Opinion on Ruger M77

[GonnePhishin]

I was wondering if anyone could give me their opinion on the Ruger M77 with the tang safety (old style). I've came by a couple of 'em ( one in 30.06 & one in 308) a fair number of years ago but have never shot 'em. Thinking about selling 'em but was looking for anyone's opinion on them so as to maybe talk myself out of selling them. They don't seem to go for more then $450-500 on gunbroker unless they're in an unusual caliber.

[Pete44ru]

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I've owned/shot/hunted with over a dozen different chambered tang-safety Ruger M77MKI's over the years, with 2 being .30-06's & 3 being .308's. ( I don't like the side-safety Mark II's)

Even after optimizing the trigger adjustments on all 5, the .30-06's were much more accurate than any of the .308's - 3/4" & 1" groups @ 100yds, as opposed to 1-1/2", 2" & 4" best groups from the .308's.

JMO, but I'd keep the -06, since you're mosr likely to get quick sales from the .308 ( the chambering's more popular).


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[plowboy 45]

I have one in 30 06 I dont think it could be bought I saw one a few months back 7 mm mag the guy wanted 750 for it.it was in very good shape
Round here folks are alittle high with there private sales there sale pitch is there's no paper work

[Malamute]

I like them quite a bit. I think the tang safety is absolutely the fastest/best design ever for a bolt gun. I like a number of aspects of them much more than any other commercial bolt action. They arent perfect, I just like them better than anything else. The stocks fit me very well also.

I have a flat bolt 308, I bought it simply because surplus ammo was so cheap a few years abo. It's shot 1 1/4" groups @ 100 yds with berdan primed ball ammo, South African I think, maybe Portuguese, and an older 4x weaver scope. I plink offhand with it at 300 and 600 yards, it will general bang the 600 yard plate pretty consistently when I hold the crosshair in the right spot. I cant fault the 308 at all. I just wish I'd bought a boatload of the bedan primed ammo for $140/1000. I couldnt even reload ammo for that price back then, and certainly not now.

[AJMD429]

I like them better than Rem 700 or Win 70's, despite the 'mainstream' opinion. Mine in 6mm Rem is probably my most inherently accurate rifle.

[44shooter]

I have two. One is a 30-06 with an OEM laminated stock I bought new when I was 17. The other is a used short action that Ruger rebarreled and refinished (for free!) when I discovered the original barrel was bulged. It is a 308 now.

They are both nice looking but not fancy, pretty accurate, nice handling rifles. I have grown to slightly prefer controlled feeding and greatly prefer fixed ejection. But, they are good rifles with good scope mounts, triggers, safety measures, ergonomics, etc.

Their Achilles heel is the junk metal trigger guards and floorplates. I have broken a trigger guard. Ruger no longer has them. Had to buy one from Numrich.

Mark IIs and Hawkeyes have steel bottom metal.

[ollogger]

Ive had at least 2 over the years 22-250 & a 338 think I had another one in 22-250 also
I liked them better than any other bolt gun ive had ( which has been a bunch)
mostly since the late 60s Ive been a Lever man & most bolt guns never stuck around long
except for my old 300 H&H 721 Rem


ollogger

[Blaine]

I've got one in '06 with an old Redfield. I don't have to work very hard to keep them in an inch or so at 100yds...The old Redfield looks like a lawnmower ran it over, but, I sighted it in about 4 or 5 years ago and it has not budged a mm.....

[Malamute]

Their Achilles heel is the junk metal trigger guards and floorplates. I have broken a trigger guard. Ruger no longer has them. Had to buy one from Numrich.

Ruger used to have steel trigger guards and floorplates as factory replacement parts. I replaced those parts on my 338. Somebody makes them as aftermarket now, I don't recall who.

[arjunky]

I've had two in 25-06, even bought one back again. Always needed money back then. Sorry I ever sold either. You should be able to get at least $500 if in excellent shape.

