Like many of you, I'm always considering another rifle. I shot the old tang M77 for 25 years and have since sold it. Been shooting M700s and M70s for last 15 years. Thinking about a new ruger. Need some opinions regarding this rifle. Accuracy (as compared to a Rem 700), barrel size (too slim and whippy or just right), and anything else you might wish to comment on. Thanks

get another tang model. The new 700's don't have the quality metals in them they used to. The Mark 2 Ruger and the winchester 70 have a safety I really don't like. Like you, I have preferred the tang safety Ruger for years-- I just keep shooting them.

LBGuy.....

i have 2 new Ruger 77s.....a 7x57 and a .338. both shoot extremely well. i know nothing about metallurgy like "buckeyeshooter", but i can attest that the accuracy is probably much better than i am capable of and they feel mighty good when shouldered and fired. as far as the safety is concerned, those on my Rugers are patterned after the Model 70. if you have been shooting Model 70s and don't object to the safety, then the Model 77 is right up your alley. personally, i like the Model 77. i would not hesitate to buy another one.

To me the m77's just seem to keep getting better. I have a stainless, synthetic in .30-06. I had no need for it but wanted to buy it before they discontinued the m77's with iron sights. I think all rifles should have them. I couldn't be happier with it.

the ruger mkII is on of the cleverest actions out there. The safety blocks the TRIGGER and then locks in the bolt...

the mkII is a CRF AND can be top loaded like a push feed... the tang is a push feed with large extracor

the bolt cams in/out

frankly, though it may offend purists, it's a double squarebridge action.

ruger is THE BEST in the industry at casting.


complaints

stocks would be nice if the wood actually met the metal, but this is the same case in the tang safety. I'll be making a pattern than fits up properly, especially along the loading port.

jeffe

I have 11 Ruger MarkII's, and have NO complaints. I took a .300 Win.Mag. to Africa, and it performed accurately and flawlessly. I purchased a new .280 Rem. three months ago in stainless/synthetic for West Virginia whitetail season, and, out of the box it shot 5/8" groups at 100 yds. I'm satisfied .......

Sorry, but I disagree that the safety is the same as the M70 safety. It's a small thing, but with the M70, all I have to do is "push;" with the M77 MkII, I have to shift my right hand way around, flick it sideways a bit, then "push."

The clumsy-feeling safety is the main reason I sold an incredibly accurate M77 MkII 6.5x55. It doesn't happen often (once is enough), but I've missed shots at deer while fumbling with clumsy safeties. I'll just keep my tang-safety M77 .270, and my M70 6.5 Swede, thanks.

Jaywalker

I like the MK2s. I only have 1 and I had to work on it a lot to get it to shoot well. its an RL model light as a feather and a 20 inch barrel, in .257 Roberts, It shoots right around MOA with a 100 grain barnes tripple shock and gives 3100 FPS and that is all the deer rifle anyone could ask for. I think the triggers are not to good ,and if you get a hard kicker you might want a better recoil pad...tj3006

Thanks men, I appreciate the responses thus far. I posted my questions here as opposed to other sites as I figured most of the folks here were accuracy nuts. That being said:

1. Do you think and standard (walnut/blued) would be just as accurate as a SS M77? I realize all guns are a little different, and some like this over that, but in general, would there be any difference?

2. If all my shooting is at or under 300yards (and most around 200) would I be just as well off with a 22" barrel (30-06), or would the 24" which Win and Rem offers be a better choice?

Thanks again.

I've had a M77 MKII RSI for several years. No problems with the safety set up, for me it works just like my M70.

For the ranges you're anticipating, the 22" should work fine.

quote:

Originally posted by jeffeosso:


the mkII is a CRF AND can be top loaded like a push feed... jeffe

My .243 can and my cousins .223 and 22-250 can not.

Based on the four latest aquisitions all showed reasonably good performance.There does exist a substantial price differential which is a consideration to me. Rated as a hunting rifle they would be:

#1 Savage

#2 Stevens mod 200

#3 CZ

#4 Ruger

They are however, all close except for the Savage and Stevens Tang located safeties.

Old age is a high price to pay for maturity!!! Some never pay and some pay and never reap the reward. Wisdom comes with age! Sometimes age comes alone..

22" is all you need. Note that's the length on the m70 featherweight as well. In fact, I've got my eye on a M77 RSI with the 18" barrel.

I have just purchased a Ruger MK11 stainless laminate .338 winnie had it bedded, floated and trigger done to around 3 pounds, after load work I have found a load thet will put three shots just under 1 moa at 100 yards.

woodleigh 225 gr protected point, 68 gr of AR2209 (IMR4350 equiv) win case, fed 215m cap and OAL of 3.385".

The Ruger actions are very good and if you get a good shooter you have a rifle as good as any other factory gun, this is my third Rger the first couple I traded off as they did not shoot that great but this is a keeper.

