Ruger M77

Kimber84 · April 20, 2013, 08:40 AM

Just looking for general info/ opinions on this platform... Interested in picking up a .17 Hmr, but may hold off until this new Win super .17 comes out.

Would just like to hear the good bad and ugly of it.

Will just be using it for low noise pollution varmint control. Been making the neighbors squeal w the .204 a little lately.

PetahW · April 20, 2013, 09:23 AM

.

JMO, but if they're squawkin' about your.204, they're gonna squawk about the new Winchester .17RF @ over 3,000fps.

I'd try to get closer & use a LR.

I've had Ruger 77/22's in both .22 LR & .22 WMR, and liked them both - but the Mag now resides with my son, who likes it for the Red Foxes & occasional 'Yote that run rampant in his country backyard.

.

Kimber84 · April 20, 2013, 11:04 AM

I imagine it'll be a little while till anyone other than savage chambers the new win round. Dunno. I'd rather not be a guinea pig though on a new .17 rimfire round that you can't reload. However my ears will be listening for chatter on it to see how it fairs. I'm leaning heavily towards an HMR, just sold a marlin last year that was a good shooter, but I'd just like a nicer gun than what marlin is putting out now.

Thanks

JD0x0 · April 20, 2013, 12:55 PM

I have a M77 chambered in .270 win with an $80 scope. With factory ammo it'll generally shoot .7-1.2 MOA groups, with the stock trigger, which isn't fantastic, but certainly useable, and can be easily and cheaply upgraded.

tahunua001 · April 21, 2013, 05:23 PM

in my experience there is no ugly when it comes to the M77. compared to a walmart shelf remington nodel 700 they are a little spendy averaging $650-750 but they don't have the neglegent discharge problems of the rem 700s, the QC issues of a winchester mod 70 and the poor aftermarket availability of savages.

they are plenty accurate, well weighted, pretty loyal Mauser derivatives, strong actions and I love them. all of my brothers and I grew up hunting with remington 700s and they were much better than the crap remington cranks out nowadays. the rems hardly ever leave the safes anymore, I own a ruger M77 MKII in 30-06 that is a tack driver, easily MOA with good ammo and a better person behind the trigger. my older brother has M77s in 357 mag, 223, 7.62x39mm, and a MKII in 7mm rem mag.

needless to say his opinion of them is quite high as well.

Kimber84 · April 21, 2013, 07:25 PM

Thanks for the info... I agree Remington has gone to crap... It's a shame. I understand too that there is a market for economy rifles and that is fine, I just don't care for them.

Currently I own all Kimbers (.204, 30-06, .308, and .243) and really like them. Unfortunately they don't offer all the calibers I'm interested in. I like the fit, feel and balance of the Rugers. The triggers aren't quite like what I've grown used to on the Kimbers, but I'm sure they can be tweaked.

How are the rotary mags in these guns? Not sure if the bigger calibers use rotaries, but the smaller ones I'm interested in I know do. That's my only turnoff, the plastic mag. But I'd try to live with it.

Thanks.

alex0535 · April 21, 2013, 08:17 PM

.17 HMR is pretty loud, shooting it out of a rifle was loud enough to upset the people 100 yards through the woods over here.

One day guy started yelling, threatening to "call the law". Yelled back something about the 2nd amendment and that I would "call the law". So I did and they told me they would send someone out, police car came over shortly after. Police officer told me that if I was shooting in a safe direction and putting no one in any danger that I could shoot any gun I want, that city people moving to the country don't understand that you hear people shooting guns in the country and that I was doing nothing wrong. Have not heard a peep out of the neighbors since.

All in all though, it is one of my favorite calibers. A squirrel inside of 130 yards life expectancy drops drastically once it is in my crosshairs with the .17 HMR. What kind of varmints do you hunt and at what ranges?

tahunua001 · April 21, 2013, 10:43 PM

only the pistol caliber carbines use the rotary mags so 22lr, 357, 44 mag use them. those are nice because they are just like the magazines on 10/22s, just buy some spares and you have a bolt action with quick change mags. since it rotates and new rounds are pushed from front to back, you don't have to worry about rimlock. the only bolt gun I've seen with a setup I like as much is the browning A bolt.

longer, rifle calibers all use the classic mauser style magazine style with hinged floor plate.