Byron

[Thunder50]

If they are early 77's, are they flatbolt guns? If so, then they have douglas barrels on them and are good shooters. Do they have sights on them? If so, the 77rs '06 is rare from what I have heard. Do more research on them, they might be worth more than you think.

[44shooter]

Malumute, I have seen those. They are kind of high and usually sold out. I have read some bad reviews of the aftermarket ones. Your's fit and work OK?

[vancelw]

I was wondering if anyone could give me their opinion on the Ruger M77 with the tang safety (old style). I've came by a couple of 'em ( one in 30.06 & one in 308) a fair number of years ago but have never shot 'em. Thinking about selling 'em but was looking for anyone's opinion on them so as to maybe talk myself out of selling them. They don't seem to go for more then $450-500 on gunbroker unless they're in an unusual caliber.

I think the cheaper synthetic rifle (Ruger American, SPS, etc.) hitting shelves at $350 or less have lowered the prices on used bolt rifles, even the old classics. I sold some model 70s and 700s for friends last fall and really had to work to get anywhere near what I thought they were worth.

If you decide to sell them, post them here with pictures and we'll try to trade you out of them. I've had a MK II for 24 years and love it, but the tang safety is appealing. (I even like my new-to-me Mossberg 835 better than my gaggle of 870 (did I say that out loud?))

[Mac in Mo]

I've had mine, in 30-06 for quite some time. I like it a lot. I will never sell it, it will go to one of my boys.
It has been used to take a pile of deer. The only time it didn't work was in sub-zero weather, the firing pin gummed up and didn't hit the primer hard enough. I slowly worked the bolt and it made meat on the second attempt. Not the fault of the rifle, but mine. I agree about the tang safety, best place for it. I don't like the three position safety at all.
Kevin

[86er]

There's a couple of things to consider. The early rifles require the saftey to be put "off" in order to open the bolt. Starting in approximately 1981 this was changed and the bolt can be opened with the safety "on" even though it is still a 2 position safety.

There was a recall in 1986 and 1988 issued regarding the trigger screw. Ruger sent a new screw with a stop on it. What the issue was I do not recall, but I remember as a teenager I was able to replace it myself following the directions.

Early barrels were not made by Ruger. There was quite a bit of quality control variations. For a time in the mid-late 70's with a gap jumping to the early 80's the barrels were hit and miss as far as accuracy and throat length.

The wood stocks were not reinforced or bedded where the diagonal lug recessed. In some rifles and particularly the early magnums this caused a little bit of action/barrel movement and were result in a change of impact from one point to another with some consistency between the two points.

My personal experience is not vast but takes in a fair sample. My first rifle (and most used) is a 1970 model 77, but at the time the 7mm Rem Mag was extremely hard to find. It was re-barreled from whatever caliber it was with a Douglas barrel in 7mm Rem Mag. So I cannot speak to the original barrel, but this one was glass bedded, pillared and free floated barrel. It shoots 1.5" groups with a scope off the bench. The trigger has been worked on professionally and it is very smooth but still around 4 pounds.

I bought another 77 from early 80's in 7mm Rem Mag because I wanted the safety on when the bolt was opened. This one was all original. I would not do better than a 2.25" group with any factory ammo or reloads. I had it professionally glass bedded and re-crowned. It might have shrunk the groups slightly but it still would not do under 2". However, the factory trigger was not messed with and it was a nice 3 pounds.

I've used a 338 Mag model 77, and the only modification it has is a mag-na-port job. The trigger is heavy with a hard spot in it. It is accuate enough, somewhere around 1.75" groups with the right ammo. It kicks hard because it is relatively light for a 338 Win mag, and this one actually weighs a bit less than a similar 30-06 I've used.

A 458 Win Mag model 77 is a slightly different beast than the standard sporter model, but it has a 2.75 pound trigger that is smooth as glass, and shoots just about any factory load into an inch.

There is a 280 marked 7mm Express from around 1984 that shoots 1/2 inch groups, has a great trigger and has a very smooth bolt as it came right out of the box.

