Ruger 77/44...opinions?

A

Airborne

New member
Greetings,

I am interested in a Ruger 77/44 I saw in a gunshop today. Seems like a very nice little rifle, and price seemed OK. ($395.00 w/ rings) Does anybody have any experience and/or opinions on this gun. Is there any good reason I shouldn't go back and take it home? Thanks for any replies!

Best,
SM
 
SM, I've got a 77/44 All Weather rifle. It's a nice light, easy to handle rifle. My rifle is quite accurate. I get 1 1/2" groups at 100 yards with factory ammo. The only drawback that I've noticed is that the magazine can be a bear to remove sometimes. I really like it for carrying in brush, since it's so short and light. They make a great brush rifle. SamC
 
Love my All-Weather 77/44.

Paid $350 + Shipping, new in the box (Retail = $580), and I'd pay more for one ($395 ain't bad, in my opinion).

Got it from a dealer in Georgia who sells at http://www.auctionarms.com (Advertises as "SANDI"), and if I recall correctly, that's where Sam got his, too. Great person to deal with.

Here's one of the first targets I shot after sighting in the scope (Simmons 4x):

http://www.geocities.com/shootinbulldawg/images2/target2.jpg

That's 4 shots at 50 yards - The first 3 shots clustered at around 3/4", and the stray opened it up to 1½". That may not look all that spectacular, but after being up for 23 hours at the time and fiending on Copenhagen, that's pin-point accuracy for me! :D
 
Only thing negative I've heard about it is that it's action is too short for the 300 grain loads. So if your interested in using these in the gun be sure to see if this is correct. Other wise it looks like a neat gun.

Blue Duck
 
Thanks much for the replys!

It looks like a gun I would really like. Nice target Bulldog, by the way. I think the all weather is a practical choice no doubt, but 1) I haven't seen one and 2) I love the lines with the checkered wooden stock and the blued steel. I may have to take a ride down to fondle it again.

I don't shoot 300 gr. loads, but i'll have to look into that one. May be a good bargaining point if it comes to that.;) I bet I don't leave without it...:D

Best,
SM
 
I'd take it if'n I was you! :D

I like the looks of the blued/walnut models myself, but I just couldn't pass up the deal on the All-Weather model.

Now all I need is a Stainless Super Blackhawk to go with it.

Or do I need a blued Super Blackhawk to go with my 1894P?

Here I go again...

By the way, I compared my 77/44 with a friend's blued/wood 77/44, one in each hand, and the All-Weather model seems to be close to a pound lighter.
 
Well, no surprises here, I came home with a new 77/44 today. Go figure! It would have been nice to have a SS model to compare it to, but what could I do...wait another day? That's crazy talk! I had the fever, and there's only one cure. (As we all know too well). Buy it and never look back.

After a nice bonding session of a thorough detail cleaning, I will break in the barrel tomorrow. I finally got what Santa wouldn't bring me. Oh happy day! :D

Best,
SM
 
If you don't mind let us know how the shooting session goes. The more I think about this rifle the more I like the idea of it. Hope I don't run into one at the store like you, my visa doesn't need it right now.

Good luck, Blue Duck
 
SM, congrats on your new rifle. BlueDuck, they're very nice rifles. I think that you'll joining the rest of us as soon as you check one out. Bulldog is correct about purchasing a rifle from SANDI too. I also found him easy to deal with and the gun arrived promptly. I prefer the AW models, but the blued/walnut model is very nice too. SamC
 
I got intimate with my new 77/44 today. Definitely a sweet shooting rifle. I was surprised at the recoil of some of the factory loaded ammo I fired. Stiffer than I would have thought.

After breaking in the barrel (always takes a while) I fired some Federal 240gr. SJHP's for accuracy. While my winter shooting setup is a 25-yard pistol range, it is roomy and heated, and serves the purpose nicely no matter what I'm shooting. At 25 yards, the Federals were grouping around 1" C-C, and a few inches high and to the right. Not bad. The Chrony clocked them at right around 1750 fps for an average, right on the mark.

Thanks to all who recommended this fine gun, as I too can now recommend it to others. And I will!

Best,
SM
 
Interchangability of mags...?

Anybody know if the 99/44 and the 77/44 (and the 96/44 lever for that matter) take the same magazine?

Be a lot of business for the person who could market a quality, reliable ten rounder I think, especially if it fits all the guns. Could Ruger be so stupid as to have a different mag for the Deerfield? I know that political posturing is a way of life with Ruger, (as in, why doesn’t Ruger make 10 rounders themselves?) but in quality designs too. (A little Henry Ford-ish I think) I hope their engineers were on the ball with that one.

Come to think of it, can you imagine how much more interest there would be in the 99/44 if people knew they could buy a Ruger 10 round mag for it? Come on! Besides, I sure would like a ten rounder for my shiny new 77/44, so I feel as though Ruger is toying with my emotions here. In fact, I may have held out for the semi, even paid the extortionist price to have one! Uh oh, I feel a rant coming on, so I’ll stop now.

Funny, the 77/44 doesn't seem to be a very popular gun. Not a lot of feedback to be had out in the web. Strange considering how “sweet it is”. Maybe I haven't found the underground cult of 77/44 fanatics yet. Maybe I should start one!

Regards from the soon to be built clubhouse of underground 77/44 fanatics,
SM
 
SM, a friend of mine has the 96/44 lever gun. The magazine will not interchange with my 77/44 mag. The 96/44 mag has indentations on the bottom and the outside dimensions aren't quite the same as the 77/44. I agree, it's a dumb thing to do. SamC
 
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