Ruger m77 7x57 improve accuracy

[68lemans462]

Hey guys I have a Ruger m77 7x57 with the tang safety made in 1977. It was given to me as a gift from my grandfather who was a big gun geek. I have several of his rifles that are incredibly accurate and unfortunately this isn't one of them. We have not been able to get this m77 to shoot very well at all with 130 grain - 150 grain bullets. Best groups are 2" at 100 yards. The rifle has been bedded and has had a trigger job. We have tried a variety of hand loads with this gun with varying results.

I have read all about the deep chamber throats as well as quality issues with these rifles and wondering if re barrel would help with accuracy or if this thing is even worth messing with? I don't think I can bring myself to ever sell this gun and I'd like to be able to shoot it instead of having it sit in the back of my safe. Any thoughts or suggestions? I'd be real happy if this gun was a tack driver.

 

[Newtosavage]

Nice rifle!

I have a Ruger 77 Hawkeye RSI in 7x57 that I have been tinkering with for a little while now. I've shot about 250 rounds through it, half of which have been my hand loads. I've seen everything from shotgun pattern (4-5" groups) to sub-MOA at 100 yards. To say these Rugers are picky would be an understatement.

Here's what is working for me:

H4831 and RL-19 are my best powders, with H4831 doing slightly better than RL-19.

Seating the bullets near the lands is a complete waste of time with these rifles. My OAL's must be 2.92" to achieve any level of accuracy. Shorter or longer and the groups open up.

I am basically stuffing the case pretty full with the 4831. The Nosler load data for the 7x57 is very good. I am loading right to those specs.

That is a classic rifle in one of the most classic calibers ever created. It's worth the time you will put in to find those one or two good loads, IMO.

Good luck!

 

[68lemans462]

Just checked some of my loading logs.. Ive tried:
Horn 139 SP 48-50 grains IMR4350 3.05" OAL,
140 Nosler with 50 grains (case as full as I can get it) IMR4350 3.08" OAL.
Horn 139 SP 47-49 Grains H414 3.11" OAL.
Horn 139 SP 42-44 Grains H380 3.11" OAL.

I havent tried H4831 or RL19, although I do have some H4831sc on hand... I have tried shorter OAL's as well... I had pretty much given up after trying all these different loads with mediocre results. This gun doesnt respond as well as some others to different powders....

 

[RevJim]

Those older M77s in 7x57 were made with barrels that cost Ruger about $17 each! You can do one of two things...play with it a bit longer and settle for 2" or a tad less ( which will work on every critter in the woods or mountains!) or invest in a new barrel, which will run you about $550 on average. Its agood solid rifle and, to me, is worth the expense of rebarreling "unless" I hunted in thick woods over bait or trail watching. It is just fine for those two applications. Good luck to you Pard.

 

[68lemans462]

Who makes an aftermarket barrel for this?? I'm interested to know what options are for this. What kind of accuracy can be expected with an aftermarket barrel??

 

[dubbleA]

That stock doesn't appear to be from the factory. It looks as it has been restocked.
You mention the stock is bedded. Is the stock bedded properly? Ruger uses that weird diagonal action screw along with a shallow recoil lug arrangement, I would closely inspect that and see if any binding is going on. Is the forearm free floated or is there a pressure point. If free floated you might want to try adding some pressure at the forearm tip. If there is a pressure point you might want to remove it and see if it shoots better. In general a free floated barrel will shoot better but its not always the case.

These are just some additional things to look at along with what others have stated.

As far as barrels go with the Ruger you are going to need to buy a barrel blank and fitted (ie. threaded,
chambered, headspaced, finished) to your rifle. I am not aware of any prefits available for a M77

 

[Liberty1776]

dubbleA is right on the stock. Also, just for grins, what about trying a longer heavier bullet? There is still the 160 gr. and 175 gr. to try...

 

[Newtosavage]

I'd definitely try the H4831 if you haven't already. 50 grains is a good amount, 51 is listed as max on the Nosler site for 140's. I have good luck with 50g under a 139 SST or 140 Sierra Game king.

What dubble said is solid advice too. I floated my barrel and nothing changed but then I added a little up pressure and the groups shrank. Gotta find what that particular rifle wants.

One last thing, my groups also improved when I torqued the CRAP out of that angled front action screw. As in, set the Dewalt cordless drill to max torque, and hunkered down on it. That turned the front action screw almost 1/2 turn more than I could do it by hand.