SPEMack618 · April 21, 2013, 10:54 PM

The plastic rotary mag is pretty durable. I've only had one to fail in 10 plus years of shooting them through various Ruger platforms.

I have both a 77/22 and a Model 77 Mk II in 7mm Rem Mag.

Both are capable of accuracy in excess of what I can regularly shoot.

The 77/22 is a tack driver in every since of the word. My sister refers to it as a little boy's sniper rifle due to the rifle's dimunitive appearance, especially when compared with it's older brother in 7mm Rem Mag.

I've shot M-24s that have been done up the AMU, but aside from those, I've never used a finer bolt gun than either of my Model 77s.

Kimber84 · April 22, 2013, 05:44 AM

Thanks for all the info, I just assumed they ran rotaries, but I guess the one I had in my hand was a .22, same platform I'm interested in though.

I had a .17 in a Marlin and while it sure cracks I never considered it overly loud, but maybe it was louder than I thought.

I'll mainly use it on groundhogs out to 200 yards. The marlin I had would kill them at 200 as long as I took head shots and actually hit them

. My .204 is good to 500 yards as long as the wind is calm, I wouldn't say I'm anywhere near 100% hits at that range, more like 50-60%, but out to 350 I rarely miss with it.... It just has an obnoxious crack and boom, or so my dad has told me

.

Ultimately I could care less about noise, but most of the shots around here are around 200 yards. When it gets further than that I've got bigger calibers.

rc · April 22, 2013, 10:45 AM

A neighbor that squaks when you shoot will squak if they hear you shoot anything. Even so, I would strongly suggest you consider a 17 mach 2 CZ 452. They are out there and the mach 2 is a fairly quiet round compared with any centerfire and even the 17 hmr. They sound about like a high speed 22. I don't find I'm much more effective with the hmr than the mach 2 due to wind drift at distance. The problem is finding ammo right now. People are crazy! I saw 4500 round on GB sell for over $2000. Even so when in stock at regular prices expect to pay 1/2 what you would for 17hmr or about 1/3 the cost of the new winchester super wallet drainer. $7-8 a box is about normal these days. The 17 mach 2 will flat out kill small varmints to 100 yards with good shot placement and is a low ricochette high accuracy round. There are 77/17s in the caliber but they are rare and expensive. You missed the clearance in 2006 when they sold out for $350-$450 and full power ammo was $4 or less a box! Current ammo is a bit slower at 2000fps,down from 2150fps due to Kabooms in semi auto conversions. You can still find a savage heavy barrel for about $250 or a CZ 452 for about $500. The thing I don't like about super quiet subsonic ammo in 22s is they still ricochette and they rainbow at distance making hits harder. If you can find and afford a 77/17 in mach 2, give it a good home. Highly neglected round in a great little rifle that kills out of proportion to its size. Really this was/is the best of the rimfire 17s. They just couldn't make it work well with semi auto guns so companies shied away from production. Works great in bolt actions. A 204 is a long range open country varminter. Sounds like neighbors are too close. Can't force them to move so ya gotta buy a new gun

Kimber84 · April 22, 2013, 10:57 AM

Thanks, I'm having a heck of a time finding anyone that stocks CZs. I've always heard good things about them but could never get my hands on one.

Really not interested in savages, had a few over the years. They were decent for the price, just not my flavor... I'm fine with ppl owning them, just not for me.

I hunt a variety of different landscapes in Ohio, from our rolling farm with long draws and drainages to smaller fields with houses around. The .204 is a flat out riot in our bigger fields, but a lot of the places I hunt its just flat out over kill for the average 100-150 yard shots.

