (a good hunting load)
60gr IMR 4320
200gr Hornady Interlocks
COAL 2.800"

CCI 250
58.5gr IMR 4320
200gr Core Lock
COAL 2.800"

CCI 250 (use in Mod 7KS only)
59gr IMR 4320
225gr Nosler Partition (a stone killer but expensive to shoot)
COAL 2.826

I would not worry about getting .350 Mag brass. A couple of 50rd bags should last you a long time.

Good luck,

G2