seems to me alot of guys on different sites scoff at ruggers 77s. While my personal favorite mass produced rifles are the model 70 classics,I must say other than the triggers, Ruger seems to be doing a prety nice job with there bolt guns. The one I have is an RL MK2 in .257 roberts, and while not a tack driver, its a ultra light it only has a 20 inch barrel and the diamiter at the muzzle is only about half an inch. it gives moa more or less with loads it likes, and I had to put a fair amount of work in to get it to do that well.
One of my hunting buddies recently got one of the older MK 2 stainless with the boat paddle stock in 300 win. This thing is is simply awsome. He fired 3 rounds into one raged hole with facory loads , then I gave him some handloads with a 180 grain Balistic-tip, and they were even better. His brother has a wood and blue 7 mag, and all indications are it is a real shooter too ! I am sort of a fussy old fart and my tastes lean twords mausers and winchesters. But I have also been considering a Remington CDL in 300 win. But right now at a chain store a mile or 3 from my house is a wood and blue model 70 in the same caliber. It's got a 429.00 dollar price tag. I would have to put a timney trigger in it and that would run about 75.00, I can't think of a better buy. 500.00 and a scope, and I would be ready to go. With the Model 70 or 700, I would be at around 600 and still need scope mounts. Can't afford any of them now but that will change soon enough.
How does your Ruger experence stack up ? ...tj3006

Rugers are decent guns. They work, are reliable and are fairly inexpensive. But they lack soul. The character needed to be distinctive just isn't there. I am sure many will disagree with me, but that is what I think.

Aaron

I find it to be a Ford-Chevy thing.

The 700 action is a good design that is easy to accurize. It has a good factory trigger. I have a Chandler M40 built off the 700 that is tuff as nails as a sniper weapon. It has never failed me and it's been through some brutal conditions. Flip side, several of the bigger gunshops in AK make often repairs to the 700 trigger and extractor as they fail more often in AK hunting conditions. The Remington trigger design is poor in the sense that if any wet lube is used it easily traps dirt, dust, debris etc. The extractor, though improved over the years, breaks.

The M77 is tough as nails. For field use it just plain works. Their QC was poor for some time but has improved greatly in recent years. Though less likely to be a tack driver it is dependable. Flip side, consumers today want MOA out of the box and don't see it w/ the Ruger. Rugers are not as easy to bed. I've heard a repeated complaint of the (springed not fixed) ejector of the Ruger being slow when working the bolt fast, but I find this to be false and total BS from an article that was published about PH exams in Africa. Any non fixed ejector will stick if it is allowed to rust.

They all have good and bad points. Like boots, what works for you may kill me.

Gary

I think they're "clunky" and a bit rough due to the casting process... they are, however, very reliable and rugged hunting tools.

Ruger seems to get most things about "80% correct" then drop the ball. For instance, the M77 is a very nice rifle but the stock retains waaay too much wood in the forearm. If they'd use a slightly modified UL pattern they'd really be on to something. Then comes their pistols... the Bisley design is fabulous, then they have to clutter it up with cheezy faux engraving... I'd never own one for that reason alone.

I do like the 77/22. I've had two and both are very accurate. I have 4" SS Security Six that is my companion in our grizzly country. Great pistol. I'm just really ambivelent about their products... it's sort of like getting excited about an F150.

Did I mention I'll never understand "collectible" Ruger's?

So many bash the Ruggers because it is trendy ,perhaps spurred on by a little ancien history.

Of the three new Rugger Varmints .22-250, .223, and and .243 all make small groups. The Rugger .257 vintage 1972 is and absolute tac driver. Sure they could be better,such as the triggers.For what you pay you're getting a not too bad rifle. They do the job.

Now if you are a prima donna I agree the Rugger is not for you. Stirr, stirr roger

quote:

Originally posted by AaroninUtah:
Rugers are decent guns. They work, are reliable and are fairly inexpensive. But they lack soul. The character needed to be distinctive just isn't there. I am sure many will disagree with me, but that is what I think.

Aaron

Except for the express rifles and synthetic magnum 30s, I agee. The charm the original M77s had does seem to be lacking -along with the accuracy. I once looked at the Red Label shotgun, but noticed the rib rattled. The salesman told me it was Ruger's "floating" rib and they all did that. A quick look at other Red Label shotguns proved otherwise. Personally, I blame the higher production numbers for this.
I also believe if Ruger were to step up to the plate with an adjustable trigger and a smoother action, other manufactures would be hard pressed to keep up. Ruger dominated the economy rifle class for so long with an arguably superior product, that today it is a bitter disappointment when one won't shoot.