rc · April 22, 2013, 12:03 PM

The 452s in mach 2 were last produced I think in early 2012 from left over parts. They sold through whitakers for about $369. Midsouth shooter supply seems to have the best prices on ammo for around $7 a box for Hornady. You can still find NIB CZ 452 mach 2 rifles for $500 that people purchsed to flip because they aren't in high demand. Guys at rimfirecentral love them. I think they are a good deal even at that price. The 77/17s in mach 2 push $600-$800 used unless you find one in an out of the way place that nobody in the area wants. You might find a good deal then. The CZ's don't have the great scope mounting system like Ruger but they are high quality guns that feel and shoot great. I understand what you mean about Savage. I have the same reservations but people that have them seem to like them. I think they are better than current Mossberg and Marlin products. I seriously considered getting the 17 hmr stainless Savage BVSS with green laminate stock but got a blued CZ 452 varmint instead because the 452 line was discontinued and I thought it was a better investment. It is my only 17 hmr and shoots very well. A 452 American in 17 mach 2 is on my wish list and CZ triggers are fairly easy to swap out to lighter springs like Ruger. Just don't go too light or they will bump fire. I shoot a Ruger 77/17 vbz in mach 2 and I love it! I prefer the Ruger 77/XX guns to the 452s but only by a small margin. CZ's have a "backwards" safety, smaller magazine capacity and cheaper scope mounting but are great shooters. I like that Ruger 77 centerfires and rimfires all feel and function the same in terms of safety and trigger. Quality and accuracy of CZs are top notch and can edge out the Rugers in a head to head competition! If you must have a 17hmr, CZ makes a switch barrel 22LR/17hmr in their 455 line that may interest you. I don't think it's as good as the 452 with the screwed on barrels but people seem to like them. The 452 in mach 2 will be a good long term investment if you don't beat it to hell. With a good 3-9 scope you'll make kills on small vermin to 100 yards, no problem. I could hardly believe when I aimed at a grazing squirrel at 100 yards flat on the ground, held just over his head and sqeezed. It rolled over with a shot to the head. You may get a few cripples with the mach 2 like with any rimfire especially at the longer ranges but it is effective.

April 20, 2013, 08:40 AM	#1
Kimber84 Senior Member Join Date: April 8, 2013 Location: US Posts: 455	Ruger M77 Just looking for general info/ opinions on this platform... Interested in picking up a .17 Hmr, but may hold off until this new Win super .17 comes out. Would just like to hear the good bad and ugly of it. Will just be using it for low noise pollution varmint control. Been making the neighbors squeal w the .204 a little lately.

April 20, 2013, 11:04 AM	#3
Kimber84 Senior Member Join Date: April 8, 2013 Location: US Posts: 455	Ruger M77 I imagine it'll be a little while till anyone other than savage chambers the new win round. Dunno. I'd rather not be a guinea pig though on a new .17 rimfire round that you can't reload. However my ears will be listening for chatter on it to see how it fairs. I'm leaning heavily towards an HMR, just sold a marlin last year that was a good shooter, but I'd just like a nicer gun than what marlin is putting out now. Thanks

April 21, 2013, 05:23 PM	#5
tahunua001 Senior Member Join Date: July 21, 2011 Location: Idaho Posts: 7,839	in my experience there is no ugly when it comes to the M77. compared to a walmart shelf remington nodel 700 they are a little spendy averaging $650-750 but they don't have the neglegent discharge problems of the rem 700s, the QC issues of a winchester mod 70 and the poor aftermarket availability of savages. they are plenty accurate, well weighted, pretty loyal Mauser derivatives, strong actions and I love them. all of my brothers and I grew up hunting with remington 700s and they were much better than the crap remington cranks out nowadays. the rems hardly ever leave the safes anymore, I own a ruger M77 MKII in 30-06 that is a tack driver, easily MOA with good ammo and a better person behind the trigger. my older brother has M77s in 357 mag, 223, 7.62x39mm, and a MKII in 7mm rem mag. needless to say his opinion of them is quite high as well. __________________ ignore my complete lack of capitalization. I still have no problem correcting your grammar. I never said half the stuff people said I did-Albert Einstein You can't believe everything you read on the internet-Benjamin Franklin

April 21, 2013, 07:25 PM	#6
Kimber84 Senior Member Join Date: April 8, 2013 Location: US Posts: 455	Ruger M77 Thanks for the info... I agree Remington has gone to crap... It's a shame. I understand too that there is a market for economy rifles and that is fine, I just don't care for them. Currently I own all Kimbers (.204, 30-06, .308, and .243) and really like them. Unfortunately they don't offer all the calibers I'm interested in. I like the fit, feel and balance of the Rugers. The triggers aren't quite like what I've grown used to on the Kimbers, but I'm sure they can be tweaked. How are the rotary mags in these guns? Not sure if the bigger calibers use rotaries, but the smaller ones I'm interested in I know do. That's my only turnoff, the plastic mag. But I'd try to live with it. Thanks.

