I keep looking at these guns in differant configurations, but I just can't bring myself to take the plunge. I think they are great looking, but don't like the safety. Also the triggers seem to creep on most of them.

How do you guys like them. Are they accurate? Can you adjust the triggers? Do you get used to that 3 position safety?

quote:

How do you guys like them.

No, I think they are ugly and clunky.

quote:

Are they accurate?

The evidence is quite mixed on this.

quote:

Can you adjust the triggers?

No.

quote:

Do you get used to that 3 position safety?

Yes.

I have ten of them and had a few more I think there about the best value you can get in a rifle. Are they accurate? I haven’t had one I couldn’t get to shoot well yet. Are the triggers adjustable? If you have any mechanical skill at all you can fix the trigger in about 30 minutes.

That said I also own Remington’s Winchester’s Sako’s Weatherby’s And had a few Browning’s in the past.

I have had a couple and found them to be accurate. I have to say that I like rugers but have not fired a markII. I have been buying winchesters lately but am looking for a medium bore with open sights (not a remington) and find that might mean another ruger.

I think they are one of the best buys in a rifle on the marget now.

Any factory rifle needs trigger work I have put after marget triggers in all mine.

they are a very tough and useful rifle.

Any competent 'smith can take the factory trigger down to about 3# for you. Mine cost me $35 bucks if memory serves and it breaks cleanly at 3.25# now. Best money I've ever spent on a gun mod. FWIW, The factory trigger pull was just over 8#. Also FWIW, it'll cost you more than $35 to drop in an aftermarket trigger. Just food for thought.

I happen to like the three position safety, though opinions vary.

They are good rifles once you get past the trigger. Either replace it or have a gunsmith tune it.

A tough rifle with lots of ingenious features...........best mounting systym in the business, much better than the M70 style etc.

I am on my third Ruger.................a .338 win mag stainless laminate and I am happy with THIS one. The triggers clean up fine to.

quote:

Originally posted by Jason Doss:
I keep looking at these guns in differant configurations, but I just can't bring myself to take the plunge. I think they are great looking, but don't like the safety. Also the triggers seem to creep on most of them.

How do you guys like them. Are they accurate? Can you adjust the triggers? Do you get used to that 3 position safety?

The ONLY Ruger M 77 I've owned was a 7X57mm in the old type with a tang safety and adjustable trigger. It was very accurate, but would misfeed about half the time if you operated the bolt slowly.

I ordered a new magazine floorplate, but the jerks sent me one for the short action. It didn't fit.

Then my son "borrowed" the rifle. That was in 1976, and he still has it! I have lost count of the number of deer it has taken......

Here's how it shot:
(Those black squares are 1" GI target pasters I use for aiming points.)

quote:

Originally posted by Jason Doss:
I keep looking at these guns in differant configurations, but I just can't bring myself to take the plunge. I think they are great looking, but don't like the safety. Also the triggers seem to creep on most of them.

How do you guys like them. Are they accurate? Can you adjust the triggers? Do you get used to that 3 position safety?

Te stainless Ruger with synthetic stock is a "work" rifle or meat getter in Alaska. Mine's accurate enough (more than I am), and I have taken it through hell and back (snow, mud, dropping it on soft ground, denting the scope), all this while riding my ATV. So far this rifle/scope combo has not failed me once, and I have killed over 7 moose, most with one shot each from 100 yards to 300.

The trigger is lousy, but I replaced it. However, that was before I knew that a good gun smith can work the trigger with the instructions and drawings posted all over the Internet. I also replaced the stock with a Hogue Rubber-Overmolded, which may not be very pretty, but very tough and quiet.

The safety? I love the 3-position safety, because I can load/unload the rifle with it in the middle position (rifle pointed in a safe direction, of course). I can also cycle my handloads through the chamber in the same fashion.

Lastly, I can take the bolt apart without tools, but it's much easier to do this by inserting a small nail of brad on the hole behind the cocking piece, and turning it counterclockwise (remove the bolt from the rifle first).

Only paid $399.00 for my .338 MK-II over ten years ago, and have become attached to it. I trust it to work for me every time I use it.

I owned a 77 in 7x57. The caliber was great but I hated the safety and the trigger was horrible. I sold it to my dad.

Nice Son, selling your Dad a rifle that bad.

I have a MkII all weather in 300winmag, and it is my go to gun for everytrhing, this rifle is accurate, of course it does have timney trigger... And is always ready when I pull the trigger.... I was used to tanf safeties, or a hammer, but I got used to the safety and actually prefer it now.,..

quote:

I owned a 77 in 7x57. The caliber was great but I hated the safety and the trigger was horrible. I sold it to my dad.

Another bit of proof that Father Knows Best.

If it was a Mark II, I agree the safety is terrible. If it was a tang safety you may want to get it back from him while you can.
Frank

I love my old tang-safty 7x57 its got a 4x leupold shoots several bullet weights under1 1/2-whats not to like.

My Dad has 3 and I have 2 . . . Dad has 2 M77 (tang safety) and 1 MKII . . . the older ones are .250 Savage and 7x57 (both wearing aftermarket synthetic stocks). He shoots them pretty well. His MKII is a 30-06 and he struggles with the 8 pound trigger.

Mine are a tang-safety 7x57 - the trigger is a bit heavier than I prefer. I had the only accidental fire I've ever had with this gun - I fell and the safety had gotten knocked into the "fire" position and it went "bang" when I hit the rocks. My MKII is an all-weather stainless/sythetic model in 300WSM. I replaced the trigger with a timney, and replaced the synthetic stock with a JRS classic from Boyds and put a deccelerator pad on it. It now shoots very accurately and comfortably. I had problems with it before I changed the stock - I had accuracy problems, and the factory recoil pad was hard as a rock.

