opinion on a Ruger M77 MK II in 300 win mag - Page 2

Lloyd Smale · October 19, 2010, 06:49 AM

dont know about the angled bolt being the answer to our dreams. I dont know of one bench rest gun built on a ruger action. About 99 percent are on remington actions. Ive owned a number of rugers through the years and have had good and bad ones but more bad then with any other manufacturer. As to strenght who cares. Any of the manufactures bolt guns are plenty strong. As to a 300 mag being an overkill maybe it is but ive killed a pile of game with it and have made some of the longest shots ive ever made with it and to me anyway it has allways been the most accurate mag round ive worked with. Personaly ive had enough troubles with rugers shooting that the only way id buy another is if it were a stainless one as most of them ive shot did fine. Anyone that knows me knows my opinions come from shooting and shooting alot. Not from internet bs thats passed on.

pricedo · October 30, 2010, 05:16 PM

Have a Ruger M77 MK II All Weather in 300 win mag. with a 3-9x40mm Leupold on top that gives me < 3/4" groups with the 180 grain Core-Lokt PSP factory ammo after I replaced the factory fence post with a Timney trigger set at 1.5#.

If I had to describe this rifle in one sentence I would say it's a lot like a pre-64 Winchester Model 70 except significantly tougher.

That gun has fallen off ATVs & bounced around in the boxes of pick-up trucks but still shoots like a dream.

hotcha45 · October 30, 2010, 06:00 PM

7mm STW, interesting question. Can't say as I can think of anything in the moose/elk category in South America. Though the reference to anything in NA I think has more to do with few being able to afford a hunting trip to SA while if they really want to even most working folk can manage an elk hunt and usually want a fairly heavy bullet to fire if they get a chance at an 800 lb animal.

Dougw47 · October 30, 2010, 06:47 PM

I had more that were shooters than were not...glad yours is the former.

If you reload, you can back off the mag load a tad and save the big stuff for bigger game.

Wood-stocked Rugers are beautiful, congrats on yours.

warbirdlover · October 31, 2010, 09:53 AM

I just put a new limbsaver recoil pad on my Mk II all-weather .300 WM and it was money well spent! It is now a sweety to shoot!

And 150 gr. bullets in .300 WM are fine for whitetail. I've never had one go over five yards after I've hit them and NOBODY else ever tags my deer!

dgludwig · November 2, 2010, 04:08 PM

Quote:

I guess I really didnt need this much power I just wanted it .

And sometimes, that's all the reason we need!

Concerning the Ruger Model 77/77MKII, I've got two of each and have found all four to be reasonably accurate, thoroughly reliable, having good workmanship, of sturdy construction and easy on the eyes. I much prefer the Ruger over any Model 70 or 700 (of which I've had more than a couple of over the years).

LOUD · November 2, 2010, 06:13 PM

Thanks Guys I have to say it is one of the more beautiful guns in my collection and I just love the Mauser ish look of the action and it is smooth as silk . I dont know if it is german engineered but it sure looks like it to me . All in all it is a precision instrument .Im looking forward to setting my sights on a big buck whitetail Ive been watching all summer . I'll let you know what happens.......LOUD

warbirdlover · November 2, 2010, 06:31 PM

They have whitetails in Virginia? JK!! Good luck!!

dgludwig · November 3, 2010, 11:19 AM

There's even whitetails in Washington DC. They're everywhere!

RLFD5415 · November 3, 2010, 03:30 PM

Quote:

I dont know of one bench rest gun built on a ruger action.

I know of four. They're sitting in my safe.

imacanuk · November 3, 2010, 04:50 PM

I've known people that swear by Ruger, and I've known people that swear AT Ruger! I had a M77 tang safety in 7 Rem Mag. Poor shooter. I tried every kind of factory load I could get my hands on, and probably 30 or more different handload recipes. I shot it a lot, and it went from a 2 MOA shooter to a 4 MOA shooter. I tried 3 different scopes, I tried free floating, I tried bedding. Then I FINALLY got the rifle I dreamed of... when I sold it and bought a Remington!