I have had nothing but good luck with a couple of recent Rugers , a .223 sporter that will easily deliver 3/4 MOA groups , and a .204 varmint weight that will group as tight as I can hold . Barsness has written over on 24hrcampfire that all Ruger barrels are now hand lapped , and I can believe that as little as these 2 rifles foul .

I also have an old 7mm mag with the dog leg bolt handle that would be the last rifle I ever got rid of . It will put everthing from 139 gr Hornadays to 175 gr Noslers in the same small group. None of the 3 77 s I have on hand at this time have had any special tuning or bedding work done whatsoever.

I suspect many of the non-77 fans do not know how the 77 bedding system works , and one or two inveterate Ruger bashers on here had no clue about the proper tourqing of the 77 action screws .

One more thing I'd like to add. IMO, despite not currently owning a 77MKII centerfire, I think it's the finest, "out-of-the-box" rugged duty hunting rifle on the market. My current BGR's are an M70 and M700. Both require tweaking and aftermarket parts to make things "just so." Granted, the Ruger trigger needs going over and the bolt raceways could use a bit of attention, but apart from that it's a "hell for stout" reliable hunting rifle that would cost a lot of money and effort to duplicate in terms of sheer ruggedness and reliability. If you have one that really shoots you have something to treasure. Not purty but they work.

My Ruger experience is excellent. I bought and have used a Ruger MkII Express rifle in .375 H&H and it is easily worth twice the $1100 I paid for it. Maybe three times. It's a superbly accurate, reliable, perfectly functioning, well balanced, easily carried, and good looking tool. "Soul" costs alot of money and may not be a decent tool; same with a steel and wood work of art. Motorcycle riders have a saying, "Chrome won't get you home." That goes for rifles too, in my humble opinion. Especially for rifles that are tools.

I had a absolutely horrid customer service episode with Ruger.

I won't own another Ruger, ever.

ZM

Zeke, I've had to have warranty repair's several times on Ruger's over the last fifteen years and have ordered parts multiple times. Of all the big three, I've never had better service than with Ruger. In fact, I've never had anything but 100% perfect service with Ruger.

Your mileage obviously varied...

I have a couple of Ruger M77s, one is in 243Win and the other is 30/06 Spgfld. They are both extremely accurate. The 243 will put 100 grain handloaded Core-lokts into an almost immeasurable group and the 30/06 is a tack driver! I bought the 06 used off a rack at a gunshop and it looked almost new but the bore was full of copper. It took a lot of soaking with copper solvent to get it all out, but it was worth it. I have put an adjustable trigger on the 243. I own other brands of rifles but I don't have near the affinity with them as I do my Rugers.

I'm kind of ho-hum on the MKII, but I really like the older tang safety M77. Today, I would probably buy a M70 1st.

Don't know why the ruger bashing - I've got several and they work well, got several winchesters, remingtons etc. too - damned if they don't work too. Sure have had some trouble with this and that on some of the all, but no better or worse with one or the other. Everyone has certain likes and dislikes and tend to bash what they don't like, I guess its a bolster my ego thing. kinda like trolls.

Ruger guns are generally no nonsense, stout, long lasting guns. The triggers generally suck but can be replaced. Their barrels were below average for years but are no longer supplied from that contractor. Ruger is generally very good for customer service. The one product which sucks rear tit is their over/under shotgun. There have been all kinds of problems like looseness, triggers, etc which never seem to get corrected by the factory. I think their QC on this particular gun is poor as some seem to shoot tens of thousands of rounds with no problems and some never get back from the factory before they go back again for the same problem.

I'm surprised that you had bad service with Ruger. I sent in a 25 year old 22auto with a broken ejector. I got it back with a bill for $11, including shipping. I generally recommend Rugers for people that want an adequate out of the box rifle. I wouldn't recommend them for someone who was looking for the last word in sporting firearms, regardless of how much money they intended to spend on it.

I've never had a bad Ruger and I own a pile of them, long and short. The 416 Rigby Express I just took to Tanzania shot to point of aim with the express leaf sights right out of the box with 400gn Fed. NP's and Fed TBBC soilds. To date I have 322 round of factory or factory level loads thru it and it preforms perfect. Soul, mine has as much soul as a Motown band. I like it and it likes me, good karma all the way around because they work and it looks great....................JJ

I really appreciate very much the Ruger products in general (not the 10/22), and found them rugged, stylish, functional and accurate when fed properly

IMHO the critics came from its price tag, and of course, anyone out there carrying a custom rifle, will dismiss everything else.

