Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats Lack of custom rifles on ruger 77 actions

This has always puzzled me, I know thier big nock is because they are investment cast, it has been proven that they are just as strong as any other action. Is it just because gun smiths dont trust them because they are cast, obviously i know mod 70s and rem 700s are so plentiful and have proven to be excellent performers. Just wondering what the fellas at the fire' thought.

Thanks.

As a preface to this post- please bear in mind I have owned Ruger m77s for over 30 years now. I feel they are a great factory made bolt gun.


As far as their use in custom builds- they are out there. Proably in about the same numbers as Sakos . They are not used more in custom rifles due partly the basic build quality of the Rugers. It's not just the investment casting but the tolerances. Over all, they are rather sloppy built actions to be building a high end custom rifle on.

Two high end guns out there- Shiloh Sharps rifles and Freedom Arms revolvers are both made almost totally of investment castings- yet they are built like fine watches compared to a Ruger m77 of any vintage.


The other part is due to the other actions available. There are better "accuracy" actions like Remington m700s and clones.
There are more "classic" actions like pre 64 m70s and m98 Mausers for building high end classic stocked guns.

One other aspect of customizing Ruger m77s is for the use most folks buy them for- basic working class rifle- they do not NEED to be customized. They shoot very well with a bit of bedding/tuning and already have well designed stocks on them..

That is my take.

Rugers are tough as nails. When I lived in Alaska, I knew 4 different guides that carried the M77. I asked them why a Ruger and not a 700 or 70. All said that the m77's just worked and could stand up to tons of abuse.

I have owned 2 of them, a 30-06AI and a 338 Winmag(both ss)and sold em when I left AK.(still regret it!)

My next rifle is going to be a 280AI on a stainless M77 and an MPI stock. it will be accurate and tough as nails.

My theory was that Ruger builds such a great rifle, that the donors never get turned into customs.

Not like those Remington 700s...

I think the main reason is there aren't a lot of aftermarket goodies for Rugers. You are stuck with their heavy ring system, and few companies make a stock for the MKII's or Hawkeyes. Plus, seems the latest trend is for light rifles, and Rugers are not a good starting point in that regard.

I have 2.....not what I would call High end.....one in 338-06 and a McMillan ......the other in 270 with a nice walnut handle....both in SS.

I also own 3 "Factory" M77s in 257Bob,350RM and 300WM.....also SS....I love Ruger bolt rifles. Where and how I hunt 2lbs of rifle means nothing.

Robert

If I could get an Edge for an M77 I'd have several more than I do now.

Brown Precision and MPI are the only two that I know of that make a ligh-ish stock for the MKII. Brown only in long action.

I have a Ruger that wears a 308 Norma barrel, and it shoots really well. The smith that put that barrel on had no qualms about doing it on a Ruger.

Banser or High Tech makes them don't they?

Banser or High Tech makes them don't they?

I have a number of semi-customs built on Ruger MkII's and one on a Tang Safety. If you like the ruger action and you can meet your weight requirements with a ruger, they work fine. All mine are sporting rifles but they shoot as well as similar rifles built on Remington actions.

Two things I would Like changed, or rather have available in the aftermarket, would be a the McMillan MKII classic made in EDGE and someone to make rings that weigh about half what The stock Ruger's do.

Frankly if your making a LW rig the ruger isn't the place to start, but I have found that a 22" ish #2 contour and the MCmillan MKII classic make a reasonable rifle that both carries well and shoots well.

I just picked up a MKII in 7mm SAUM..not sure what to make it into yet. 338WSM?

Yea,it can be done,but what I've seen they just don't resale well,well below the standard loss of a P64 or M98 action custom. I hunt with them like crazy,just make'm shoot and leave them alone from there... I had this done to my 6.5X55, I like color case.Besides slimming the stock down and adding a ebony tip,trigger and it's ready to go shoot stuff...

You have a point.

Consider however that a factory rifle with a really nice stock can be tuned to equal many of the features of a so called custom. Of course it may not have the superior checkering etc. of some rifles we see posted here.

The Ruger Express rifle had a suggested retail of $1,550. It came with a integral barrel rib and some had very fine wood.

I have built most of my parts guns on Remington 700 series actions because they have generally been less expensive to buy and there were far more after-market part options easily available. When I started building parts guns in the mid-1980s, there were lots of Remington 700 and 722 donors that could be bought for around $150, but not nearly so many Ruger 77s in the same price range.

The only Rugers that I've put together were in the RSI configuration, because I like mannlicher stocked rifles and 77 RSI stocks are the easiest mannlicher style stocks to find via the internet.

JEff

Rugers have loose tolerances.

That's why so many custom rifles are built on Mausers instead of Rugers.



Bruce

Customizing a Ruger 77 is like putting lipstick on a pig.

Terry

I consider the M77 stainless rifle a hunters rifle and not a "looney" rifle. You see an awefull lot of them here in Alaska cuz they are rock solid.

I did end up tricking out my kids Mk II SA. It started out as a ss/laminate compact in .308 Win with the 16.5" barrel. It was his starter centerfire rifle I bought for him when he was 10.

I put on a 22" PN 10 twisty, 3 groovy bbl. Plus a B&C Carbelite stock bedded to the action and a Timney trigger. Yeah, and I steal it from him time to time.

Here's mine. It ain't nothing to look at. M77MKII with a McMillan stock, Krieger fluted SS #4 barrel and Timney trigger. It's chambered in a .264WM and wears a S&B Zenith 3-12X50 scope. It's a nice "beanfield" rifle.



Terry

What do you guys consider light I have a 7-08. Hawkeye in a mcswirly That weighs under 7 w scope I believe that's light for me I spose.

I like this one. How long is the barrel.