The Remmy was a shooter from the get-go. But back to Ruger...

I've heard of barrel problems with the old M77's and I think that's what I got. Then I shot it so much looking for the pet load, that I think I shot out the barrel. I'd be willing to try a Hawkeye some day, but it would have to be a great deal. If I'm going to put my dollars down, I'm more likely to get a brand that hasn't let me down yet.

That's what some people say about Remington, though. Someone may have got a lemon, and now he stays away from them. Whereas I'd rather put my money for a Remmy than a Ruger, just because I had a bad Ruger and 4 great 700's.

LOUD · November 3, 2010, 05:29 PM

Quote:

They have whitetails in Virginia? JK!! Good luck!!

HeHe , I live in rural Virginia in a county with 1 liquor store , no stoplights , 12,000 people amd 60,000 deer . Thats 5 for every man , woman and child. I think I can get one anytime, until now it was a well kept secret!.........

LOUD

Ozzieman · November 3, 2010, 06:15 PM

I have owned two Ruger 77’s. Both were very well made, reliable guns.
The 30-06 was a tack driver but the 6mm Rem was not. What I found was that for my 6mm, bullet seating depth was critical to get into 1 inch groups at 100 yards. My longest shot with the 6mm was at 400 yards at a ground hog lying down between furrows. He quit eating soybeans after the passage of the 70 Gr bullet.
You have a great gun at a great price. Have fun.
And where are the pic’s

LateNightFlight · November 3, 2010, 06:48 PM

I'm glad you found your Ruger and it's shooting well for you! I've been toting a MK II (in 7mm Rem Mag) for going on 2 decades. I had those 3" groups - 2" on a good day, worse on bad days, and had been talked into the idea that I shouldn't expect better from this gun. And that was okay as I was taking deer with it year-over-year.

Two years ago, the gun busted my old Tasco when I was checking zero, before packing it up for an elk hunt. While I was at it, I put on new rings. And having shot up my old ammo zeroing in the new scope, thought I'd try different ammo.

Holy smokes! A different gun!

Congrats on a nice find. I've shot a few sub MOA groups since then, but you can see my two year old post with a target pic, when I celebrated my turn of events here on TFL: http://thefiringline.com/forums/show...ighlight=ruger

Happy shooting with your MK II!

sc928porsche · November 4, 2010, 05:59 AM

Now that you have the rifle and you seem to enjoy it, the next thing you will want to do is get some reloading equipment! You should be able to improve your groups and lower the cost of shooting. Enjoy!!!!

LOUD · November 4, 2010, 08:38 PM

Quote:

Now that you have the rifle and you seem to enjoy it, the next thing you will want to do is get some reloading equipment! You should be able to improve your groups and lower the cost of shooting. Enjoy!!!!

__________________

LOUD · November 4, 2010, 08:45 PM

Quote:

Now that you have the rifle and you seem to enjoy it, the next thing you will want to do is get some reloading equipment! You should be able to improve your groups and lower the cost of shooting. Enjoy!!!!

__________________
hey there Porsche, Ive been reloading now for about a year , still new to it. I already am plotting and schemeing on what is a good load for it , thinking of tryin a 165 gr Hornady sst over some reloader 22 or some Imr 7828 , well thats what I got on hand at the moment . Anyone got any suggestions ? ..........LOUD

sc928porsche · November 5, 2010, 03:58 AM

Ive had the best results using IMR 4350 on 150gr, 165 gr, and 180 gr. My chrono shows the least variation from hi to lo with IMR 4350. My pet load is 74gr of IMR 4350, 150gr Sierra Matchking. CCI LRM primer. and seated to OAL of 3.325. Of course yours will be a bit different because no 2 rifles are the same. According to sierra's manual, this is close to MAX load.

warbirdlover · November 5, 2010, 08:00 AM

I'm "developing" a THEORY that rifles with stainless steel barrels shoot better then normal steel barrels. That's been my experience so far. Anyone heard of a stainless Ruger (or other brand) not shooting good groups?

