Remington 700 or Ruger 77

I have two 700 Varmints in 7mm08, both of them shoot under 1/2" with my handloads. 150grn Nosler BT's over 45.5grns of H4350 seated to .010 off the lands and touched off by a Win LR primer at 2700FPS.
 
I gave in and just bought a Ruger 77 off of an auction. I know it's taking another chance in the accuracy dept., but I have another one in .350 Rem. mag that shoots good. I guess I need to start loading for the 7mm-08 again so I can start with the load development by next week when the Ruger arrives. I gave the Encore to a friend that wants to put a .223 barrel on it...and I wish him well with it.
 
Both are great rifles. I pick the Remington just because they are my personal preference. I have a few of them and all shoot great. One is a full custom gun and it is the best shooting rifle I have ever owned or shot.
 
I bet your new 77 shoots just fine. I have had two of these in the past, an older MKI in 243 and a MKII in 30-06. The 243 would shoot 1" groups with every ammo I tried and the 30-06 would shoot between 1-1 3/4" groups depending on the ammo. I stupidly sold both.

I just bought another 77MKII of GB and haven't shot it yet. I have only had it a week now. It did have the famous "Ruger Squeak" at the end of the barrel channel where the wood pad is that supports the barrel. I sanded that out and sealed the wood. That was all it took to free float the barrel.

The gunwriter John Barsness made the point that with the angled action screw on rugers that glass bedding wasn't needed. So we'll see. Hopefully I will get time to test fire it next week. If it will stay around an inch and a half at 100 yards thats good enough for what I want it for. Then its time to hunt.
 
The gunwriter John Barsness made the point that with the angled action screw on rugers that glass bedding wasn't needed. So we'll see.
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I believe that... somewhat.
The problem lies in the stock wood. If Ruger used a piece of wood with a weak spot, or over-torqued the front action screw at the factory (not uncommon), the stock gets crushed and will almost never provide decent accuracy without corrective action. Of course, crushing the stock by over-torquing it is something someone is perfectly capable of doing at home, as well.

Even if you end up with a rifle where that is the case, it shouldn't be difficult to correct. Just add a pillar to the front screw, and clean up all the 'fuzz' and long wood fibers in the inletting. Allowing the action to seat cleanly and solidly does wonders.

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Fixing the 'crushed' section up front will also usually fix magazine/floor plate/trigger guard alignment problems. Large gaps between the trigger guard and floor plate can be an indicator that the front screw has been over-torqued and caused stock damage.
 
I think the op made the right decision. Best accuracy between the two rifles in question will probably be, as AllenJ opined, a "crapshoot". I've used Ruger bolt-action rifles (Model 77s and MKIIs) since the early seventies and have never had a problem with any of them. I like the ruggedness and dependability of the Ruger and if you want a 3-position safety, crf, built-in mount (with scope rings included) and a Mauser-like extractor, the choice (as opposed to the otherwise fine Remington Model 700) has to be a Ruger.
 
I like them both, but its pretty hard to beat a Ruger MKII SS. as a truck gun. It tuff as nails Great scope mounts & locks. I've took a lot animals from ground hogs,yotes,hogs,deer & black bear with mine.I cull for a couple large farms mines in & out of the truck as much as my boots are. Mines just a 25-06 Ruger MKII SS. But if it gets any better I DONT CARE.:D
 
I have a couple old ruger rifles, one is a dog leg bolt 22-250 and one is a mark II in 7X57. The only problem I have with these rifles is the trigger, very bad triggers and there isn't a good replacement trigger made for them. I also detest their scope mount system
The Remington on the other hand has plenty of options for triggers and they are drilled and tapped enabling many different scope mounting options.:D
 
I have another Ruger in .350 Rem. mag and I replaced the trigger with a Timney. It is very nice now, and the trigger installation was quick and easy.
 
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