Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Rimfires Ruger 77/22 Accuracy?

I just bought a new one in 22lr and haven't had a chance to get it to the range, I have owned several of these and don't remember them being "tack drivers" but it has been many years since My last 77/22 22lr, I thought what the hell if the thing don't shoot I will slap a Green Mtn barrel on it then see what happens. I know I will need to address the atrocious trigger even if it does shoot with the factory barrel, I just wonder what to expect from this rifle in stock form in the accuracy department at the range? and whats the best remedy for this sorry trigger? replace the whole thing with a Rifle basix or put in a sear kit?................Thanks HB

Rugers can be a little finicky, I have 4 of them, three are great one not so much. Before buying a new barrel, I'd float the barrel & shim the bolt .... cheaper than a barrel. You could also send your barrel to CPC. 77/22 triggers are pretty good albeit heavy. I use the factory sear and lighten the spring a bit. There's going to be tons of overtravel, but that will be the case regardless of trigger kit.

Good Luck and Good Shooting

-g

avagadro, The accurate Rugers will shoot how good at 50yds? 5 shots in 1/2" or so maybe? and what about just replacing the whole trigger with a Rifle Basix? had any experience with these?..............Thanks Hb

Never used the Basix unit. I have a std blue lr, a WMR & Hornet in Varmint trin ... all three of those will shoot close to 1/2" at 50 yards. The lr may be a bit larger on average but has broken 0.5". I have another lr that will need some work, but confident it will shoot.

Good Luck!!

That's good shootin, if this little 22lr (wood blue)will shoot 1/2" 5 shot groups at 50yds with good ammo I will be well pleased and not even consider the aftermarket barrel, as I remember the triggers on these things were awful back in the day has Ruger addressed this any in the last 15 years?

VA,

I have found the same things that help accruacy in the Ruger m77 cetnerfires to also help in the rimfires

1)Free float the barrel.

2)At least Skim bed the action.

3)Do a trigger job.

Most Rugers can be tweeked to average about dime sizes(5/8") groups with good ammo at 50 yards.I have found them to shoot about like the Marlin 22lr bolt guns. On average. I do not believe the Ruger 22LR rifles to be quite as accurate as the CZ m452s.

Getting them down under 1/2" is tricky in my experience. Unless you want match grade accuracy, I don;t think you will need to go to a Green Mountain barrel if you set the rifle u to give the tube a chance..

Good luck and keep us all posted.

I think the triggers are fine .... heavy but fine. I changed the springs in my and left the sear alone .... nice about 2.5# triggers little to no creep. ONLY downfall is the overtravel, which doesn't kill me on a sporting rifle. ... some folks will complain about it ...

Thanks men, it's been many years since I owned a 77/22, I'm kind of excited to get this 77/22 to the range, as I remember they all functioned flawlessly I just never was impressed with the accuracy I was able to achieve with the 3 or 4 rifles I owned, I am not real hard to please with triggers I might go with some new springs and be happy, a little overtravel will not bother me at all..................Hb

As others have said.......skim bed action, float barrel, and do a trigger job. If those three things don't create a shooter you will be looking at a new barrel.

77/22 Target sear and spring (#VC77TS) makes your trigger job easy:
https://www.volquartsen.com/

Broughton makes excellent rimfire barrels for 22LR:
http://www.rifle-barrels.net/index.html

Thanks for the links, I wonder who makes an easy to install spring kit for the 77/22 as I will try this least expensive option first?...................Thanks Hb

Under $40Bucks and works perfect. I have the same one in my 77/17. I am happy with everything I've picked up from them.

Very good, Thanks Patriot...............Hb

+2 on the Volquartson sear/spring kit.

I just put the kit in my 77-22 Hornet.

Simple to install, and works great. Lowered the trigger to prolly just under 2 lbs.

Virgil B.

Virgil ... How's that Green Hornet running? Any luck with the 35gr Vmax?

