Ruger MK77 Mark II .270 - improvements

[dblb]

Hi everyone,
I'm new on here and thought I would tap your collective experience. I have a stainless / synthetic Ruger .270. from around 06'. I have tested the weight on the trigger but it seems heavy. Does you guys recommend having a smith do a trigger job or buying a timney?
Also, the barrel isn't floating. I have heard mixed opinions on whether or not this gun wants the pressure from the stock at the very end.

I'm trying to decide if it worth putting money into this rifle or if I should just use that money towards a new rifle.

 

[Burnt Reynolds]

I own 1 currently and have owned several Hawkeye's.
Yes to the timney, and have a smith who's worked on these before install it because there's likely going to be some material removed from the safety for proper function - and it's way better than an oem trigger.
Also yes to free float and bed.

Including the cost of trigger, trigger install, bedding job/free float you're maybe $250 +/- and a couple weeks at the spa ending up with a rock solid rifle in a great caliber.

My dad's '06 got all this + an HS Precision stock (an excellent piece of kit) and is currently getting a new barrel plumbed. My idea of the ultimate go anywhere any weather any game species rifle.

 

[Newtosavage]

I owned the same rifle in .280 Rem. Probably never should have sold it, but that's another story...

I hand-tuned triggers for 4 Ruger 77's and none of them were that hard to do IMO. If you're patient and have reasonable mechanical skills, I'd give it a try. If you're going to replace the trigger anyway, it's worth a shot. The trigger on my 77/50 muzzleloader is still the best trigger I have on any gun (including Tikka's and Savage Accutriggers) and all it needed was to have 1/2 spring clipped and some stoning of the surfaces.

I free floated and epoxy bedded my 77 in .280 and it shot pretty well. It was the best shooting of all 4 77's I've owned, although one of those is the muzzleloader (77/50).

 

[TREE ‘EM]

It’s worth every penny to have a qualified, experienced gunsmith install a Timney trigger for you.

Instead of bedding the factory Ruger stock, consider a quality aftermarket stock. Again well worth the money to have it professionally bedded.

Another consideration is to have your barrel set back and chamber recut. Newer Ruger barrels are excellent quality but have sloppy chambers. Set back and re-chamber is relatively inexpensive and will give you a pretty good gane in accuracy.

I have a 24” Krieger 8 twist barrel on order to be installed on my Ruger 77 Mk II in the near future.

 

[dblb]

Thanks guys, I think that I will start with getting prices from local gun smiths on trigger jobs vs drop in triggers and also for a bedding job.

I look into stocks, any recommendations? I don't have the canoe paddle stock on it so the stock isn't to bad.

 

[Burnt Reynolds]

I've had the pillar hogue stock, a Boyds laminate, the oem non boat paddle synthetic and now have an hs precision stock. HS precision all the way. Way better than any bell and carlson I've had. Mine was a custom build, cost $600 and took a month, they can be had for less than $500 from stocky's stocks or direct from HS. My boyds will be for sale soon. It's a fine stock but not what I want after living with it for a while.

 

[hodgeman]

A buddy of mine picked one of those up used for $250. We swabbed out the funk and fed it decent ammo and it shot 1MOA groups. Nothing wrong with that at all.

While the trigger can be improved and you can easily modify or replace the stock....how does it actually shoot?

 

[thinhorn_AK]

It’s worth every penny to have a qualified, experienced gunsmith install a Timney trigger for you.

Instead of bedding the factory Ruger stock, consider a quality aftermarket stock. Again well worth the money to have it professionally bedded.

Another consideration is to have your barrel set back and chamber recut. Newer Ruger barrels are excellent quality but have sloppy chambers. Set back and re-chamber is relatively inexpensive and will give you a pretty good gane in accuracy.

I have a 24” Krieger 8 twist barrel on order to be installed on my Ruger 77 Mk II in the near future.

People pay to have Timney triggers installed??? You can do it yourself in less than 15 minutes with basic tools you probably have at home.

