Ruger M77 Mark II Accuracy

I want to make some modifications to my Ruger in 25-06. With multiple factory loads I am getting about 1.5 inches at 100 yards. Not good enough for me. What mods will give me better results. I am considering a Rifle Basix trigger and glass bedding. Has anyone been down this road? What am I missing here?

I'd sell it honestly, just based on experience. Had 2 of em - upgraded triggers, re-crowned and bedded. No improvements. They are notorious for crap barrels and poor accuracy.

Reloading might help.

I have a Ruger Mark 11 in 338 WM. It's been a tack driver, and has been my go to rifle for larger game animuals. I did have a trigger placed into the rifle. I hated the 8lbs trigger pull that came stock. I didn't bed the action. It didn't need it. The rifle was built in the late 1990's. I did place a muzzel brake on it. What a different too. Hand loads only. I don't use manufactor ammo.

I can tell you how to accurise your Ruger.
For it to work, you must do it exactly like this. I did this full time turning many Rugers into phenomenal shooters. Including my own 25-06.
First, open the barrel channel and remove the pressure point, if a wooden stock.
Change the trigger, I used Timney, but any good quality trigger will do.
If the stock is wood, buy the Brownell's pillar bedding kit, you bed this TIGHT with no reliefs, use all thread rods, turned aluminium cones to centre everything and bed the front pillar first, then the tang after the front one has cured. I did them together, but I had fixtures to keep everything level.
After this, bed the ENTIRE action in the stock, remove the trigger assembly, fill all voids and make dams where you don't want the epoxy to go. Bed EVERYTHING!
Make sure the action sits level in the stock.
Lastly, bed under the chamber on the barrel, this can be done while bedding the rest, but often gets better results doing it last.
You want a completely stress free bedding, DO NOT tighten ANY screws while bedding, use screws as guides, then strap the action onto the stock with surgical tubing.
Follow normal bedding directions using release agent and all bedding instruction.
If successful, the action will be tight in the stock, but not so much that it is difficult to remove.
The reason wooden stocked Rugers behave inaccurate is because the 60° angle of the front screw allows the wood to compress under recoil, bedding, and aluminium pillars stop this DEAD.

Cheers.

I had one in 280 Remington and was a 1.25" rifle. My gunsmith did some trigger work and then I put it into a hogue overmolded stock and played with different torque other than the 60 inch per pound recommended by hogue. Took a lot of tinkering but ended up a solid .75 rifle.
I was bored with it and sold it to a friend that still uses it from time to time.

Mine in 22-250 made me work hard for .75 moa….bedding, rebedding and load development…while SAKO and Remington guns easily achieved .5 moa in this caliber….
Ruger would at one time "straighten" their barrels in a barrel bending fixture….my Ruger would walk em as it heated up…predictably high and right.

Ron 6mm said:

I want to make some modifications to my Ruger in 25-06. With multiple factory loads I am getting about 1.5 inches at 100 yards. Not good enough for me. What mods will give me better results. I am considering a Rifle Basix trigger and glass bedding. Has anyone been down this road? What am I missing here?

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While an after-market trigger and bedding are excellent modifications, they might not be enough if you rely on factory ammunition. I have an old Ruger M77 MKII in .338 WM, and my modifications replaced the paddle, trigger, and bed stock. However, even before the modification, I rolled my own and achieved .5-.75 MOA to 600Y with my current load.

I have also been gifted a 7MM SAUM but have not shot it yet.

I agree with others handloads could help.

One simple fix is to be sure the front action screw is not bottoming out in the blind hole! If the stock material gets compressed then it could occur. Also should you bed the action be sure there is no bedding material in the hole. It is fairly common to have this happen one way or the other.

You do not have to bed any part of the barrel to maintain accuracy. I do my own barrel work. Due to variances in shank diameters every bit of the barrel is floated. That way I can use the bedded action and switch barrels without having to rebed the barrel shank. I have four Ruger M77 Tangers and all shoot bugholes. 284 Win, 338 RCM, and two 257 Weatherbys .

Also inspect the barrel crown. Recrown if necessary.

All of you are so helpful. Thanks so very much.
Ron

Sample size of exactly one - 30-06 stainless synthetic. Replaced the trigger with a Timney and played with the torque for the action screws. Groups improved from about 2-3" to 1.5". Started reloading, using a pretty standard load with IMR or H4350 and a 165 gr bullet - went down to 0.5-0.75" groups. Been hunting with that rifle for 25 years now, never let me down.

Fantastic. Thanks

WMDM said:

I'd sell it honestly, just based on experience. Had 2 of em - upgraded triggers, re-crowned and bedded. No improvements. They are notorious for crap barrels and poor accuracy.

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If that was the case wouldn't simply replacing the crap barrel cure the issue? Seems to work with most other rifles that have crappy accuracy after the barrel has been floated and a new trigger installed.

I had a tang safety model in 257 roberts and fought to get it to shoot. Finally settled on 115g Ballistic tip and 46.5g H4831 (ironically some magazine writer had the same load listed as the most accurate in his test rifle) 0.015" off lands and it would shoot 1/2". Local GS polished the trigger too. Shot it that way for several years. I got a wild hair and decided to reshape the stock so I slimmed it down and squared the forend some, bedded it (incorrectly it appears), and it still shot the same. Wood was a 2 tone under that ruger redish stain so I left that plain. Traded it at a gunshow for a R700MTN DBM 7mm08. Wanted another 257R and Ruger was only one who made any so I got a M77 Hawkeye and it would shoot other bullets pretty accurately. You may be able to find that one load that works great in what you have. Kind of miss the Hawkeye though, really like that rifle, carried well in the hand while hunting. Now have a M70 SG in same caliber.