Any problems with Ruger bolt-actions?

Status
Not open for further replies.
W

W Turner

Member
Joined
Jun 13, 2003
Messages
859
Location
Hillsboro, AL
My next purchase is going to be a compact bolt-action in .308. I would love to get one of the Savage scout rifles, but they seem to have been discontinued and are fairly scarce on the usual 'net resources, and a Steyr Scout is financially impossible right now.

The other day I was at a local shop and found a Ruger mdl.77 compact in .308. I love the feel of this rifle, and when compared to the Remington featherweight that was right next to it, it seemed to be better balanced. The Remington was the first major caliber bolt-action I have ever held that actually felt stock heavy and I didn't really care for it. The fit and finish seemed to be about even. The bolt action on the remington was much smoother though. The trigger on the ruger was ok, but nothing great.

Here are my questions....

How easy is it to work with the trigger on the Rugers to yield a decent pull?

Are their any durability/design issues with the Rugers as compared to Remington/Winchester/Savage?

Does $509 + tax sound appropriate for this rifle in blued/walnut?

Thanks everybody,
Mino
 
I have the stainless, all-weather version (.308). I chose the Ruger over the others (Rem, Win) due to durability issues and the mauser-style action.

I hear discussions about triggers here, but I found no reason to mess with mine. Solid performer, mauser-style action, tang safety.

Carried for many miles through the mountains. Very light, very well balanced. The lightness will make target shooting a little brisk on recoil, but I use it mainly for the hunt.
 
Mine will be used more off the bench, but i just don't care for the look of the long barrels mated to that short action receiver.

Then again, I am looking ot take up hog hunting and it will probably be put into the rotation with my Marlin 1894 and Glock 20 and I know I will appreciate the light weight.

Besides, brisk recoil doesn't bother me. I love shooting my m44 Mosin Nagant!!!:evil:

Mino
 
I have had Savages, Remingtons, Winchesters, and Rugers. Hands down I prefer the Ruger, I know most people prefer the Remington and it is a close second for me. However, I have had really good luck with Ruger Bolt guns.
 
I have a M77 in .308 and there are a few things I should tell you before recommending it. The trigger is terrible. I haven't replaced it yet so I don't know how easy it is to do, but figure the cost into the cost of the rifle. Also, three rounds in the magazine rattle--not 2, not 4, only 3. If you don't hunt you probly won't notice this, and maybe its just my rifle, but it happens.

I don't own any other rifles so I can't really compare, but I like the Ruger action. I don't like the trigger, the shape of the stock (cheap wooden), the loud "click" the safety makes, or the *cheap* magazine floorplate.

Mine is pretty acturate, though, even with the horrible trigger, it just takes a lot of patience.

With a little aftermarket help and elbow grease, it could be a GREAT rifle.
 
The only major prob that I have with M77's is that it is hard to do a
decent job of glass bedding. That's why I don't own one. Some of my
friends own them and do ok with them. Just not my choice.
 
Weak accuracy from the pencil-weight bbls. Crunchy triggers, but like their factory 10/22 triggers, they can be improved.

Lightweight, though - they're pretty guns.
 
Jaywalker shot a .5" group at 100yds using my handloads in his Ruger 77 MK2 6.5x55. IIRC, he has worked on the trigger and bedded the rifle.

Chris
 
I forgot about the trials and tribulations bedding a Ruger.

They use an angled front action screw, instead of a vertical one, and it can be kind of difficult to get the proper tension.

I know of at least one smith who used to recut the action screw lug to allow for a vertical screw.
 
Instructions are available online for polishing and stoning M77 MK II triggers for a better pull. Or there's always Timney or Moyer triggers.
I'm happy with my KM77MkII.
I think the mkII wood stocks have the best wrist design I've ever felt. It's too bad they had the boat paddle synthetic stocks when I bought one.
Mine's a 1.5-2" shooter at 100yds. It isn't great, but it's fairly consistent with my reloads.
 
My only Ruger rifle at present is a Mk II in .223. I put in a Timney trigger (they're around $70-ish, mas o menos, and a near drop-in) but haven't done anythking at all to the bedding. I get five-shot 1/2" to 5/8" groups at 100 yards.

Art
 
As mtnbkr mentioned, I've worked on my Ruger M77 MkII. Is it difficult? No - this was the first rifle I've ever bedded a rifle or worked on the trigger, but I was willing to risk the $27 parts. The result is an accurate rifle with a 3.5# trigger pull.

It's difficult to find honest instructions on doing triggers these days, because of liability fears, but I was able to find enough info in multiple places (not just the one easily-located set of instructions) to do a credible job. The trigger is really a piece of cake to take out, and the instructions for that are right in the user's manual. After that, your gunsmith will simply polish a few surfaces, remove a little overlap, and lighten or replace one overpowered spring. Let me encourage you in every way possible to have a gunsmith work on these parts. Now, when/if I sell it, I'll put new factory trigger parts back in.

The bedding is much simpler than the comments might lead you to believe. I agree that bedding the action is difficult - so why do it? The angled action screw serves all the purposes that you'd get from bedding the action, so just don't do it. The angled screw pulls the action tightly back into the stock so that it doesn't have to hunt for a stable position.

You can work on the fore-end, however. John Barsness' advice for Rugers is to shoot it to see if it works, and if it does - stop. If it doesn't, then glass bed the fore-end tip, and if that works - stop. If that doesn't work, then free-float the front end. When you're finished, use something like spar varnish in the channel to keep the wood from absorbing moisture from the air. I posted a "Lessons Learned" thread in the Gunsmithng forum a couple of weeks ago, if you're interested.

To sum up, the Ruger M77 MkII is an almost miraculously accurate rifle, and has apparently been so since Ruger started making their own barrels. The other side of it is that no one will ever mistake it for a custom rifle. The bolt action is not smooth, and the bluing is not good. You pick the features that you value.

Jaywalker
 
Ive got the mk2 .223 also..I use mine for long range varmiting.I have no complaints.timney makes a dandy replacement trigger.
 
I recently bought a M77 in .257 Roberts. I think it was made in '71 or '72. When did Ruger start making their own barrels? I haven't scoped it or shot it yet.
 
macavada:
When did Ruger start making their own barrels?
Click to expand...
I don't recall precisely, but it was likely sometime around the early 90's. Before that Ruger subcontracted the barrels out, and quality was hit or miss. If you got a Douglas, you were in deep cream. If you got a Wilson (I believe), you were spitting blood. There were probably others that fell between those two extremes.

Jaywalker
 
That probably explains why my dad's tang-saftied ruger is so much more accurate than most factory rugers.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

S
  • Locked
  • Poll
Most Accurate Out of Box Bolt Action Poll
2 3
Replies
55
Views
4K
Fish Springs
Fish Springs
CommanderCrusty
  • Locked
Recommend a .223 BOLT Action?
2 3
Replies
52
Views
3K
Cee Zee
C
S
  • Locked
Ruger Bolt Guns
Replies
16
Views
1K
tex_n_cal
T
K
  • Locked
Tactical/Utility Bolt?
Replies
2
Views
548
Art Eatman
A
N
  • Locked
Commercial bolt action rifle comparison.
Replies
4
Views
1K
El Tejon
E
Back
Top