I'm shopping around for my next 'heavy'/long range varmint gun. Kind of leaning towards a .243 Win or 6mm Rem. Local gun shop has a Ruger 77MkIIVT in .243 in stock, that looks interesting. Not quite as heavy as I might like for long range bench-type varmint pounding, but it does look more appealing to lug around than some other options.

How do these guns shoot, on average? I've heard great things about Savage, and believe they'd be hard to beat, but I've always been intrigued by the Rugers as well. I've kind of gotten the impression over the years that Ruger rifles (in general) are kind of a 50/50 crap shoot. Either they shoot like a proverbial house afire, or they will make you pull your hair out, and all the money in the world won't get those much past 'fair'. Me, losing hair at a rapid rate as it is, I'd really hope the latter isn't the case. I'm on good enough terms w/ the shop that I might be able to arrange for a 'test drive'. In the event that I can't pull that off, I'm interested in any experiences or comments on these guns that you guys might have.

TIA,

Monte

For a rundown on the Ruger Varmint models,...check this out.

www.egpworld.com

Interesting. I had seen this before, I think. Seems like a lot of his links (reviews on the VT, at least) are to dead sites.

Any others?

Thanks,

Monte

BTW, anyone know where to find a listing of rates of twist for various calibers for Ruger?

TIA,

Monte

We had one along on are p dog hunt this year. Shooting rem factory in it avg well under .5 had one of the best factory triggers on it I have felt in long time.

Milanuk,

I have several Savages in different calibers and they all seem to digest, quite well, anything that you might feed them. With a little reloading effort they are all tack drivers.

I also own a Ruger MKII in 220 swift. It also is a tack driver but heats up way to fast.

Good luck on your choice.

I have 2 of these rifles a 223 that shoots in the .4 and a 243 that shoots in the .2s when i do my part it took a while to get use to the 2 stage trigger but now i wouldn"t traid ti for anything

I have a Ruger 77MkIIVT in 22-250 that is the most accurate rifle I've ever owned, hands down. It is factory original, and the first five shots out of the box, with Remington bulk bullets, and an unproven load combination went .52" for five shots.

Recently, using Varget powder and 55 gr. Nosler ballistic tips, I shot a group that went an astonishing .09"! Mind you, I can't do that on a regular basis, but this goes to prove the capabilities of the weapon.

I have a three shot group target hanging on my wall, shot at 500 yards that went 1 7/8" (and I have two witnesses!)

I'd give a whole-hearted nod to the Ruger....but, this is not meant to be a put-down of other brands, such as Savage. I don't own one, but I've read nothing but good reports on them.

The Ruger has the best out-of-the-box trigger on the market. I have adjusted mine down to slightly less than 2 pounds, and it's a crisp as breaking a glass rod and entirely safe.

Go for the Ruger.....the stock is great for shooting off the bench, also.

dewman

Idaho

Another question for y'all: what's going street price on one of these 77MkII VT's new? I was looking around and the thought struck me (ow!) that I _do_ already have everything I need for .220 Swift as far as reloading, powder, bullets, brass, etc., and they _do_ make the VT in .220 Swift...

Thanks,

Monte

Monte-

If you "do" have a Swift, and "don't" have a 243, then get the 243. Remember, variety is the spice of life!

You have some really positive responses here on the Ruger varmint model and that is great. (Man, those groups mentioned in one of those posts are amazing!) BUT, I can only tell you that the one I bought in 22-250 was a dissapointment.

That rifle right out of the box "might" produce a group under 3 inches once in a while. I was at first tempted to bed it, but the literature with the rifle stated not to. So, I experimented a little.

First I discovered that the screws holding the action in were tightened by some gorilla. I darned near could not get them unscrewed. I messed with the screw tension and things improved.

I tried load after load, different powders, bullets, primers, etc. Still, the best it would to was about 1.5 inch groups. I took it to South Dakota and killed prairie dogs with it, some out over 400 yards, but still was not satisfied. I sold it to a guy who thought the laminated stock was cool, and as far as I know he is still happy with it.

I bought a new Remington 700VS and got half inch groups right off the bat. I liked it so much I wound up buying a second one. I finally wore out the barrel on the first one and just had a new Hart SS barrel put on it.

In regard to the trigger, these guys are right. For a stock factory trigger the two stage deal on the Ruger is hard to beat. It takes a little getting used to, but is a fine trigger.

Having said that, I finally went off the deep end and just put Jewell triggers in my Remington 700VS rifles. They are adjusted down to six ounces and are a pleasure. (Expensive, but well worth it for sure!)

