Thoughts on Ruger M77 Action Potential?

[Kenny Hart]

Wanted to get the Shoot2Hunt crew or anyone with experience's thoughts on Ruger's M77 potential?

Barring thoughts on their factory barrels (my 308 actually shoots fairly well), what's the general consensus of the potential of the action/platform when properly torqued/bedded/pillars installed when put through the ringer (proprietary ring system, real world bolt/trigger reliability, inherent issues with the angled action screw, zero retention, etc.)

Not generally sentimental toward "things" but my M77 Hawkeye is my first rifle, saved up and bought it back in college and killed a fair number of animals over the years so probably won't be letting it go. I've never personally had any reliability issues with it...some wandering zeros due to conditions that have all since been rectified...i.e. barrel touching stock, scope issues.

It looks like the M70 at the S2HU was pretty well thought of, and is a fairly similar rifle on the surface level.

Threw my 223 Tikka setup into a factory youth stock w/ spacer so I can share with the daughter this season, but tossing around the idea of rebarreling the M77 to a 6 Creed as a second rifle and wanted to put the feelers out as to whether it's worth the endeavor with limited funds, or to just keep it as-is and pursue a different route?

Thanks in advance for any insight!

 

[ElPollo]

Have a friend with two of these who has hunted with them for 25-ish years and loves them. He is not a high-round count sort of person. Checks his zero prior to hunting and then goes and kills stuff at relatively close distances. He freely admits the triggers kinda suck for pull weight, but has not had any issues with them. Only recently, he has had some zero issues pop up after having a smith check them over. My suggestion to him was the action bolts, because it is likely the smith didn’t torque them correctly. That angled front action bolt is a booger to deal with, given the 85 inch-pound requirement, but if you can get it torqued those guns can shoot. I cannot speak to their use in rough conditions with dirt, sand, debris and ice, but his ride a lot of miles in a saddle scabbard.

As far as guns to rebarrel and upgrade, I would suggest keeping your sentimental gun as is as long as it shoots. The limited aftermarket and added cost of rebarreling something like this would make me lean towards putting my upgrading money elsewhere.

 

[wnelson14]

If you re-barrel, send it to Shaw barrels, they do a great job on M77s and have a mixture or offerings for them.
Downside I agree is stocks, I believe Stockys is working on it.

 

[adanymous]

I have a good bit of experience with M77s. They are super rugged and very reliable. I had a sling swivel pull out of the zytel stock while mule deer hunting and walking the rim of a canyon. The rifle was slung and the top swivel pulled out of the stock and caught me completely unawares. The rifle slid down the canyon 150 ish yards. Completely destroyed my old Tasco World Class scope. The rifle was a bit scuffed but fine.

I was given an M77 25-06 that had a 7mm-08 fired through it. Ruined the stock, bent the extractor, damaged the bottom metal. I restocked it and straightened out all of the parts and it is still a tack driver. like nothing ever happened.

They tend to be very accurate. Being basically a commercial mauser, they are also very dependable. Mausers however tend to be clunky and M77s are definitely that.

Downside is I believe they have a cast and EDM cut receiver, which is kind of ruger's thing. Tolerances arent super tight. And there is no aftermarket support for them. I kind of doubt one ever exists because of their limited popularity.

 

[North River]

You won’t wear a m77 out. They are as strong and rugged as they come. While rough and crude the cast bolt and receiver has proven as strong as anything out there. The bolt is one piece which prevents the rather regrettable situation of a bolt handle coming off and n your hand as can happen with Classic M70s and M700s. The gas handling system is second to none, a great improvement over M70s: pre64, post64, and Classic. The bolt stop is genius, actually an improvement on the Mauser, which is rare. 77s are generally very reliable as long as they are set up correctly. Like Mauser 98s, I have found m77s to be easier to get to feed reliably with standard cartridges rather than magnums. The bolt handle is small and round, which is a negative for some. I find it the perfect geometry for fast cycling. The triggers are nothing wonderful, either in design or use, but are generally serviceable and reliable. Timney makes an excellent replacement. Brownells sells a replacement firing pin spring that improves lock time. I’m not a fan of the 3 screw bottom metal, it’s a problem area. The angled front action screw is a BS solution to a nonexistent problem but it generally doesn’t create insurmountable issues either. Aftermarket stocks are limited and generally not great. I prefer to glass bed and modify factory stocks but obviously that’s not a great option either. I love the ring system, they’re strong and very little to go wrong with them. OTOH, they’re not perfect and there’s no changing it to something better. Kind of personal preference.

