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One of Us |
I'm a bit frustrated with some of my Rugers, with factory barrels & stocks. It's rare for me to find one that is accurate. Right now, I have found one of the mysterious accurate Rugers. It's an older 300 WM stainless, made 8 - 10 years ago. I have others that I've yet to get any kind of consistancy out of, and I can't remember ever having an accurate factory barelled Ruger, before the 300WM. There may have been some, but I can't remember any. I've lost count of how many I've tried too, and I have several with custom barrels, that shoot accurately. It's frustrating, because I read reports of others having better results. I want to read what others are doing to get them to shoot well. I've tried several things, but so far, the best and most consistant results have been by just switching to a Hogue drop in stock, to free float the barrel, but that's not working every time. I sent one back to Ruger, and they said it shot 1" groups in their tests, but I can't make it shoot that well. It's all over the place for me. When I got it back from Ruger, the front and rear guard screws were torked down so tight that it took a lot to turn them with my screwdriver, and the way the stock fits, it's tight against the barrel, and has a lot of pressure pushing up at the forend tip. What's up? Is it so simple that it's obvious? They either shoot accurately or they don't? Find one that's accurate, keep it, and sell the inaccurate ones? Is that what's happening, and when I pick up these "good deals" they are really someone's rejects being recycled? It seems strange to me that my experience doesn't mesh with some of the things I read about this. It also seems strange to me that a company can put such inaccurate rifles on the market these days, and find customer acceptance. KB ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ | ||
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I have owned and shot Rugers of most varieties over the years and found what you say to be true of the ones made some years ago, but of late the barrels seem to be of better quality. The factory does indeed use a torque setting far more than most in order to seat and yet pull rearward the front action screw. Have found that if you do not apply that same torque, it does lessen accuracy. Be it 223 and up to 300 Win Mag, all I shoot will do 1.5 moa with good loads. Benchrest shooter friend of mine was very disappointed with his 77 in 243 by only giving 1.5" moa and he complained to Ruger. Was told that was within their specifications for accuracy and no longer buys Rugers for hunting. In his case, expectations were a bit on the high side for a sporting rifle as it was not built for groups of .2 Other than a No.1 I have, my RSM in 375HH is most accurate Ruger I have shot. Ruger states that they now mfg. their own barrels and have not used any of this later mfg. so can't say if they have improved or not. Overall I like Rugers for what they are, but off the shelf would venture that either Rem. 700's or Savage will deliver better accuracy. | |||
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It's really quite easy.....simply trade them for Remingtons! /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// "Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery." Winston Churchill | |||
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I have tang safety models, the trick on these is getting yhe big middle screw very tight then the front tight and the back in but not too tight. At lest that is what works on the ones I own. | |||
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Just out of curiosity, why do you keep buying so many Rugers? Do you just like the styleing, or the action...or the challange? Rugers have always been hard to deal with once they are loosened from the factory stock. #1s are notoriuos for forearm pressure issues. Float and lapp the barrel and all will be well. | |||
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Fixed it for ya. | |||
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My brother and nephew love their Rugers. Three #1s and four 77s between them. A couple of 270s, one 06, 243 and not sure of the rest. Hunters only. Not much for any bench shooting. One 2" group- happy & good to go. Never seen anything better than 2-2.5" out of any of them at an honest (laser rf ) 100 yds. Majority of hunting shots (whitetail) well under 100yd. Center lung only. They're happy.? Different strokes. Bill | |||
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A friend of mine was involved in a custom rifle business for some years. They built rifles on pretty much all sorts of actions submitted by their customers. I distinctly remember him telling me rifles built on Ruger actions were the hardest to get to shoot. - mike ********************* The rifle is a noble weapon... It entices its bearer into primeval forests, into mountains and deserts untenanted by man. - Horace Kephart | |||