April 21, 2013, 10:43 PM	#8
tahunua001 Senior Member Join Date: July 21, 2011 Location: Idaho Posts: 7,839	only the pistol caliber carbines use the rotary mags so 22lr, 357, 44 mag use them. those are nice because they are just like the magazines on 10/22s, just buy some spares and you have a bolt action with quick change mags. since it rotates and new rounds are pushed from front to back, you don't have to worry about rimlock. the only bolt gun I've seen with a setup I like as much is the browning A bolt. longer, rifle calibers all use the classic mauser style magazine style with hinged floor plate. __________________ ignore my complete lack of capitalization. I still have no problem correcting your grammar. I never said half the stuff people said I did-Albert Einstein You can't believe everything you read on the internet-Benjamin Franklin

April 20, 2013, 09:23 AM	#2
PetahW Senior Member Join Date: September 19, 2008 Posts: 4,678	. JMO, but if they're squawkin' about your.204, they're gonna squawk about the new Winchester .17RF @ over 3,000fps. I'd try to get closer & use a LR. I've had Ruger 77/22's in both .22 LR & .22 WMR, and liked them both - but the Mag now resides with my son, who likes it for the Red Foxes & occasional 'Yote that run rampant in his country backyard. .

April 20, 2013, 12:55 PM	#4
JD0x0 Senior Member Join Date: January 30, 2013 Posts: 1,037	I have a M77 chambered in .270 win with an $80 scope. With factory ammo it'll generally shoot .7-1.2 MOA groups, with the stock trigger, which isn't fantastic, but certainly useable, and can be easily and cheaply upgraded.

April 21, 2013, 08:17 PM	#7
alex0535 Senior Member Join Date: November 4, 2012 Location: Georgia Posts: 908	.17 HMR is pretty loud, shooting it out of a rifle was loud enough to upset the people 100 yards through the woods over here. One day guy started yelling, threatening to "call the law". Yelled back something about the 2nd amendment and that I would "call the law". So I did and they told me they would send someone out, police car came over shortly after. Police officer told me that if I was shooting in a safe direction and putting no one in any danger that I could shoot any gun I want, that city people moving to the country don't understand that you hear people shooting guns in the country and that I was doing nothing wrong. Have not heard a peep out of the neighbors since. All in all though, it is one of my favorite calibers. A squirrel inside of 130 yards life expectancy drops drastically once it is in my crosshairs with the .17 HMR. What kind of varmints do you hunt and at what ranges?

April 21, 2013, 10:54 PM	#9
SPEMack618 Senior Member Join Date: June 21, 2010 Location: Central Georgia Posts: 1,863	The plastic rotary mag is pretty durable. I've only had one to fail in 10 plus years of shooting them through various Ruger platforms. I have both a 77/22 and a Model 77 Mk II in 7mm Rem Mag. Both are capable of accuracy in excess of what I can regularly shoot. The 77/22 is a tack driver in every since of the word. My sister refers to it as a little boy's sniper rifle due to the rifle's dimunitive appearance, especially when compared with it's older brother in 7mm Rem Mag. I've shot M-24s that have been done up the AMU, but aside from those, I've never used a finer bolt gun than either of my Model 77s. __________________ NRA Life Member Read my blog! "The answer to any caliber debate is going to be .38 Super, 10mm, .357 Sig or .41 Magnum!"

April 22, 2013, 05:44 AM	#10
Kimber84 Senior Member Join Date: April 8, 2013 Location: US Posts: 455	Ruger M77 Thanks for all the info, I just assumed they ran rotaries, but I guess the one I had in my hand was a .22, same platform I'm interested in though. I had a .17 in a Marlin and while it sure cracks I never considered it overly loud, but maybe it was louder than I thought. I'll mainly use it on groundhogs out to 200 yards. The marlin I had would kill them at 200 as long as I took head shots and actually hit them . My .204 is good to 500 yards as long as the wind is calm, I wouldn't say I'm anywhere near 100% hits at that range, more like 50-60%, but out to 350 I rarely miss with it.... It just has an obnoxious crack and boom, or so my dad has told me . Ultimately I could care less about noise, but most of the shots around here are around 200 yards. When it gets further than that I've got bigger calibers.

