When I was a kid, I mowed enough yards one summer to pay for a used 22 rifle. I have no idea how many bricks of ammo I put through that rifle but it was a lot. I think I had it about a week before I relieved my old man of a cheap tasco & a pair of rings. I had a ball with that rifle & its still in my gunsafe. Like most do, I moved on to bigger and "better" rifles and calibers. I pretty well have it covered from 204 to 300 mag nowadays. I handload for all of them; never quite satisfied with them & always looking to better myself and my equipment.
For about a year now I've had an itch that wouldn't go away. I wanted a good old 22 lr in the same pattern & size (approximately) as my bolt action centerfire rifles. That meant a 77/22 ruger. I watched auction after auction & called every gun shop within a hundred miles only to find the prices on 77/22's was more than I wanted to pay. So I did what we all do in that situation....kept looking until I got tired of looking and just bought the damned thing! I picked up an earlier production s/s model for $400 off gunbroker. I didn't put much of a scope on it. A Simmons 22 mag model 3-9x32 is what it wears. I couldn't wait to get it zeroed in and was pleased to find the adjustments to be reasonably accurate. After replacing the trigger spring and working over the sear a bit, the rifle shoots great with cheap remington bulk 36 grain jacketed hollow points. The timing was perfect as we're in a bit of a lull at work but the crows, blackbirds, & starlings are everywhere. I've been hell on those birds this week and have burned through about 300 rounds already thinning them out.
Honestly, I haven't had this much fun with a rifle since I was a kid shooting that first 22. This thing is a hoot & I'm going to have order more bulk boxes.
For about a year now I've had an itch that wouldn't go away. I wanted a good old 22 lr in the same pattern & size (approximately) as my bolt action centerfire rifles. That meant a 77/22 ruger. I watched auction after auction & called every gun shop within a hundred miles only to find the prices on 77/22's was more than I wanted to pay. So I did what we all do in that situation....kept looking until I got tired of looking and just bought the damned thing! I picked up an earlier production s/s model for $400 off gunbroker. I didn't put much of a scope on it. A Simmons 22 mag model 3-9x32 is what it wears. I couldn't wait to get it zeroed in and was pleased to find the adjustments to be reasonably accurate. After replacing the trigger spring and working over the sear a bit, the rifle shoots great with cheap remington bulk 36 grain jacketed hollow points. The timing was perfect as we're in a bit of a lull at work but the crows, blackbirds, & starlings are everywhere. I've been hell on those birds this week and have burned through about 300 rounds already thinning them out.
Honestly, I haven't had this much fun with a rifle since I was a kid shooting that first 22. This thing is a hoot & I'm going to have order more bulk boxes.