October 30, 2010, 06:47 PM	#29
Dougw47 Senior Member Join Date: September 23, 2001 Location: Lake Tawakoni Posts: 154	Rugers I had more that were shooters than were not...glad yours is the former. If you reload, you can back off the mag load a tad and save the big stuff for bigger game. Wood-stocked Rugers are beautiful, congrats on yours. __________________ "The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government." T.Jefferson Me, A Life Member NRA, TSRA since 1977

October 31, 2010, 09:53 AM	#30
warbirdlover Senior Member Join Date: December 13, 2009 Location: central Wisconsin Posts: 2,324	I just put a new limbsaver recoil pad on my Mk II all-weather .300 WM and it was money well spent! It is now a sweety to shoot! And 150 gr. bullets in .300 WM are fine for whitetail. I've never had one go over five yards after I've hit them and NOBODY else ever tags my deer! Last edited by warbirdlover; October 31, 2010 at 09:59 AM.

November 3, 2010, 11:19 AM	#34
dgludwig Senior Member Join Date: February 12, 2005 Location: North central Ohio Posts: 7,486	There's even whitetails in Washington DC. They're everywhere! __________________ ONLY AN ARMED PEOPLE CAN BE TRULY FREE ; ONLY AN UNARMED PEOPLE CAN EVER BE ENSLAVED ...Aristotle NRA Benefactor Life Member

November 4, 2010, 05:59 AM	#40
sc928porsche Senior Member Join Date: May 29, 2008 Location: now living in alabama Posts: 2,433	Now that you have the rifle and you seem to enjoy it, the next thing you will want to do is get some reloading equipment! You should be able to improve your groups and lower the cost of shooting. Enjoy!!!! __________________ No such thing as a stupid question. What is stupid is not asking it.

November 5, 2010, 03:58 AM	#43
sc928porsche Senior Member Join Date: May 29, 2008 Location: now living in alabama Posts: 2,433	Ive had the best results using IMR 4350 on 150gr, 165 gr, and 180 gr. My chrono shows the least variation from hi to lo with IMR 4350. My pet load is 74gr of IMR 4350, 150gr Sierra Matchking. CCI LRM primer. and seated to OAL of 3.325. Of course yours will be a bit different because no 2 rifles are the same. According to sierra's manual, this is close to MAX load. __________________ No such thing as a stupid question. What is stupid is not asking it.

October 19, 2010, 06:49 AM	#26
Lloyd Smale Junior member Join Date: February 11, 2005 Posts: 822	dont know about the angled bolt being the answer to our dreams. I dont know of one bench rest gun built on a ruger action. About 99 percent are on remington actions. Ive owned a number of rugers through the years and have had good and bad ones but more bad then with any other manufacturer. As to strenght who cares. Any of the manufactures bolt guns are plenty strong. As to a 300 mag being an overkill maybe it is but ive killed a pile of game with it and have made some of the longest shots ive ever made with it and to me anyway it has allways been the most accurate mag round ive worked with. Personaly ive had enough troubles with rugers shooting that the only way id buy another is if it were a stainless one as most of them ive shot did fine. Anyone that knows me knows my opinions come from shooting and shooting alot. Not from internet bs thats passed on.

October 30, 2010, 05:16 PM	#27
pricedo Member Join Date: September 3, 2008 Location: NRA LIFE MEMBER Posts: 55	Have a Ruger M77 MK II All Weather in 300 win mag. with a 3-9x40mm Leupold on top that gives me < 3/4" groups with the 180 grain Core-Lokt PSP factory ammo after I replaced the factory fence post with a Timney trigger set at 1.5#. If I had to describe this rifle in one sentence I would say it's a lot like a pre-64 Winchester Model 70 except significantly tougher. That gun has fallen off ATVs & bounced around in the boxes of pick-up trucks but still shoots like a dream.