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Kabluewy, I haven't any trouble getting my 5 Rugers to shoot MOA. I must be blessed. In the last 6-7 years I have bought two NIB No. 1-A's, 1 used No. 1-B, 1 NIB M77, and 1 NIB Hawkeye. The first time I took each to the range they all shot between 1” and 1.25” with Federal Premium Ammo. The first time I took the forearms off my No. 1' and took the stocks off my M77 and Hawkeye, I checked the torque. I made sure I put them back with at least the same amount of torque. All but the Hawkeye have had trigger jobs. With Federal Premium Ammo, they all shoot a MOA or a little less. With handloads shoot even better. | |||
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This post is part of my frustration. There are others who also claim good accuracy with Rugers. That has not been my experience. I can not reconcile the differences. As I said before, I firmly believe that torque such as Ruger claims is necessary, is merely and indication to me that something is wrong with the set-up. KB ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ | |||
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That has not been the case for me. Maybe I've been lucky there, because the Rugers I have with custom barrels, shoot very accurately, except one is still giving me some trouble, by being a bit finiky, but I think it will be alright soon. ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ | |||
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One thing is that so far, I have high regard for the actions as donors. Also, another factor is that the stainless actions are readily available. I have had good results with them with little hassel. I keep hopeing that I'll find more like the 300, which doesn't need a new barrel, which then turnes into a good deal. Like I said, considering the alternatives, buying the whole rifle, taking a chance that it will shoot, but if not using the action, works for me. The cost of the new barrel is the same regardless of which action I use. The Rugers are relatively easy to tweek, lapping, squaring, trigger tuning or replacment, etc. Once the action is done reasonably well, then the results are all in the barrel. I have proven, at least to myself, several times, that the Rugers that I have which will shoot accurately, will do so by merely dropping the barreled action into a Hogue stock, which allows the barrel to mostly free float. If they touch at the forend tip, then I insert a thin piece of plastic cut to size, right on top of the flat area behind the recoil lug. That raises the barrel enough to clear the underside at the tip. I torque them down normal hand tight. The 300WM that I mentioned sat in my closets for several years as a barreled action, and I don't remember what happened to the original stock. So when I tested it, I dropped it into a Hogue. The actions generally feed very well, and I like the controlled round feed, and the Mauser type extractor. The actions themselves seem to be pretty much OK, although not perfect. They can be off a little, but I haven't found one yet that doesn't produce the results I want and expect from a hunting rifle, once it's wearing a good barrel. But my point is that Rugers should be a good deal out of the box, and inaccurate rifles are simply not a good deal, especially if the buyer is expecting accuracy. KB ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ | |||
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The only Ruger rifles I've ever owned is the model 77. I like at least a consistant 1" group for my hunting rifles and I've always had extra work done on them. All of those rifles have had the triggers replaced and been glass bedded. Sometimes it helped a bit, sometimes not. I had a .270 Win. and I couldn't get it to consistantly group as I wanted. I used it a few years then picked up a Pre-64 in the same chambering. Considerable difference in accuracy for sure. About 1974, I picked up a Mod. 77 in .257 Roberts and didn't really shoot it much over the years. Finally, I started to work with it some and had a problem with accuracy. I finally decided to just get it re-barrelled to .257 Imp. with a Kreiger barrel. It's really too muxzzle heavy but it shoots scary groups with a 75 gr. V-max. I can't get it to group like that with an 85 gr. bullet to save my soul. My final Ruger is my .338 Mag. with the laminated stock. It too, has been glass bedded and a Timney trigger installed. It groups a 225 gr. NorthFork into about a consistant 1 1/2" or so. I figure I can live with that since it's my moose rifle. I've always really liked the Win. platform and have decided to go back to any Win. rifles when I want to buy one. Got my Extreme Weather last Oct. and I really like it so far. Seems like everybody comments on the angled front screw on the Rugers. I dunno if they're god, bad or indifferent - I'm not an expert. I do know I really don't like the design. Just my comments. Bear in Fairbanks Unless you're the lead dog, the scenery never changes. I never thought that I'd live to see a President worse than Jimmy Carter. Well, I have. Gun control means using two hands. | |||
