M77 3006 scope?

S

Sweet Shooter

New member
I don't know what to do. I tol' you guys last month I scored this nice M77 it's 33 years old and in nice overall shape... great actually. Well it's shooting okay with the irons (2MOA) if you take into account my eyes. but I do not know how much to put into this rifle in terms of a sighting system and improving accuracy. I could put a NECG peep on it for about 80 bucks and call it good, probably improve on the open sight groups. But my task is I don't know how good the bore is. It is bright and shiny, sharp and clear of any visibly pits etc. but I'm having difficulty seeing if the throat is running out. It looks okay but I have no gear to inspect it properly. The gun has never been buggered about with, no bedding, no "improvements" of any kind. If I spend 400 on a decent scope and find out it shoots horribly I'll be unhappy with the world.

What are you guys' experiences with scoring older guns and them being fine and dandy? I currently have no scopes I could try on this as I tend to buy and sell a lot and only keep gems...
-SS-
 
I have nearly 40 firearms currently. Of those 2 were purchased new. If I don't like how a gun shoots I take the $400 scope off and sell the gun. The glass goes on the next acquisition to be tested. Nothing says you have to sell the scope with the gun.
 
Put a scope on it. It's more fun for me to shoot rifles with scopes.

What's it chambered for?

A 3-9 Leupold is where to start. Or a 2-7 Leu.

Did you get the Ruger scope mounts with it?
 
fine

Hey Sweet,

I remember your Ruger. I think if you're getting 2 MOA with the bead and blade there's not much chance of a bad tube on that rifle. As I remember,the overall appearance of your rifle was VG+, and you describe the bore as looking pretty good too. The fact that the rifle is over 30 yrs old does not necessarily mean that its been shot alot. Most guys run a box or two of shells through a centerfire sporter, a rifle they only bought to hunt a few days of the season with, , at best, a year.

I'll give you an example. I bought a very nice Ruger 77V, used, (splendidly accurate) in the early 80's to chuck hunt with. Shortly after that, I got moved around a good bit, as in years, for work. No real chuck/varmint opportunities, but the rifle shot so well I could not part with it. When I landed here in AL, I started to deer and turkey hunt hard, and there are just not a lot of chucks (coyotes eat'em) and I did not fool with coyotes. I've owned that rifle 30+ yrs. I started shooting it again this summer at crows, and still had some of the original loads I worked up 30 yrs ago from a batch of 100. And I'm a bonafide rifle kook.

Can't say for sure on "06, but .308 cal competitors (match work) claim a .30 barrel will go 4000 rds or so before it looses a competitive degree of accuracy. That's target work, where X count (1/2 MOA in some games) may win a match. That same barrel may go 5000 or more plus before it looses a useful degree of field accuracy like most of us only really need for big game. I strongly doubt that your Ruger has 4-5000 rounds through it. Heck, I bet it doesn't have 4-500.

You don't need to drop $400 bucks on a good scope. I've bought my last 1/2 dozen or so Leupolds, mostly fixed power jobs, or very low powered variables, used, for less than half that. M-8's or Vari-II's. All have been good to go, though a trip to Leupold would get them fixed (for free) if I had to. But none did.

Your question should be, do I want to hunt it with a scope, or go with irons, or slightly improved (peep) irons? For me, on a serious GP big game rifle, I'm gonna scope it, 'cause I can see better that way. Especially in bad light when game tends to move. I've got some peep sighted rifles, but hunt them only in exclusive circumstances, close range, AM, etc.

As noted, your rifle will take Ruger "rings", easily found.
 
Scope it. For right at $200 buy a Redfield Revolution or Burris FF-II in 3-9X40. If you want to spend more a Leupold VX-2 sells for around
$300 and is as much scope as you need. Rings should have been included with the rifle, if not you'll have to buy some.
 
Thanks for your feedback friends. I have the rings for it. There was a scope that came on it which was actually bent, I turned it in v blocks and could see this clearly—it was thrown in the trash. I suspect someone dropped it and could never get that scope to work right again and bailed on the whole package. It's clean now (I'm good at cleaning them up) and I periodically run an oil patch through it to see if I'm getting any color but nothing comes out. I'm 90 percent confident on the barrel. I've had poor luck with cheeper scopes that's why I'm leaning on maybe the New England peep for it... it handles like lightening too, without the scope.

-SS-
 
Natchezss still has the discontinued Nitrex TR1 3-9 for $100. Five years ago it was selling for $300.
 
