Tell me about the Ruger M77

[Smith357]

I saw a Ruger 77 .243 with a Mannlicher stock at a local shop today with what seemed to be a good price. It was $400 with rings I was tempted but know next to nothing about the Ruger 77s other than they seem to be a Mauser based action.

I am in the market for a nice .243 sporting rifle for a hunting trip this fall and was saving up for a Kimber

My questions are:

1. Are they as robust as all the other Ruger products?

2. How are thier triggers?

3. Should I keep saving for the Kimber, or blow my wad on the Ruger Mannlicher (i've always had a thing for mannlichers)?

 

[dakotasin]

1 - yes.
2 - the tang safety ruger triggers are decent, and even if not, 30 minutes of your time or $50 and 15 minutes at a gun smith will fix it.
3 - either way you won't go wrong.

 

[ThomasT]

They want $400 dollars!!!! Good grief, stay away from that gun. They are horrible. The triggers almost need a cheater bar to make them go off. The barrels are flimsey, thats why they put that long stock on it to hold it up. Those are reject guns from Ruger. They are so bad Walmart won't even sell them.

Say, you wouldn't mind sending me a PM with the phone number and address of that shop would you? Not that I want to buy it or anything.

 

[06]

Ratshooter--what a friend--LOL, I have a 77 and love it. Smooth strong action, handles great, and very accurate. Of course it is in '06(why would any sensible person want anything less-lol). The only thing I do not like about it is that it has no sights other than the scope. I like safeties/backups and only having scope sights limits you in case it goes bad. I may take it to a reputable smith and have a set mounted and then put on see through mounts. Hope you enjoy yours as much as I have mine. The first deer I shot with it I nearly missed because I was not familiar with it. I shot high and cut his liver(about 200 yds), next shot was about 300 and I sliced his hide just above the spine, third shot hit him in the ham about 450 yds out and spun him around. He died twenty yards from where he went into the woods. The first shot was a mortal wound but I did not know it. Was about ready to beat that rifle over a limb. When I realized what I had done I knelt humbly before my prize shooter and asked forgiveness--lol. Afterwards I did some more practice and developed a great confidence in it. It is very easy to forget that your rifle will shoot where it is zeroed in at. wc

 

[RSVP2RIP]

If it is a M77 not a M77mkII I would jump on it in a heartbeat. The tang saftey M77 is a great rifle. With the Internationals (full stock) there may be some stringing because of the foreend tip contacting the end of the barrel as apposed to a half stock rifle. The are only mauser actions on the outside, the ejecter is a mechanical plunger ala M700 and the claw extracter is not control feed. You will see that the case head recess in the bolt goes all the way around. So you have a mauser looking push feed. Don't let this bother you too much as you aren't going to be shooting cape buffalo with a .243. I think you will find the trigger to be good and the tang saftey is a great asset on a carbine as it is very fast to disengage. Best part of all is the gun will be light weight and short, perfect for still and tree stand hunting, and the .243 is a good deer round and can double up on coyotes with 55 grain bullets at 3600-3900fps.

 

[BornAgainBullseye]

My father and uncle have owned Ruger M77's since the early 70's. My little brother got a mark2 when he turned 12. Never have they let them down. I don't own one because they are a little overpriced for a new one. Not saying it isn't worth it. Not going to get a Mauser type controlled round feed in a modern rifle for less! My father had a leather sling that he cut a notch for every buck he killed. It went up both sides of the sling! He has started on another now and it has ten on it. I have even shot a few with it. They are great rifles. Not saying that you are going to need it but try this with a push feed. Turn it upside down and chamber a round

 

[dakotasin]

the tang safety rugers are push feeds.

 

[BornAgainBullseye]

There is no m77 that is a push feed. They all have huge mauser claw extractors you should do your homework! They were based on the Mauser 98. But I don't know if that means anything to you....?