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I can only speak of the one Ruger that I own. It's the basic all weather stainless 77 Mk II in '06. It was accurate out of the box and my hand loads only made it more accurate. One and a half to 2 inch groups at 200 yds are the norm. It is completely factory stock. The only ammo I've shot through it are Federal in 150 grain soft points, 180 grain Partition and 180 grain Barnes TSX. My hand loads are all either 168 grain or 180 grain Barns TTSX. These have all shot very well through my rifle with it liking the 180 grain bullets the best. Ken.... "The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they are ignorant, but that they know so much that isn't so. " - Ronald Reagan | |||
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Ruger........ Sometimes they do. Sometimes they don't and when they don't there isn't much you can do to fix them. I've owned several and have gotten rid of all of them but one. That is a stainless Hawkeye in .358 Win that I use as a pig stomper and have equipped it with ghost rings and replaced the plastic POS stock that they come with. The rifle was pretty accurate for the first five shots or so and then would get wild on me. I noticed that the factory stock when heated up would get super soft and pliable. So I replaced it with a Bell and Carleson Medalist which I bedded and all of a sudden the rifle started to consistently shoot under and inch. If you ever take the time to measure couple of Rugers you'll find some oft he sloppiest machining tolerances that have ever been slapped onto a firearm. Basically they are just inconsistent and poorly built. Buy at your own risk I won't own another. | |||
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Vapo has it correct trade them for Remingtons. The one Ruger that I have kept is a 220 swift Model 77. It was recrowned and rechambered and it is a shooter with handloads 3/4 inch. BigB | |||
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This has been my experience as well.....with both a .338WM and a .204 Ruger. | |||
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Sorry, guess I agree, buy a Remington. I sold the only two Ruger's I ever bought. An M77 in 270 wouldn't shoot better than 2" groups at 100 yards with many different 130g handloads (including 130g Nosler Partitions and H4831). I traded it for a Remington 700 BDL in 270 which shot 1/2" groups with the partition H4831 almost no tweaking except experimenting with powder charge and bullet seating depth (all of which I tried with the Ruger). I was going to buy a Number 1, but then saw all of the "tweaks" on line to get the right forearm pressure and said no thanks .... Seems like you should be able to rebarrel it, but I'd just sell it and buy a Sendero. Regards, Chuck "There's a saying in prize fighting, everyone's got a plan until they get hit" Michael Douglas "The Ghost And The Darkness" | |||
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i've owned 3 rugers (one m77 and 2 mk2's and still have the mk2s). 2 ea in 270 win and one in 30-06. for all of them i free floated the barrel, glass bedded the action, and had a smith adjust the trigger down to 3 lbs. all would (still will) shoot 1 to 1 1/4 groups with several brands of factory ammo, and sub moa with some factory/handloads. ime, rugers are built like a tank, shoot well, and have never let me down. i'm a ruger fan, but recognize others prefer other brands. ford vs chevy perhaps. ymmv. | |||
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Me. I trade off toward something that will shoot. That said, my most accurate .223 is a butt ugly Stainless Ruger 77 mk II with the boat paddle stock. It will shoot 5/8" groups with that cheap Walmart bulk pack Winchester ammo. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. An old neighbor of mine delights in telling me everytime I see him that teh Ruger .44 Carbine I sold him in 1981 has bagged him a deer every year since. Aut vincere aut mori | |||
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well I had 2 rugers that I did some work to and they went from 1.75" at 100 yards down to sub MOA First one was a Ruger Fronter in 308 win (Loved this gun wish I never got rid of it) I first free floted the barrle and then did some triger work on it, and polishing of the bolt lugs and firing pin sear as well .. polished the sears and put in a lighter spring when done it was 2.0 lbs and broke like glass I was getting 4 shot groups tuching at 100 yards with 168gr Barns TSX and 44grs of Varget.. and same load at 200 yards was just under 2".. not bad for a 16.5" barrel and using a Burris FFII 2-7X33 pistol scope Second was a 7mm rem mag with the older padle style stock did the same as up top free floted the barrle and did some triger work .. but this one was glass beded as well and it was a MOA shooter but seem to faver the 139gr horanday loads I would love to pick up one of the new Gun Sight Scout Rugers .. just not a fan of the 10 round magazine | |||
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Years ago, I bought a tang safety .220 Swift used, and I was able to work up a load with IMR 4064 that consistently grouped under half an inch. Maybe someone had already worked out the kinks, but it sure shot well for what looked like an out of the box rifle. My father has a tang safety .280 Rem. that shoots well, too. And my .375 Ruger Hawkeye shoots 1-1.5 inch groups, so long as I'm doing my part. I understand that Remington 700s shoot better, on average, but I've been very happy with the centerfire Rugers I've shot. | |||
