Unbelievable Ruger All-Weather

I must be one of the 3.5 people. I had an early 90's 77MkII stainless .308 that wouldn't group Federal 168gr SMK match loads any less than 2". My best handloads never made it past 1.5" for 5 shots. (All at 100yds)

I traded it to a buddy who needed a deer rifle and I haven't missed it one bit. It never did rust though, I'll give it that!
 
mdd,

I just called the shop. The only Ruger they have in a 77V is a .243.

FYI the 25.06 they had was not stainless. It was bright blue.

Sorry, again.

Geetarman:D
 
boat paddle

I've got a boat paddle/stainless, in, of all things........7.62x39mm. I doubt it weighs more than 6 lbs naked. With sling and Leupold 2x7, it might go 6.5 lbs.

Bamaboy has done his best to abuse it, but it took all his teenage clumsiness and nimrod errors and kept on ticking. I've hunted it steadily for 15 years (though I'm primarily a bow hunter for deer) and its been out in the weather and up (and down) a bunch of trees. Holds zero well, in fact, I just take it out and shoot it and the bullets go in the same place, year after year.

I thought the boat paddles were ugly, that big RUGER plastered on there, etc, clanky sling shackles and all. But they are tough.....repeat TOUGH. I believe you could drive a nail with one.

If I ever see one in .308, I'll likely buy it.
 
7.62 is another that fetches big money. I don't think I've seen one sell for less than $650. Good condition will crowd $800.
In the skeleton stocks, I currently have a 22 lr 77/22, 223, 22-250, 243, 25-06, 270, & 7mm mag. I also have a 204 MKII that I put in a skeleton stock & a 10/22 like the one pictured above. To complete the set as best I can recall, I need a 17 hmr & 22 wmr in 77/22 as well as the 260, 280, 7.62x39, 308, 30-06, 300 mag, & I think 338's were offered as well. Hopefully that's it because that's 9 more rifles to buy.
 
I was one who got THREE bad Rugers...

A K1022 & two off-spec Vaqueros...all three have been sold/traded for better weapons/etc.
The K1022 got traded for a 1981 Yamaha XS400 Special II that needed a Carb Job.
the Vaquero's got sold and I bought a pair of nice Colts for SASS, better pistols anyway :D

The main reason Ruger got a such a bad rep for questionable accuracy was started by the Mini-14...
it was the rifle you would choose to NOT hit your target...that's why the A-Team used 'em
in their show, they could aim at someone and not hit 'em...;)
Truly, those old Mini-14's sucked hardcore. New ones, especially in 6.8SPC, are made MUCH better...

I like the old Skeleton Stock with the Wood-grain accent handles...those looked SHARP!!
And if you added a matching piece in the buttstock to cover the RUGER name, it really looked great :D
 
I study firearms design and have for 45 years. I am not a big fan of Rugers for a few reasons I wont discuss now. That being said I have to admit the Ruger 77 mk II is the gun I recommend the most to unimformed people. As the world of riflecraft is today, few produce a rifle as brute tough and reliable as the 77. Definately not my cup of tea, but I am the first to admit they work and work well.
 
So now tell me. Where in blazes did Ruger ever get a reputation for not grouping well?

There are Rugers that won’t group well. I have a heavy barrel 77 in 6mm Rem that couldn’t hit a ground hog at 200 yards.
That is until I had the chamber measured and loaded it so the bullets just touched the lands.
To this day it took the longest shot I ever made on an earthen piggy. 385 yards.

But to get to the original point, I picked up a Ruger 77/44 last years and I truly feel that unlike much of the firearm industry, Rugers are getting better not worse. A lot better.

http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=426921&highlight=ruger+77+44

http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=421367&highlight=ruger+77+44
 
I have three "skeleton" stocked rifles. 223, 243 and 7mmRM. The 223 shoots same with same hole accuracy 2 out of three shots. The problem with the third shot is me, not the gun. The 7mmRM is the same. I have not worked with the 243 enough to comment on it's accuracy. The 223 and 7mm will NEVER leave my immediate families ownership while I am alive. I am a supporter of the skeleton stocked Ruger's. The 260 has gone crazy in price, even as much as I like them, I'd buy a Sako Finnlight 260 for just a few dollars more than the crazy prices I've seen on them. The long actions all sell reasonably. The 260's do have the right twist for the caliber in a 1:8. Makes sense. They are stupid tough and I used the same analogy as was just posted,that I think you could pound a nail with the stock. Given the cost of most any new rifle of any quality, I consider these used Ruger's in most any caliber to be a "sleeper". We really need to stop talking about them fella's.....we're letting the secret out! Now the price is gonna go up more! Yeeeesh!!
 
btw- Warbird, FWIW- I check the torque settings when removing the actions from the stocks and set them back at the same in/lb torque. I think this helps to keep things as they were, as much as possible.
 
Yup, I bought one of those fancy torque wrenches and got the torque values from Ruger. I'm in the process of putting a new scope on it so it was a good time to tear it apart. Ruger has a video on their websites on re-assembling the M77 with the torque values. The angled one is 95 inch/lbs.!!
 
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Warbird, what are the torque specs for the other two or did the video mention?


Btw, geetarman, thanks for calling and checking on that gun for me. I appreciate you taking time to do that. :)
 
Ruger 77 Skeletonized

PainterJohn..........too late, haven't you noticed the price and availability lately. They're getting hard to find. Tell mdd he missed the .264 Win Mag as a Ruger 50TH Anniversary model
 
Gunbroker seems to always have several for sale. I do notice that the SA's bring more than the LA's. Like I said, bang for the buck,,,pretty good value from my perspective. One of my son's will get mine if I give them up. I have to admit that the Browning X-bolts fit me well and I like everything about them. Bought one in 223 and 243. If they do not shoot as well as the Ruger's they will go down the road, but I bet they will. Anyway, I love the skeleton stocks. The 77/22 and 77/17 in ss skeleton are $500 new.....kinda pricey I think.......
 
Maybe they have a bad rap cause of the trigger.

I had to put a Timney on mine-about $100. Of course Ruger likes to brag about including the $80 mounts with the gun. If they were not so proprietary they wouldnt cost so much.
 
The trigger on my Mk II all-weather .300 Win Mag (skeleton stock) is crisp, short and breaks like glass. It's a little on the high side (5.5 lbs.) but I've gotten used to it and actually like it as it helps me "squeeeeeeeeze" correctly.

And man does it shoot some tight groups with anything I stuff into it.
 
The triggers on MkIIs are easy to fix. A lighter spring, slight polish to the engagement surface, and a tiny piece of metal epoxied in place to limit overtravel, and the trigger is relatively decent.
 
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