HB -

Tackdriver, probably not. "pretty good" .. well, other than a couple of the varmint verions in .22 hornet, mine have been plenty good for what I bought them for.

.22 LR: std ss/plastic stock, about 3/4 of an inch at 50 yards, varminter, about 1.25" at 100 yards.

.22 mag: std ss/plastic stock, about 1.25 inches at 100 yards

.17 HMR: varminter ... 3/8" at 50 yards, 3/4" at 100 yards with all ammo tried.

.22 hornet: 2 varminters, both would cut the case heads off in the chamber (case head separation, in other words) with factory ammo about 10% of the time and with once fired cases at least half the time. I "ash canned" both of those, sold them to guys who were going to rebarrel or have the barrel set back and rechambered to K hornet.

In years past (too far past, I'm afraid) Volquartsen offered a gold colored version of the TiN plated sear. Those were slicker than snot on a doorknob. The newer clear or unplated version of their sear is better than factory but nowhere near as good as the gold colored version.

My favorite trigger is the factory trigger, clean up the trigger itself by polishing out rough spots where it meets the sear, and aftermarket sear, and a lighter spring.

I used one by, I think, Dayton Traister which was ok but no better than a modified factory trig / aftermarket sear.

I also have a 1 LB Jard trigger. That is an AD-ing SOB. It will hang long enough to get the bolt partway closed, then drop the sear and fire the shot towards somewhere hopefully safe before you're ready. I replaced the spring with a 1.5 LB spring which was better, cut the AD rate down to maybe 10% (!!!!) but I was still not happy with it.

I sold the .22 ss/plastic stock rifle out from under that Jard trigger which is in a box somewhere in my junk I guess. My only current "77/22" is really a 77/17 HMR. As I indicated above, I'm using the factory trigger, polished a little, and a slightly modified aftermarket sear. It ain't great as triggers go (I'm spoiled by Jewell HVRs in Remingtons) but it gets the job done I guess.

Tom

Mine needed some tweaking to come up to expectations.
1. floated the barrel
2. stoned the sear and ground both ends of the trigger spring. Now about a crisp 1 1/2 lbs. A very easy Dremel tool type job.
3. a 0.007 mid-bolt shim to address a slight headspace issue. This was the final tweak that really brought mine around.

All 22 LR are ammo specific. Mine shoots right with a high end Anschutz. I run about 6 to 12 k rounds through the pair each spring in pursuit of ground squirrels. The camming surface on the 77/22 is showing some wear. If I lost my present 77/22, I'd order a replacement the next day.

Seems like Cooper's and CZ's get high marks too. I favor the Ruger due to its heft and lines. I'm especially intolerant of a magazine that extends below the stock's lines. Not sure I'd like a backwards safety either.

I have a 77/22 that I had a 'smith do a trigger job on (it's wonderful), then I stuck a Shilen semi-heavy barrel on it. The barrel is heavier than factory, but not the .920" bull barrel; it is just a "heavy sporter" more or less. I had to relieve the barrel channel a bit to fit it, but still run the factory walnut stock.

Fitted up with a Leupold 2-7X Rimfire Special, it is a squirrel head-shot only, shooting machine.

I picked up a 77/17 in the wood and blue when they gave them away a few years ago, it is the 17HM2. The Rifle Basix trigger was an easy upgrade, seems to be worth the money all things considered. I'll admit that at the price I paid for the rifle, I wasn't worried over the $80 for the trigger. I picked up quite a bit of the 17HM2 ammo when it was being closed out, but I'm quite interested in the results with the Green Mountain barrel as I intend to make it a 22LR when it runs out. I'm after the 20" drop in replacement.

George,

The Green Hornet is running SUPER!

Am shooting the 35 gr. Vmax at about 2900 FPS, into a 5 shot group with all cutting the same hole at 30 yards. About 1/4".(distance to my bird feeders)

You wouldn't belive how a "feathered" varmit comes apart when hit with this load....Feathers and "parts" in a 10 foot circle (GRIN!)

