Need some user commets on the following rifle. Ruger Model77R MarkII Sporter(laminated stock and stainless steel), in the .308 cartridge! Thanks.

Can't say anything about the particualr rifle in question, but all the ERuger 77s I've owned have all been reasonably accurate. Even used one to build a wildcat rifle in .375 Taylor.
As to the .308 cartidge? What can I say? It is one of my all time favorites, bar none. I made tow of the three longest shots I have ever made on game with that cartridge, and each died with one shot. (From me, anyway.) One was a mule deer at 250 yards laser measured, the other at 427 paces, again a mule deer. The distancde was paced off by three peoples and 427 was the average. Deer had been wounded and was getting away, Normally, I won't take shots that far out. I have no problem with using a .308 on game up to elk or moose, but would prefer someting heavier due to the big bears one usually finds in moose country.
I think the .308 is a good little round for most hunting purposes.
Paul B.

My Ruger 77 RSI in 308 is still my go-to rifle. It shoots every 150 gr. factory load I've tried into 1.25", but doesn't seem to like heavier bullets as well. It's an older model with the tang safety so don't know if it's directly applicable.

I picked up one of these for my boy (11 yrs) to start hunting with last year. The one I picked up is the compact model with a 16.5" barrel. Very nice stock fit - best I've seen on a factory musket. First 3-shot group went under 1", but 1.25" seems the norm. This rifle looks akward with a full size scope - a compact looks right. I found that the Burris 4x compact fit fine with the stock rings, but the Burris 2-7 compact requires extension rings (@ $50!!) The trigger pull was pathetic. Very hard to teach a kid how to shoot with a 7-8 lb trigger. I bought a Timney for $60 and replaced the sear only which made a tremendous difference!!! The kid shot his first deer with some 130 gr handloads last year. I will be upgrading to 150 gr partitions this year. Have been doing a lot of experimenting with 125-135 bullets at very reduced velocites. Just loaded some up with 11 to 12 grains of Unique that I need to run over the chrono.

A very nice little rifle. Almost too light in the front end for offhand shooting due to the pencil thin barrel. Would be ideal for goat or sheep hunting in mountainous terrain. I'd certainly let the kid shoot a moose with it, too.

I believe you are talking about the full size rifle-right? If so too me it is a nice looking rifle-and too me the M77's work jsut fine. However to me I like the weight in the tube and bnot in the stock-so this one feels a bit funny to me. Just my thoughts....

If it is the Compact then I feel it balances fairly good-better than the full sized one to me.

Either one is a darn ncie rifle!

"GET TO THE HILL"

Dog

Browningguy. Winchester has a suggested load of 48.0 gr. of W-760 with the 180 gr. bullet. I tried it with both the Sierra spitzer flat base and round nose. The spitzer was 4" at best, but the round nose did .75" consistantly in three RSI rifles in .308 Win.
The RSI is my wife's rifle, and I have the other two. The first one came cheap as the guy only wanted to use 180 gr. bullets. After testing different weights, 150 gr. Sierra spitzer flat base do 1.5", 165 gr. Speer Spizer flat base, and the aforementioned 180s did as specified. All loads were with W-760. It doesn't give the highest velocity with the lighter bullets, or even the 180 gr., but my three RSIs like it. The 165 gr. load will do 2550 FPS from the RSI and it was good enough for a 250 yard shot on a mule deer. FWIW, that same load does 2610 FPS from a 22" barrel. No barn burner, but a damn good load.
The RSI is one of my all time favorites in rifles.
Paul B.

Yes, the RSI is a good rifle - had one of the early ones in the .250-3000. It's just for some reason I have this desire to get a .308 in a standard size Ruger,(never had a .308), but only thing is the barrel looks like it might be a touch on the thin side for this caliber - don't really know. I hear everyone talking about these 'paddle boat' Ruger stocks and I am lost on this one. Are you talking about the synthetic stocked Rugers or what? Anyway, any good user info on the .308 in the standard sized new Rugers is welcomed and I appreciate the information so far. What I like hearing about this caliber is that it seems to outclass a lot of heavier and bigger calibers,(for most hunting needs), and it does it with an efficient case design, plenty of good factory rifles and good for factory ammo shooters or reloaders with very good acccuracy. Additionally, it seems that even though this is not a magnum cartridge a lot of people claim that they can make relatively long shots with it.

[ 06-24-2003, 00:19: Message edited by: sizzlebird ]

Sizzle. The rifle should be just fine. I had a standard Ruger sporter with the 22" barrel in the tang safety version. Guy that was selling said the gun was inaccurate as hell. (His words.) Told him I knew Rugers and how to tinker with them so he said $150 without the scope or $200 with. The scope was a cheapie Weaver Marksman which are IMHO a POS. When he went to remove the scope, all but two of the screws were so loose they almost fell out of the gun. I kept my big trap shut, paid the guy, went home and put my own scope on the rifle, and beelined it to the range. After getting it on paper, the first five shot group was .80" and the gun never shot a group larger than one inch as long as I did my part, and that was with factory ammo. The only reason I parted with it is a friend had an RSI and we swapped straight across. My wife had used my first RSI on a hunt and I had to get one of her own.
I wouldn't hesitate to get that rifle if the price was right, and the .308 is a damn good round.
Paul B.

Paul B, thanks for the load data. I really just haven't tried to load for the RSI yet so have only tried factory ammo in the heavier bullets. I'll give this one a try one day just to see how it works.