 

[homers]

There is a detailed thread on a different forum talking about this exact issue. Seems, according to that thread, that the magazine box can make a difference. If the magazine box doesn't move a bit, meaning it's really tight, accuracy is poor. there are instructions on how to file down. If the box is tight, remove the box, and then shoot single shots at the range to see if accuracy improves. If it does, then the box can be filed down and put back into place. The tension on the angled screw is also important.

 

[Ks5shooter]

I have a 7x57 Ruger M77 red pad gun 70's vintage I bought from an old timer(quick swab the bore until next hunting season sight in) and had the same issues. I took a can of Wipe Out and cleaned the bore after an overnight soak(follow the directions) and it tightened up considerably. Had lots and I mean lots of copper fouling. Now its a 1 inch gun at 100yrds.

 

[jmr40]

Prior to 1991 Ruger didn't make their own barrels. Outside vendors made them and quality varied from poor to excellent. Some shoot near match grade, some were poor shooters, most were acceptable.

Also, due to the angled bedding system Ruger uses you'll never get any of them to shoot as accurately as other brands. They were designed for rugged reliability and decent hunting accuracy. Not many are going to be a good choice for pure accuracy.

At the time 2" @100 yards was considered acceptable hunting accuracy. At normal ranges it still is. You may be able to tweak loads and get it to shoot a little better, but I'd either accept it for what it is, or spend the money for an aftermarket barrel.

 

[Coltdriver]

Have you tried the optimum charge weight method? Also known as Audette ladder? They are not exactly the same but are very similar.

I have been able to make every M77 I have owned dial in using this method.

If you work through a few ladders and cannot get it to shoot then I would look at something more drastic. Rebarreling is a $500 proposition without getting to a really great barrel.

 

[68lemans462]

Thanks for the responses.... This rifle has the original stock and has a great bedding job. Why do you think this is not the original stock? The butt has a plastic ruger emblem on it?? I could be wrong but I always though this stock was original....Anyways the barrel is floated the whole way and done correctly....

After doing some research and contacting the local gun trade school, Colorado school of trades (who does high quality work for CHEAP), I've dedided to rebarrel the gun in 6.5 creedmoor! I'm going to start another post asking about aftermarket barrel selection and other details... Thanks for your suggestions! I'm excited to change this up and add a new caliber to the arsenal!

 

[RevJim]

The stock is definitely not from a "standard" 1977 Mod 77. Now, there was a company that you could send your stock off to and they "refined" it by thinning it, reshaping to rounder edges, touched up the checkering and it may be one of those. The originals also did not have a black fore end tip. The Ultralight of the early 80's did. but that stock was very thin. No matter, its a beautiful stock. There are many barrel companies, you just decide what contour you want ( Sporter most likely) length, and whether you want stainless or chrome moly ( which has to be blued) I had a Remington Mod 7 rebarelled to the 6.5 Creedmoor last year. It was a blued Shilen, 26" in length. Its a good round, very popular. Good luck to you Pard.

 

[Newtosavage]

Oh, I'm sorry to hear that 7x57 won't be kept. IMO, it's a better hunting round than the 6.5 creedmoor but for just punching paper I guess the 6.5 is a good choice. It's just getting harder and harder to find 7x57's these days.

Since that is a long action, have you thought about maybe a long action round in 6.5 or a .280 ? It would give you more options down the road and you're going to be carrying a long action anyway. Personally I'd have it rebarreled to a .280.

 

[Mac11]

Do yourself a favor and look up Sniper 101 on YouTube. Here is the link to video #7 titled "Rifle Vibrations and Harmonics". This guy shoots an M77VT .243 that will drop a beer can off of a target at 1250 yds. He's a little slow but covers the bases explaining how to get a rifle to group and how to correct for harmonics. His series of 90+ vids is pretty enlightening and vid #12 at @ the 9min mark he explains his M77. BTW.. The mag box clearance check mentioned above WORKS and takes 15 minutes to do. May save you the price of a barrel you don't need.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?list=PLJUaiRIEduNXoal2_PkBZi0vDCIcEPxUn&v=h407yVskVeM

 

[dgarvin1]

Unfortunately, 2" is probably about as good as it gets with this rifle in that chambering.
2" is fine for hunting of course.

 

[.375]

you could put a red dot sight on it and leave it as shorter range rifle.