Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Ruger M77 stock question

Except for the black forend tip, are the stocks for the Ruger M77 Mark II Ultra Light basically the same size and shape as on the M77 Standard?

I'm especially wondering about the flat area behind the tang and the flat forend bottom extending from the magazine. Lots of standard models on local shelves but I don't know that I've ever seen an Ultra Light.

TIA

i think so.

i think the ultra light loses its weight with alot less barrel lenght. think theyre only 16" barrels

I think I read somewhere the Mark II is not as deep in
the magazine area to make for a more streamlined look.

A cursory look at the pictures of each show a different
sized, shaped triggerguard, which tells me there are other
difference also.

Just a guess....not thinking of trying to fit tang safety
metalwork into the newer style stock? It won't fit!

Regards,

Don

No - not trying to fit any round pegs into square holes. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

What I'm trying to do is get a .25 caliber rifle, either a .257 Roberts or a .25-06, both of which are really scarce in left handed persuasion. Since half the fun of any project is the planning and research I've been asking recently about rebarreling Savages, just asked about any inherent accuracy differences between the Bob and a .25-06, etc.

Ruger makes a left handed .25-06 but they use the same heavy barrel that is used for the .300 Win. Mag and I don't want another overly heavy rifle. I'd prefer a .257 Roberts but to get one requires rebarreling a left handed action which means more money.

I'm not totally wedded to the idea of a left hander so have been looking at the right handed Ruger 77 in .257 Roberts which comes in two versions - the standard and Ultra Light.

There are a whole bunch of right handed Standards around town to look at and while they are okay I've never been attracted to those big wide flat spots behind the tang and under the forearm. So I was wondering if the Ultra Light stock had a slightly different shape and if so, how it might be different.

Jim,
It's been awhile since I've seen it, but one of my hunting buddies bought an ultralight in 30-06 for hunting whitetails in Michigan. The stock is a little shorter and alot trimmer throught the forearm. The barrel is either 18 or 20 inches and very slim. His was the tang safety model, and, unfortunately, it also had the Ruger signature flat spots, but not as pronounced as the standard model. Would make a very handy little walk-around rifle in .257.

The RL Mk. II I handled was slimmer and shorter in the forend than their regular stocks. E

Can't speak to Mk IIs, but I compared my two tang safety models, .25-06 (24" medium heavy barrel) and .257 Ultralight (20" very thin barrel). The stock is about an inch shorter, and a little thinner maybe, but the flat spot is only marginally smaller on the .257. The weight difference is about 1.5 lbs. Let me know if you need any other info.

Jim,

I basically like Rugers, and am in the process of getting
a RIMROCK fiberglass stock for the short action, tang
safety model I had rebarreled.

Ruger factory stocks are terrible because they are overly
"fat" and clunky due in part to those flat spots mentioned.
I don't care for the barrel profile either, except on maybe the
ultralight, but I'd prefer 22" in length.

I've seen a lot of biased, unwilling to try something new
attitudes on this site. But I believe a hunting rifle is simply a
hunting rifle, and a benchrest or tactical rifle is different
with different accuracy standards. Thus the advice from others on the light 700 mountain contours.

I wouldn't give up having a left handed action if I was a
lefty! If you do like the Ruger action, find a lefty as cheaply
as you can, then have it rebarreled with a Douglas #1
contour or even the Douglas featherweight contour.

Most of the guys here are paying way too much for a
rebarrel job!

I've been unable to get anyone to try:

I.T.&D. Custom Guns
2229 Leisure Rd. N.W.
Minerva, Ohio
44657

Phone: (330) 868-6867 SSAE for brochure/price list.
Ask for Dave

A new Douglas barerel job will cost about 1/2 the price
asked by most other gunsmiths! Dave has been doing
my barrel work for about 20 years.

The barreled action can be put back into the old stock and
fitted, if you like with a bedding job. If it's a wood stock,
simply sand the sucker down to what feels good to you, then
paint it with a $2.00 can of EPOXY paint! This stock can be
replaced later if you desire.

I know a couple of guys who did the stock thinning and
painting routine......and after 7 years still prefer the wood
stocks painted: one black and the other camo.

Anyway....keep researching....that's 70% of the fun
anyway!!!

P.S. Dave also sells actions fitted with Douglas barrels at
less than factory rifle prices. Give him a call and ask about
what might be available.

Regards,

Don

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=35721783

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=35963081

The 77MKII Ultralights, like the old tang safety models, have a somewhat slimmer stock with a shorter forearm. The flat spots are still there, if slightly smaller. Ruger has always used 20" barrels on this model, BTW. The 16" barrels are on the newer compact rifles.

