5" group with a Ruger M77 .30-06... This cannot be good...
- Thread starter Kentucky Deer Hunter
- Start date
Rugers
Get the trigger down to 3 lbs,(I put a timeny in my Mark-2 RL) ,you may have to float the barrel,as I also had to do this in my Weatherby Light weight,to get a better group,being a light weight ,ya need to let the barrel cool after 3 shots ....
A few years ago I watched a new Ruger owner struggle with factory loads in a 30-06 ....he got about a 5 to 6 inch group ,he asked me what I thought ,and I stated "If that were my gun, I'd sell it" .....
I gave him a couple of my reloads ,he made two shots ,and then just had to go see his target ....he had two holes touching"perfectly" at 100 yards,he had never done that before ,he was truly amazed ....come to find out his brother inlaw owned a gun shop,I just converted him to reloads !
The recipe that has worked for many an 06 shooter ...
Sierra 165 SPBT,
IMR 4895 powder, 45 grains.
Large rifle primer (any).
Give it a try what have you got to loose but diameter ! see ya BB
Get the trigger down to 3 lbs,(I put a timeny in my Mark-2 RL) ,you may have to float the barrel,as I also had to do this in my Weatherby Light weight,to get a better group,being a light weight ,ya need to let the barrel cool after 3 shots ....
A few years ago I watched a new Ruger owner struggle with factory loads in a 30-06 ....he got about a 5 to 6 inch group ,he asked me what I thought ,and I stated "If that were my gun, I'd sell it" .....
I gave him a couple of my reloads ,he made two shots ,and then just had to go see his target ....he had two holes touching"perfectly" at 100 yards,he had never done that before ,he was truly amazed ....come to find out his brother inlaw owned a gun shop,I just converted him to reloads !
The recipe that has worked for many an 06 shooter ...
Sierra 165 SPBT,
IMR 4895 powder, 45 grains.
Large rifle primer (any).
Give it a try what have you got to loose but diameter ! see ya BB
Kentucky Deer Hunter
New member
I assume the Sierra 165 SPBT is the Spitzer Point Boat Tail Bullets?
He has the same problem when he shoots my rifle... 4 - 5" groups. I will admit, he is a better shot than I am
, but he cannot get anything tight on my rifle.Ruger vs Remington 700
I had a Ruger M77 in .270 for about 6 months. I had sold my Remington 700 BDL .243 which shot nickel size groups at 100 yards. I sold the Ruger, bought a Remington 700 BDL in .270 had a gunsmith tune the trigger and get it to 3.5 lbs pull, it's been shooting better than 3/4" groups at 100 yards for 20 years. I'd call Ruger, send them the gun and have them fix it for free. You'll probably end up with a great shooter if they will, otherwise return it and buy a Remington 700. Any 30-06 that won't group with 180g bullets (the best all around weight for the caliber) isn't worth keeping in my opinion.
Chuck
I had a Ruger M77 in .270 for about 6 months. I had sold my Remington 700 BDL .243 which shot nickel size groups at 100 yards. I sold the Ruger, bought a Remington 700 BDL in .270 had a gunsmith tune the trigger and get it to 3.5 lbs pull, it's been shooting better than 3/4" groups at 100 yards for 20 years. I'd call Ruger, send them the gun and have them fix it for free. You'll probably end up with a great shooter if they will, otherwise return it and buy a Remington 700. Any 30-06 that won't group with 180g bullets (the best all around weight for the caliber) isn't worth keeping in my opinion.
Chuck
Ruger makes really pretty bolt-guns & single shots, but I have lost track of the ones I've seen and heard about that wouldn't shoot for sour apples. Frankly I think they use second rate barrels. Several .270 Rugers on the other hand, have been pretty darn good. 'Luck of the draw' you might say.
This is not to say that some tweaking won't get yours up to a usable level of accuracy- which is whatever you say it is. Ruger's comment about making it shoot "at least a 3" group" tells me everything I need to know about their expectations of their own product.
The deal-killer for me is that the most abused, ugly old 110 Savage in any caliber (mine's an UGLY .223) has always just shot rings around the 'best' Rugers I've had ahold of. So does the old plain-jane .30-06 Remington Model 78 that has stood in the closet corner for about 14 years now. I probably have less in that 78 than a new wood stock for a 77 Ruger would cost these days.
Needless to say, neither of those old ugly guns are going anywhere.
This is not to say that some tweaking won't get yours up to a usable level of accuracy- which is whatever you say it is. Ruger's comment about making it shoot "at least a 3" group" tells me everything I need to know about their expectations of their own product.
The deal-killer for me is that the most abused, ugly old 110 Savage in any caliber (mine's an UGLY .223) has always just shot rings around the 'best' Rugers I've had ahold of. So does the old plain-jane .30-06 Remington Model 78 that has stood in the closet corner for about 14 years now. I probably have less in that 78 than a new wood stock for a 77 Ruger would cost these days.
Needless to say, neither of those old ugly guns are going anywhere.
Danny Creasy
New member
Ruger's inconsistency is frustrating. Across the board. Two friends sent back 77 Varmints in .22-250 over poor accuracy and another's is a tack driver. I know this is a centerfire thread. But, I made a recent post about my great experience with a 77/22. I had been less than impressed with a couple I had shot in the past.
http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=263669
http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=263669
Jim Watson
New member
Friend of mine had a M77 7x57 that was very disappointing on accuracy. Ruger tinkered with the bedding and crown and sent it back with a 1.5" group which he thought adequate for hunting until he read the fine print and saw it had been shot at 50 yards. The rifle now has a Douglas barrel in .280 Rem and is his new favorite mule deer and elk rifle.
Art Eatman
Staff in Memoriam
I've always had good results with Sierra bullets, both boat-tail and flat-base; spitzers and hollow points are equal, as well. I've mostly used 4064, since 1950. 
I tried a book-max load of H414 with 180-grain SPBTs and got a three-shot 0.4 MOA group--and grinned, and quit.
Dunno what to say about Rugers in general. I had two 77s back in the 1970s and they were tack-drivers. I have a 77 Mk II in .223 and it's a half-MOA critter--with no tweaking other than installing a Timney trigger.
Occasional bad barrels? I dunno. Frustrating...
Art
I tried a book-max load of H414 with 180-grain SPBTs and got a three-shot 0.4 MOA group--and grinned, and quit. Dunno what to say about Rugers in general. I had two 77s back in the 1970s and they were tack-drivers. I have a 77 Mk II in .223 and it's a half-MOA critter--with no tweaking other than installing a Timney trigger.
Occasional bad barrels? I dunno. Frustrating...
Art
)see ya BBH4895 has produced such good results in so many calibers, it's about the only rifle powder I keep on the place anymore. Sierra bullets as mentioned in Art's last post have all been excellent in my rifles. The Nosler 150/Ballistic Tip was also a nice surprise, producing some of the best groups pur Remingtons have ever shot.