Ruger's Classic Model 77 Rifle Review

[OKIE2]

Yes, the tang safety legacy is what is keeping me from really experimenting with my Ruger 1973 manufacture in 7x57, a cartridge I really admire.

Once I have my reloading facility back I'll undoubtedly try to put something together for both this and my Remington 8x57 "Classic" from a few years ago. I do like both the 7 Mauser and the 8 Mauser, so I'll try. We'll see.

I have a 25-06 tang safty that shoots 3 shots in one round hole.
And have 4 of the target models that are also very accurate.
220 swift
243
308
300 mag

 

[lloydsmale]

C1PNR good luck with that 757. They were natoriously poor shooters even for tang safety rugers. the one i had was real lucky to shoot an occasional 2 inch group.

 

[7 loader]

I have a M77 MKII in 7mm mag and it shoots 3/4 in groups at 200. The stock is all I had a problem with. A little work to float the tube and a good load is all it took.

 

[wackinandstackin243]

I currently have several rugers and had several more in the past. They are modestly priced, fit me very well, and have never had any malfunction in the action. The actions dont look very nice but they do work. However the triggers are the worst. I am not a good enough marksmen to hold steady while the trigger has 10 miles of creep before it breaks and another 10 miles of overtravel after. The trigger has become the deal breaker of an otherwise great feeling rifle. As for accuracy my 223 and 243 are very consistent and not a bit picky about what I put through it. The 338 and 220 swift cant seem to like the same load very long. One lesson I have learned is dont throw more money at a picky rifle. Cut your loss on anything you cant be confident in.

 

[Jam smith]

I currently have several rugers and had several more in the past. They are modestly priced, fit me very well, and have never had any malfunction in the action. The actions dont look very nice but they do work. However the triggers are the worst. I am not a good enough marksmen to hold steady while the trigger has 10 miles of creep before it breaks and another 10 miles of overtravel after. The trigger has become the deal breaker of an otherwise great feeling rifle. As for accuracy my 223 and 243 are very consistent and not a bit picky about what I put through it. The 338 and 220 swift cant seem to like the same load very long. One lesson I have learned is dont throw more money at a picky rifle. Cut your loss on anything you cant be confident in.

you can grind and polish the trigger to get the feel you want just do a,little,at a time.

 

[walkinhorseman]

I'm going to jump in here and offer some opinions about Ruger. Ruger rifles were intended to compete in in the same market as Remington and Winchester sporting rifles and provide a better dollar value. At the introduction, I give Ruger great kudos for providing the Model 77 with a well designed classic style rifle stock. That single feature caused me to purchase a 22-250 before there was even a varmint model offered. Another design feature that is admirable is the integral scope mount base. Winchester and Big Green never took the hint on that one. Esthetically, I don't like the blockiness and bulk that go along with the investment cast receiver. If you have ever polished one of Rugers castings, pits will surface that are occlusions in the casting. But, from a manufacturing perspective, it is cost effective. My second M77 was a 7x57, simply because the Ruger was the only rifle in 7x57 that was in my price range. Neither rifle shot to my satisfaction. I traded the 22-250 for a Sako Action Belgium Browning Safari Varmint in 22-250, which was extremely accurate.

The angled front action screw is touted to aid accuracy. That whole arrangement only complicates the rebedding process, which must be done. The Ruger bolt action also has a very short barrel tenon. This is another design flaw. At one time, Ruger produced a prototype target rifle with a longer front receiver ring and barrel tenon to try and break into the Long Range market. Unfortunately, the trigger systems were never improved to make them attractive. Occaisionaly you may see someone using a Ruger in some informal target competition, but the Ruger action was never embraced by the smiths building precision rifles for a reason. It was not good enough, and not easily trued like the Remington 700. The controlled round feed has merit in the game fields but not so in the competitive shooting disciplines.

After the 7x57, I never purchased another Ruger bolt rifle. I currently have a No. 1S 45-70 which is the third N0. 1 that I have had. The others were a 25-06 (1V) and a 270 Win (1B) which went down the road. No. 1's can be found with some very nice walnut and I do love the stock design. No. 1's have their own set of bedding issues in the forend hanger design. That's why I kept the 45-70. It has so much barrel the forend effects are not as significant.

Ruger offers a good value in a hunting rifle with some great stock designs and features like the integral mount base. They are a production gun for the masses so the quality will vary. Their customer service for me has been excellent. When I read some of the accuracy claims that are reported in posts, most often they are not supported by any kind of statistic, like "average of five 5-shot groups". Just shooting a ½" group out of a rifle once, doesn't make it a ½" rifle. So I take those unsupported reports with a grain of salt.

 

[SidecarFlip]

BTW...Strum Ruger's side operation (investment casting) is very well respected in the manufacturing industry.

A gun for the masses sums it up quite nicely and they really promoted the rimfire segment too.

I have no less than 7 Rugers. a 223 Target, 10-22, 2 Chargers, 2 semi auto pistols and a Single Six in 41 caliber. Other than the 41, everything has been completely reworked and modified to suit my personal taste, something thats easy to do with a Ruger.

 

[Petterson]

JUST AQUIRED RUGER SCOUT RIFLE. MOUNTED 4 POWER BURRIS COMPACT. STILL PLAYING WITH LOADS. 168 FGM SUB MINUTE, I REALLY LOVE THIS RIFLE!gun)

 

[SidecarFlip]

One of our group just bought one. I don't care for the flash hider (gives it an AK look) but he says it's a shooter. Don't know for a fact as I haven't tried it but I will. I get to try them all (everyone in the group) at some point because I do the scope mounting, trigger jobs and load builds.