I'd buy the best scope you can afford. The lower priced Leupolds are decent scopes and should one turn toes up, send it back. They'll fix it and all you'll be out with be the cost of shipping it to them. I've had two of their lower priced scopes turn toes up but one was on a 7 pound .375/338 Magnum wildcat that had serious recoil. The other has done duty on a very hot loaded .35 Whelen. Both have been mounted on those rifles for close to five years and the guns were shot quite a bit. Both times the scopes were returned like new.
Tell you a story about one rifle I bought. I've always had a thing for rifles with a schnable forend and when Winchester brought out the M70 Featherweight in 7x57, double whammy. I had to have one. Price was the problem. A friend whom I've bought guns from before had one on his table. No scope, bases or rings but he let me have it for a good price. He swore the gun was extremely accurate for the type and he'd never steered me wrong. I bought bases, rings and took one of my spare scopes and mounted it. The sight in session was a disasster. I pulled the gun from the stock and the bedding looked OK. Did a trrigger job ending up with a slick 2.5 pull. next range session same thing. patterns, not groups. I took it tp my gunsmith and had a full glass bedding done, the barrel free floated and come the next range session, no change. :confused: One day while loading some ammo and contemplating my sins I said to myself. I've checked out everything, trigger job, glass bedding, screws all tight, what haven't I done? Could it be the scope? It's one that has been on over a dozen rifles over the years. So, not having another I could use I went out and bought a new scope. A Leupold 2x7 to be exact. got it mounted, bore sighted and was ready to go. Loaded up a load that showed promise and hit the range the next day. Sot at 25 yards to be sure I was on at 100 and after getting it sighted in 3" high set up a clean target. The first three shots did one ragged hole and shot 4 and 5 opened the group up to .75". My friend hadn't lied to me. The rifle was as accurate as he'd stated. More experimentation with different loads and bullet weights have had five shot groups as small as .375". Methinks the gun is a keeper. Try a Leupold 2x7X. excellent eye relief, sharp optics and does not weight a lot.
Paul B.
 
I don't know what to do. I tol' you guys last month I scored this nice M77 it's 33 years old and in nice overall shape.
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You may want to contact Ruger as they had a recall on the trigger over-travel screw. If the screw hasn't been replaced, they'll send you a new one.
 
Unless the rifle was severely abused(left with moisture in barrel or not cleaned after using corrosive ammo) it's not likely a 30/06 commercial rifle is anywhere near worn out.
 
#hoghunting
You may want to contact Ruger as they had a recall on the trigger over-travel screw. If the screw hasn't been replaced, they'll send you a new one.
Click to expand...

Yes, thank you for the heads up. I know about that recall. I have worked on the trigger and it is GTG.
-SS-
 
If you stick with known brands and quality, you should be able to pick up a decent scope for 2 Benjamins. I'd start with Nikon Prostaff, then also look at Leupold Rifleman, VX1 and VX1 SG models (I like the heavy duplex of the SG for hunting). Burris FFII and Bushnell Elite series are also all good scopes.

If you want to spend more, I'd look to find a NIB Ziess Conquest 3-9x40, Zeiss Terra, Leupold VX3, or Minox ZA5 for scopes up to $400. I think most hunters are best served with 2-7x32 and 3-9x40 (or thereabouts) for a scope on an '06. By looking and comparing closely, you may just find a higher quality 2-7x32/33 for the same or less $$ than a 2-10x40 or 3-9x40 model. I think objectives of over 40-42mm are overated for light transmission and would prefer my $$ go to quality glass, coatings and an illuminated reticle. FWIW, I think the Leupold VX-R series is as good as it gets for low light hunting and all-around scope for big game hunting, but like many things, it ain't cheap!

Good Luck!
 
What SSA said. Those Nitrex scopes are supposed to be the equivalent of a Weaver Grand Slam. I am planning on ordering one for my new Marlin X7 in .270 Win.
 
I'm thinking a scout scope on this M77 might work for me, I want to keep it compact. I shot it this morning from the bench it's shooting averagely 3 inches for 5 shot groups. That means it has also shot a couple of 4 inch groups. I'm a bit flinchy with it as it hurts pretty bad... and with the open sights, from the bench, my face is well down on the stock and I've punched myself in the nose with my thumb a couple of times. I like the open sights but they do take a time to set each shot up. I will take a look at the Nitrex. Thanks for the suggestions.

-SS-
 
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