 

[Hudge]

I have a Ruger Hawkeye .338 WM and I replaced the trigger spring in it. The trigger pull decreased from what my trigger pull gauge averaged at around 4.75 lbs to about 3.5lbs. It was a lot cheaper than a Timney as well. I have Timney triggers in several rifles, but the spring replacement alone helped quite a bit. I have yet to do anything else to the rifle other than scope rings and a scope to it. I got it for Christmas, but didn't get my hands on the gun actually until I was on R&R in January. When I get home from my current contract job in August, I plan on getting it sighted in and seeing how the rifle shoots. I had a 77 MKII several years ago, and it shot pretty good. I also have quite a bit of experience with a friend's 77 MKII 7mmRM. That gun could definitely use a trigger job. I think you are on the right track.

 

[Eric4]

I also own a m77 mkII, and have been wanting to make a few changes to it. The trigger spring sounds like a good start, and I'm also considering a Wildcat composites stock. My model is a compact in 260 rem, and the LOP is far too short. These stocks sound stiffer and lighter than what ruger provides.

 

[dblb]

Interesting, I wonder how much weight I could shave off this gun with a new stock?

The gun shoots well, probably better than can especially considering the cheap glass on it. I experimented with a few different factory loads a long time ago and have been shooting federal premiums with 150 nosler partitions.

New glass
New stock
Trigger job
Bedding job

This is starting to sound expensive...

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[Cahunter805]

I’d get a trigger job or replace the trigger and then shoot it again. If under MOA I’d save the money for better glass and go hunt with it.

 

[Newtosavage]

Interesting, I wonder how much weight I could shave off this gun with a new stock?

The gun shoots well, probably better than can especially considering the cheap glass on it. I experimented with a few different factory loads a long time ago and have been shooting federal premiums with 150 nosler partitions.

New glass
New stock
Trigger job
Bedding job

This is starting to sound expensive...

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So, my stainless .280 77 with a synthetic stock (not the paddle stock but regular synthetic) was about 7 lbs. 10 oz. with a Leupold 3-9x40 scope on it. Not too heavy really.

Try trimming a half coil off the trigger spring, and see where that gets you.

Bedding jobs are cheap and easy if you use epoxy, shoe polish and some spray on case lube and do it yourself.

I had mine shooting MOA pretty routinely. Torquing the hell out of that angled front action screw and free floating the barrel made a big difference.

I wouldn't give up on it. They are good guns. Not the most accurate but very reliable.

 

[TREE ‘EM]

People pay to have Timney triggers installed??? You can do it yourself in less than 15 minutes with basic tools you probably have at home.

Installing a Timney trigger on a Remington or Mauser is a fast easy DIY project. Ruger trigger installation can be far more complex and can require some careful sitting to make it work properly.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Installing a Timney trigger on a Remington or Mauser is a fast easy DIY project. Ruger trigger installation can be far more complex and can require some careful sitting to make it work properly.

I guess I had a special Ruger because mine wasn’t difficult to install.

 

[Burnt Reynolds]

The actual install itself is about as simple as any other trigger, it’s the shaving of metal that may or may not be necessary. While I could do it I’d rather pay $15 to someone who can get it right quickly. Mine needed about 1.5mm of metal removed.

 

[RickfromPA]

Curious how you made out/what you decided on?

I have the same rifle and am looking at the same improvements. Just had a Timney installed and thinking about a new stock. I am able to shoot 1" groups at 100 but it gets random farther out. The barrel currently is not free floated with the Ruger factory stock.

 

[dblb]

I left the .270 alone. Used it as a reason to buy another gun in a different caliber. Bought a .300WM kimber subalpine. Put a Vx5 3.5-15 on it. I'm not sure what I will do with the .270, probably just keep it around, not sure why. The ruger has a old 3-9×40 nikon on it but kimber setup weighs less with a longer barrel and more glass..

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[Cahunter805]

Congrats on the new rifle. How does it shoot?

 

[RickfromPA]

Anyone have recommendations for a M77 mkii stock? I am looking to replace mine and only found a few options available, Hogue, Boyds, HS Percision, and McMillian. I am leaning towards the HS Percision because I can actually find one in stock at a reasonable price.

Interested in anyone's suggestions on the above or other options and pros/cons of either.