I giggled so hard I almost wet myself.

Virgil B.

VA,

I don't post very often, but I had too on this one...

I know that you're interested in .22LR, but, I bought a used VMBZ Ruger 77/22 Mag from here on the Fire several years ago. Not too long after that, I bought a Volquartson sear/spring kit (also from here on the Fire).

The sear/spring kit is a snap to install, and the results were outstanding and well worth the cost!

What was eye opening was the differences in ammo. I bought a box of just about every ammo that's made for the .22 Mag and spent a number of days at the bench.

The rifle came with a Simmons 2.5-10x scope that works just fine. So, by merely changing ammo I could have 1" ~1 1/4" groups @100yds, to 2" or more just by switching ammo brands!

This particular rifle likes Remington Premier 33gr the best (also the most expensive...) and shot Winchester 40gr JHP's very well also (the cheapest!)

I love shooting this rifle, and I've shot a bunch of ground squirrels (75+) with it from 25 to over 115 yards with it all off-hand.

77/22's can be a bit of a crap shoot. Some will shoot great others will need some work. Really depends if you want a Ruger, there are others that shoot better out of the box. Shot against many 77/22's scoped with a model 12 BSA Martini with peep sights in siloutte did not often lose. They can be great, but you may have to work at it. Any 22LR will have a "special" ammo that it really likes. Could take some time and money to find the right box of ammo.

It seems any Ruger rifle that I ever owned was a crap shoot when it comes to accuracy, I never had any problems at all with function but accuracy was always very iffy, I can only recall one really accurate Ruger centerfire rifle I have ever owned (and there have been many) it was a little Mod 77 MKII Ultralight in .223 Rem. that little rifle would shoot 3/4" 3 shot groups at 100 yds all day long with factory ammo, every other Ruger centerfire rifle I have owned were 1.5" to 2" rifles, That's why I don't currently own any Ruger centerfires. it has been many years since I owned one of these little 77/22's but I have had 3 or 4 pass through My safe over the years and don't remember any one being a real "tack driver" I will say that I am impressed with the build quality of this latest 77/22 fit and finish are top notch with a real machined metal trigger guard and I already know how bulletproof the 10 shot rotary magazine system is.......Can't wait to get it to the range with some good ammo but I am trying not to expect too much in the accuracy department and avoid disappointment if this is the case.............Hb

I have had several 77/22's. Out of the box they all needed a little tweaking to reach their potential, but then I have not owned many rifles of any caliber that don't. As outlined above the main things I did was to

#1 Free Float the Barrel
#2 do a trigger job (instructions at http://www.centerfirecentral.com/77trigger.html )
#3 polish the bore with Flitz Metal Polish
#4 shim the barrel if the barrel shank to receiver fit was sloppy (I placed a shim or shims between the bottom of the barrel and the forward portion of the receiver, a shelf if you will that the V Block Screws thread into to eliminate barrel droop)

I have had one lemon out of about a half dozen or so. This one was a nightmare. The Barrel Shank Hole in the receiver was not straight and true and the shoulder on the barrel that seats against the receiver was not straight and true, thus the barrel did not sit straight with the bolt face. A machinist buddy of mine straightened things out as best he could but it never did shoot as good as the other ones I have had.

I had a K77/22 Stainless Synthetic that I bought used that was a great shooter from the get go. I know it had had a trigger job done to it but it was not free floated. I should have left well enough alone but I had to free float it to see if I could get it to shoot better. It did not and is the only one I have had that free floating didn't improve the accuracy.



I ended up turning that one into a Full Custom 77/22. I reworked the trigger some more till it breaks like a glass rod at 1 1/4 pounds and had an overtravel screw installed. I installed a Clark Custom Guns 20" Stainless Bull Barrel and set it in a Volquartsen Laminated Stock. On a calm day this one will shoot sub MOA at 100 yards with Wolf Match Target Ammo.



