Ruger M77 MKII rebarrel opinions

[wwbrown]

I had Jim Kobe rebarrel a Ruger m77 MarkI years ago and was happy with the results, Jim's works is good, he is fast, and reasonably priced what is not to like. Jim is located in Bloomington, MN a suburb of Minneapolis.

 

[mauser284]

I do not know why Grg would not work on a Ruger M77 MkII?

I understand he is not taking any new work that is why when I decided to have 2 Savage actions blueprinted they ended up with Fred adn SSS.

Anyone qualified to work on a Winchester or Howa should have no problem with a Ruger M77 Mkii! It is the guys that only true up Remingtons you want to stay far far away from! It is just guys that are not used to working on flat bottomed recievers with intergral recoil lugs you need to worry about.

The investment casting process Ruger uses is not like a die cast Match Box Car! It makes a part every bit as strong, tough, durable as a forged piece. The problem with the M77 MKii is the same problem that plagued Remington 700's and Savage 110's and that is the poor machining that the OEM did. The difference is that the aftermarket decided to support the Remington 700 and Savages because any hick with a lathe could true one up and so many of them where sold! $$$ Just like any gunsmith that can not handle metric threads either has no business callingthemselves a gunsmith or then need to get a new lathe that is not ancient.

All of that said it is easier and cheaper to just dith the Ruger and get a Remington, Savage 12, Tikka T3 or similar.

 

[mauser284]

Getting it rebarreled should not be hard it is if you want any blueprinting done that life get's hard!

 

[boltman13]

In January 1974 I bought my first center fire rifle, a very lightly used Ruger 77 in 30-06. I took it to Wyoming in 74 for Deer and Prong Horn, and Deer in 75. All one shot kills. I began hand loading in late 75 with a Lee Load All. The best groups I got were in the 1.0 to 1.25" area. It still did the job on game, however. I never had the trigger pull measured, but I suspect it was about 4-4.5#'s. I killed more deer and my best elk with it when I moved to Colorado, along with a few cow elk. My big game load of WW Brass, WW LRP's, WW 760, and Nosler 180 gr Partisions never failed me but only grouped about 1.5" for 3 shots. Eventually I moved on to a Winchester 300 WSM and the Ruger became a back up and loaner rifle. In 2021 I bore scoped the barrel and it had 3+ inches of fire cracking and at least 1" of missing lands, after at least 3,000 rounds. My youngest Grandson wanted to take up hunting so I decided to have my gunsmith re-barrel, bed, and clean up the trigger. A new 23" SS Lilja barrel was screwed on. My smith's trigger gage showed 3.25#'s. A new Burris 4X14 Scope and I worked up a load for my Grandson to practice with using WW Brass, Win 760, CCI BR=2's, and Sierra 168gr MK's that shot 1.2" by my grandson and 0.75" by myself off the bench. I love that my Grandson will be carrying that rifle into the mountains with me for a few more years and hopefully long after I am gone.

 

[killahog]

Sell the Ruger and go custom something.

The Gun was his Dad's that has since passed.

 

[Liven The Dream]

Looking for some opinions. I have a Ruger M77 MKII .243 Win, (Zytel stock model), that needs a new barrel, or at least I think it does. The gun was purchased new in the mid-90s and I shot it a bit, but not much. Life went on and I now have the chance to really shoot and tinker more with my firearms, including this one.

Unfortunately... now that I've had a chance to really run it through it's paces I've concluded it shoots like a turd. I've tried just about every conceivable load and cannot get it to group under 2.5 MOA. While a relatively old gun, it hasn't been shot much so I know the barrel isn't shot out. I'm considering cutting my losses and trying a new barrel.

Ruger said they'd rebarrel it for $350-$400. I know barrel issues plagued some of the MKIIs up to about the time mine was manufactured. I own a few recent Rugers and they're all solid 1 MOA guns... which is all I'm trying to get out of this one.

So here's my question... if in my position, would you send it back to Ruger for a rebarrel job or to an aftermarket barrel manufacturer?

In years past Ruger did re-barrels very cheap ? Call Them?

 

[Prose]

IMO A Ruger 77 MKII and Hawkeye make outstanding semi-custom guns. A ruger trigger can be made very good with simple polishing and a lighter spring ($12). That's far cheaper than the $200+ it takes for a full trigger replacement in other guns. Ruger stocks are also pretty decent and can be left alone or refinished saving you $400-1000 vs a modern stock. With nothing more than a barrel you can have one heck of a nice gun which you cannot do with a tupperware el cheepo. I re-did this ruger below for less than the cost of a new ruger and it shoots really well.

Renewing a Ruger 77 MkII Stock

Bought a Ruger 77 MkII action and stock off the forums here awhile back. Originally a featherweight .243, but the barrel was shot out. The wood stock had some wear and I figured it would be replaced, but decided to see what was under their one Saturday afternoon. I've never refinished a stock...

forum.accurateshooter.com

 

[COLT45SA]

Wow~! I must have been darned lucky with my Zytel stocked .223. For the life of me I can't find the data log I was keeping nor the targets shot 20 years ago. After nothing but the installation of a Timney trigger modified to adjust to well below the Timney 3oz minimum I was able to shoot well below 3/4" without building too many ladders. Back then I didn't even know anything about meticulous cartridge prep.
I'm going to get back into it now that I have some virgin Lapua brass and a nice variety of bullets. I know in my heart that it will do 1/4"~!!

 

[COLT45SA]

In years past Ruger did re-barrels very cheap ? Call Them?

Ruger will no longer work on the 77s and no longer make the barrels to re-barrel. I know because I called them.

 

[COLT45SA]

IMO A Ruger 77 MKII and Hawkeye make outstanding semi-custom guns. A ruger trigger can be made very good with simple polishing and a lighter spring ($12). That's far cheaper than the $200+ it takes for a full trigger replacement in other guns. Ruger stocks are also pretty decent and can be left alone or refinished saving you $400-1000 vs a modern stock. With nothing more than a barrel you can have one heck of a nice gun which you cannot do with a tupperware el cheepo. I re-did this ruger below for less than the cost of a new ruger and it shoots really well.

Renewing a Ruger 77 MkII Stock

Bought a Ruger 77 MkII action and stock off the forums here awhile back. Originally a featherweight .243, but the barrel was shot out. The wood stock had some wear and I figured it would be replaced, but decided to see what was under their one Saturday afternoon. I've never refinished a stock...

forum.accurateshooter.com

View attachment 1501228

Very nice indeed~! Kudos~!

 

[mauser284]

Ruger will no longer work on the 77s and no longer make the barrels to re-barrel. I know because I called them.

That is the old Tang Safety 77's not the Ruger M77 MkII's I am sure.

 

[Prose]

Ruger will no longer work on the 77s and no longer make the barrels to re-barrel. I know because I called them.

Nearly all gunsmiths can rebarrel a ruger old or new. Putting on a ruger brand barrel is not necessary. An aftermarket barrel will certainly perform better.