What would you do?
It is a Stick approved Ruger 77 Mk ll trued 7mm-08 with a Shilen 1 in 9 #1 taper match grade 20” ss barrel solid bedded in Brown Precision Kevlar stock. It probably has 150 139 or 140 grain factory rounds through it. I can get 1” groups at 50 yards, but not 100. I don’t shoot far hunting and it gets the deer that I shoot at. Should I: re-torque the screws, reload for it, free float the barrel, try a different scope, shoot it more, clean the barrel better, try a different rest, try different factory ammo… or just forget about it and go kill deer?

How does it shoot at 100? Sounds like a dog.

Do you reload?

Have you tried federal fusion?


Yes.

Change one thing at a time and look for improvement.

Usually starting with the easiest.

It may be several things compounding to create your troubles.

It sounds like he needs a buddy that knows what to look for and knows how to shoot and evaluate an accuracy issue. I ran into a similar issue a couple weeks ago. A buddy called and said, "hey, we have a rifle that doesn't shoot well, can you come and take a look at it". Sure no problem. Found the rifle to shoot damn well with the proper ammo. Preliminary checks were done even before I pulled the trigger on that rifle. Usually the culprits for a poor shooting rifle is the scope mounts and rings, scope, mechanicals, ammo and shooter error.

Featherweight, as you say it is a #1 contour.

Only test your cold bore shot. Set a target, shoot it cold bore. Wait until fully cool then shoot it again.

My guess is your shots are walking due to heat, if everything is solid and the optic is proven reliable.

I’d make sure mechanics are sound then try different ammo.

Is the scope proven? Are the mounts and rings solid, properly put together? Are you very familiar with benching techniques for light rifles?

Is the magazine box binding the action? If it is, free it up some.

No mounts, it's a Ruger.

Yeah, do everything you suggest.

i do that.

I'm no BSA 1917 or David Tubb, but if you were to ask my opinion on causes of hunting accuracy issues, using a generous 1.5 moa as a benchmark, with no insult intended or implied, I'd say shooter technique 50%, ammo/reloading 15%, optics 15%(includes parallax), faulty bedding 15%, and then there are rifles that will not shoot no matter what you do 5%. The reason I value shooter skill so high, is years of experience with NRA Sporting Rifle High Power, which brings the largest variety of shooters and equipment to the range. And don't get me started on bench technique, I've had damn good hunters come to me and say, my new Whatsis .30 is a pos, and after questioning, they used a rolled up jacket off the hood of the pickup to sight it in, with predictable results.

My first thought as well.......been there, done that with 3006 hawkeye.....taking some metal off the mag box at bearing points made things a whole lot tighter.

That might be a bingo with the magazine box. When I have torqued the screws down tighter, the magazine box does not open well. Before Stick gets here to lay some of his Alaskan crude on me, guess I'll need to admit that moma raised a dummy. How tight should those action screws be? And yes on the range technique. I've helped a lot of guys sight in for the gun club sight in days and I've yet to see anyone shoot an moa target. At $40-$50 a box for factory ammo, none of us in these parts are shooting as much as we once did, me included.

It doesnt really matter on screw torque though specifications call for 95 inch lbs on my Hawkeye......

What matters is that the mag box remains loose after tightening......the box should rattle to show that binding is not an issue.......a tight, quiet magbox may be a problem.

Open up the hinged floor plate and see if you can rattle the magbox with your finger......try not laff at what i just posted.

Change scopes would be my first choice.

I might add i dont know jack squat about no gunsmiffing, but i did read about the mag well/box binding issue years ago on the Rugerforums.net. I think this topic is a sticky on that site under bolt actions.

It's also good advice for Kimbers that "don't shoot".

If you google,

77-accuracy tip

Google will take you right to the discussion of the problem and the fix.

Fellow gun head bought a Ruger #1 in 22-250 many years ago. That rifle had the most beautiful stock I have ever seen on a factory made rifle. But.....it wouldnt shoot for anything. He didnt mess with it much, but he loved to show it off to everyone. A couple of guys told him to have it rebarreled, but he didnt want to put money into it. The best group it gets is 3" and he has let a few guys shoot it at the bench. Most guys would have sold it for that type of accuracy.

X2.

Unless you somehow wound up with a complete dog. Odds are it’s either an optics/optic mount issue or shooter related. A lot of times those two issues go hand in hand. I’m not saying that to cast any shade. It’s obviously shooting well enough for your purposes but it isn’t good enough for the rifle described or even most budget rifles. I’d start with the optic and shooting technique.

Most poor shooting is fixed by making sure the scope mounts and rings are snug.

Someone else said "do the easy/cheap stuff first" I agree. First clean the barrel with Wipe Out or something similar. Spray it in and leave over night then repeat. Now check your mounts/scope. There is an easy way to check your bedding- Back off the action screws then tighten the front one near the recoil lug to factory torque. Now tighten the back screw at the tang- it should go from loosey Lucy to tight in less than 1/2 turn. If it doesn't and gets gradually harder to turn your action is getting stressed and you need to fix the bedding.
If you search the Montana Tinkering thread by Short Action Smoker it is pretty much all relevant to any bolt action.

Obviously that particular factory round isnt the best one for your gun. Try checking all that other stuff first. Then if you want to make it shoot well, load your own and find the good load. But if all that other stuff checks out ok, try different factory loads.

Exactly what are 100 yard groups?

Make sure that the middle action screw is just barely "finger tight". Just snug enough to keep it from backing out and that's all. If you "farmer-tight" that middle screw you'll flex the bottom metal and put pressure where it doesn't belong.

Rugers aren't noted for top notch accuracy! Any rifle maker today that can't produce a rifle to deliver one inch grouping at 100 yards, even using several makes of ammo needs to revise their production process! For far too long even the major manufacturers produced what I refer to as 'exterior' rifles....meaning that the items looked good but interior-wise were not up to par because said manufacturers did not want to spend the time to make an accurate rifle! These people know who they are so no need to mention their names!

I've only owned two Rugers long enough to shoot them... but both would do 1" at 100 with factory ammo. One was a 280 and one was a 7x57.

Im interested in what stick has to offer on the subject.

Taking his tootsie roll out of your mouth would be the first step.

I'd Start At The Fhuqking Start,by backing up,to move ahead. Hint.

Smells like a Reupold from here and that's NEVER "good" news. Nor is the Brown handle. Hint.

The less than OEM taper is good news in disguise,in that it'll be easy to stab it in an OEM (Laminate or Walnut ONLY) handle. Do so,less magbox,spring and follower. That'll fast pace the WTF and preclude MUCH in the way of Guesstitude. Hint.

If better changes aren't realized then,simply peel scope and drive a GOOD one(proven) instead. If/when you see it settle,I'd tape around barrel circumference with Electrical Tape and dabble a smidge of positive pressure. With those Tea Leaves on the table,dots WILL be easily connected and the backtrack a breeze. Hint.

77's make fair to middlin' 7-08's,as their COAL is greater than OEM Big Green and the like. Hint.

Just sayin'................

You didn't mention what kind of scope.
If it's a Leupold .
I'd start there.
dave

Dave, not a Leupold, a FFP 30 mm VM/V Zeiss Diavari 1.5-6x42 T*. The rifle is in the gun safe up north, so I can't wiggle the magazine spring or mess with the bedding screws this year. Being a #1 taper and 7# it is harder to shoot than something heavier and I suspect that it is my bench technique more than anything. I'll shop around and see if I can find some more sensibly priced ammo than the Nosler BT's that I've been using and spend more time at the range.

To clarify, mag box, not follower spring.