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I have had two ruger M77s. Didn't do anything special to them... Had them bedded and triggers tuned...both were sub moa with Hornady custom factory ammo. Sorry you are having trouble. Mike Legistine actu quod scripsi? Never under estimate the internet community's ability to reply to your post with their personal rant about their tangentially related, single occurrence issue. What I have learned on AR, since 2001: 1. The proper answer to: Where is the best place in town to get a steak dinner? is…You should go to Mel's Diner and get the fried chicken. 2. Big game animals can tell the difference between .015 of an inch in diameter, 15 grains of bullet weight, and 150 fps. 3. There is a difference in the performance of two identical projectiles launched at the same velocity if they came from different cartridges. 4. While a double rifle is the perfect DGR, every 375HH bolt gun needs to be modified to carry at least 5 down. 5. While a floor plate and detachable box magazine both use a mechanical latch, only the floor plate latch is reliable. Disregard the fact that every modern military rifle uses a detachable box magazine. 6. The Remington 700 is unreliable regardless of the fact it is the basis of the USMC M40 sniper rifle for 40+ years with no changes to the receiver or extractor and is the choice of more military and law enforcement sniper units than any other rifle. 7. PF actions are not suitable for a DGR and it is irrelevant that the M1, M14, M16, & AK47 which were designed for hunting men that can shoot back are all PF actions. 8. 95 deg F in Africa is different than 95 deg F in TX or CA and that is why you must worry about ammunition temperature in Africa (even though most safaris take place in winter) but not in TX or in CA. 9. The size of a ding in a gun's finish doesn't matter, what matters is whether it’s a safe ding or not. 10. 1 in a row is a trend, 2 in a row is statistically significant, and 3 in a row is an irrefutable fact. 11. Never buy a WSM or RCM cartridge for a safari rifle or your go to rifle in the USA because if they lose your ammo you can't find replacement ammo but don't worry 280 Rem, 338-06, 35 Whelen, and all Weatherby cartridges abound in Africa and back country stores. 12. A well hit animal can run 75 yds. in the open and suddenly drop with no initial blood trail, but the one I shot from 200 yds. away that ran 10 yds. and disappeared into a thicket and was not found was lost because the bullet penciled thru. I am 100% certain of this even though I have no physical evidence. 13. A 300 Win Mag is a 500 yard elk cartridge but a 308 Win is not a 300 yard elk cartridge even though the same bullet is travelling at the same velocity at those respective distances. | |||
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Me too. I just got back from the range, testing two rifles again. I set one in a HS precision stock, and tried that, but it's still shooting all over. The other is set into a Hogue with the barrel free floated. It didn't improve either. So, I've identified four to move along. I'm keeping one for now, since it's a short action, and I already had a Timney trigger installed. I may have it rebarreled in 7mm-08. KB ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ | |||
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Ruger pistols & revolvers.... Ruger rifles...... | |||
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I have restocked several Rugers and in every case had to duplicate front up pressure, before they would shoot. The recoil lug mortise on the stock is quite large and front stock screw needs to be crazy tight to keep them shooting well unbedded. Bedded they seem to shoot more consistent without as much front screw torque. This has been my experience on 6 or more Rugers and they can be fussy! kk alaska | |||
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I had a factory accurate (.5 MOA) Ruger Mk II VT in .22-250 that shot out quite fast. I rebarreled with a .308 Win Lothar Walther SS Match bbl. The bbl. was free-floated and the action glass bedded. It now shoots < .25 MOA with Sierra 168 MK. NB : my best target : 3 consecutive 5-shot groups at 100 meters. André DRSS --------- 3 shots do not make a group, they show a point of aim or impact. 5 shots are a group. | |||
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Friend of mine did the same as you, rebarreled to 308/Douglas 13 twist/stainless and shoots very well out to the 1000yd mark. The two stage trigger in the Ruger V/T version is what they should put in all their model 77's, but that is just me. | |||
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Guess I must of gotten the good ones. Out of 7 or 8 M77 sporter barreled rifles in the family, none have refused to shoot under MOA. A couple are real burners. I've done the triggers on all of them and bedded them, same as I do with any other rifle I buy. Now if you want to talk about a scattergun, we can talk about the last M700 30-06 I bought. | |||
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It seems odd that your second (middle) 5-shot group changed its point of impact from the 5 o'clock position of the first and last, to the 12 o'clock position. Any idea what caused it? | |||