I have 5 different m77 actions with custom barrels and various degrees of customization so I obviously like the platform. But they’re never going to be lightweights and are probably not the best platform (ok definitely not the best) for a precision build. Strong and reliable is their forte.

 

[sierracharlie338]

I was in the same boat as you except I had a factory barrel that wouldn’t shoot for a dam thing. This was my first deer rifle but after years of utter frustration and coming close to giving up on the gun entirely, I finally decided to rebarrel. My smith spun on a mullerworks barrel and bedded the action. After load development it now prints very acceptable groups and I was able to take my biggest buck ever with it. I was able to get a little more out of the rifle by rebarreling running an Ackley chamber while keeping the original cartridge base.

I know a guy who sent his M77 to PacNor and they did an excellent job with his as well.

In the end I’m glad I went the route that I did and I now have a great shooting rifle I can pass down to my kid.

 

[letrbuck]

Sounds flvwry similar to me. My first rifle is a 280 rem hawkeye I bought in college. Really love that rifle and the only reason I bought a new rifle a few years ago is wanting something lighter. Still love that gun and it shoots very well. Mine now sits in a B&C carbelite stock and I polished up the trigger and replaced the spring and the trigger is excellent. I'd be curious to see one go through a Form torture test and see how they fare

Aftermarket stocks aren't really around. I had been chatting with stockys back in May and was going to send my rifle in for scans, but I've sent them a PM about once a month since with no reply so I have no idea where at in the process they are.

If it's sentimental and you like it, keep that sucker around. They are great rifles. The only drawbacks in my mind are they are kinda heavy and stock options are very limited.

 

[TaperPin]

If an accurate barrel is used, it will shoot very very similarly regardless of the brand of bolt action receiver, unless there is a major malfunction in the action. Ruger’s m77 poor accuracy reputation is mostly from the outsourced barrels that were sometimes pretty poor - rebarreled rifles were popular with varmint shooters and you’ll find plenty of tiny groups from Rugers.

 

[JBradley500]

Which years/cartridges had the issues with accuracy?

 

[pacoalcracker]

Mark Bansner can install one of his High Tech Specialties stocks on an M77. He has done it for me on my 35 Whelen and it's fantastic...and light.

 

[Formidilosus]

tossing around the idea of rebarreling the M77 to a 6 Creed as a second rifle and wanted to put the feelers out as to whether it's worth the endeavor with limited funds, or to just keep it as-is and pursue a different route?

If it is sentimental, use it. The action is rough and clunky- but that is mostly feel, and can be apart of their allure. Rebarrel, look at aftermarket stocks and get it bedded, get someone competent to work the trigger to 3.5lbs or so- then shoot it to destruction.

 

[Kenny Hart]

Have a friend with two of these who has hunted with them for 25-ish years and loves them. He is not a high-round count sort of person. Checks his zero prior to hunting and then goes and kills stuff at relatively close distances. He freely admits the triggers kinda suck for pull weight, but has not had any issues with them. Only recently, he has had some zero issues pop up after having a smith check them over. My suggestion to him was the action bolts, because it is likely the smith didn’t torque them correctly. That angled front action bolt is a booger to deal with, given the 85 inch-pound requirement, but if you can get it torqued those guns can shoot. I cannot speak to their use in rough conditions with dirt, sand, debris and ice, but his ride a lot of miles in a saddle scabbard.

As far as guns to rebarrel and upgrade, I would suggest keeping your sentimental gun as is as long as it shoots. The limited aftermarket and added cost of rebarreling something like this would make me lean towards putting my upgrading money elsewhere.

I grew up hunting with my dad's Mk II 270 boat paddle, and at the time Ruger was the only company making nice-looking wood & blued rifles that I could afford.