For some reason, Ruger are still one of the best designed, feature-rich rifles in the market.

1) Stainless Stell option (FULL SS construction, not some parts)

2) CRF

3) 3-pos frame mounted safety

4) Integral scope mounts

Stylish, at least to my eyes, and VERY accurate.

quote:

Originally posted by Brad:Of all the big three, I've never had better service than with Ruger. In fact, I've never had anything but 100% perfect service with Ruger.

This I can absolutely confirm, they even bother with the export paperwork to send parts overseas.

I have had 2 handguns, a shotgun, a #1, a 77/22 and two 77 Mk. IIs. Some required an aftermarket trigger, all shoot very well and look "cool".

Guys:

I have a 77/220Swift. I have installed a Canjar single stage set trigger, other than that it is completely stock. It is the most accurate 3 shot rifle I own. With 38/Rl15/55 Ballistic tip, it puts them in one hole. This is not news to a lot of the guys on this site, as we have hashed this one before. Still true though. It did take a lot of shooting to find the load, but when I did it is AWESOME.

I also find their service to be better than most companies.

Jerry

I've had two customer service fiascos with Ruger, both in the last 2 years. One about a revolver and another about a 77. I have no more time for them. All the local shops I frequent tell me they get Ruger's back for repair more than any of the other big manufacturers, especially 77s.

Plus their stocks are blocky, their bolt handle cut in the stock is very cheap looking, their triggers need immediate replacement, their "3-position" safety doesn't lock the firing pin in the bolt opening positions, their recoil pads suck, and their extractor bite on the case rim is smaller than competing CRFs.

To each their own, but make mine NOT a Ruger.

I own a number of Ruger M77's as well as other Ruger rifle and handguns and have only had issue twice where I had to contact Ruger's Customer Service department. Both times(first time was 15 years ago and the other was 3 years ago) Ruger fixed the problem quickly and without fuss. The "lawyer trigger" isn't an issue. Easy and cheaply to replace(Timney Adjustable). Remington and a couple of other manufacture's could take a few lessons from Ruger's Customer Service department. As far as Ruger's wood stocks go the only problem I find with them is they are to short, but of course all factory stocks are to short for my 15 1/2" pull. Lawdog

Yer right about that, and if mine didn't shoot so well I'd sell every damn one of 'em.

The only Rugers in this house are SAA revolvers.....and that's from experience. Ruger long guns don't enter here.

I like the ruggedness of Rugers but I have owned two a .222 rem and a 30/06 both stainless synthetics and neither shot well.....in comparison to my cz's and rem 700's that I have owned, I don't know why but that was just the case with these two rifles and you can only go on your experience.

I think the Ruger express rifles are great looking guns and can't compare them to the run of the mill Rugers.......there price represents that however.

My M77 mk2 in 300win mag blew up in my face with hornady heavy mag 180gr semi spitzers never have heard of this either but i will never own one again

The only Rugers that I own are the SA revolvers and a few RSM's. Most Ruger rifles that I've handled in the more common calibers were Fugly but shot pretty well with a little tweaking.

I own 10 or so ruger fire arms I have found them to be strong, relieable and accurate. Some are more accurate then others. But they all have prove to be very useful firearms.

They are jsut as good as any other mass produced arms.

Of the two M77 centerfire's I've owned, niether would do better than 4" at 100yds. Kinda turns you off when a rifle just won't shoot. I got a M77 MKII the other day on a trade. It's a SS boatpaddle stocked .300mag. I haven't shot it yet as it's just to hot out right now. The trigger feels very nice and the owner said it was a shooter. We'll see. I bet it's kicks like a mule with that stock on it though

Terry

It seems most coments are positive. I have owned a few tang safty rugers and had some good and some not so good. I saw one at a shop a few days ago in 6mm Remington. Bet that would be a fun one. Asdking 375.00 but I bet 350 would take it home. never have really trusted anything smaller than a .257 for deer but i like any crtridge based on the mauser case.
TC1 would love to hear how your Boat paddle shoots !!! .../tj3006

Ruger M-77 is a good rifle, and since the Mark II's have been around, Ruger been making there own barrels. For example, I have a Mk. II chambered for 6.5 x 55. Out of the box is shot ok, I had a smith do a few corrections, bedding and a trigger. That rifle will cut dimes with most any load. I like them, what I like best is the scope mounts. Very simple and dam near bullet proof. While they may not be as refinded as some or the character as some say, they do fill a need for a reasonable priced reliable and fairly accurate hunting rifle. Ruger has over the years given us shooters a lot of need affordable guns. Sure in years pass, it was hit or miss with accuracy do to the barrel supplier was not very good, since they are making there own, you can get a Ruger to shoot and to shoot very well.