I am currently in the process of restocking this rifle again. This time I am going to go with a McMillan Rimfire Magnum Varmint FIberglass Stock.

Larry

my squirrel gun (a 1991 model 77/22) shot MOS for many years with a cheap tasco but wasn't what i would call a consistant tack driver. i shot a trunk load of squirrels with it over the years though. about 7 or 8 years ago i had the trigger replaced with an adjustable one and this past year i put a bushnell elite 4200 3-9x40 on it. it is now officially a tack driver. it will shoot dime sized groups all day with CCI mini mag hollow points. the cheapo ammo is ok but not nearly as good as the CCI. my remington 582 on the other hand likes the cheapo federal ammo the best. it is wearing the cheapo tasco from the ruger. i just picked up a 581 yesterday that has a vintage 3/4" redfield 4x on it and i just came in from shooting it and it is indeeded sweet. better trigger than the ruger or my 582.

Today I got My new 77/22 to the range with a few different mid priced ammo's to see how she shoots. First off going by My last 3 or 4 77/22 rifles I didn't have high expectations at all for this new one, I thought I would probably need a new barrel or at least some trigger work done to make the rifle even a decent shooter. Boy was I wrong on that! I got this thing to the range today under some not so great conditions (15 Mph wind gusts with at least a steady 5 mph wind) actually the condition's were pretty chitty for shooting tight groups, I had already thoroughly cleaned the rifle when I first got it so all I did was start feeding it the cheaper Ammo I had to get the scope right, three shots at 25 yds had me close so I moved the target back to 50 Yds and staying with the same cheap ammo (Aguila Golden Eagle $4.95 Per Bx.)I commenced to shooting some 5 shot groups, the first group measured less than 1/2", I was pleasantly surprised but still not convinced until I shot two more 5 shot groups with the same results! Then I tried Federal premium HV Match, Wolf Match extra and got the best groups (3/10") with RWS Rifle match. This 77/22 shot every ammo I tried in 1/2" or less 5 shot groups under not so good conditions, I was not expecting these accuracy results and am stunned. The rifle seemed to cycle a little rough for the first 30 rounds or so but is now much slicker. The trigger while not as bad as I remember My old 77/22's to be is still a touch too heavy for My taste and will need to be addressed, overall I am very pleased with this extremely well built Ruger 77/22 rimfire, it is already one of the top 5 most accurate 22 lr's out of the 40 or so new rimfires I have owned over the past 25 years and I've not even tried any high end ammo yet...........Hb

VA,

It looks like you picked a winner.

When was your rifle made?

Hb, does your 77/22 have a threaded barrel?

When the 77/22s first came out , I had a bunch of friends who wanted one . We did a group buy on six . They all wanted me to Test them at 50 yards since I had about every Brand of Ammo known to man . Believe it or not , they all Grouped 5 shots into 0.5 Inches or better at 50 yards . I was pretty surprised ! I kept one or two ( it was so long ago , I can't remember ) . Anyway , I did'nt like the atrocious Trigger Pull . Guess what , in those "good ol days " you just sent the Rifle back to Ruger and you got a really nice Trigger back . Some say that when new Models are brought out , the Quality of everything is high . Then as time goes on , things go down hill . I've seen that with quite a few Firearms. I've owned at least three other reworked 77/22s and they were all accurate . I bought one Custom BenchRest 77/22 which looked like it would shoot one hole . It was the worst of the bunch .

Jim, I guess like the saying goes "even a blind hog will find an acorn every now and then" applies here, usually My luck runs the opposite way with a new rifle (all bad) this is an older rifle with the clamp in barrel. I looked for one of these still NIB because I thought I would have to buy an aftermarket barrel to get the thing to shoot to My satisfaction but happily I was wrong this time. I would still like to try a new threaded barrel model in stainless synthetic, eventually I will................HB

LOL.. My luck with new rifles runs that way, too.. I am truly glad for you that yours shoots that well.

And, great minds thick alike.. I am planning to pick up a new MGF stainless Ruger m77/22 as well.

