No love for Ruger?

[happyfast79]

My first m77 guide gun in 375 Ruger had crazy high velocity, but I spent a few days trying to figure out why the best group I could get at 200 yards was 20+ inches.....
after sending the rifle back to Ruger and checking up on it they told me that they found loose stock screws and after the tech shot it the next morning they would most likely be sending it back to me ( yes I checked those already), the next morning they called me and told me they were sending me a new rifle, when asked what was wrong with the one I sent in they said they had no idea lol..

But with a little load development the new rifle shoots great, makes a great elk rifle with no brake on it. 260 gr accubonds @2950 from a 20inch tube

 

[WyleWD]

I never see anyone here modifying a Ruger. I had a Target-Varmint 22-250 that was a hammer! The bolt was a bit sloppy but other than that it looked well made. Not many aftermarket parts?
Just wondering.
Chet

The M77 VT's made prior to 2000 were in a class by themselves. Quite accurate and barrels out lasted most other factory barrels of that era and were easy to clean. The 22 & 6PPC's, 243's, 22-250's probably were wearing barrels from a barrel manufacturer(s), rather than made from Ruger........ so I was told back in the late 90's by Ruger customer service and multiple gunsmiths.

Other than the triggers being a bit on the stiff side and being finiky about how the action screws were torqued I really liked the Rugers. JME. WD

 

[std7mag]

I have 2 of the 77 MKIIs.

One i had been searching years for, in the chambering & a price i could afford.
Finally found one.
77 MKII in 257 Roberts.
I use necked down 7X57 PPU cases in it, loaded to +P. i use everything from 75gr HP varmint through 120gr Sierra HPBT GameKing.
5 shots just over 3/4" at 100 yards works for a hunting rifle for me.
Have taken coyotes out to 400 yards, and several deer.
Only work i did to it was install a Wolff spring package for the trigger & bolt.

2nd is in 280 Rem.
Have taken multiple deer with it mostly using 150gr Ballistic Tips.

Would love to find a 77 All Weather with the "paddle" Zytel stock!

 

[wboggs]

I love the old M77 tang safety rifles for hunting/carry rifles. They are just flat-out comfortable for me.

I don't know about, and have never owned any newer Ruger product. jd

I had an old tang safety in .280 Rem. Shot nosler 160 part at 2900 with 1 1/4" grps at 100. Trigger was awful but I never attempted to modify it. Used the rifle on backpack hunts. Handling was superb.

 

[robert8904]

I have four Hawkeyes made from 2012 to 2019. No problems with any of them. A 223 standard, 223 Hawkeye Varmint/Target, 6.5 cm Long Range Target and an African in 338 Win mag. All can easily do under 1/2 MOA except the African. It does 1 1/2 MOA with most ammo but reduced loads will easily be 3/4 MOA. I'd buy a new 308 Guide Gun if I could find one.

I recently got a Ruger Precision Rifle in 6.5 cm that was made in 2021. I was concerned about buying any rifle made while manufacturers were cranking them out as fast as possible. The RPR I got was just fine and the the accuracy is amazing for a production gun. I'm shooting more these days and having a rifle that I could replace a barrel myself is nice.

 

[rockhound78]

Been hit or miss with Rugers. Love the #1's. Have a 460 S&W that is very accurate, at least when it fires, which is only about 30% of the time. Think the breech block is a bit wonky. Could put a block in the gun from another rifle and it fires every time. Sent back to Ruger on my dime and they said things were fine and sent it back. Front sight blade went flying off to who knows where on the first shot. Ruger did replace that.
Did have two tang safety rifles, a 25-06 and a 243 that were early guns and I think had Douglas barrels. They liked about anything I put thru them and usually averaged around 3/4"
Have a Ruger American in 350 legend that I finally found a load for that goes about 1/2". Thinking of the same rifle in 6.5 Grendel

 

[miningshawn]

I will admit, Ruger made the rifle that got me involved with distance and accuracy shooting.
I had (and wish I still did!) a No. 1 in 25-06 that was my go-to rifle for years. It never let me down. I've always had Ruger revolvers and currently carry the 454 Alaskan as my woods pistol.
The RPR came out at the time I was really getting interested in shooting accurately. I picked up a .308 and it's been a consistent 0.3 MOA rifle for me, still going strong at 5822 rounds. I've run multiple different recipes and have always been able to find a good one no matter the components.
I picked up a .22 RPR and have no complaints. It isn't a Vudoo, but it works just fine for me.
When the opportunity fell in my lap I bought the 5.56 RPR, and it has been a very good rifle for me printing 0.25 MOA groups with 80gr VLD'S.
I bought two "cheap" rifles for a comparison, a Mossberg Patriot and a Ruger American, both in 30-06. Both had a Nikon P5 4x12 and an APA Little Bastard fitted. The Ruger was reliably printing sub MOA groups with 185gr Berger Juggernauts and Classics in no time. Much easier to tune in than the Mossberg.

I like to think of the Ruger as the GM of the shooting world. As such it is easy to pick on, but typically is a reliable platform that is popular and easy to improve on.

