7.62x39 Ruger M77

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dahermit

New member
I bought this rifle used several years ago. My interest in it was based on the cartridge it is chamber for, the fact that it is a Ruger M77...a Mauser based copy and it is light weight. It is very light recoiling and accurate enough to be used as a deer rifle, here in Michigan where most of the deer kills average under 40 yards. Ugly as hell but functional stock. As with all Mark II Ruger M77's, the trigger was atrocious, but I got it to where it is not bad at all.
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Cool rifle. That bad boy is pure utility. If you did want to pretty it up but keep it pure utility Gun skins are like $65 and look pretty cool, they are on amazon. They have a ton of camo patterns. I would leave the barrel and action stainless, just camo the stock, love the stainless....

Personally though, function and utility have a beauty all their own. I would leave it as is.

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i've been looking for one of those for a while now. Good, sturdy rifle, adequate for anything up to large deer. They are typically not tack-drivers, but they are fully capable out to 300-ish yds on deer. Good find.
 
I love those rifles, I looked for one for years before I just ended up building a AR X39 rifle. I just never could find one used for sale.
 
Shadow9mm said:
Cool rifle. That bad boy is pure utility. If you did want to pretty it up but keep it pure utility Gun skins are like $65 and look pretty cool, they are on amazon. They have a ton of camo patterns. I would leave the barrel and action stainless, just camo the stock, love the stainless....

Personally though, function and utility have a beauty all their own. I would leave it as is.

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I am a big fan of camouflage... but mostly for its utility, not its cosmetic effect so gunskin camo appeals to me but not the price. I was lucky enough to come across a roll of camo pattern duct tape while back and have used it to wrap rifles. Admittedly though, a gunskin would be way nicer looking.
 
Pathfinder45 said:
I agree about it being ugly as hell....Maybe Ruger could sell you a Walnut stock for it.
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Unfortunately, I bought it in a period of time where I was into competing in The Cast Lead Bullet Association postal matches. I was doing darn good with my Ruger #1 in 30-06 but the trend back then was to go with minimal .30 caliber cartridges. Inasmuch as I had found a Winchester Model 52 in 30-30 Winchester I set out to compete in that. However, reading the rules for "Production class", I discovered I could not compete with the M52 inasmuch as it had a custom stock and I could not find an original M52 stock (it would have forced me to compete in "Unlimited Class"...in which I knew I had no chance with a standard action and barrel). So, when I came across that M77 in 7.62x39, I thought, "here is my production class rifle". However, I lost interest in competing and never developed any cast loads for it. It mostly sat in a hidey hole out in my garage for varmint control (Dogs, Fox, Racoons, etc.) of the predators attracted by my chickens and geese. I was sure to put scotch tape over the end of the barrel to prevent those wasps from plugging the barrel.
 
Ruger's with those stocks have a cult like following. People either love 'em or hate 'em. I'm in the hate 'em camp. But to the right person those sell at a premium.

And not many 7.62X39's were made. A large portion had the barrels threaded for suppressors. I'd guess that rifle would bring a fair amount of money if you decided to sell it.
 
yes the gunskins are a tad pricey, but they a NICE! They come pre cut for general rifle shapes with the pieces numbered for installation order. I have wrapped 1 AR, and a couple scopes so far. I thought it was overly expensive as well, however My wife wanted pink camo on her rifle, and it was way cheaper than dipping. The kits are well thought out and good materials that are holding up well. In all I actually think it is a fair price for the product after having about and used one. I will be buying more kits in the future.

Here's the wrapping vid for rifle
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGiWNORnY-0

Personally Prefer a heat gun or hair dryer over a torch.
 
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i have a ruger 77 in 7.62x39 with boat paddle stock and moghogany inserts that shoots very well with .311 dia bullets, but i have a rem model 7 AAC in .300 bk that is lighter and shoots 125 gr bullets at 2400+ fps and 150 gr bullets at 2200+ fps with little gun powder.
 
mine

I've got one of those ugly 7.62x39 Rugers myself. Bought about 1995 for $414 dollars, the shop had 3, I bought the last one. While I was filling out the paperwork, I guy walked in and inquired........sorry buddy. A talented pal worked over the trigger, and it is an absolute delight to carry and shoot.

The look of the boat paddle stock took some getting used too, but they are TOUGH and I believe you could drive a nail with one. The little Ruger is my only stainless rifle and it can suffer a degree of neglect and come out of it none the worse for wear. Get it wet or bloody, discover it a day later, and the rifle is still okay. I've hunted mine quite a bit, killed my largest whitetail with it (about 19 yds) as well as 5-6 others. Purchased originally for bamaboy, he hunted it for a couple of seasons (killed 2) and moved to something bigger.

The rifle has always worn a Leupold 2-7x, but I am thinking of swapping a Leupold 1.5-4x Freedom on to it, the 7.62x39 cartridge really doesn't need more than 4x given it's intended use and range. The 2-7x will better serve a recently acquired Ruger Predator, 18.5" in .308, but not this season, and I digress. For those kills I mentioned, I loaded the now discontinued Sierra 135gr SSP bullet, and yes, it was .308" in diameter. I shot the same bullet from my Mini30 as well. I was never to terribly impressed with the expansion of that slug, we were driving them to about 2100 fps, from the M77, less from the shorter barreled Mini. The M77 shot into about 1.5" and that was good enough. Deer got dead regardless of accuracy and moderate velocity.

When my supply of 135gr Sierra's dried up, I went shopping for a new bullet, and settled on the .310" Hornady 125 gr SST. The M77 could stand having the bullet seated well out from the cannelure, that and/or the increased diameter yielded a substantial gain in accuracy. The M77 shoots the SST into 1" groups consistently, and we get 2225 fps and the single kill with the SST bullet (bamaboy) indicates better expansion. I wrote that kill/performance up in these threads, you might search for it if interested.

I have not hunted the little Mk77II-7.62x39 in two seasons, but it was my wet weather, rough country, climbing tree stand rifle for some time.
 
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