Right you are Randall! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

The M-77 Ultralight stock is slimmer with a shorter forend and barrel channel for the slimmer barrel.

Why not buy a more common left hand, like a .30-06, and rebarrel it with a Ruger barrel? I have a brand new, unfired LH M-77 for sale in the classifieds.

I called Ruger today and asked about the stocks.

The Standard and Ultra Light both have a LOP of 13 1/2", the Compact LOP is 12 7/8".

The lady on the phone, while pleasant and conversational, could not tell what difference there was between the standard and Ultra Light except what one can glean from the specs presented.

After handling a Compact and the Standard and what could be read between the lines from the conversation today, it seems that all three rifles have the same pistol grip and will have the same flat under the magazine extending up the forearm. The Compact is just a Standard with the forearm sawed off way short and the UL is the Standard but with the forearm forward of the flat sanded to a thinner profile, info which has already been presented here.

Oh, yeah - the .257 Roberts and 6.5X55 are built on the long action. But then they build the 6mm Remington on the short action. BTW, the short and long actions differ in length by a whopping 3/4"!

The lady did not know how long the magazine box was in the short actions.

I measured my magazine box in one of my short action Rugers. I could not get the calipers in there quite right because the floor plate was in the way. It looked to be 2.884" though. Keep in mind they use the same mag box for short actions, but there is a spacer type frame thingy brazed in place for different length short action calibers. It is just long enough for the follower to fit into.

280don
I am not particularly fond of Ruger 77s, though I have a few of them. My distaste stems from the angled action screw. However, I think Len's stock design is the best factory stock (in wood) on the market. It is anything but clunky, IMHO.
art

Art,

I had the pleasure of handling a custom stock made
by Len himself on a M-77, and believe me, by comparison,
the factory stock is "clunky". <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> Same day, I got to handle
a custom stock on an m-77 made by Bob Emmons. Pretty
much the same result.

Sterling Davenport makes the best M-77 stocks!

As for your IMHO.....your opinion is always greatly
respected at the 280don household! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> I can't
disagree with you totally....It's just that I'm a fairly
muscular guy with smallish hands and like to firmly
grab the fore end when I shoot.

I don't like the M-77 wide fore end up at the top. It adds
weight and makes the barrel look like a string laying on
a refrigerator box! And the width makes it harder for me
to grab.

I like the slender fore end and schnable on the Win.
featherweight, but the rest of the stock sucks!

My problem is, I just don't like any of the factory stocks
and replace them ASAP. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

Boy, different strokes for different folks.

"I like the slender fore end and schnable on the Win.
featherweight, but the rest of the stock sucks! "

I too like the slender forend and Schnabel on the Model 70 Featherweight but "the rest of the stock" is what really makes it for me. The pistol grip circumference, degree of curvature and LOP is just right.

Did Len design the tang safety stock or the surrent Ruger Mk II stock? Can't say that I've handled a tang safety stock much so don't remember, but surely it did not have those big flat spot with abrupt angles on it.

The current Ruger Mk II pistol grip is too narrow left to right and does not widen at the bottom like a M700 BDL. I really like the M77 action and Ruger firearms in general but that Mk II stock just doesn't do anything for me.

Well, that's why ice cream comes in more than one flavor as well. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

You are absolutely right. Jim! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Each one of us has differing physical characteristics,
and differing opinions on what fits and feels "right".

The fact factory stocks are useable by so many people
is a minor miracle in itself. And that does not even take
into consideration what is aesthetically pleasing to each
person.

If ice cream only came in vanilla, strawberry, and
chocolate....the ice cream world certainly would be
a dull place! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Jim, I really like the M77 Ultralight stock... slender, eye-pleasing and fits me well. I have had a couple ot 257 Rbt's in the Ultralight and standard M77... I never could get the ultralights to shoot. In fact, I suspect, the only thing that should be chambered in that tube is, maybe, a 223or 204... there's no meat in it at all.

Brad, thanks for that info. I still cannot find an Ultra Light to look at but Sport's South has something like 13 or 14 in stock should I care to order one.

But your post confirmed something that has kept me away from the UL and pencil thin barrels in general. I know some can shoot, most folks report that the Remington Model 7 shoots okay, but I just prefer to have more meat in a barrel myself.

Still looking and analyzing. Having opened the possibility of getting a right hand bolt action there are, shall we say, a few more choices to examine than when I was just looking at lefties. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

LOL, definately more choices ala North Paw!

The Ruger UL is actually quite a bit thinner than the Model 7, M70 Fwt and Rem Mtn Rifle barrels, hard as that may be to believe! As I recall it mic's well under .550" at 20"...