I have a 77 in 338 and it's reliable and accurate. Yeah ,it's a little clunky but I bought it used with a Leupold scope on it for $375. It went to Africa with me in 02 and would go again. (I like my 9.3 CZ better though.)
A friend has a Boat Paddle stainless in 338 and it's the rifle he reachs for when he's going in rough weather and rough country. He owns a bunch of rifles with "soul" and they go to the range but mostly they don't go to Africa with him. He has made 10 trips and is going again next year.
Years ago I had a Ruger 223 Varmint that wouldn't shoot . They put a new barrel on it and I had it back in 10 days.

I don't have too much experience with the newer Mk II version but my old shootin buddy liked the orig. M-77 alot... he had a whack of em and I helped him develop loads and tuned them for him.
.270 win.
.300 win. mag.
.257 Roberts
.358 win.
.338 win. mag
Every single one was a shooter and would do better or equal min. angle at 100 yds and the .270 was easy 1/2 min! Never had an issue with any of them. My brother owned one in 7 mm. Rem. Mag. and it was his fave rifle for many years till his passing. He never had a single issue with his either and it was a shooter too.
Personally I think the world of my ss .44 mag. SA revolver it drives tacks and I bought it cuz my S&W mod 29 was a pos! I don't baby that handgun and it just gets the job done. My wife has a 10/22 it shoots pretty good and she likes that it fits her out of the box, the trigger is not too hot tho but if I go for aftermkt parts I can fix that.
In all my years of shooting I have only come across two sporter rifles that really gave me fits.
I had a husky in .308 win. 60's vintage it shot 165/180 gr bullets fine but just would not do better than about 1.75" with 150 gr. I suspect the twist was the culprit but never checked it at the time and traded it off to a Moose hunter.
My shootin buddy got one of the early Vanguards in .308 and it refused to do better than about 2" and he finally sold it off.

Ruger makes GREAT .22 pistols and rifles for the money, a couple good revolvers in bigger calibers and my 20 ga O/U groups with the best of them.

Their bolt, lever, semi-auto centerfire rifles all work fine, I suppose, but they have the grace of a thrown brick and beg to be turned butt up and used as a tent stake!

The number 1 and 3, on the other hand, are a different story in my little world......

seems to me rather than having a soul. a rifle can more be somthing you develop a bond with. For Example a real prety rifle like a model 70 featherweight is one you might start to bond with even before you pick it up.
i seem to have bonded with my little MK2 ruger RL in .257 Roberts beacuse I did alot of work on it and the iprovments paid off. It was a 3 inch grouper out of the box, but I put a timney in her and the groups got a little tighter, then i free floated the barrel and they beacame respectable, Then I put some 100 grain tripples shocks over H-414 and learned to play with the bedding screws, and now it is a sweet shooter and carries like a 30/30.
I could bond with an ugly rifle if I had a lot of sucsess with it. But a prety one is easy to connect with...tj3006

It's odd - I have a tang-safety M77 Ultralight that I hunted with for years that wasn't particularly accurate, but I like it. I had a M77MkII 6.5 Swede that was the most accurate rifle I've ever owned, but for various reasons, I never liked and sold within a year, after a thousand rounds or so.

Some of the things I didn't like were the trigger (I worked it to usability, though I'd never worked on a trigger previously), rough bolt cycling (never really got smooth), headspace issues (Ruger took care of this promptly under warranty, though not before "fixing" my good trigger back to factory-specified mediocrity), and,most annoying, a firing pin fall that sounded less like "snick," than "clunk...nk...nk," and that vibrated the entire rifle.

No soul, and I've decided not to give any more of my money to companies that sell me something that has to go to a gunsmith before it's usable.

Jaywalker

I think the biggest problem with their long guns is the inconsistency. You never know what you're gonna get accuracy wise, on both the 77's and the number 1's. The triggers on both leave much to be desired. That said, you may get a tackdriver. If not, usually you can play with the bedding and get acceptable accuracy. I have a tang safety M77 in 243 that will put my 100gr Sierra handloads into one hole if I do my part. I really like Ruger revolvers, very strong designs. The only problem I have with them is that crappy fake case coloring they use on the cowboy type guns. You can wipe it off with a rag on some. This is one of the problems of investment casting, case coloring doesn't take to it. I'm actually watching Ruger's Hunting Adventures ritght now. Bill Ruger Sr. was a huge loss to the whole firearms community--2MG

No bashing of any Rugers from me.