I have a 22-250 stainless Mk II, a 25-06 Stainless Mk II, a 7mm-08 compact stainless, and a .204 Ultralight Mk II and they all are CRF and I just tried them all.... they all load from the top. Drop one in and close the bolt.

quote:

Originally posted by bartsche:

quote:

Originally posted by jeffeosso:


the mkII is a CRF AND can be top loaded like a push feed... jeffe

My .243 can and my cousins .223 and 22-250 can not.

I have a MKI in 30-06.

I have 3 MKIIs in 30-06 338 and 416taylor.

I like the MKIIs safety better than the old tang safety myself.

The 06 and 416 are stainless the 338 is blu but with a ruger paddle stock.

Personaly I think ruger makes some of the best rifles for the money.

quote:

Originally posted by jkelly295:
I have a 22-250 stainless Mk II, a 25-06 Stainless Mk II, a 7mm-08 compact stainless, and a .204 Ultralight Mk II and they all are CRF and I just tried them all.... they all load from the top. Drop one in and close the bolt.

My .243 can and my cousins .223 and 22-250 can not.

[/QUOTE]

Well that's 3 out of 5 (60%) that's not bad I guess. roger

add Invaders RSm in 458 and mine in 416... both are top feeds.. top, snicner-snack, in and out..

5 of 7

jeffe

I have a blue and wood standard MkII Ruger in 30/06 w/ 22" barrel and have shot two deer at +- 550 yds. They were both 1 shot kills with one through the boiler room and just to do it I put the other through the neck. I have other rifles that I really like but this is my go-to gun. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another Ruger M77.

I noticed last night that my Ruger is 'silent' moving the safety while my M70 is CLICK CLICK.......

anyway, the Winchester has a stainless steel floorplate on my 6.5x55 BUT the trigger guard must be aluminum.

The RUGER 350 has a SS trigger guard but damned if it has an aluminum floorplate!!!!!

I could have SWORN I read they were steel on the Rugers and the ones I seen and handled in the past looked like steel on the Stainless guns.

Did I get jipped? I think I am contacting Ruger for a stainless floorplate replacement.

quote:

Originally posted by jeffeosso:
he mkII is a CRF AND can be top loaded like a push feed... the tang is a push feed with large extracor

The Saga widens. I loaded 5 different bullets tonight for the Ruger .243, None of the 5 lods would top feed.I wasn't dreaming when I said it was one of three that did. It doesn't now. The tips slide into the barrel just below the bottom of the chamber no matter weither you feed it slow or fast. Now if you have any cohorts in this area that want to come over and verify what's ging on with these three new Rugers let me know when and I'll be glad to let them try their luck. A 6 pack of MGD. will gaurantee admittance. roger

quote:

Originally posted by 6.5BR:
I noticed last night that my Ruger is 'silent' moving the safety while my M70 is CLICK CLICK.......

anyway, the Winchester has a stainless steel floorplate on my 6.5x55 BUT the trigger guard must be aluminum.

The RUGER 350 has a SS trigger guard but damned if it has an aluminum floorplate!!!!!

I could have SWORN I read they were steel on the Rugers and the ones I seen and handled in the past looked like steel on the Stainless guns.

Did I get jipped? I think I am contacting Ruger for a stainless floorplate replacement.

My third Ruger is a laminate stainless .338 my previous two where canoe paddle ss's they had a aluminium floorplate but my .338 has stell floor plate and trigger guard ?? Is this just a case that the assembly bloke had ran out of pot metal ones and his basket was close by with a stel one it was the end of the day and he thought what the heck I will place a steel one on htis gun...............or do the laminate models get steel ??

At any rate the Ruger aluminium floor pates are quite good they feel twice the quality of a rem 700 floor plate, they mange to make pot metal feel like plastic

quote:

The RUGER 350 has a SS trigger guard but damned if it has an aluminum floorplate!!!!!

I could have SWORN I read they were steel on the Rugers and the ones I seen and handled in the past looked like steel on the Stainless guns.

My .350 RM has a steel floorplate. Others I've seen are steel as well. However, it would'nt surprise me one bit if a few escaped the factory w/ alum bottom metal.

I don't have a whole lot of time with the Ruger 77 Mark II's, but that I've had has been very positive.

Example #1 is a 77R in 6.5 x 55, which I should be getting back from a friend shortly. It is an honest 1" @ 100 yards rifle, running between 3/4" and 1" with any of the three 140 grainers I tried in it--Sierra, Speer, and Nosler.

Example #2 was a HUGE surprise--a 77RL in 223. This is the 16.5" whip-barrelled compact, and I got it for my wife to zap rats with. A couple summers ago, I took it to the range with my sharp-eyed nephew, and it shot dozens of 1"-class groups at 200 meters.....7/8" to 1-1/4" at 1/8 mile, in other words. Load was 25.0 x WW-748, giving about 2875 FPS to the Nosler 55 grain BalTips stuffed in their necks.