Good Luck

R Flowers...

I enjoyed reading your post. I have been considering adding a Remington 700VS or SF-VS to my battery. Question...since I will use this rifle primarily for target shooting under 300 yards, would you go for a .223 or a .22-250 and why? I reload if that enters the argument. Any input on the Remington carbon barrel vs the stainless?

I'd say the .223 -- because for under 300yds, the extra powder consumed by the .22-250 just isn't worth it, IMHO. The .223 is plenty accurate, if not just as accurate, as the .22-250. Brass is *cheap*, and it consumes very little powder, is much easier on the barrel, negligible recoil, etc. Very nice mild mannered round. Extremely easy to load for. Pick a 50gr bullet and put it ahead of 27.7gr of Win748.

FWIW, I'd say the stainless/fluted model is a bit of a waste of money. I've got two of the VS's, and they shoot like a house afire. I don't think the stainless and fluting gets you much that you need for target shooting, or for anything, considering the premium you have to pay for it. That goes double for the Carbon barrel. Nice, but it really doesn't shoot any better, and you can shoot for a while w/ a regular barrel and a .223 anyways.

YMMV,

Monte

Eagle Eye, the response by milanuk pretty much covers it, but I will toss in my opinion, I guess.

For the usage you describe, the .223 Rem is probably the correct choice of caliber. Having said that, if I had to own just one varmint gun (heaven forbid) it would defintely be a 22-250 Remington.

I own both calibers and enjoy them both. Inside 300 yards the .223 will kill small varmints quite well, and most are easy to load for and to find an accurate load for. However, when I do want to reach out there, I want more gun than that. And I prefer the 22-250 on coyotes after shooting a number with each. I have never lost one with the .223 but I have had to shoot some a second time with it. Not that this has never happened with the 22-250 but usually it drops them on the spot.

In regard to barrel choices, that is a subject in itself. I have never shot one of the carbon barrels, I am not convinced they are worth the money. If I were buying the 700VS I would buy the blued version, not because of the barrel, but because of the action.

I see very little difference in factory Remington chrome moly barrels and stainless steel barrels. Both can shoot well and last a reasonably long time. I have experienced that some of the stainless barrels from Remington take a little while to break in before they will shoot well.

Back to the action, though. If I were buying a big game rifle I would not hesitate to buy a Remington stainless steel rifle. But, I have seen several that were dedicated varmint rifles (and therefore shot a lot) have problems with the bolts being soft on the stainless versions.

As far as fluting goes, I prefer it and wish Remington offered it on the blued version of the 700VS. My own personal 700VS rifles were part of a special edition made up back a number of years ago. They are blued actions and barrels, but they were fluted like the 700VSSF rifles. The fluting takes just enough weight out of that heavy barrel to make the balance better in my opinion. Matter of fact I finally wore one of them out and rebarreled it with a Hart SS 26 inch barrel that is fluted. (I had Hart cut it to the same contour as the original barrel, it is nice.)

Sorry this got so long, R F

Excellent and informative post R.F. Thank you for your input.

Eagle Eye,I have a VSSF in 223 with a Shilen trigger and it's a great gopher rifle.Pretty easy to hit to about 250 yards.I also have a Sako Varmint in 22-250 and I can't really hit consistently at much further with it,maybe a bit better to 300.The 223 is the way to go for gophers. If I want to get serious past 300 yards I either have to do a whole lot of shooting(probably the best idea) and/or get somthing that throws a heavier more streamlined bullet,like maybe a 243.

as for the Ruger VT I have one and it�s the most accurate rifle I have ever owned. It consistently produces under 1/2", with some groups coming in at 1/4". Almost regardless to bulletweight, but I think the heavier matchbullets give a slight edge.

AS for the going street price,you should have no problem getting one for under $575 if you use someone that has an FFL and don't buy one from a retail store.I looked at a .220 Swift today that was priced at $550.Plus,right now Ruger has a $40 factory rebate going on and you always get the rings free,this to saves you another $55.

I have a rem 700 vssf 22/250 and I can pop rabbits out to 350 yards if I am doing my part. It produces under 1/2" groups and I have only had the trigger done. It shoots the win supreme 50gr ballistic silver tips so well i have never bothered to reload for it. Two of my mates alos own the above mentioned rig and also shoot win supreme ammo and get similar groups to mine. All three vssf 22/250's are topped with leupold 6.5-20x40 Vari X111 scopes.The above rigs are Dyanamite on foxes.