 

[Slamfire]

There is no m77 that is a push feed. They all have huge mauser claw extractors you should do your homework! They were based on the Mauser 98. But I don't know if that means anything to you....?

The early M77's were in fact a push feed. Yes they had a claw extractor, but the bolt face arrangement was such that the cartridge did not slide under the extractor.

Ruger has since rearranged the bolt face and my M77 is a controlled round feed.

 

[loadedround]

I own more than several Ruger Model 77's both in rim and center fire and everyone is an excellent shooter and fairly accurate once you find the right load. As others have mentioned, the Model 77's have a rather poor trigger out of the box, but if you're handy you can fix that cheaply. The Ruger has a simple trigger and all that' needed is all contact points need to be polished to remove the factory roughness, and on mine, removing one coil from the sear spring(I'll hear about that one). Lube it up and it's a go. One other thing to do on a Ruger is to make sure there ar no high or rough spots in the barrel channel. Ruger barrels are not normally free floated from the factory and I'm not suggesting you do so, but just sharing my experience. I have one Ruger Mannlicher in 308 Win and it's a sweetheart!

 

[TX Hog Hunter]

I've used Ruger 77s for a LONG time and have several. A short history.

Original M77 Good gun, very handly tang safety, PUSH FEED, adjustable trigger, bulky stocks, accuracy very inconsistent. These first model guns had barrels made by an outside vendor (I've heard Wilson Arms) and apparently Ruger specified a cheap barrel, not necessarily a good barrel. Some shoot good, but some are 2-4" guns.

77 MK II Ruger changed the bolt to a controlled round feed, thinned the stocks, non-adjustable trigger (triggers normally need a gunsmith) and moved the safety and made it a two position so you can load and unload with the gun on safe. They also seem to have improved the barrel quality as most of these rifles seem to shoot well.

77 Hawkeye (current production) Over all improved the rifle again, trimmed the stocks down, improved out of the box trigger pull and really made the rifles feel good, these rifles have barrels made in-house by Ruger and really seem to shoot very good. By far the best of the bunch. My walnut stocked .358 and my laminate stocked .30-06 will both shoot under 1" at 100yds.

Bottom line if you like the features of the little 77 Manlicher and it shoots good it's a keeper and if it doesn't, well that's what gun shows are for........................

 

[SHvar]

The model 77 mk11 I have is extremely accurate. But then again its a heavy barreled target rifle with a very light trigger.
Shoots dime sized groups (and smaller) easily from a bipod at 100 yds.

 

[rbernie]

There is no m77 that is a push feed. They all have huge mauser claw extractors you should do your homework! They were based on the Mauser 98. But I don't know if that means anything to you....?

BornAgainBullseye - you are mistaken, and it would probably be a good idea to tweak your tone a bit.

The original Model 77 used a snap-over extractor and was not a CRF design. Yes, they used a claw-style extractor but it was mostly for cosmetic reasons. The bottom of the boltface was closed and did not allow the rim to slide under the extractor, and the extractor did not engage the rim until the round was fully chambered. The Model 77 MkII changed the bolt face (opened up the bottom) and completed the transition to a true CRF design.

I think very highly of the Ruger 77MkII and have three (7mm08, 308, and 7.62x39). None of mine have worked-on triggers, and for field work they are very servicable. I'm more likely to miss due to shooter error than because the trigger had a wee bit o' creep in it.

Mannlicher stocks tend to take a bit of accuracy off the rifle (no such thing as free-floating a Mannlicher ) but they do look neat. For offhand shooting in the field, they are very practical.

Should I keep saving for the Kimber, or blow my wad on the Ruger Mannlicher (i've always had a thing for mannlichers)?

Personal decision. I like the Kimbers, but I'm not much for a $1000+ dollar field rifle. I'd much rather get a $600 rifle and put decent glass on it than drop my coin into an expensive rifle and have to go cheaper on the optics.