Once, in CO during a sub-zero snow covered hunt my bolt froze shut on an empty chamber and it was a chore to get a cartridge chambered when the mule deer showed up. This could have happened to any rifle I supposed, and it was correctable with effort (and I was lucky to get the deer).

I absolutely do not like the 3 position Mauser style safety, or the variant like the Win Mod 70 and Ruger MKII. The Savage tang safety is less pronounced and sits lower and is much harder to operate under any stress or adverse conditions. Therefore, I still favor the original style Ruger 77 tang safety. I "test drive" them to see what they'll do and I routinely glass bed the recoil lug, around the action and a bit of the chamber area, while free-floating the barrel. Depending on the trigger, I have a very compentent rifle smith that can smooth them out and sometimes take off up to one pound. For a hunting rifle with a reasonable price in the used market I really like the Ruger 77 but I recognize that they may need some TLC to be "just right" and a few just won't cut it no matter what you do to it.

[buckeyeshooter]

I own a full battery of 77's with tang safety, all pre 1981. 30-06, 300wm, a pair in .338wm and a .458wm. All shoot around an inch if I do my part and work up an accurate hand load. They are my 'go to' guns when hunting something serious.
I would own more, but I quit buying them when Ruger went to the side safety.

[Malamute]

Interesting Joe, about preferring the non-locking safeties. I prefer the lockers. I like the action locked when the safety is on. I've lost chambered rounds a couple times carrying the rifle slung when the bolt didn't lock.

I supposed the non-lockers are safer, especially for those that aren't as experienced (not Joe), I just prefer that the safety lock the bolt, and am willing to live with any perceived disadvantage of the older type. I looked in to getting a non locker to lock, but it wasn't practical.

I like how Ruger contoured the stock on the newer models so they don't feel as chunky around the middle. I've reshaped one or two of my older guns to make them more comfortable to carry in the hand.

My 338 is noticeably heavier than the '06 models. The barrel is heavier, being the first thing noticeable. I have a 35 Whelen that is lighter than an '06, they share the same barrel contour. The 35 also has a slightly slimmer stock from the factory, which I like. It's a very nice carry gun for tooling around in bear country, and holds two more rounds than the 338.

Yes, my steel trigger guard and floor plate fit great, they are factory parts. I wish I'd bought several years ago when Brownells stocked them.

[msmith1228]

I have a flat bolt in 220 Swift thats a tack driver.

[Pete44ru]

I like how Ruger contoured the stock on the newer models so they don't feel as chunky around the middle. I've reshaped one or two of my older guns to make them more comfortable to carry in the hand.

As a side note, the famous custom gunsmith-cum-stockmaker from Wyoming, the late Lenard Brownell (who Bill Ruger hired to design the early M77 & #1 stocks), later had hisself a nice little stock reshaping business, catering to those who thought their Ruger stock too fat in the wrong places.

IIRC, he used to have an ad in Wolfe Publication's Rifle & Handloader magazines.



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[Ben_Rumson]

I had one of the first ones that came out available in 7x57 Mauser... Great shooter... However the Ruger integral scope mount cuts in the receiver were cut to point the scope about 10 degrees to the left...Much lapping in the rings cured it....

[86er]

I didnt say I prefered the non-locking safety, I just said there are reasons that being able to have the safety on when operating the bolt could be a good idea. If I know the system and am comfortable with it, I really don't have a preference. But, I don't sling a rifle with a cartridge chambered and I've never had one come open when just carrying it around.

[GonnePhishin]

Thunder50: Yes, they are both flat bolt models. Looking up the s/n resulted in the 308 made in 72-73; the 3006 made in 80.
Unfortunately, no external sights.

1886: Thanks for your input. With the safety on I cannot open the bolt.

Thanks to all who replied.
Looks like I'll be keeping 'em after all and can't wait for it to get warmer so I can take 'em out since they've just been sitting around. While they are both used, with some dings in the stocks, both have excellent bores with no rusting on the bluing. Probably used as hunting rifles back in their day with not many rounds put through 'em.