Ruger 77/17 nightmare!!

E

ELMOUSMC

New member
Having invested $450 in a Ruger 77/17 and another $350 in a scope and $130 in a new adjustable trigger and then paying a gunsmith $100 to free float the barrel and bed the action I have a $1030 tent stake
I know people who have shotguns that pattern better than this thing shoots after checking everything over and over again I picked up 1 of the spent cartridges and lo and behold it was split from the shoulder to the case neck.we took 1 of the spent case's and tried to chamber it in a savage 93 17 and it wouldn't chamber
I contacted Ruger and told them what I suspected-that the chamber was miss cut.They advised me to return the rifle to the factory and they would check it and make any repairs that they saw fit
Yesterday the UPS truck showed up and my rifle was back,with a letter explaining that I have voided the warranty and wether or not it was a factory defect no further action on their part was to be expected
This maybe just 1 case but be advised the QC at ruger is less that acceptable
ELMOUSMC:mad:
 
Would have to ask how it functioned prior to adding all the goodies? Would have to agree that at some point, you did violate the warranty. What that point was, could be debated. I too have had split cases in my 10/22 and that turned out to be an ammo problem. However, I doubt that anyone makes any bad .17 ammo. This whole process has to be discouraging but at least you tried to do the right thing.


Be Safe !!!
 
I've been told that when sending a rifle back to the manufacturer (specifically Ruger) you need to replace any custom parts that you may have added with the original components. I guess it gives them the impression it is still factory and that you haven't screwed with the rifle too much. Did they mention the reason for the voided warranty?
 
And who's fault is all of this? The mods you made will make a gun shoot better. But they don't turn turds into gems. Who the heck recommended the trigger and having your gunsmith free-float? Free floating is an easy job, my kids could do it on a rainy Sunday afternoon. Why the heck would someone pay a smith to do it. AS for the trigger, even bad triggers can shoot reasonable groups from a bench. When it comes to trouble shooting and accuracy issue trigger is the last place to start. Your scope was a pricey piece of equipment. More than I'd pay for one by twice. And ya want to know the truth? That scope could be bad! Wouldn't be the first time I've seen a el'cheapo Simmons or Tasco out shoot and outlast an expansive scope.

But if I had to guess I'm betting a $20 re-crown might fix your problems. Gunsmith didn't tell you that did he? He wanted your money first.


If Ruger say it was messed up "elsewhere" I'd be beating down the door at the smith. IIRC, Ruger doesn't have a warranty. But they do a Great job of servicing their guns even if a little slow.

BTW, if I wanted an accurate bolt gun about the last brand I'd try would be a Ruger. I've never seen a Ruger rifle that shoot as well on average as any other brand. Thsi applies to rimfire and centerfire.

LK
 
Did you shoot it before you "fixed" it? I'd say the warranty is void too.

Now a little help--Green Mountain regularly puts barrels on special

http://www.gmriflebarrel.com/catalog.aspx?catid=greenmountainspecials

So for less than $100 --you can fix it--all you need is an allen wrench---77/22 barrels are attached like 10/22 barrels.

Plus with a 77/XX MAG rifle----you can get a .22 mag barrel and shoot another caliber.

Not a free solution---but better than throwing in the towel.
 
L_Killkenny said:
But if I had to guess I'm betting a $20 re-crown might fix your problems.
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How exactly would a re-crown fix this:

ELMOUSMC said:
I picked up 1 of the spent cartridges and lo and behold it was split from the shoulder to the case neck
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Elmo, sorry this happened to you man. I feel for ya. I kind of like the 77/17 and most Ruger products. I think I would buy some different ammo first and check it, save the spent cases. I do not think that recrowning the barrel will help with split cases, it might however solve a grouping problem if that is all that is wrong with the barrel and chamber. .

1. Check other ammo with your rifle. If you can, change your barrel to the orig barrel as well and shoot some.

2. Have your smith take a cast of the chamber and measure the chamber yourself via the casting in detail. Compare those measurements to SAMMI (ammunitions industry standards) and to the ammo. This should easily tell if the ammo or the chamber is at fault.

3. If the chamber is at fault, not much you can do except get a new receiver and start all over.

Personally I do not fault anyone tricking out their pieces, seems some folk (same folk) on this forum and a cpl others get a burr up their butts and want to trash people for their tricking out a firearm. I have them follow me to my threads so they can trash me, I find it humorous as they go of on tangents not even mentioned LOL. Always remember, their trash is your treasure. So, something went wrong, follow the dream again and rebuild. I like the fact you had a dream and went for it though. What you spend is your business and not other folks that are Higher and Mightier than us plain old folk. :D

Wish you luck on the project, there is a 77/17 receiver on Gunbroker right now, should see if you can win it after you check your rifle and ammo out.

