Can a Ruger be "accurized?"

[jwedel1777]

I have the opportunity at a local gun store to buy a Ruger MKII 300WM for fairly cheap, due to a shipping blemish that caused the barrel to get a little scratched.

Anyway, my question is: Can the Ruger be headspaced and trued to make an accurate 500-800 yard deer/elk rifle? I already have a MKII in 25-06, but it is completely stock and I havent ever tried to look into customizing it. Ill also be looking into getting a new stock for it, and are there good options for it? Since it's not as popular as a Rem 700 or Savage 110.
Many thanks for any opinions

 

[WildRose]

Re: Ran a Ruger be "accurized?"

The head space should not be an issue.

I'd say if you want it, buy it, float it, bed it, shoot it, and see how it shoots.

If it shoots well, you have a great rifle super cheap.

If it doesn't find a gunsmith who specializes in M-77 actions. I know we have a sponsor or two that have built customs on them.

 

[jwedel1777]

Re: Ran a Ruger be "accurized?"

I assume it should shoot extremely well, as my factory MK II 25-06 shoot 1/2 MOA with factory ammo, as long as I can do my part on the controlling end. I just didnt know how easily it could be smithed if it needed, since its not a super popular action, when compared to others.

 

[WildRose]

Re: Ran a Ruger be "accurized?"

I assume it should shoot extremely well, as my factory MK II 25-06 shoot 1/2 MOA with factory ammo, as long as I can do my part on the controlling end. I just didnt know how easily it could be smithed if it needed, since its not a super popular action, when compared to others.

I've had 3 M-77's... Two of them were sub MOA out of the box and half that with basic accurizing like I described above with reloads.

The other took a lot of work to get to sub MOA and didn't get any better than about .8 .

There was a breif perod of time back in the late eighties or early nineties where accuracy was a real problem with several of the Ruger models but it didn't last long.

Fifty driver if I remember right is one of the smiths/sponsors here that does or has done quite a bit of work with the M-77 action in the past.

 

[jwedel1777]

Wildrose, I appreciate your insight.
There's a good chance Ill try to go get it sometime tomorrow, and Ill report back on my findings.

 

[WildRose]

Wildrose, I appreciate your insight.
There's a good chance Ill try to go get it sometime tomorrow, and Ill report back on my findings.

What the hell, it's only time and money right?

I did an "impulse buy" recently on a M-70 300 WM. It shot like total crap right out of the box.

I put about six hours or so work into opening the barrel channel/floating and bedding, put a decent recoil pad on it, and it's already vastly improved.

I'll play with it a little more and then maybe post something on it. I only intended it as a medium range "do it all truck gun" anyhow and it's already meeting that criteria.

I consider them all to be projects, good luck with yours.

 

[jwedel1777]

Okay I've been reading up on Ruger actions and rifles and it seems as though lots of people dont seem to like them, or at least the people who post on here.
Is it more difficult to true a Ruger action? Do the bolts true up like any other, and are the lugs are easily lapped?
Ive also seen that lots of people seem to hate the crooked front screw when it comes to pillar and glass bedding the action
Ive had excellent luck with my 25-06, but I cant seem to look away from all the negative remarks around this place about the m77 in general!

 

[WildRose]

Okay I've been reading up on Ruger actions and rifles and it seems as though lots of people dont seem to like them, or at least the people who post on here.
Is it more difficult to true a Ruger action? Do the bolts true up like any other, and are the lugs are easily lapped?
Ive also seen that lots of people seem to hate the crooked front screw when it comes to pillar and glass bedding the action
Ive had excellent luck with my 25-06, but I cant seem to look away from all the negative remarks around this place about the m77 in general!

You will find a few condescending folks here who will put anything down you don't spend multiple thousands of dollars on, not their favorite action etc, or if you don't have "the right brand of scope", as much magnification as their scopes, yada, yada yada.

Fortunately they are in the minority and thus present only a minor inconvenience here.

Look up fifty driver and shoot him a PM. I believe he's built some of his customs on them quite successfully.

His facebook page.
Allen Precision Shooting - Local Business - Fort Shaw, MT | Facebook

 

[DZelenka]

I have a rifle that my friends named the "Frankengun" because it is such a collection of parts. It consists of a late 70s Ruger 77 long action, a Schneider 24"#3 barrel in 6.5x55, a brown precision stock and a Timney trigger topped off with a Leupold 3.5-10x Vari X III. It is ugly but it shoots like a house afire. I have fired many 3 shot groups less than 1/MOA (some significantly so) with either Nosler 140 Partitions or 120 BTs. Carolina Precision Rifles built it.

Although I prefer Remingtons, if the right deal came along on a Ruger, I would be fine with picking it up and accurizing/customizing it.

Dan

 

[Derek M.]

Here's my Ruger MK II 77 with a Hart barrel in #1 contour at 25.5" long in 270 Winchester. It is my first rifle I bought at age 21. I get 1/2" groups with it with just about any bullet I choose with some work.

That said, now that I've had many custom rifles built, I won't do another Ruger because of the action. It is simply a bit more difficult to work with but can be done. You can get the factory trigger reduced or get a rifle basix and you can get aftermarket stocks for them. I do NOT like the angle of the action screw.

My rifles of preference are trued 700 actions, custom actions, or Sako. My preference and arguably the preference of just about all builders.

That said, a factory Ruger is a great work-horse of a gun and reliable on feeding/extraction and unless you make a habit of shooting beyond 250 yards the Ruger will do anything any custom will do and I'd put my Ruger 270 against anyone else's rifle on medium sized game inside of 600 yards. I'm shooting 130 TSX over Re19.

When in Texas, I shot it at 500 and got a 4.5" group once and a 6" group once with 4 shots each. That accuracy comes from me, a fat, pot-bellied guy who breathes heavy and laying prone. The action was trued by a smith I used to work with in Tucson, AZ at the shop formerly known as Jensen's Custom Ammunition.

 

[bullfrog]

If you get a replacement stock I would recommend the HS Precision with the internal aluminum bedding block. I've pillar bedded a factory stock before but it was a pain because of the angled front screw, but the HS eliminates this step. Just skim coat bed it. I do not think Ruger is a great deal worse to work on than the other actions. It's more to do with what a smith is used to working on and what fixtures and tooling he has on hand. I don't blame them for not wanting to make new truing fixtures for a gun that is seldom customized. If you look there are plenty out there willing to work on them. I am having one of my Ruger 77's getting rebarreled and accurized right now.

 

[Dodge4x4]

I have a friend with a MK II in 270 with a leupold vx II 3-9x40. He paid 450 for the gun and scope together. It's completely stock and shoots right at 1 moa or a little under and is just a budget/carry everywhere deer rifle. If you can get a deal I say go for it.

 

[Tnwhip]

After a little bit of tweaking my Old Ruger my low budget built this year is doing pretty good. 280 Ackley. After lapping the Douglas barrel she started to shoot and not foul up. I went with a Boyd laminated stock.

 

[frostop]

I own two, one 30.06 and another in .338 Jamison. Both have timney triggers and Hogue overmolded stocks with pillar bedding and both shoot sub 1moa.