Finally! Ruger has a 357 mag bolt rifle!

[lobo9er]

I thought uberti stuff was more for Cowboy action shooting, and really couldn't withstand hot hunting loads. Thought the same went for cimmeron revolvers. And my understanding of the ruger single action stuff was that they were built like tanks, and made for the heavy stuff.

 

[Sam1911]

And my understanding of the ruger single action stuff was that they were built like tanks, and made for the heavy stuff.

Not the new, slimmed down Vaquero. Nice gun, but it is supposed to emulate the feel of the old SAAs, not the super duty Blackhawks and SBHs.

 

[Dobe]

I'm going to buy one as soon as they become available. I'll wait for the recall and put it away as a collector gun for one year until Ruger discontinues making them and then find a Ruger collector that wants one of everything.

That may be better suited for your grandchildren. I have a feeling Ruger will be making the 77/357 for some time.

 

[Fishman777]

MachIVshooter

You're take on Rugers is pretty extreme.

While I'd agree that a lot of their autoloaders are not up to the competition and that all of their guns have triggers that are excessively heavy, Ruger does make some great guns.

I'm not going to defend guns that I haven't owned or haven't had extensive experience with.

So here it goes:

Their Single Action revolvers don't suck. Short of a Freedom Arms single action, which for the record blow Colts out of the water, I'd take a Ruger over any other Single Action revolver made, period. The Rugers can take loads that will turn other single actions to scrap metal. They are accurate, durable, and reliable.

Ruger's DA revolvers are my favorite revolvers and maybe my favorite guns, period. These guns have a modular design that are very simple to strip, they have solid frames with no side plates, most have a triple-locking cylinder to maintain proper alignment of the cylinder and the barrel. These are the toughest DA revolvers on the market. The guns aren't finished to the level of a Smith or a Colt, but they are much stronger and more reliable. Trigger jobs are easy on these and they can easily be made to shoot comparably to Smiths and Colts. The finish can also be improved. A GP100 can be made every bit as accurate as a Smith or a Colt. Can a Colt or a Smith ever be as durable and reliable? Not a chance. Smith and Wesson makes some of the best autoloaders on the market with their M&Ps, but their revolvers are a shadow of what they used to be.

Their autoloading rimfire are every bit as good as any other comparably priced gun on the market.

 

[DM~]

Wow, I struck a few nerves. Ssome people are really sensitive about their pet gunmaker.

I never said Ruger wasn't doing well, and I never said that other manufacturers don't blunder in the marketing research department. What I said is that Ruger, out of their extensive line-up, has only a few guns that consistently sell well. I also said that Ruger really doesn't make anything that someone else doesn't do better (for a similar price). Ruger makes OK guns, but they're all pretty ho-hum. Nothing really innovative, decent overall quality, average pricing. Ruger strives for, and consistently achieves, mediocrity.

Let's look:

Single action revolvers, Blackhawk and Vaquero are decent. Compared to a Colt or Uberti? Suck. And yes, Uberti has a heavy framed .44 mag now.

Double action revolvers are OK. Compared to S&W? Suck

P-series autos are alright guns. Compared to any number of other similarly priced combat autos? Suck

10/22 is a good gun. Compared to a Marlin 60? Sucks.

Mk I/II/III are pretty good. Compared to a Buckmark or Woodsman? Suck

Mini-14 is decent. Compared to AR's? Sucks

PC carbines? They were alright. Compared to Marlin camp carbines? Suck.

Red label and Gold label are nice. Compared to a Beretta? Suck

SR9? Well, basically, it just sucks. I'm not even going to bother mentioning the other polymer auto's that outclass it easily for similar money.

SR1911, decently executed. Compared to Colt and many others? Suck

LCP? What can we say, they finally got something right, but had to steal someone elses design and screw it up a few times first. Same for the LC9.

M77 is OK. Compared to a Remington 700? Suck

96/44 is functional (ugly as sin). Compared to a Marlin 1894? Sucks

96/22? See above, and reference Marlin 39. For .22 WMR comparison, see Henry.

No.1? Finally, we have a Ruger product that stands out above all others. Wait, that's because there really are no others........

Similar story for the Single Six and Deerfield. They're good, but they also have no competition.

Ruger doesn't have a pump or auto shotgun, but if they did, rest assured, it would be sub-par compared to a Remington, Benelli or Beretta.

Of course, none of this changes the fact that I still feel (and am not alone in this assessment), that a .357 bolt gun, especially with a 5 round pain in the rear rotary magazine, is basically worthless. I'd bet money that sales will indicate that the majority of shooters feel the same, and that this thing will have a production run of 5 years or less.

Although i don't agree with you 100%, you aren't too far off the mark. I've found the Rugers i've owned were waaay over rated! I only own a few these days, and they rarely get fired, as in "most" cases, i own something better in that category...

