Hi I am looking at buying a Ruger KM77VT in 243win for Springbuck shooting, could anyone give me some info as to what the rifle is like etc.
I was interested in the Remington VLS but I have heard that quality has gone down.

South African;
I have one in 25-06 and i really like it. It's a shooter, one in .243 should be a good choice.

I have one in 22-250 that is tremendously accurate. Fit, finish and function are more than adequate especially for a rifle in this price range. You will love it!

If I am not mistaken, that is the model of Ruger with the nice laminated stock and the pleasing gray finish, right?

I hate to admit it, but I had one chambered for 22-250 that just was not acceptable in the accuracy department.

That is a great stock on those guns, though a little thick and oversize for any use other than varmint hunting. The gray finish on the metal is quite nice and should not reflect light.

At any rate, mine just would not shoot. I have talked to lots of shooters who swear theirs shoot fine, but mine just would not cut it.

Right out of the box, mine would shoot about 3 inch groups! I discovered that the action screws must have been tightened by a gorilla. After loosening the screws and tightening them to a reasonable poundage, the gun improved. Heck, it was a 2 inch gun then.

As I wanted this for a prairie dog gun, this kind of groups were just not going to get it. I tried more bullet and powder combinations than you would believe, doing all the usual tricks to "prep" the brass, etc. I just could not ever get that gun to shoot much better than 1.5 inches.
I took it prairie dog shooting and did alright with it, but I was just never satisfied.

I sold it and bought a Remington 700 VS and had it shooting under an inch the first time to the range.

Also, while the trigger pull on that Ruger was reasonable, the two stage pull takes some getting used to.

R F

I've got a two year old VT is .223. It's had a little trigger work, but nothing else. It shoots everything to less than an inch, and the loads I normally use to less than .5. My only complaint is that it's a pretty heavy lump of iron.

Hi South African:

Go for the 77 V/T, you'll love it. I read more negative stuff on this forum about Rugers and Savages, but I have some of both and like them very much. As for 77 V/Ts, they are the cream of Rugers. I presently have a .223 and earlier had a .22/250, both capable of 1/2 MOA with a bunch of different loads.

The trigger on the V/T is fully adjustable and the double-stage pull can be adjusted in or out, as you prefer. I have mine set at 1.5 lbs. and like the two-stage (which means the trigger pulls back a bit and then a further pull fires) because I'm ham-fisted and it lets me get my finger in position, the gun set on the bags, etc. without prematurely pulling the trigger. Without it, I would keep the trigger set 2.5 lbs.

The 77 V/T is heavier than a true sporter, but that's what makes it a V/T! I carry mine afield with a wide cotton sling and have no problem.

A friend had a brandy-new V/T in .243 at the range last weekend and the 100-gr. Remington factory loads (all he could find in a hurry) were grouping into an inch with many nice little 3-shot cloverleafs. He was extremely pleased with it.

Good luck.

[ 04-22-2003, 04:38: Message edited by: reedg ]

I bought mine in .243 and took it to the first Law Enforcement Designated Marksman (Sniper) school I ever attended. I shot some 100yd five shot groups that were smaller than the .308 shooters single bullet holes .

Decided I had to have a "real" long range cartridge and had it rebarrelled to 7MM-08 by Douglas Barrels. It still shoots like nothing I've ever shot before and luvs the Sierra 168gr 7mm SMK bullets.

Neat thing about the Ruger is that with the Mauser style ejector you can ease casings out into the palm of your support hand or fling them across the range depending how you work the bolt. With the Remington it springs out too fast unless there's a brass fragment jamming the ejector plunger then you gotta pick the brass out of the action (cursing lessons optional). I was amazed at the times 20% of the class were fussing at their Remingtons. For some reason I didn't see as much of this in the school I attended last year and it was pretty much all Remington rifles.

YMMV

Rick

Well I went ahead and bought it, so thanks for the inputs everyone.

Let us know how it works for you.