October 30, 2010, 06:00 PM	#28
hotcha45 Member Join Date: March 22, 2009 Posts: 96	7mm STW, interesting question. Can't say as I can think of anything in the moose/elk category in South America. Though the reference to anything in NA I think has more to do with few being able to afford a hunting trip to SA while if they really want to even most working folk can manage an elk hunt and usually want a fairly heavy bullet to fire if they get a chance at an 800 lb animal.

November 2, 2010, 06:13 PM	#32
LOUD Senior Member Join Date: May 29, 2010 Location: Virginia Posts: 236	Thanks Guys I have to say it is one of the more beautiful guns in my collection and I just love the Mauser ish look of the action and it is smooth as silk . I dont know if it is german engineered but it sure looks like it to me . All in all it is a precision instrument .Im looking forward to setting my sights on a big buck whitetail Ive been watching all summer . I'll let you know what happens.......LOUD

November 2, 2010, 06:31 PM	#33
warbirdlover Senior Member Join Date: December 13, 2009 Location: central Wisconsin Posts: 2,324	They have whitetails in Virginia? JK!! Good luck!!

November 3, 2010, 04:50 PM	#36
imacanuk Member Join Date: September 2, 2009 Location: Calgary, Alberta, Canada Posts: 98	I've known people that swear by Ruger, and I've known people that swear AT Ruger! I had a M77 tang safety in 7 Rem Mag. Poor shooter. I tried every kind of factory load I could get my hands on, and probably 30 or more different handload recipes. I shot it a lot, and it went from a 2 MOA shooter to a 4 MOA shooter. I tried 3 different scopes, I tried free floating, I tried bedding. Then I FINALLY got the rifle I dreamed of... when I sold it and bought a Remington! The Remmy was a shooter from the get-go. But back to Ruger... I've heard of barrel problems with the old M77's and I think that's what I got. Then I shot it so much looking for the pet load, that I think I shot out the barrel. I'd be willing to try a Hawkeye some day, but it would have to be a great deal. If I'm going to put my dollars down, I'm more likely to get a brand that hasn't let me down yet. That's what some people say about Remington, though. Someone may have got a lemon, and now he stays away from them. Whereas I'd rather put my money for a Remmy than a Ruger, just because I had a bad Ruger and 4 great 700's.

November 3, 2010, 06:15 PM	#38
Ozzieman Senior Member Join Date: December 14, 2004 Location: Northern Indiana Posts: 6,117	I have owned two Ruger 77’s. Both were very well made, reliable guns. The 30-06 was a tack driver but the 6mm Rem was not. What I found was that for my 6mm, bullet seating depth was critical to get into 1 inch groups at 100 yards. My longest shot with the 6mm was at 400 yards at a ground hog lying down between furrows. He quit eating soybeans after the passage of the 70 Gr bullet. You have a great gun at a great price. Have fun. And where are the pic’s

November 3, 2010, 06:48 PM	#39
LateNightFlight Senior Member Join Date: November 22, 2007 Location: Central Missouri Posts: 552	I'm glad you found your Ruger and it's shooting well for you! I've been toting a MK II (in 7mm Rem Mag) for going on 2 decades. I had those 3" groups - 2" on a good day, worse on bad days, and had been talked into the idea that I shouldn't expect better from this gun. And that was okay as I was taking deer with it year-over-year. Two years ago, the gun busted my old Tasco when I was checking zero, before packing it up for an elk hunt. While I was at it, I put on new rings. And having shot up my old ammo zeroing in the new scope, thought I'd try different ammo. Holy smokes! A different gun! Congrats on a nice find. I've shot a few sub MOA groups since then, but you can see my two year old post with a target pic, when I celebrated my turn of events here on TFL: http://thefiringline.com/forums/show...ighlight=ruger Happy shooting with your MK II!

November 5, 2010, 08:00 AM	#44
warbirdlover Senior Member Join Date: December 13, 2009 Location: central Wisconsin Posts: 2,324	I'm "developing" a THEORY that rifles with stainless steel barrels shoot better then normal steel barrels. That's been my experience so far. Anyone heard of a stainless Ruger (or other brand) not shooting good groups?