Very good Jim, make sure and post your thoughts on the 77/22 stainless, I will be interested to read them...........HB

I too have an interest in the threaded barrel 77/22's if anyone has a report.

Mine was as accurate as my Rem 581s, so I sold the 581s. Then I put a 40x barrel on a 10/22, then sold the 77/22.

I shot the CCI minimag hp on squirrels.

Got back to the range today with some RWS R50 but the 77/22 didn't shoot this premium ammo any better (close but not as good)than the RWS Match Rifle, I will try some Lapua Center-X for the hell of it when I can get My hands on some but the RWS Match rifle is going to be hard to beat. I think the process of trying all these different ammos is My favorite part of buying a new rimfire, damn it's fun! ..............Hb

Yes. Shaking out a rifle and loads is what I really enjoy. After that they tend to get more safe time. Still though, my 22 LR's get about 5 or 6 K rounds through them each spring.

5 or 6 thousand rounds a year, man thats great, I don't shoot that many rounds in 5 years. and your right, after I find the load my rifle likes best she will sit in the safe and many times become a "safe Queen" until I sell it and start all over again with another new rifle I do realize that I am a sick man ..............Hb

Mine was incredibly accurate box stock. Couldn't believe it because I had shot a couple of these that belonged to other club members prior and they were so so groupers. I mounted the T-36 on it with no intention of leaving it on the big rifle but as you can see, I will probably never take it off now.





It has lost some of it's gilt edge in the last couple of years or maybe it's me

Figure you shot the barrel out

Nice shooting, I really like the one in the upper left corner, that's the kind of accuracy I look for in IR 50/50 Sporter class, but it's hard to find a sporter weight rifle that will shoot that good and that's what it takes if you want to compete or else your chit out of luck................Hb

I had two of the Ruger 77 22 mags. One a light barrel and one a heavy barrel with the laminate stock.
Accuracy was poor in both. I don't still have the records on them but recall they were about 2" guns.
I did have the heavy barrel receiver threaded and of course the barrel as well. Also had that barrel re crowned. That seemed to make little difference, it was still a poor accuracy gun.
I dumped both of these and bought an Anschutz 1720 sporter and have not looked back. It's a sub 1" gun with Hornady 30 plastic tips. I have not shot any other ammo in it.
Hind sight is 20-20 but I would have been money ahead buying the anschutz first and not wasting all the money trying to get the rugers to shoot.

VaHillbilly:

Yes, but what a wonderful sickness it is. My volume outings come from our ground squirrel fields. They emerge through our persistent snow in about mid February. The adult squirrels are about like a 9 inch tall woodchuck, but are extremely prolific. Emerging youngsters can be no more than field mouse to chipmunk size and a bit of a challenge. In a well stocked field, one can sit down and do about 150 rds before cleaning out the ground within effective range. They're not to sensitive to small arms fire either, so one can shoot about as quickly as he can drop rounds in the chamber. Great practice, but they aestivate (summer and winter hibernation) beginning with the first serious heat in early July.

If one is truly proficient, there are some alfalfa growers that will furnish ammo.

Used to live back there in Culpepper and Tazewell counties. Enjoyed it, but like it out here better.

You are a lucky man to have this type of hunting opportunity, I am extremely jealous.........Living in Tazewell You are familiar with Big Stone Gap, Virginia I take it............Hb

We were actually out in Burkesgarden.

Very good, you were at another Tazewell on the other end of the state...................Hb

cz452 or 453 better accuracy right out of the box stock,i own a 77/22 the wife bought me for Christmas a long time ago and whiles its nice and shoots well its not on the same level as the cz's

I didn't read all of the posts but I sold my cooper after installing a rifle Basix trigger in my 77/22. I can afford to get a scratch on the Ruger and it shot as well if not better than the Cooper. The rifle Basix trigger was super simple to install.

