i am looking at getting a 77 target rifle in 25-06. my company will give ruger rifles (among many other gifts)
as a safety bonus. i'm a coal miner. this rifle has a 26" barrel and a target trigger (i think). my 77 SS/laminate had a pretty sorry excuse for a trigger. i would like to hunt coyotes with this rifle. i know it is a heavy gun, 9.75 lbs without a scope, but it will be a sitting rather than a stalking rifle. are these guns
accurate enough to be called target rifles? any experiance or advice would be appreciated. i had thought about a 22-250 or 243 but short actions turn me off, plus a 25-06 with a 26" barrel should would get all the speed this overbore round can give.



skin that one pilgrim, i'll get you another one!

Hello,
The trigger on the Ruger 77 V/T is a two stage trigger and is the best one they offer from the factory from my experience. Yes, there are better triggers out there, but for a Ruger factory trigger, it is fine. Some take up, then pretty clean break and with a little practice dry firing, can become good with the rifle. Their barrels are an improvement over what they made some years ago and have seen a few of them showing up at long range matches, 600-1000 yards in 308 caliber. For what you have in mind, would say it will serve you well.
Glad to see your company is a forward thinking firm and provides it's employees with usefull items instead of some jacket or thermos bottle!!

J Stambough: I have a couple of the latest model Ruger 77 V/T (Varmint/Target) Rifles in my arsenal now. I very much like them!
Mine though are in calibers 204 Ruger and 223 Remington.
Both shoot very well indeed accuracy wise and seem to hold point of impact from shooting session to shooting session just fine.
I especially like the fit, feel and configuration of the "target" style laminated stock.
The wide forearm and pistol grip make me feel very comfortable with this Rifle.
I was a little surprised at how well I liked the military two stage style trigger as it came from the factory.
Again both my Rifles shot very well indeed with NO work needing to be done on the triggers or bedding and etc.
I like heavy Rifles and prefer them for Coyote Hunting and the rest of my Varminting and Big Game needs.
I think you will be happy with one if it comes your way as a reward (freebie!). If not then they resell quite handily.
The triggers could be worked on by a competent Riflesmith I am sure ($25.00 to $50.00 I am guessing) if it does not suit your tastes.
Good luck if you decide to go for one.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

My Mk II VT in .22-250 shot great out of the box but when shot out, I had it rebarreled with a Lothar Walther match bbl. This made it the most accurate rifle I own. Here are my best 3 consecutive 5-shot groups at 100 m.

Thanks for the replies, now i will need to learn how to hunt coyotes!!!

J Stambough: I forgot to mention - if you do take the opportunity to get the Ruger 77 V/T in 25/06 then you will have a first rate Antelope and High Plains Mule Deer Hunting Rifle as well as a top notch "Coyote Getter"!
Again best of luck should you get one of these Rifles.
Is the 25/06 "over-bore"?
I don't know.
I have owned three or four 25/06's and they did not seem to wear the barrels excessively???
My present 25/06 has about 300 rounds through it and should last me and the two VarmintSons for several decades at the rate we shoot it.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Andre Mertens: WOW! Great shooting there with your semi-custom Ruger 77!
Those are splendid groups.
I see you are posting from Belgium and I was wondering what type creatures (if any) do you Hunt with it? Or is it mostly a target Rifle?
Is that a Leupold silver scope?
What power scope is it by the way?
Any load information that you wish to share regarding your sweet shooting 22-250?
Again, great shooting from a great looking Rifle!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

VarmitGuy recently someone posted a question about the 25-06 AI and responses were that you would not gain much by going that route short of a 257 WBY. I won't have a problem with barrel life. I was thinking about the 85 gr. BT at 3600 fps or slightly more would slap the snot out of a coyote out to very long range. Well, much farther than i can shoot. Once again thanks!

I don't know about coyotes, but I know that a fat pennsylvania woodchuck simply explodes when a 75gr Hornady hollowpoint arrives on target after being launched at an MV of 3700.


AllanD

Varmintguy,
My Ruger is too heavy for the field, so I reserve it for target shooting. The scope is a Leupold Vari-X III 6,5-20x40 AO in original Ruger rings. Apart from the bbl., I had it glass bedded. In the original .22-250, it shot < .5 MOA but not for long (groups doubled after 1300 rounds and traces of erosion were apparent). I was most disapointed by the .22-250 short bbl. life but, after all, it shoots still better in .308.

Well, I have the rifle you are interested in. I purchased mine the first year Ruger offered the "Target Gray" finish, as I wanted a .2506, and thought the rifle looked sexy. At the time I was getting into stand hunting, as opposed to walking, so a heavy rifle made sense.

This rifle now has about 600 rounds through it, and if I can keep the twitches under control, will still group five 100 gr BTs subMOA. It didn't like the heavier bullets as well, about 1 1/4 MOA. It shot the 75 gr Vmax nearly as well as the BT, but I decided that I'd stick with one load for everything, so I went with the BT. With it's Nikon 6.5x20 and a full belly, the gun is a B#tch to carry any distance, but prop it over a fencepost and it will anchor anything you point it at.

SBB

I also have one of these and I really like it. Genuine sub MOA out of the box with max. loads and 75gn Vmax.It didn't like the heaviest projectiles that I merely tinkered with but I haven't tried the 100 gn BTs. I might try those because they work for Super Bon Bon. Any preference for brands?

Mark me down as another big thumbs up for the Ruger 77VT. Mine in .223 rechambered to .223AI - only a couple of months old. Could not believe how good the trigger is (having owned other Rugers - Mk1 in 25-06 7 No. 1 in 7mm Rem). Barrel easy to clean & shoots sub .5 MOA at 100m 5 shots not 3. Bloodly good value too! Mine has the VX3 4.5-14 x 50 with VHR on top.

I love the 25-06 calibre & wanted to get one in the VT but found out that they do not import that model into Australia. Bummer!

Never mind have a .257 Lilja barrel coming to replace that POS they call a barrel in the Mk 1.

Regards
JohnT

I'm in Melbourne, Australia and had no trouble getting mine a couple of years ago.I believe that Ruger is imported by a least 2 different agents so perhaps your local shop is only dealing with one of those.

OzzieDoc

Thanks Ozzie. There is only 1 now importer now after 1 July & that is Acacia. It would have to be special ordered & who knows how long that would take. An opportunity came up for the Lilja so I took that route.

If I still see the need for a heavy barrel after I may well special order one in 25-06. I reckon its exceptional value for money.

Regards
JohnT

well my rifle arrived yesterday. trigger is as described. it will take a little time to adjust to the two stage trigger but it seems very good.
i bought a leupold rifleman 4x12x40. it's not a top of the line scope but it is very clear. i have not bought reloading dies and such yet, but will fix that shortly. picked up some remington 100 gr. corelocks to try today. now i need to dig out some targets, find all my other shooting stuff before i go. will try to update soon.