Candidly, my favorite bolt gun (in the group) and I don't own one but will someday is a Sako Fin-lite.

 

[FAL Shot]

My brother-in-law has a M77 MkII in .30-06 and it is a good rifle. The CZ 550 series is a good copy of Mauser features with some upgrades. CZ has recently released the new CZ 557 that does not have the single set trigger, but you can work the bolt with the safety engaged. There is always the classic Winchester Model 70 as America's Mauser 98 copy, with modifications that bring it up to date. Ruger and CZ rifles come with factory scope rings, which makes them a good deal. Scope ring bases are integral to the receiver on CA and Ruger, which I like a lot.

CZ has the 6.5mm Swede chambering offered in their full stock Mannlicher style, as well as the American stock style. Winchester Model 70 is offered in 6.5mm Swede as well. Personally, I think the 7mm Mauser beats the 6.5 Swede, as the 6.5 Swede has the exact same powder capacity and was obviously a copy, as was the .30-06 Springfield. The US Government paid the Mauser brothers a royalty, but I wonder if the Swedes ever did. The 6.5mm Swede is actually a closer copy than the .30-06 Springfield. The 7x57mm Mauser was upgunned to the 7x64mm Brenneke for sportsmen, and a couple of decades later the Americans answered with the very similar .270 Winchester. The .30-06 was eventually shortened to the .308 Winchester, and Remington eventually made it a ballistic twin to the original 7mm Mauser by creating the 7mm-08 Remington......this brought the copycat war full circle to the original cartridge. And to make sure they covered their bases, Remington released the .280 Remington to duplicate 7x64mm Brenneke ballistics.

The 7mm Mauser is truly the father of the most useful American centerfire cartridges. And oh yes, Remington paid homage to the 6.5mm Swede with the .260 Remington, with similar ballistics in a short action.

My brother had a real 6.5mm Swede military rifle and the 6.5mm Swede is a good cartridge, but I'm sticking with the original 7mm Mauser. Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, and it was the 7mm Mauser that was imitated. The Swedes decided to bore it down, and the Americans decided to bore it up, with a proportionate powder increase. Since the 6.5mm Swede was bored down without a powder reduction, it is a bit of a magnum and likes a somewhat slower powder than the 7mm Mauser or .30-06 Springfield.

The Winchester Model 70 in 7mm Mauser is not very good because the twist rate is too slow and the barrel is too short and they use the standard length action. Both the 6.5mm Swede and 7mm Mauser should have a barrel of at least 24" and the fast original military twist rates if using heavy bullets. If you slow the twist rates, you might as well buy a .260 Remington or 7mm-08 Remington. The .308 Win case handles the lighter bullets better and you get a lighter shorter action.

 

[old seadog]

I've got three M77's, one is a tang safety 220 swift and one MKll VT stainless also in 220 Swift and one 77-22 Hornet. I really like all of them but seem to shoot the Hornet more than others.

 

[Creedmoor shooter]

My dad has a m77 MKII in a 7 mag that he bought 20 years ago. He doesnt have any problems getting sub moa groups without bedding the stock and with out floating the barrel. The barrel hits HARD with the stock the whole way. I got a Ruger hawk eye predator in a 6.5 Creedmoor on order which should be here today or tomorrow. I will be giving a review and range report when i get it in.

 

[gunners]

I've got 2 Ruger 77 hawkeyes for what ever reason they seem to be a bit picky with ammo. But if you can find the right load they shoot very good. Both rifles are completely stock. The 7mm Rem Mag likes 150gr Winchester super supremes and it shoots those right on MOA for 3 shots. My hand loads run around 0.7 inch@ 100meters (109 yards). When I first got that rifle it was shooting 2-4 inches at 100 meters, I thought I'd bought a lemon and was up for a bedding job but all I had to do was tighten the front action screw a fraction ( like 1/8-1/4 of a turn)
I'm so happy with my 7mm I bought a 338 WM in the same model and with my limited testing to date it appears to like ONLY 200 gr Hornady Superformance groups range from .5- 1 MOA my hand loads don't get anywhere near it. But I've got a whole heap more components to do some more testing.
I would like to buy a midrange caliber like the 6.5x55 or a 243 and Ruger would still be in the running

 

[Creedmoor shooter]

I've got 2 Ruger 77 hawkeyes for what ever reason they seem to be a bit picky with ammo. But if you can find the right load they shoot very good. Both rifles are completely stock. The 7mm Rem Mag likes 150gr Winchester super supremes and it shoots those right on MOA for 3 shots. My hand loads run around 0.7 inch@ 100meters (109 yards). When I first got that rifle it was shooting 2-4 inches at 100 meters, I thought I'd bought a lemon and was up for a bedding job but all I had to do was tighten the front action screw a fraction ( like 1/8-1/4 of a turn)
I'm so happy with my 7mm I bought a 338 WM in the same model and with my limited testing to date it appears to like ONLY 200 gr Hornady Superformance groups range from .5- 1 MOA my hand loads don't get anywhere near it. But I've got a whole heap more components to do some more testing.
I would like to buy a midrange caliber like the 6.5x55 or a 243 and Ruger would still be in the running

If your looking for a midrange caliber then look into a Ruger predator in a 6.5 Creedmoor. Thats what i shoot and its a 1/2 in 5 shot rifle @ 100 yards