Troy

My M-77 Mk II Limited Edition in 35 Whelen shot MOA with 250-gr. Partition handloads. Load development was easy. I got those groups with a 4x Leupold; a better benchrester than me might have done better. It missed fire at first, but an extra-strength Wolff spring cured that. My smith tuned the trigger after adding that spring, bringing it to a very crisp 2.5 lbs. Timney also makes a unit for it.

The safety is a copy of the M-70 -- enough said.

I'm focused on two semi-custom M-70's now (a 308 and a 35 Whelen) but if Ruger ever makes a stainless M-77 Mk II in 9.3x62 I'll buy one in a heartbeat. Add a Leupold 4x scope and you're done buying hunting rifles, possibly for life.

Are they clunky - yeah, kinda like a Glock. Actually, that's a good way to put it: the M-77 is the Glock of big-game rifles.


Okie John

okie john, Would you tell me about your whelen, did your rifle come from the factory or did you have it built. I have been thinking of building one for myself on either a M77 or M70 action if i could find a good action. Thanks Karry

quote:

The safety is a copy of the M-70 -- enough said.

Not really. They both have three positions, but that is about where the similarities end. The model 70 is a superior design...

quote:

Originally posted by 9.3x62:

quote:

The safety is a copy of the M-70 -- enough said.

Not really. They both have three positions, but that is about where the similarities end. The model 70 is a superior design...

Could you explain what the differences are? Thanks!

quote:

Could you explain what the differences are? Thanks!

Well first you'll not that the 77 safety is not part of the bolt shroud as is the model 70 safety.

The most important difference is that the 77 safety does not lock the firing pin while in the mid-safe position; the model 70 safety does. Thus, as far as "safety on while reloading" the 77 safety is really no better than the post '82 700 safety. The ability to unload (de-chamber a round) with a safety-controlled firing pin is one of the central merits of the model 70 style safety. The 77 safety does not have this essential feature.

Also, the 77 safety lever is smaller and more "tucked away" than the 70 safety and is thus less handy to operate than the 70 safety, especially with gloved hands.

Also note that all (that I know of) reputed aftermarket 3-position safeties are model 70 style. Also, many of the better custom and semi-custom rifle makers, all use a bolt shroud mounted 3-position like the 70, NOT like the 77. Dakota, Kimber, etc..

I have both mark I and mark II Ruger 77s.I love the tang safety on the old rifles best.I just wish they had made stainless tang safety rifles with fiberglass stocks.I have a 243,a bunch of 338 win mags and two 264s.They are all accurate but the 338 stainless 77s and my 264 stainless rifles will both shoot under an inch with the right load at 200 yards.I love the tang safety for deer hunting and usually dont fool with the new model when I deer hunt.I use the tough as nails stainless rifles in Alaska when its raining,snowing or bad weather.I do have a wonderful cromed old model 77 338 with a fiberglass stock.I have not used it in Alaska yet.I am still looking for a good old model 77 in 458.The Ruger 77 Rifles are awesome for the money you can hardly beat them.

What kind of rings did you guys use on your M77s?

quote:

Originally posted by GA DEER HUNTER:
What kind of rings did you guys use on your M77s?

Just the standard Ruger rings there pretty good and return to zero

quote:

Originally posted by Jason Doss:

How do you guys like them??

I like mine just fine.

quote:

Are they accurate?

50/50 on this one. Mine has a Hart bbl., so it is a tack driver. With the factory bbl. it was decent with well tuned handloads.

quote:

Can you adjust the triggers? Do you get used to that 3 position safety?

I LOVE the safety. I think it is the best kind out there. My trigger has been reduced to a 3# pull and is very crisp with NO creep. However, you can simply get a Rifle Basix trigger for it set to any pull you wish.

quote:

Originally posted by KLM300:
okie john, Would you tell me about your whelen, did your rifle come from the factory or did you have it built. I have been thinking of building one for myself on either a M77 or M70 action if i could find a good action. Thanks Karry

Mine was a Limited Edition that Davidson's had a few years back. It was the only factory CRF 35 Whelen I could find aside from a Dakota or custom-shop M-70. It had iron sights and was in the old-style synthetic stock. Nice enough rifle overall, and it cost less than $500. If you're interested in a M-70 35 Whelen, drop me a PM. I may have something for you.


Okie John

I also don't mind the Ruger, particularly the S/S models. Had a Ruger VT in .223 that refused to shoot until fed match projectiles, then it became a tack driver. Current Ruger is a 350RemMag S/S... very nice working rifle, very affordable and tough. Currently crossing my fingers for a Ruger S/S in 9.3x62, I'd order the moment one is confirmed for production. With the No1 in 9.3x74R, hopefully Ruger will put an M77 out soon after. It can only be a matter of time before a US manufacturer steps up for a bolt 9.3x62 surely!
Cheers...
Con

okie, thanks for the reply i sent you a PM.

Took the plunge today. Went to the gun show looking for a sporter .308 or 7X57, but there was none to be found. I wound up getting a tang saftied 7mmRemMag with a KDF(or similar) muzzle break installed. I swore I got over magnumitis a long time ago, but it seemed like a safe purchase. If I don't like it, I should be able to get my money back out of it.

I remember having a 7Mag back in the early 90's and thinking the KDF was the way to go, but I couldn't afford one at the time. And let's face it, the 7Mag is more than enough for hunting on this continent(at least the lower 2/3).

Con, you're thinking like me, Ruger now has 9.3 barrel blanks, tons of .30-06 length actions, how much would it cost to make a 9.3x62. I'm thinking exactly $0! Sure beats hell out of a Frontier scout type rifle. While they're at it make it in a re-run of the old expres with barrel band swivel and front sight, hell make it in .338-06 too.