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This is an example of what gets to me, on this subject. Based on your experience, most of them are accurate. Based on my experience most are inaccurate. How can that be reconciled? If it's a matter of simply bedding them - no problem. I want to know, for example, did these 7 or 8 rifles shoot half-way decent before bedding, and the bedding just improved it a little, or a lot? KB ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ | |||
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Beautiful rifle and great groups but it stops being a Ruger when you change barrels. Free men should not be subjected to permits, paperwork and taxation in order to carry any firearm. NRA Benefactor | |||
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So they srop being 700s model 70's ect when you rebarrel them all. OK | |||
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I have two Rugers that will never leave me. A m77mII in 300wm that I bought new in the 90's, and a m77 .257Roberts that I bought used. The 300wm was picky as all get out when I bought it, and only 180-190grn bullets would group at 1.5-1.25" consistantly. After shooting it a bunch, and learning to keep the front action screw as tight as I could torque it, it is a consistant 1.25-.8" shooter. That is enough accuracy for my purposes. I've head shot deer over 100yrds, and heart shot one deer in the neighborhood of 370yds. I've shot it out to 440yrds plinking. My .257 Roberts is my most accurate rifle. I've shot .27" groups with it (factory hornady custom if you can believe it)and have handloaded three different recipe's to sub moa with no fuss or undue ammount of effort to get there. Rem 117grn factory loads were also right at moa. I've never done anything to either of them, no trigger work, no bedding, just load and shoot, and keep that front screw tight. Both of mine shoot great with Hornady custom factory loads, and I started reloading specifically to duplicate the factory loads that shot best in each rifle, as only one store carried them locally. The last group I shot with my 300wm was after I was on an elk hunt in NM, where we got soaked in a wet snow. There was water running out of the barrel channel of the factory wood stock. I took the action out of the stock and let it dry by a wood stove for a couple days, oiled it well, and put it back together. The next time I shot it, was 1.020" group @100yrds, centered .5" left of the previous point of aim. Two clicks and done. 71.5grn RL19 180grn Hornady interlock. I bought the used .257R to replace a m700 .260rem that was horrid. I think Rugers get better the more they are shot, and my 300wm had a very specific bullet wt that it preferred in the beginning. | |||
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We've found that, especially on the older M77s, excessive "freebore" was an issue. With factory-length ammo they wouldn't shoot terribly well; but if you ran your bullets out just off the lands - accuracy improved into the below 1" range. Problem was - at least in our experience - throats were so long you had to load them beyond magazine-box dimensions. I have a newer-manufacture 7mm-08 MKII Ultralight that'll shoot .25"-.5" 100YD groups regularly with handloads. JGE | |||
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If there is some magic to it, I would surely like to know what it is. I hate to part with a rifle that has potential to shoot well, and I just can't discover what the trick is. KB ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ | |||
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Does L.W. import those SS Match bbls to the US? Was the reamer used a carbide reamer? KB ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ | |||
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I have found Ruger no.1 will shoot better out of the boxs than the m-77 IMO.About ever third M-77 I have bought will shoot 1-1 1/2 inch groups out of the boxs. I love the m-77. I'ts the pre 64 model 70 of our day.The ones that drive me crazy is one time out 1 inch group and the next time out its 4 inches.All this is my 2 cents worth. May not mean much. | |||
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"This is an example of what gets to me, on this subject. Based on your experience, most of them are accurate. Based on my experience most are inaccurate. How can that be reconciled? If it's a matter of simply bedding them - no problem. I want to know, for example, did these 7 or 8 rifles shoot half-way decent before bedding, and the bedding just improved it a little, or a lot? KB" With maybe one exception all were what I would call decent, 1 1/4 or better. Bedding improved all of them, some more than others. All but one did their best with the pressure pad put back in after I tried floating them. Not that they were bad floated, just several dropped from 1-11/4 to 3/4-1" with the pressure pad in place. I'm not going to sit here and tell you they are my most accurate rifles, but then I don't have any heavy barreled varmint scoped versions of the M77 either. | |||
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