Oh, yeah--I'll get another Ruger 77 Mk II, all right.

I think the Rugers make a heck of a hunting rifle. My 7x57 is the go to rifle for me if I can get it out of the safe before my son takes off with it. I could just own it and my Whitworth .375 and don't think I'd need anything else to hunt with. Notice I said NEED.

Well, I wouldn't buy a "brand new" anything these days. Look for a used tang safety m77 ifnyou've got a thing for another Ruger. The Ruger "CRF" are a almost as easy to short stroke as their earlier PF models. Moreover, the Ruger service people don't seem to understand how to fix this problem... I guess they didn't get the memo about the most important advantage of a properly function CRF...

A new CZ might be another good choice if you want brand new...

quote:

Originally posted by buckeyeshooter:
get another tang model. The new 700's don't have the quality metals in them they used to.

COuld you please post specifics?

Do you have the inspection records pertaining to the barrel blanks Ruger currently buys?

Do you have any evidence of the barrel blanks purchased by Ruger not meeting either Ruger's or the mill's quality standards?

Do you have a copy of Ruger's barrel steel specs from today and from whenever it is you claim quality was higher?

That's some serious claim you make, and I would expect someone making it would not do so cavalierly and without proof.

I bought a stainless Ruger .338WM over ten years ago, and topped it with a Leupold Vary-X III 2.5-8x. I replaced the boat paddle stock with a Hogue Rubber-Overmolded, and replaced the trigger. However, there is no need to replace the trigger, because a good gun smith can modify it following the instructions posted all over the Internet.

The stainless Ruger with synthetic stock is the most popular in Alaska where it often rains or snows during the moose season in September. After killing over seven moose with my Ruger, most with one shot each, it has become my favorite rifle (and cartridge). It's the only big game rifle I have and use in Alaska.

quote:

Originally posted by 9.3x62:
Well, I wouldn't buy a "brand new" anything these days. Look for a used tang safety m77 ifnyou've got a thing for another Ruger. The Ruger "CRF" are a almost as easy to short stroke as their earlier PF models. Moreover, the Ruger service people don't seem to understand how to fix this problem... I guess they didn't get the memo about the most important advantage of a properly function CRF...

A new CZ might be another good choice if you want brand new...

My CRF Ruger must be "different," because it's not possible to short-stroke it. I have tried many times without success. However, when I replace the CRF bolt with the PF bolt, I can get it to short-stroke each time. I have two bolts for this rifle, because when I bought it, it was a PF rifle. I sent it to Ruger, and they modified it and installed a CRF bolt. They sent the rifle to me, along the two bolts.

Thanks for the info. As with all guns, I noticed some like rugers and some don't. I do appreciate your comments.

quote:

Originally posted by Ray:
My CRF Ruger must be "different," because it's not possible to short-stroke it. I have tried many times without success. However, when I replace the CRF bolt with the PF bolt, I can get it to short-stroke each time. I have two bolts for this rifle, because when I bought it, it was a PF rifle. I sent it to Ruger, and they modified it and installed a CRF bolt. They sent the rifle to me, along the two bolts.

Well, you must have one of the properly functioning CRF Rugers. Three of the last four CRF Rugers I've owned were fairly easy to short stroke. The mag-to-extractor exchange left the round UNcontrolled by either the mag or extractor for roughly 1-1.5" of the feed stroke. Plenty of room for a short stroke...

Two of these rifles I traded off, but the last, a NIB 7x64 Brenneke (from a brief 1999 run) I wanted to get fixed. So I sent it to Ruger, they returned it unfixed two months later. I returned it again, two months later it arrived back again unfixed, but this time with a few nice dings in the formerly NEW bottom metal and stock. I called them up, they said they would get back to me, but they never did. GREAT service. I'm not convinced, after talking with the tech, that he even understood how a PROPERLY functioning CRF is supposed to work.

I'll stick with a Mauser or pre-64 70 for my CRF needs...

I have had a number of original 77's and a couple of the new ones. My opinions can be summed up by my .338 experience:

I had an old tang safety .338. I sold it when the stainless MKII rifles came out. I just had to have one. I ended up regretting it. Even after attention from a good gunsmith, the action smoothness and trigger never could equal the old one. Accuracy never matched the old 77. Got rid of the SS MKII. Boy do I regret selling that tang safety 77!

...and that original synthetic stock was the ugliest thing ever put on a rifle. According to a Ruger insider I talked to, old Bill himself designed it and was reluctant to let them dump that ugly piece of plastic.

I have a MKII all weather, in 300 win mag, and until the first scope went out, it always pulled 1" groups. Now with its new Leupold scope and timney trigger, I find it is my go to rifle for everything, even though I have many others in the safe... just dont tell my wife!!!!