Browning, Colt\Sauer, Winchester, Remington, H&R 1871, Pedersoli, CVA rifles. But no Rugers.

Colt, S&W, Taurus, Walther, Glock, Browning, Burgo handguns. But no Rugers.

Browning, Remington shotguns. But no Rugers.

I never owned one. I doubt I ever will. When gun buying, I compare form, function and all the other parameters. Ruger always ends up on the short end of the stick. I'd really like to buy from Ruger; an American success story. But for some reason I never do.

I will consider Ruger if I ever need to stir something. I have heard they make nearly indestructible boatpaddles.

I too like Ruger rifles more than any other mass produced American rifles (though they are not my favorite bolt action rifles). Accuracy has been hit and miss in the past, but reliability and functionability have been near perfect in the rifles I have owned. Ruger used to outsource their barrels and these were not always of high quality. Now they are made in house and all of the Mark II's and #1's that I have owned have been great shooters. As far as the bad trigger goes. Ruger is the most extensive American arms manufacturer. They make rifles(bolt, single-shot, semiauto), autopistols, revolvers (double and single action), shotguns (double and over-under), and blackpowder weapons. As a result, they have been the target of many, many lawsuits, and some of these have been from large cities. They have had to spend millions of dollars fighting these charges. Let's hope that the new Bill that prohibits such lawsuits against gun companies is passed in the Senate. Anyways, this is why they choose to drop the adjustable trigger (it is not a quality control issue). I have had some older #1's and M77's whose triggers were so light from the factory, that they actually scared me. I had to have them cranked up some. I also have to cordially disagree with the comment about Rugers having 'no soul.' Do classic guns have soul? Ruger brought back many classic designs (and may have saved some) and brought them to the masses. Bill Ruger was the first to bring out a classic style stock when every other rifle was wearing one of Monte Carlo design. He resurrected the classic falling block single shot and brought out a rifle that looked like it was made in Edinburgh at the turn of the 20th century. He also resurrected the single action revolver at a time when they were practically dead. Ruger also chambers limited runs in classic and obsolete calibers (too many to list here). On top of this, he made these classic designs affordable to the general public by using an ancient but ingenious manufacturing method. I have had more problems with feeding and extraction with Winchester Pre-64's and Remington 700's, than I have ever had with the Ruger M77 (including the non-CRF versions). And I like the other two actions as well. These two were more consistently accurate, but I value function just as much as accuracy (if not a little more). It is the combination of the two that make truly great rifles. Unfortunately, mass production cannot always meet all of these factors without an increase in price. Ok now I have run off on a tangent and I do apologize. I hope I have not offended anyone with my soapbox speech, but I am sticking with my love of Ruger rifles. I know we all have different likes, tastes and experiences (and thus opinions) and this will explain (in the words of John Wooters) why they "brew more than one brand of beer and even ugly people get married."

My experiences with Ruger's customer service has been, well call it 50 percent.
My first experience was with an M77 tang safety in 7x57 Mauser that I bought second hand. Shot great, but the extractor would not extract. I sent it back to Ruger for repair, and got a letter back stating I would have to replace the stock. I informed them that I bought the gun used, and the only thing wrong with it was the extractor would not extract, how difficult is that for them to understand? What in hell does the stock have to do with extraction? ell, the previous owner had free floated the barrel, so they refused to fix the gun unless I bought a new stock. I told them to send the fugginh gun back, I'll fix it myself, which I did easily adapting an extractor from an old Mauser bolt I had one hand.
In experience number two, a Ruiger #1, also a 7x57 Mauser, that wouldn't do better than 5" on a good day, no matter how I seated the bullets. I took it to my gunsmith to check out, and he did a chamber cast. The throat was over 2" long, talk about freebore. I sent it back to Ruger figuring I'd probably run into the same old BS as before. Well, after almost five months, I got my rifle back and it is now a tack driver with most loads. It looks like they even reblued the gun.
I still do have a few grpes for them. Quit making the rifles feel like a club for a cave man. Not all of us have hands like a gorilla. Get rid of that POS imitation recoil pad, and put on something that will soften the setback of a .416 Rigby, or .458 Mag. A Pachmeyr Decelerator would be a damn good start, amd I'm perfectly willing to pay the extra $30 to have that kind of pad.
Other than that, how do I feel about Ruger rifles? Well, I have more than a few, but when I built up my .375 Taylor wildcat, I used an M77 tang safety Ruger as the basis for the rifle. The one thing about those rifles I don't question is their strength. Why the tang safety model and not a Mk II? Well, because the Mk II was still about six years in the future.
Paul B.