Mine has changed a little over the years. Started as a Hawkeye International...wish I would have found a used Mk II with gloss blue but the matte is still alright...because I loved old full-stock military Mausers and Mannlicher stalking rifles. Over the years I fell out of love with the look, and the moving zero issues that I think it was causing.

Sold that stock to a guy who'd bought an M77 RSI online and the stock broke in half. I picked up a walnut Ruger Ultralight stock and like it much more...it's just sat around for over a year now. Finally drilled out the action screw holes and glued in pillars.

I'm actually looking at it on my counter while the glass bedding is curing. Should see how it came out tomorrow!

 

[Kenny Hart]

If you re-barrel, send it to Shaw barrels, they do a great job on M77s and have a mixture or offerings for them.
Downside I agree is stocks, I believe Stockys is working on it.

That's good to know. I've heard that they, as well as Pac Nor (looks like sierracharlie suggested them as well) both do good rebarrel jobs. Kampfeld just threaded my Tikka and I believe he can do so as well. I'll be having him do the same for this rifle if I don't go new barrel.

 

[Kenny Hart]

I have a good bit of experience with M77s. They are super rugged and very reliable. I had a sling swivel pull out of the zytel stock while mule deer hunting and walking the rim of a canyon. The rifle was slung and the top swivel pulled out of the stock and caught me completely unawares. The rifle slid down the canyon 150 ish yards. Completely destroyed my old Tasco World Class scope. The rifle was a bit scuffed but fine.

I was given an M77 25-06 that had a 7mm-08 fired through it. Ruined the stock, bent the extractor, damaged the bottom metal. I restocked it and straightened out all of the parts and it is still a tack driver. like nothing ever happened.

They tend to be very accurate. Being basically a commercial mauser, they are also very dependable. Mausers however tend to be clunky and M77s are definitely that.

Downside is I believe they have a cast and EDM cut receiver, which is kind of ruger's thing. Tolerances arent super tight. And there is no aftermarket support for them. I kind of doubt one ever exists because of their limited popularity.

I can say in all the rounds I've put through this rifle, dependable and rugged can definitely describe it. Never had any weird jams or double feeds, the bolt just binds if you run it fast and give it lateral pressure but that seems to be just a feature of CRF anyway.

Mine has been surprisingly...precise, I believe is the proper term. For a full-length stock it would group very well over a pretty high round count with it's skinny little barrel, but it always shot in a different spot each outing. Once I know was the scope (Zeiss replaced it), I had a VX3 on it as well which I always thought gave me issues even though it got a clean bill of health, and I'm sure the stock touching the barrel didn't help.

Tolerances are certainly rather loose...the amount of inletting I had to do to get the receiver to fit another ruger stock seemed a bit excessive, so I just went all the way and glass/pillar bedded the stock. Looking forward to getting out and shooting it again.

 

[Kenny Hart]

You won’t wear a m77 out. They are as strong and rugged as they come. While rough and crude the cast bolt and receiver has proven as strong as anything out there. The bolt is one piece which prevents the rather regrettable situation of a bolt handle coming off and n your hand as can happen with Classic M70s and M700s. The gas handling system is second to none, a great improvement over M70s: pre64, post64, and Classic. The bolt stop is genius, actually an improvement on the Mauser, which is rare. 77s are generally very reliable as long as they are set up correctly. Like Mauser 98s, I have found m77s to be easier to get to feed reliably with standard cartridges rather than magnums. The bolt handle is small and round, which is a negative for some. I find it the perfect geometry for fast cycling. The triggers are nothing wonderful, either in design or use, but are generally serviceable and reliable. Timney makes an excellent replacement. Brownells sells a replacement firing pin spring that improves lock time. I’m not a fan of the 3 screw bottom metal, it’s a problem area. The angled front action screw is a BS solution to a nonexistent problem but it generally doesn’t create insurmountable issues either. Aftermarket stocks are limited and generally not great. I prefer to glass bed and modify factory stocks but obviously that’s not a great option either. I love the ring system, they’re strong and very little to go wrong with them. OTOH, they’re not perfect and there’s no changing it to something better. Kind of personal preference.

I have 5 different m77 actions with custom barrels and various degrees of customization so I obviously like the platform. But they’re never going to be lightweights and are probably not the best platform (ok definitely not the best) for a precision build. Strong and reliable is their forte.