 

[ChesterS]

The M77 VT's made prior to 2000 were in a class by themselves. Quite accurate and barrels out lasted most other factory barrels of that era and were easy to clean. The 22 & 6PPC's, 243's, 22-250's probably were wearing barrels from a barrel manufacturer(s), rather than made from Ruger........ so I was told back in the late 90's by Ruger customer service and multiple gunsmiths.

Other than the triggers being a bit on the stiff side and being finiky about how the action screws were torqued I really liked the Rugers. JME. WD

Mine was from the early 90s and was advertised as having a palma match trigger and a hammer forged barrel with a propriety acid wash to dull the stainless steel.

 

[drop_point]

I got a M77 MKII in .308 back in the 90s. It was a solid 3 MOA gun. A gunsmith did a trigger job, glass bedded it, and free-floated it. That seemed to bring it down to a 1 1/2 MOA gun with the occasional 3/4 MOA. With some bullets, I've been able to improve on the factory loads I used to shoot out of it averaging about MOA. I did install a Pachmeyer recoil pad and Timney a few years ago and it became more pleasant to shoot. I had it out the other day and accuracy wasn't what I'd hoped for...I noticed the barrel is no longer floated and will need to be opened up. I wish there were more stock options for these rifles in short-action.

 

[danny]

I love the old M77 tang safety rifles for hunting/carry rifles. They are just flat-out comfortable for me.

I don't know about, and have never owned any newer Ruger product. jd

Not a big fan of the "New Ruger".

Danny

 

[pintopete]

Thought you all might enjoy. Their old location in Southport CT.

 

[NC/Br Shooter]

My first rifle was a m77 markll, in 7 mag, never could get that gun to group. Had a 257 Robert's, that was ok, and a 243 that was good, and a 2 different 25_06s, all m77 marklls,
Went with Remington, remages,

 

[Cbashooter]

I have 8 Ruger #1 Rifles and find them to be good shooters.They may not as accurate in the varmint calibers than similar bolt rifles but they have class.My 375 HH,416 Rigby and 45-70 are fantastic cast bullet Rifles and have no problem shooting 1.5 moa.My 30-06 1B is a very accurate plainbase lead shooting rifle.It has at times averaged well under MOA for consecutive group (unless I enter a match !)
I have had good luck with the M77(and 77/22) series as well.None were match grade but I had no lemons.

 

[Downeast]

My problem with Ruger is that they are always chasing that proverbial dollar and their firearm makes and models are ephemeral. Here today, gone tomorrow. I was thinking of getting a 6mm Creed in their RPS just for fun. They dropped the caliber in one year I believe. And I think they are on their 2nd or 3rd model of the RPS now. They have Mark I, II, II, etc. too. I guess they just can't get it right the first time. What about the #1? Or the M77 in VT? No consistency in their products whatsoever (except maybe their revolvers) and there is very little aftermarket support.

 

[Dgd6mm]

I always thought and still do think that life is too short to shoot a Ruger rifle.

 

[DiffEQ]

Two revolvers and a 77 Hawkeye MkII.
The GP100 and Hawkeye had *heavy* stock triggers that need work.
The Blackhawk is a joy to shoot.
The Hawkeye had the roughest action of any bolt I have owned, like a cinder block across concrete. It was also the toughest rifle to find a sub-moa load for. I dumped the ridiculously cheesy plastic stock for a bedded wood one, but I think it becoming a good shooter had a lot to do with the barrel "settling in" after ~300 rounds. Now it's the one I consistently reach for when hunting.

 

[Adam in WI]

Question for the haters...
How many of the "better" mass produced rifles are still being made, and still being made in the United States?

 

[Cbashooter]

Question for the haters...
How many of the "better" mass produced rifles are still being made, and still being made in the United States?

Well said! I'm waiting for answers

 

[DiffEQ]

Question for the haters...
How many of the "better" mass produced rifles are still being made, and still being made in the United States?

Well said! I'm waiting for answers

I think competitive shooters and serious hunters are often snobs when it comes to rifles and that subjective notion of "better".
If there was a reality TV program like on the cooking channels where you had to get a USA Made "production" rifle and scope package at less than $1K from a local sports outlet within one hour, and bang steel at one mile by the end of the 2nd hour (8/10 or better), I'd be grabbing a Savage off the rack and a Leupold VX3i.

 

[Cbashooter]

I think competitive shooters and serious hunters are often snobs when it comes to rifles and that subjective notion of "better".
If there was a reality TV program like on the cooking channels where you had to get a USA Made "production" rifle and scope package at less than $1K from a local sports outlet within one hour, and bang steel at one mile by the end of the 2nd hour (8/10 or better), I'd be grabbing a Savage off the rack and a Leupold VX3i.

I am a competitive shooter and have shot Remington, Ruger and Savage in production class matches.i can't say I scored better with one over the other.i do think savages generally have the better quality barrels.Ruger had some rotten barrels occasionally but I've had two bad Savage barrels out if the 15 or so I've owned.
My Ruger American 350 legend outshot my Axis 350 btw.I sold the Axis