DM

 

[XinTX]

Rugers, IMO, tend to be more like run of the mill Chevy's. They'll get the job done, but not 'great' at anything. I think they'll do okay with this so long as the street price is much more reasonable (which I think it will be). I like the idea of a long gun in a pistol caliber. But it would be real handy in a zombie situation. So the 5 round magazine might not be the best. A lever gun, which would be less expensive, will hold more rounds. But I agree that it could be a fun gun for someone who reloads and has a lot of 357 brass. Could also be a decent little 'scout' rifle for white tail. It will likely have its niche. I don't see myself buying one. But I don't think it's 'worthless'. To me, it's not worth the price (even the street price) since it doesn't fulfill one of my 'wants'. For others it may. Great thing is, nobody is being forced to buy one.

 

[TexAg]

Wouldn't this concept of a bolt .357 have worked better with a tube magazine? .38s would load better and if it was chambered for .357 max then that would potentially load better too would it not? Plus, you could have a handier plinker with a few more rounds. Equip it with a tube loader like a Marlin or Henry and it's quick to unload too.

 

[Dobe]

I don't know how much of an issue it will be going from .38 to .357 with the rotary mag. Having more ammo loaded at one time vs. being able to shoot more rounds per min due to quicker reloads is not what I have in mind when making a purchase of a rifle such as this.

On the .357 Max issue, I don't see this as a deal breaker.

I like the idea of a long gun in a pistol caliber. But it would be real handy in a zombie situation. So the 5 round magazine might not be the best

I just don't see it as a zombie gun, but still, you will be able to shoot more rounds per min with a detachable mag (more mags) over a tubular mag.

 

[J_McLeod]

J Mcleod,

I disagree.

The 77/357 would be more durable, more reliable, and more accurate. If you care to argue that, don't bother. A good bolt action rifle will always exceed any lever action gun in these areas.

The only thing that a lever action would have over a bolt action rifle would be that the lever action would be much faster with follow up shots. That is the only area the Marlin would beat the 77/357.

Having never shot either for accuracy, I'll concede the accuracy, but that' irrelevant unless you're match shooting with it. How much good with the 357 be when you shoot it far enough for accuracy to make a difference? For durability and reliability I think they'd be the same for all practical purposes. It would only be an issue if you're trying to break them.

 

[goon]

MachIVshooter - Ruger is one of my default brands. I own a couple, have owned others, and have had fewer overall problems from Ruger guns and better customer service from them than any other brand.
Granted, they're not as smooth as an old S&W, but a new S&W isn't either. IMO, new S&W's just aren't anything to be proud of. Of the available choices, I'd take a Ruger in a DA and probably in an SA revolver too. FWIW - I've personally shot two S&W revolvers until they were out of time. My one friend's Colt Python is also currently out of time. I've never seen or heard of any Ruger getting out of time. IMO, they're the most durable and tough DA revolver available - and they don't have those stupid freaking lawyer safeties.
Their automatics aren't the prettiest but they generally work with excellent reliability. Any argument you can make against a Glock you can make against a Ruger automatic, but they also have most of the same strengths.
And what's so great about a Marlin M-60? My 10/22 and my brother's keep running long after my friends Marlin stops cycling from fouling. On paper his may be more accurate - can't say because we've never benched them against one another - but probably not by much if any. At the least, I hit what I shoot at with my Ruger and that's good enough. Last week my brother went five for five on little plastic army men we were using as targets at 25 yards. My friend with his Marlin missed every time. In this case it was the shooters, but my brother's old vintage Ruger from 1973 still shoots well enough to make those hits offhand after probably a hundred thousand rounds. And the Rugers will shoot probably three or more bulk packs before they need cleaning. The original 10/22 my brother has was owned by my dad before and shot from 1973 until I got curious and decided to clean it in 1995 - and it only malfunctioned a handful of times even when it was that dirty. IMO, the 10/22 has something approaching AK like reliability when it's running right.

I'm not slighting your experience, but your experience isn't in line with mine.

 

[lobo9er]

Equip it with a tube loader like a Marlin or Henry

I couldn't disagree more. I find that style magazines to be one of the very worst, ever.
In fact if I had only 2 choices that or a single shot break action it would be the break action every time. IMHO of course.

 

[LTR shooter]

The 77/357 would be more durable, more reliable, and more accurate. If you care to argue that, don't bother. A good bolt action rifle will always exceed any lever action gun in these areas.

And this is based on what? Who here has even fired a Ruger 357 rifle for accuracy. Who here even owns a Ruger 357 rifle.

When the Ruger 77/44 came out there was a favorable write up in Shooting Times and the rifle was tested for accuracy at 50 yds with and averaged between 1.50" - 2.13" with 5 brands of factory ammo and 1.13" - 1.68" with 4 different reloads. A 4X scope was used.

This level of accuracy surely is not out of the reach of a good 44 lever action like a 1894 even with the open sights. Many revolvers can shoot sub 2" with a 4X scope.

I doubt the 77/357 will posess any overwhelming accuracy advantage over a Marlin 357 lever.

 

[Dobe]

Perhaps, but both being tweaked, I'm betting on the bolt gun, even untested.

Also, if the urge to suppress, hands down winner is the bolt gun over the lever platform.

 

[J_McLeod]

Perhaps, but both being tweaked, I'm betting on the bolt gun, even untested.

