Ruger 77- 17hmr free float

[Jonl]

I have a Ruger 77 - 17 hmr and accuracy is not good. I freefloated the barrel but have not shot it yet. Has anyone else done this. What about glassing the action. I had to take out a lot of wood to freefloat the barrel. It had to be putting a lot of pressure on it. Anyone had good luck with Savage 17 hmr's.

 

[hogpatrol]

Like any factory gun, you may or may not get a shooter. Having said that, my brother and a friend both have the Savage 93s in .17HMR. They only shoot the CCI .17gr TNTs with any consistency of accuracy. Other brands, bullets and weights are all over the place but they are satisfied with minute of groundhog accuracy.

 

[searcher]

I too have a Savage bolt gun that shot O.K., as well as a Volquartson semi-auto, both in .17hmr - and a bolt .22 rimfire. All three shot noticeably better after bedded. They were all free-floating before the bedding so nothing there to cloud which did what. The Volquartson showed the least improvement - but it was by far the most accurate before bedding. Rimfire actions just don't seem to get the same level of attention in metal-to-wood fit that the centerfire rifles get - but they do respond just as well in my limited experience - maybe even more so.

 

[SS427]

I free floated my target Ruger 17 HMR and it made zero difference in accuracy. Worth a try though. What it did do was allow the barrel to point so much lower I had to switch to a scope with more elevation in order to get point of impact to match point of aim.

It averages around 1.5 inch 5 shot groups at 100 yards. I had a thumbhole stock Savage 17 HMR that was more accurate but was very clunky feeling compared to the Ruger. Sold the Savage and kept the Ruger and have no regrets. Even though the Ruger is not super accurate it does just fine on sage rats out to 150 yards which is what I need a 17 HMR for.

 

[CaptainMal]

Mine is a sub-moa Marlin. Three friends followed my lead and also bought Marlins in 17.

Been a while since I worked with mine, changed to a Rifle Basics trigger and probably free-floated the barrel. I literally don't remember. Just know it's as close to a one-holer you will find in a factory 17. All my friends with them feel the same but I don't know what their mods were.

Surely it's not a "quality" construction like the Ruger and some others. It's also sub MOA. That's all the quality I want. Used to regularly take groundhogs to 250 yards and some farther. Did articles on that. Wife used it to take prairie dogs past 200 yards. This spring I shot squirrel unfailingly out to 200 yards with head shots, lots of raccoons and have been taking young pigs out to 150 yards with the same.

That's what it is. That's what I know. Buy what you want.

 

[Jonl]

I shot the ruger after free floating and it shot about a foot lower at 50 yards. It was in quite a bind. Accuracy was better but still not great. I am going to bed the action and see what happens. I have a Savage 17 coming and can't wait to see how it shoots. Are there any good Ruger pre fit barrels reasonable out there. I looked at Lilja but the barrel costs nearly as much as the gun did.

 

['Freak]

Click “Ruger 77/22” 3rd from top on left side. http://www.ct-precision.com/

 

[SShooterZ]

I've got 2 identical 77/17 and they're both pretty accurate for my needs. Luckily I haven't had to do much to either other than add a Volquartsen sear & spring for a few bucks.

 

[Travelor]

Never had a Ruger barrel other than 22LR that would shoot well.

I would have these fine people re-barrel it http://www.clarkcustomguns.com/longgun.htm

 

[Jonl]

Just so happens these fine folks are a mile from my house. I think I'll do that.

 

[K9I449]

I just did a trade for a 77/17 in a SS. Bull barrel. Did a trigger job, down to 2lbs. Shoots size of a nickle at 75yrds. It is not floated but factory. GOOD LUCK

 

[TheOtherZilla]

Here's my experience with the 77. I bought a 77 22 hornet last year.. It is built on the same action etc as your rifle.. It wouldn't group for squat. It was terrible.. Then I found a guy at CPC [Connecticut Precision Chambering]. I had him do the full monty on my 77. But in your case just getting the shimming in the bolt correct will be a big step forward. The bolt is a 2 piece affair and if the shimming aint right it shoots like ca-ca.. Some are, most aren't. He also does 77-17 HMR's.. My Hornet isn't a 1-holer now but it is 500% better.. And I can hit what I aim at most of the time.

 

[fredhorace77]

i own the marlin stainless bull barrel laminate stock model in 17hmr. i couldnt even begin to tell u how many critters ive taken with that thing over the past years. I did notice a huge difference in accuracy, as to be expected, among various ammo manuf. i settled on the winchester supreme. holds inside of a quarter (actual coin) at 75 yards. farthest kill is 127 yards. but honestly most of my shots (95%)with it are 25-75 yards. it weighs 7.27 lbs with a burris 3-9 ff2 on it. only mod i made was replaced factory trigger with a rifle basix. nice light trigger, but wish it had over travel adjustment. if i had to do it over again i would just purchase a CZ and be done with it.

 

[rmist]

Click “Ruger 77/22” 3rd from top on left side. http://www.ct-precision.com/

This is what you really need to do !!! Send it to Randy at CPC !! Torque on the action screws is very important as well. Try different settings from 18" pounds and up shooting each torque value. Not to take away from this forum but rimfirecentral.com is the place for all your rimfire needs.