I have the chance to pick up a new Ruger M77 real cheap in a caliber that I have always wanted (257 roberts). I am curious about the modifications you guys suggest to make this a good shooting gun. I plan to have it bedded, the bolt face squared and lugs lapped. Anything else I should consider?

Replace the trigger. Timney or Moyers will do. I would do that first, then shoot it to see if you need to continue spending money. You might be pleasantly surprised.

I have 3 model 77's in 223, 243, and 25/06. All of them shoot awesome. I would put a Timney trigger in it, and throw the Ruger rings in the trash. Pick up some of those Burris weaver adaptors and get some good rings.

Anybody who wants to throw their Ruger rings in the trash......send them to me . I'll pay the postage.........

the triggers do suck as some have mentioned, mine is set to 2.5 lbs on my 22-250 it works fine for me and hunting coyotes I don't think you need to replace it unless you are after extreme accuracy. Many people say how rugers suck etc well mine shoots 3/4 inch groups and my buddy shoots a tang saftey 6mm that shoots .5 to .75 both are sporter weight barrels his has the barrel floated and mine is out of the box with a trigger job. To me if the gun shoots MOA or less don't mess with it

I have a Ruger M77 in 257 Roberts just as you described. With a good handload and if I do my part I can get 1 MOA. Mine is one with the tang saftey and It has the orignal Trigger with some stone work. It has Leop. Vari X II 3X9. The 257 Rob ++P loaded is a great all around gun. I have loads with 75 grain bullets for Varmits and all the way up to the 117gr for a Mule Deer round. The factory loaded stuff is really punny.
Good Luck
JL

On my Mk11 in 270, (stainless/laminate)I fitted a Timney trigger and bedded the action, free floated the barrel (except the first inch or so under the chamber), and it reliably shoots 3 shot, half inch groups at 100 yds with different weight bullets, different powders and primers - all to the same point of impact! Action screw tension is critical!!!!! Get it wrong and it's all over the place. It wears a Leupold Vari-X 11 in 3-9x40 in Ruger rings. If someone can let me know how to post pictures, I can scan the targets for all to see!

I have one of the early 77s with the tang safety and love it. I replaced my trigger with a spec-tec from brownells and rebedded it in a wildcat composite stock. It is the smoothest rifle I own, noticably smoother than all of my Remingtons. Bedding it was a little more difficult than a Rem 700 but was worth it, 1/2" groups at 100. Early Rugers had pressure pad at the end of the forarm and tend to float the zero when using a sling, 5 minutes with sandpaper will open it up and do wonders. I believe Boydboys.com is one of the few places to get a wooden stocks (walnut or laminate)for the these rifles.

My .338 MK II shoots 3/4 MOA with several different factory & handloads. All it needed was a trigger job.
In about a week, I'll let you know how it shoots bedded into a Rimrock stock.