I do like the 1 piece shorter bolt on M77s, and the scallop lets you mount your scope lower. Owned a Bergara Premier for about a minute and just didn't like the 700 setup overall...but their bolt handle being attached with that tiny little weld didn't inspire a ton of confidence. For a 2-piece, I do like how my Tikka attaches with the dovetailed handle.

The angled action screw definitely made pillar bedding my rifle a bit more challenging than it needed to be, but I got it done and am anxious to see how the full glass bedding comes out tomorrow.

The Timney trigger has been in my Midway cart for more years than I'm ready to admit! I'll probably function check mine when I get it back together and then order it.

Who did you use for barrels?

 

[Kenny Hart]

I was in the same boat as you except I had a factory barrel that wouldn’t shoot for a dam thing. This was my first deer rifle but after years of utter frustration and coming close to giving up on the gun entirely, I finally decided to rebarrel. My smith spun on a mullerworks barrel and bedded the action. After load development it now prints very acceptable groups and I was able to take my biggest buck ever with it. I was able to get a little more out of the rifle by rebarreling running an Ackley chamber while keeping the original cartridge base.

I know a guy who sent his M77 to PacNor and they did an excellent job with his as well.

In the end I’m glad I went the route that I did and I now have a great shooting rifle I can pass down to my kid.

That's awesome! Mine's taken my 2 biggest whitetails over the years, I've just never trusted making vital hits past 150 yards or so because the group has always floated around the bullseye with every outing.

Good to hear, think I'm gonna go for the rebarrel. They make a great looking rifle for sure!

 

[Kenny Hart]

Sounds flvwry similar to me. My first rifle is a 280 rem hawkeye I bought in college. Really love that rifle and the only reason I bought a new rifle a few years ago is wanting something lighter. Still love that gun and it shoots very well. Mine now sits in a B&C carbelite stock and I polished up the trigger and replaced the spring and the trigger is excellent. I'd be curious to see one go through a Form torture test and see how they fare

Aftermarket stocks aren't really around. I had been chatting with stockys back in May and was going to send my rifle in for scans, but I've sent them a PM about once a month since with no reply so I have no idea where at in the process they are.

If it's sentimental and you like it, keep that sucker around. They are great rifles. The only drawbacks in my mind are they are kinda heavy and stock options are very limited.

I tried to find one of those stocks for a while, I have the International but I sold the mannlicher-style stock and found a walnut ultralight in stock that popped up in stock on Midway...decided I wanted to keep the rifle walnut and go through the whole bedding process with it.

Ya back before I gave up on a Kimber than I picked up, I offered to send the inlet CAD to Stocky's if it would help accelerate their offerings for one. They weren't interested, I assume because they're covered up in production work as is.

 

[Kenny Hart]

If an accurate barrel is used, it will shoot very very similarly regardless of the brand of bolt action receiver, unless there is a major malfunction in the action. Ruger’s m77 poor accuracy reputation is mostly from the outsourced barrels that were sometimes pretty poor - rebarreled rifles were popular with varmint shooters and you’ll find plenty of tiny groups from Rugers.

Good to know, I wasn't sure if there was some inherent disadvantage to the Ruger receiver that would cause those with much more rifle experience to write them off.

I'm not a huge fan of the rings, namely because I've found the few sets I've seen didn't come round or perfectly straight and required lapping, and you just have to accept the weight of steel, but once they're torqued down, they've never budged on me.

 

[Kenny Hart]

Mark Bansner can install one of his High Tech Specialties stocks on an M77. He has done it for me on my 35 Whelen and it's fantastic...and light.

Good to know!

 

[Kenny Hart]

If it is sentimental, use it. The action is rough and clunky- but that is mostly feel, and can be apart of their allure. Rebarrel, look at aftermarket stocks and get it bedded, get someone competent to work the trigger to 3.5lbs or so- then shoot it to destruction.

Form coming through with good info, always appreciate it! Was hoping you didn't have any insight about some critical failure of the ring setup or whatnot.

I've shot an old tang safety 257 Rob with a smith-honed trigger and it was pretty phenomenal. Would you say the OG trigger worked over by a smith would preferrable to a Timney, or is it a toss-up?