 

[BornAgainBullseye]

Sitting here chambering rounds from the box in my father's tang safety m77 and it does not throw the round ahead of the bolt!!! It catches the extractor and is in the groove the whole way into lockup.... It has a serial number starting with 73-xxxxxxx it they made a push feed it must be before 1973. Also if I put a round into the chamber and then try to close the bolt on it u will have a no no! Feeds just like my mausers! And will feed upside down just like my mausers too

 

[Maverick223]

I imagine the reason for the god price is the Mannlicher stock, as most people don't like them because "they look old fashioned". Personally I like em', go pick it up (before Ratshooter finds your stash ). The M77 is not ultra accurate, but it's not bad and is very reliable and pretty smooth.

 

[rbernie]

Sitting here chambering rounds from the box in my father's tang safety m77 and it does not throw the round ahead of the bolt!!!

I believe you. But AFAIK, that's not standard, as-delivered-from-Ruger.

It'd be interesting to get a pic of the boltface. It sounds like either there was a transition model (which I've never heard of) or an enterprising gunsmith made a smart and practical rifle for your dad by modifying the standard Ruger 77 boltface.

 

[homeyclaus]

I have M77 Mk II Varmint/Target in 308. I like it a lot, it'll cloverleaf at 100 with little difficulty, although it's a bit long and heavy to go deer hunting with.

I understand the VT trigger is different than the stock one, and that the new "LC" trigger designs are based on the old VT trigger.

I certainly would not hesitate to buy another M77, a Frontier, or whatever.

 

[Maverick223]

I believe you. But AFAIK, that's not standard, as-delivered-from-Ruger.

I thought they were all like that, I know the new ones are CRF, at least in the magnum chamberings.

 

[rangerruck]

I've got a 77 in mach 2, and it is a great , robust rifle, just like you like.
and if you don't like the trigger on it, the trigger job is so simple, an idiot like me, can do it. I did mine, in about 10 minutes, with about 20 strokes of a plain steel small type file. it now has no creep, crawl, and breaks at about 12 oz.

 

[Smith357]

The rifle in question has a wing safety, I did not know to look at the bolt that closly to see if the claw extractor was also controlled feed. I thought it was a 3 position, but I could be wrong.
I'm willing to sacrifice a bit of accurracy for the short barrel and full lenght stock. It did feel lighter to me than a model 700 or 84M but not as light as the m70 featherweight.

 

[mustang 22]

The M77 Hawkeye is pretty tough to beat, for the price, I'd call it a best buy.

 

[dakotasin]

born again bullseye - a claw extractor does not make a crf. check your facts and do your own homework.

a claw extractor means a gun has a claw extractor.

 

[Omaha-BeenGlockin]

I got my Hawkeye .30-06 shooting decent groups first time out using cheap Federal ammo and using a VERY poor rest--the cross hairs were bouncing all over.

Next time out I'll bring more loads and use a proper benchrest---at this point I'm confident it will be sub-MOA if I do my part.

 

[RSVP2RIP]

Smith 357- It is lighter because it has a light profile barrel and I believe it is 20" long. I would sacrifice the additional ounce or two of the feather weight for the 2" less barrel. The wing saftey is a 3 position and also means it is a M77MkII not a M77. This has a different trigger that will most likley be creepy and heavy but very usable. Replacements abound from $50-150. You can even get steel bottom metal replacements and a host of other crap to play with if your wallet is deep enough. It will also be a control feed with a fixed ejector. Still a great gun at a good price though. I would get it over the featherwight, ONLY because of the price point and that god-awful schnabel stock on the featherweight.

 

[Art Eatman]

Around 1973 I bought a new 77 in .243. Shot 3/4 MOA with Remington factory ammo.

A couple of years later I bought a heavy-barrelled 77 in .220 Swift. Put a Canjar single-set trigger on it. 3/8 MOA.

I now have a 77 Mk II light sporter in .223 with a Timney trigger. Half-MOA.

Three excellent out of three ain't bad.