Also, if the urge to suppress, hands down winner is the bolt gun over the lever platform.

If you want fire suppression, just get a semi. And the bolt is only faster than the lever as long as you have loaded detachable mags. Once you run out of 5 round mags, the lever is faster. Plus you can top off the lever as you very easily.

 

[Dobe]

I'm not sure why you are interested in high rates of fire for either a bolt or lever gun. But since you are, mags always win out. Loading mags is no slower than loading a tube through a loading gate. Several pre loaded mags would also give a higher rate of fire per minute. Again, sustained rate of fire is not why I will buy a .357 rifle.

And a suppressed bolt gun is quieter than a semi (the action makes a noise).

 

[Eb1]

I think it is a cool gun. Fun to have with you if you are messing around a ranch or farm. Easy caliber to reload. It is like me loading the 30-30 with 125 grain FNHP and VV120 @ 2150 per second, but I would not have to size the brass, but I can load up the 30-30 where you can't with this rifle.

If you don't like levers then this would be a fun gun to tote around also. Little to no recoil, and powerful enough to get the job done.

 

[Dobe]

I'm going catch a few reviews before I buy. If the 77/357 can handle .38s just reasonably well, I'll get one.

 

[tubeshooter]

Looks pretty cool. If it shot .38 well, I'd be a lot happier.

And at least $100 less wouldn't hurt at all.


Kudos for the attempt, though. I'll be interested in the feedback from the brave souls who venture first.

 

[Dobe]

Street price and MSRP are rarely the same, especially for Rugers.

 

[Cop Bob]

Pretty spirited debate over a caliber offering in a bolt gun...Hard to believe that folks would get THAT riled up...

Ruger make a decent gun, they always have. Are they the best.. No... are they good Yes..

Why a 357 Bolt... easy, because they can.. and I am sure they have done their market research or they wouldn't have tooled up for it.

Ballisticlly, the 357 is a good little performer in a rifle. The ammo is cheaper. I can see many uses for it.. one a youth trainer, or 1st deer gun.. It would be a decent brush cartridge.. yes there are better, there is ALWAYS better.. but on paper it is not a bad concept.

I too would like to see larger magazine capacity, I'm sure that as someone gets their hands on one, someone will make one for it..

Will it stand the test of time... well time will tell us won't it.

Would I run out and buy one... I dunno.. gotta wrap my mitts around one first... I might..

Would I like to see more offerings, 327,Fed.. 357 Max... sure.. there is a butt for every seat..

This is America folks.. you CAN have it your way... and if you don't want one.. DON'T BUY IT... Jeezzss... I would hate to see these guys line up at Baskins and Robbins and start jumping all over each other about what flavor Ice Cream is best...

 

[Dobe]

Pretty spirited debate over a caliber offering in a bolt gun...Hard to believe that folks would get THAT riled up...

Actually, I thought the discussion had been going quiet well, sort of a point-counterpoint kinda thing. If you think this is a spirited debate, you should have been at a few of my family's reunions.

 

[Sam1911]

one a youth trainer

I've been toying with that idea recently. This carbine is a bit big, but it could be slimmed down a bit yet. Cut the barrel to 16.25", and then cut the stock to size the whole package at 26.25" (skirting the NFA obviously) and see what kind of weight it runs. A .357 loaded right would make a nice little deer gun for a young hunter, or plinker for stretching a bit beyond the .22 most kids are stuck with until mid teenage years.

 

[Eb1]

I just went to the site, and there is a .44 caliber offering as well. I think that is cool. One thing about the bolt 77 is that they are good pointing guns IMO. Also if they have a short stock on them. They would make for a good youth gun, and give the youth a feeling of having a true high power rifle like dad has. Very neat.

One thing I would have like to see is a 15 or 20 round detachable magazine. If it had this feature. I would buy one in a second. I think a .357 mag 77 bolt with a 20 round mag would really come in handy. Especially in a survival situation.

 

[HoosierQ]

1. They've made the thing for Indiana and other states where you can hunt deer only with a pistol caliber rifle. That's good.
2. They should have made it like their gunsite scout rifle with the apeture rear sight and the forward scout scope mount. That's bad.
3. A traditional scope on a .357 carbine is kind of a waste...rather have the proper iron sights. 1 out of 3 is not good enough for me.

Maybe they will offer other configs?

 

[Kendal Black]

1. They've made the thing for Indiana and other states where you can hunt deer only with a pistol caliber rifle. That's good.
2. They should have made it like their gunsite scout rifle with the apeture rear sight and the forward scout scope mount. That's bad.
3. A traditional scope on a .357 carbine is kind of a waste...rather have the proper iron sights. 1 out of 3 is not good enough for me.

Maybe they will offer other configs?

Interesting.

NECG and Ruger make peep sights that pinch into the Ruger scope ring recess. What you'll need for a front sight is Part Code IDK (I Don't Know.)

A Hoosier Scout? Now you're talkin'. Shorter and lighter and actually legal for something you might want to do with it. Some of our resident gunsmiths and experimenters might want to pitch in here with ideas on the best way to mount an optic forward.