Regards,
Steve - Gringo
 
I like "Omahas" response the best, but for the life of me can,t imagine where you went wrong with all the "loving touches" you bestowed on this rifle. I have a 77/22 in .22mag that will put a box of Federal rounds in the same 1" group all day. Is yours in .17 Mach2, or .17HMR,, I suspect .17 mach. but will let you answer that before I go any further. I also don't know what "crowning " will do with a split case. Just my 2cents worth!:confused:
 
Hmmm yeah, wonder if he is shooting 17 Mach out of a .17HMR, although you would not think the rim would catch on the chamber, would be kicked up the chamber first. It might be hanging on the lower edge of the chamber and ignighting and expanding the case then.
 
Tried everything First!!

NIB this rifle would not hold MOA of Barn door,everything I did was to try and get it to group on the same target. How would you treat a firearm that you thought was going to be the jewel of your rimfire collection and it turned out to be a rock.Everything I did was to try and get it to perform as I understood that the .17 HMR would
I never thought that Ruger would send out a rifle that looks so good but was so poorly manufactured
I had removed all the after market goodies before I returned it,the reason for the no service or repair was simply because of the free floating and the bedding job
Maybe the next time I get a lemon I'll send it to Kilkenny and let his kids recrown it:eek:
 
If the gun didn't shoot under two inches out of the box, it should've gone back to Ruger then but that doesn't help you now. The .17HMR is notorious for splitting cases. Don't really know if it's oversized chambers or thin brass. My Savage 93 splits them once in a while. Doesn't keep it from shooting half-MOA though. You're kind of at the point to where you need to either cut your losses and move on or go ahead and go to the expense of a new barrel. Personally, I wouldn't give up and would probably get a new barrel from Green Mountain or Clark. Considering that you could've gotten a complete accurized rifle from Clark for $1200 you're not really in too bad of shape. Scopes can be sold or reused and the trigger and bedding job won't be wasted if the barrel fixes the problem. I'd talk to my gunsmith and make sure there are no other issues before making that investment. However, even then, the barrel can always be resold.
 
Thanks

I have my gunsmith looking into options for a new barrel and he is also looking into the bolt.If he can get it to shoot half as good as it looks I'll be the happy camper I was before this nightmare came into my life.Thanks again for the help:D
ELMOUSMC
 
The good news is that you can turn this into a top notch rimfire rifle by simply replacing the barrel with one made by Lilja. Ruger rimfire barrels are very easy to replace.

Lilja makes drop-in factory equivalent replacements for both the sporter weight and varmint weight 77/17 barrels. The cost is $360 plus shipping. Here is a list of their rimfire barrels:

http://www.riflebarrels.com/products/rimfire_lilja_rifle_barrels.htm

These are truly top notch barrels. Lilja rimfire barrels have won many Olympic shooting medals in the hands of US shooters.

You will have a great rifle that you can really be proud of once you have a Lilja barrel on it.

Rugers can often be made into fantastic shooters with some good gunsmithing. I'm a bit shocked that your barrel was this bad.


The much easier route for folks to go is to simply buy one of the new CZ Model 453 Varmint rifles. They shoot fantastic straight from the factory.

It is really an exceptional rifle. Gunblast.com did a great review of it on their website:

http://www.gunblast.com/CZ453.htm



--
 
Wow, I just had the exact opposite experience.

http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=370885

That scope could be bad! Wouldn't be the first time I've seen a el'cheapo Simmons or Tasco out shoot and outlast an expansive scope.
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That is funny!

IIRC, Ruger doesn't have a warranty. But they do a Great job of servicing their guns even if a little slow.
Click to expand...

That is correct.

BTW, if I wanted an accurate bolt gun about the last brand I'd try would be a Ruger. I've never seen a Ruger rifle that shoot as well on average as any other brand. Thsi applies to rimfire and centerfire.

LK
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Again I must be the only guy on the planet that has all accurate Rugers. I have never had a bad one and I own and have owned many.
 
Again I must be the only guy on the planet that has all accurate Rugers. I have never had a bad one and I own and have owned many.
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+1 on that, I own several Rugers and they all maintain remarkable accuacy, even my 77/17.

I think Ruger QC was correct in what they did. If the firearm did not shoot right from the get go you should have sent it back to them.

If you bought a brand new Cadillac and the engine breated black smoke and got 8mpg I don't think you'd send it to the mechanic at Walmart and have him install a supercharger, then after that didn't help finally send it back to Cadillac. Makes absolutely no sense, always start with the manufacturer first. Ruger doesn't know what you did to that firearm, but they can tell you've made some modifications, how can they be responsible for the work of a gunsmith they do not know? I'm not saying your gunsmith isn't good, I'm only saying Ruger doesn't know that and cannot be liable. Common sense on Ruger's part. Hard lesson learned man, sorry to hear it. I hope you eventually get it shooting.
 
Simple rule.....If the rifle dosnt perform NIB as it should, send it back without modifications. Especially one that splits cases. Once that has been done then you can modify to increase accuracy etc. But keep in mind that once you do, you no longer have any warrenty.
 
+1 Again.

I own a MkI tang safety .30-06 that is a tack driver even 30 years later. A pair of 10/22's, a stainless mini 14, and 2 MkII bolt guns. All have surpassed my expectations.

{The mini 14 will shoot 3 shot 100 yard groups you can cover with a quarter. For a mini, that's excellent.}
 
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