Just wondering if anyone has a Ruger in this grand old caliber as I am considering purchasing one. I am just a little concerned as I owned a 6.5x55 in a Ruger a couple of years ago and could not get it to shoot well. Of course that could be a one off but here in Aus only the Ruger is currently available in the 7x57 at this time I believe. Unfortunately the CZ would be a special import and would probably take 6 months to get here.

I have an early 77 in 7 X 57 it shoot very well only with 175gn bullets, a few years ago I had a .280 reamer run into it, now it's 1 of my favorite & best shooting rifles, best thing to do with a 7 X 57 Ruger in my opinion.

They are an excellent rifle. I had a tang safety model for almost 30 yrs. It worked very well. A little harder to find really accurate loads for - I had only one that shot 1 MOA consistantly, but my hunting ammo with Nosler Partitions did 1.5 MOA, which worked really well. I wouldn't be shy to buy one. Their only fault is their triggers. They are tough to rework. Easily maintained, unlike many others, but tough to hone. Timiney makes an after market trigger for them. E

My dad has an older model Ruger M77 in 7x57 which shoots excelent with the norma 150gr ammunition, as well as my 150gr swift scirocco handloads. He has killed many Bull elk, as well as a handfull of sheep with this setup. I Started out with a Ruger M77 Mark II in 7x57, which I consider to be inferior to the previous model, because of its "clunky" three position safety. I really like the tang safety on the old model. The mark II shoots well though. I have shot 100gr-175gr with good accuracy. Whatever gun you choose, go with the 7x57.

[ 01-30-2003, 20:16: Message edited by: Thomas ]

I had an older (round receiver) type that I bought in 1972. It was one of the most accurate out-of-the-box rifles I ever saw or shot!! My son used it once, in 1976, and I haven't been able to get it back since then!!

[ 01-30-2003, 20:51: Message edited by: eldeguello ]

Yes I had a 77 MKII. I don't really don't know why I got rid of it. Fecal matter for brains. It was not a tack driver but shoot consistent two inches at 100 yards. It shot all weight but 120 and 115 and 100 grains bullets. It really liked RP 150 PSP and H4831SC 50 grains launched them at ~2900 fps. That right folks that is close to what one would get from a 22in 280!!!!!!!!!!

I'm surprised that the 6.5 x 55 didn't shoot well for you? I have a Ruger MK II in that chambering. While it didn't set the world on fire out of the box, once I got it bedded and a proper trigger, it shot very well. It just loved the old federal 140 gr Nosler Partition loadings. I sort of like the M-77's, they have such nice lines and well they fit me well.

Sorry Colonel, My converted 7X57 to 280 far outpowers the 57, I shoot 150s at 3100 for moose. Thats about as close as a 308 is to an 06.

[ 01-31-2003, 19:29: Message edited by: sxr6 ]

I had a stainless MKII in .270 semi-customed into a 7x57 with McMillin stock and Lilja barrel and with all the custom work it shoots great.

Many thanks guys,

I am still waiting to see if either of the second of two Ruger importers here have one - the first one does not. He asked me what the hell I wanted a calibre like that for as "it does nothing the 308 won`t do and the brass is twice the price". Guess he is right but I just want one!

If I can come by one I`ll give it a go.

Dingo, both my Ruger No.1 and the M77 I had in 7X57mm would shoot a 175-grain Nosler or Remington Corelockt at velocities OVER 2700 FPS. I believe a .308 won't do that!!

Dingo: I have owned two in 7x57mm. The first was a round-top (before I really got into reloading) and the second was a Mark II. One of my ex-wives sold the roundtop while I was still married. She complained that I spentmore time shootingthan I did with her. I put 5,000 rounds through the Mark II in my handloading venture. I glassbedded it, refinished the stock, put a steel floorplate on it and topped it with a Burris scope. I had no problem with mine, other than the fact that the throat was so darn long on it. No matter what bullet was used, from 120 grains to 175 grains, there was no way to get the thing .01 inch off the lands and still have enough bullet shank left to slip into the case neck and hold the bullet. I was able to find a sweet-spot that would allow one-inch groups at 100 yards with the 139 grain Hornady and the 154 grain Hornady with H414 powder. I eventually sold the rifle and bought a CZ550 American in 7x57mm Mauser. I refinished the stock with Lindspeed Oil, freefloated the barrel, jewelled the bolt with the small herringbone pattern and polished the bolthandle and topped the rifle with a Leupold in 4x12 configuration with Talley Rings. Itis one drop-dead beautiful rifle and with some judicious handloading with Hornady 162 grain SSTs and H414 powder, I am getting sub-.5 MOA. The CZ too, has an exceedingly long throat, but the SSTs will reach the lands and still allow about .25 inch of the bullet shank to be seated in the case neck. I shot a group the other day using 48.9 grains of powder that measured .206 center-to-center. The weather was turningso darncold that I came back in. I must stop and see whatthe hell is wrong with my keyboard. The darn thing is sticking. Anyway, the Ruger, if you cannot get a CZ, is a good choice.

[ 02-01-2003, 21:35: Message edited by: thomas purdom ]

The older model Rugers used to be a little inconsistent as far as accuracy goes. A gunsmith friend of mine says they had someone else making their barrels-said he knew who it was and had talked to them. The company was a respected barrelmaker, but when Ruger started really selling, they weren't used to wearing out machinery, and weren't checking things often enough. I wish I could remember when, but they started making their own barrels several years and hired a good man away from a major barrelmaking co. to oversee it. The word was that accuracy problems are over. I also have a Ruger 7x57 with the long throat. Maybe mine's not quite as long as some, I can seat against the lands, and I'd rather have a long throat than have to seat the long 7mm bullets back into the case. My 77 MKII will shoot 5 shots into .700 (I think the load I use averaged .667) and several others shoot 1" or so. If there's a better game killer with this level of recoil I've never shot it, and I've shot damn near all of them. I've got a rifles in every corner of the house and the 7x57(along with a .375) is going to Africa with me in May. Actually, most talk about calibers is a waste of time. If a person can really shoot well, almost any good caliber will work.

I have found that bedding the action and applying a pad of glass in the forend for forend pressure will dramatically hep a Ruger with respect to accuracy.

[ 02-03-2003, 17:38: Message edited by: Mike Dettorre ]