In your opinion .... thus far my 452 varmint doesn't do any better than my plain jane 77/22 lr ... my WMR and Hornet 77/22's do just as well also.

Edited to add, they both do as well as my Mk XXII also. I am hopeful the Weatherby has a bit more to be wrung out.

I think the CZ is a nice rifle and kinda kick myself for waiting nearly 10 years before buying one. Triggers suck, but for $300-400 what does one expect. I have a Rifle Basix unit on the way and have high hopes.

My latest 77/22 Sporter will shoot with any 22lr I have ever owned and believe Me I have owned more than a few of almost every make...My most recent purchase was an Anschutz 1416 D Classic. I have shot this rifle side by side with My Ruger and the Anschutz will shoot with the Ruger using certain ammo but the Ruger is much less picky, not to mention function is flawless with the Ruger and not so with the Anschutz............Hb

i must have got lucky with my 452 because it has a sweet trigger as well as 2 others that friends own

That all depends on what you consider is a sweet trigger, the several CZ rimfires I've owned and been around all had noticeable creep in their triggers which didn't make them a bad trigger in My book but most think this amount of creep is unacceptable. I think CZ triggers are decent for a $450.00 rimfire and I can live with that and still think that CZ rimfires are the best bang for the buck on the market..The trigger on My $950.00 Anchutz 1416 D Classic is not much better it's also a little creepy.........Hb

VaHillbilly: I suggest the sear/spring kit for "trigger improving" the 77/22.
In late December just past, I bought a Ruger 77/22 VBZ (the laminated stock heavy barrel model). It was a barely used Rifle and I decided to "take a chance" on it there in the "off season".
I am very glad I did.
To date I have tested 4 brands of 22 L.R. ammunition and have had good results with all of them so far.
So far I have not had a day that I would "chance" ammo testing out at 100 yards due to bubbling winds of late - so all my testing to date has been at 50 yards.
My best group (5 shots at 50 yards) measured .201" and the worst grouping came in at .695" - and that group that day had "iffy" shooting conditions.
I can't wait to get this 77 out to the range on a dead calm day for lonegr range testing.
By the way the .201" grouping was done with Winchester Super-X 40 grain hollow-point ammunition.
I plan on using my 77/22 VBZ for Colony Varmint and small game
Hunting.
I will wait to judge the accuracy of my new 77/22 VBZ as compared to my Remington 40X, my Kimber heavy barrel 82-G and my Kimber Hunter/Silhouette M-22 until I can get the Ruger 77 to the range on a dead calm day and shoot it at 100 yards.
But my initial indications are such that I believe it will hold up right alongside my other heavy barreled quality 22's.
Best of luck with your new 77/22 and be sure to try the somewhat more pricey Winchester 40 grain Super-X hollow-points.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

The Remington 504 I bought from VaHillbilly is a dream
Now if he will just sell me his 77/22 when he gets tired of it!

LOL, I know you got a beautiful rifle and a good shooter John but I think I will keep this old 77/22 for a while yet.....You know me though I might have it listed in the classifieds next week ......This 77/22 still ain't as pretty as your 504 I've seen both of em..................Hb

Varmintguy, Sounds like you got yourself a real shooter there, congrats....I did put in a Wolff trigger spring before I even got the 77/22 out to the range, it made a noticeable improvement and I'd say the sear kit would make it even better but I think I'll keep her as is for now as I really like the trigger pretty well...I think the rifles we have are exceptionally accurate for Ruger 77/22's, I don't think the accuracy we have experienced is the norm for these rifles, better hold on to it for a while as I believe it would be most hard to replace......Good luck.....Hb

Va, don't forget, i've got first dibs on anything you sell

he has a nice 77/22 hornet in the classifieds right now ... better jump fast

Financially embarrased right now...... I didn't think Va would have one this soon....

No problem John, you got an excellent 504 and the Hornet is sold pending payment anyway, I'm sure I'll fall out of love with something else before long ............Hb

You're not alone in that fix

Yea, but it's usually when the good deals come along