April 22, 2013, 10:45 AM	#11
rc Senior Member Join Date: April 28, 2001 Location: CA Posts: 1,768	A neighbor that squaks when you shoot will squak if they hear you shoot anything. Even so, I would strongly suggest you consider a 17 mach 2 CZ 452. They are out there and the mach 2 is a fairly quiet round compared with any centerfire and even the 17 hmr. They sound about like a high speed 22. I don't find I'm much more effective with the hmr than the mach 2 due to wind drift at distance. The problem is finding ammo right now. People are crazy! I saw 4500 round on GB sell for over $2000. Even so when in stock at regular prices expect to pay 1/2 what you would for 17hmr or about 1/3 the cost of the new winchester super wallet drainer. $7-8 a box is about normal these days. The 17 mach 2 will flat out kill small varmints to 100 yards with good shot placement and is a low ricochette high accuracy round. There are 77/17s in the caliber but they are rare and expensive. You missed the clearance in 2006 when they sold out for $350-$450 and full power ammo was $4 or less a box! Current ammo is a bit slower at 2000fps,down from 2150fps due to Kabooms in semi auto conversions. You can still find a savage heavy barrel for about $250 or a CZ 452 for about $500. The thing I don't like about super quiet subsonic ammo in 22s is they still ricochette and they rainbow at distance making hits harder. If you can find and afford a 77/17 in mach 2, give it a good home. Highly neglected round in a great little rifle that kills out of proportion to its size. Really this was/is the best of the rimfire 17s. They just couldn't make it work well with semi auto guns so companies shied away from production. Works great in bolt actions. A 204 is a long range open country varminter. Sounds like neighbors are too close. Can't force them to move so ya gotta buy a new gun Last edited by rc; April 22, 2013 at 10:55 AM.

April 22, 2013, 10:57 AM	#12
Kimber84 Senior Member Join Date: April 8, 2013 Location: US Posts: 455	Ruger M77 Thanks, I'm having a heck of a time finding anyone that stocks CZs. I've always heard good things about them but could never get my hands on one. Really not interested in savages, had a few over the years. They were decent for the price, just not my flavor... I'm fine with ppl owning them, just not for me. I hunt a variety of different landscapes in Ohio, from our rolling farm with long draws and drainages to smaller fields with houses around. The .204 is a flat out riot in our bigger fields, but a lot of the places I hunt its just flat out over kill for the average 100-150 yard shots.

April 22, 2013, 12:03 PM	#13
rc Senior Member Join Date: April 28, 2001 Location: CA Posts: 1,768	The 452s in mach 2 were last produced I think in early 2012 from left over parts. They sold through whitakers for about $369. Midsouth shooter supply seems to have the best prices on ammo for around $7 a box for Hornady. You can still find NIB CZ 452 mach 2 rifles for $500 that people purchsed to flip because they aren't in high demand. Guys at rimfirecentral love them. I think they are a good deal even at that price. The 77/17s in mach 2 push $600-$800 used unless you find one in an out of the way place that nobody in the area wants. You might find a good deal then. The CZ's don't have the great scope mounting system like Ruger but they are high quality guns that feel and shoot great. I understand what you mean about Savage. I have the same reservations but people that have them seem to like them. I think they are better than current Mossberg and Marlin products. I seriously considered getting the 17 hmr stainless Savage BVSS with green laminate stock but got a blued CZ 452 varmint instead because the 452 line was discontinued and I thought it was a better investment. It is my only 17 hmr and shoots very well. A 452 American in 17 mach 2 is on my wish list and CZ triggers are fairly easy to swap out to lighter springs like Ruger. Just don't go too light or they will bump fire. I shoot a Ruger 77/17 vbz in mach 2 and I love it! I prefer the Ruger 77/XX guns to the 452s but only by a small margin. CZ's have a "backwards" safety, smaller magazine capacity and cheaper scope mounting but are great shooters. I like that Ruger 77 centerfires and rimfires all feel and function the same in terms of safety and trigger. Quality and accuracy of CZs are top notch and can edge out the Rugers in a head to head competition! If you must have a 17hmr, CZ makes a switch barrel 22LR/17hmr in their 455 line that may interest you. I don't think it's as good as the 452 with the screwed on barrels but people seem to like them. The 452 in mach 2 will be a good long term investment if you don't beat it to hell. With a good 3-9 scope you'll make kills on small vermin to 100 yards, no problem. I could hardly believe when I aimed at a grazing squirrel at 100 yards flat on the ground, held just over his head and sqeezed. It rolled over with a shot to the head. You may get a few cripples with the mach 2 like with any rimfire especially at the longer ranges but it is effective.