Found a 48 WM Ruger on Guns America for $925.00, not the one with 1/4 rib. Gun is said to be 98%, is this a decent buy?
thanks

Is this rifle the first version of the M77?

Those rifles were push feed, but the RSC version had steel bottom metal and Circassian walnut stock. I like their shotgun style safety.

jim

That's interesting, never knew they ever had a 458 WinMag with a quarter-rib. Hell, just the quarter-rib is just about $250 in parts and gunsmithing alone.

It has a push safety behind the bolt, like a DR safety

I still have an old Ruger 458 WinMag with the tang safety which will be slated for a 458 AR conversion in the near future. Since it was a $450 gun and I've got other guns, it's going to be project.

Hello,
The rifle you describe is one of their early push feed versions even though it had a long claw extractor. (button/spring ejector, not blade as in Mauser, etc.) Not a thing wrong with the rifle, a bit on the heavy side barrel wise, and yes no quarter rib. The quarter rib on the Ruger Safari Magnum rifles is not a separate part but is milled as part of the barrel. Very expensive to do I might add.
New 458 Win Mag/ 458 Lott Ruger RSM will more than likely bring something in the mid to high teens in price these days since retail is now at $2200 so the price you quoted seems a bit high to me, but compared to others out there on the market, might well be in line. Ruger is one tough gun and frankly prefer them over some other offerings on the market today. Ruger warranty/service has always been second to none for me over the years. Good Luck.

Speaking of these, I have seen the early model .458's such as that described here, with the claw extractor, push feed, non-ribbed rear sight, barrel band in the stock. I have seen the late model RSM's, claw extractor, CRF, ribbed rear sight, barrel band in front of the stock. The model I have a question about is the one Buzz Charlton has (in .416 Rigby), i.e., claw extractor, CRF, ribbed rear sight, barrel band in the stock. So it is sort of a hybrid of the two, with the barrel band being similar to the earlier model and the rest being similar to the RSM. Is this just an early model RSM? Did the RSM change to move the barrel band forward of the stock later?

The first generation, early production (I can't give exact years) Ruger Magnums had the barrel band and sling stud within the stock. Like this:



I have one of these in .416 Rigby.



Later, the barrel band was moved forward for a more traditional appearance.



I have one of these in .375 H&H.

-Bob F.

Here are pictures of my (actually, soon to no longer be mine as it is sold pending funds) Ruger 77 in 458 Win Mag.

FWIW, I just picked up a M77 just like the one pictured, sans the shotgun pad for $400. $925 seems a bit high...

hangunnr

quote:

Originally posted by hangunnr:
FWIW, I just picked up a M77 just like the one pictured, sans the shotgun pad for $400. $925 seems a bit high...

hangunnr

I would look at it from the other perspective . . . $400 is a helluva deal. Someone did not have a good idea what they were selling.

quote:

Originally posted by BFaucett:
The first generation, early production (I can't give exact years) Ruger Magnums had the barrel band and sling stud within the stock. Like this:



I have one of these in .416 Rigby.



Later, the barrel band was moved forward for a more traditional appearance.



I have one of these in .375 H&H.

-Bob F.

Bob,

Is that your .375 pictured on the Lone Star Armory site?

I wonder why tang safeties on bolt guns have not been more popular.

In the ruger and a-bolt I have had, I have found them far more practical to use than the M70 3pos, or Rem type side safeties.

They are just as safe as anything else, I can only imagine they must cost more for the manufacturers to install.


.

quote:

Originally posted by Wes Pryor:
I wonder why tang safeties on bolt guns have not been more popular.

They are just as safe as anything else, I can only imagine they must cost more for the manufacturers to install.

Tang safties only block the trigger, not the firing pin. I like the natural ease of using a tang safety, but there's a good reason for not using them.

,,,other than all ruger tang safey rifles are push feeds...

no, SERIOUSLY

quote:

Originally posted by ForrestB:
Tang safties only block the trigger, not the firing pin. I like the natural ease of using a tang safety, but there's a good reason for not using them.

I personally don't really buy into this. Double rifles, SxS & O/U shotguns, and many single shot weapons all use tang safeties. Seems safe enough for them.

I'm no gunsmith, so I'm willing to be educated if there is something inherently unsafe about bolt rifle design that requires a blocked firing pin.

On the other hand, many rifles: Rem, CZ, Sako, etc. All use little side safeties that also don't block the firing pin - and these type of safeties seem to be in far more widespread use than the 3pos type.

(And I don't hear hoards of people saying how unsafe they are.)

Now older rugers & A-bolts not being CRF... well, for the DG hunter this is definately a solid strike against them. But I've seen custom tang safeties on 98's and CZ rifles, so it can be done.

And really why not? They're easier to use, and if they're good enough for big bore doubles, I fail to see a problem.


.

The price on these older ones is definatly going up. We had one at a spring gun show here going for $1400. Don't know if it sold but you get the idea. They may be push feed but they have a great extracter, at least you know its comeing out.

quote:

Originally posted by MJines:

Bob,

Is that your .375 pictured on the Lone Star Armory site?

No, that is Todd's personal rifle on the site. His has better wood than mine, dang it!!
(The Ruger .30-06 and the Ruger .338 on the site are mine.)

Cheers!

-Bob F.