I have two tang safety M77s, a standard in 30-06 that I bought in 1981 and an International Carbine in 243. The 30-06 has accounted for a lot of game over the years.
My 77 is a 30-06 tang safety from around 1980, no sights, scope only,it’s been a good gun over the years. I don’t know about new ones, but I’m happy with mine.
Same here man, mine is a tang safety as well, chambered in .243, and made in 1976. Even though I haven't had it for very long, it's been a good gun too, it also has just a scope.
My .270 was made in 1981. I’ve had accuracy issues with it from the beginning. Maybe some of these ideas will help me get it back to a reasonable shooting platform.
My great-uncle gave me a tang-safety M77 in .243 a couple days before my 19th birthday in August of 2019, he wanted $500 for it, but that would've been like 60% off what the rifle actually cost, so I gave him $600 instead to make it more fair. It's a great gun and a sweet shooter, I took 2 deer with it so far, it's never let me down.
Hey DD. Can't beat the timeliness of this video. Been wanting an M77 since I was a teenager. Just bought an M77 Hawkeye standard left hand in .30-06. I feel like I found a needle in a haystack. Great video.
I used my M77 in a 1981 5 day long range rifle class with Jeff Cooper at Gunsite. My M77 270 was Mag-na-ported and it shot well with Cooper calling my shots on the 400 M qualification day. Jeff Cooper was a fine man with lots of patience and teaching abilities. The DO at Gunsite was Clint Smith. I still have the rifle. I love your video. Great job.
I purchased my first rifle a week or so after turning 18, a tang saftey M77 in .270 grouped about 1-1/4 for me. Still have a soft spot for the tang saftey models to this day. Enjoyed your video!
The unsafe safety, Sooo easy to slip it into fire when carrying without knowing. I glued wooden rails to each side to prevent the safety from being moved by accident, easy fix. Bought my M77, 270 in 1981.
Bought an M77 in '83 chambered in 257 Roberts. What a sweet shooting, deadly accurate rifle. Sold it to a good friend that absolutely had to have it and offered more than I had invested int eh rifle, scope, case, etc. I have regretted selling it ever since.
Wow, what a fantastic and informative video. I laughed so hard at the part about that being the last hunting rifle you would ever need to buy! Haven’t we all been there?! Lol
I NEVER buy new Ruger Firearms! I do buy used Ruger Firearms. My first Ruger M77 was an M77RS Tang Mounted Safety in 7mm Remington Magnum & was recommended by a Jack O'Connor article. Andy Bischoff (one of Ray Chapman's gunsmiths and one of the the Rich Greiner group) took a shine to it so I had to replace it in '89 which was when Bill Ruger started his Magazine Limit/Ban Nonsense (he was Severely Boo'ed at the Shot Show in L.V.). But I got lucky and purchased the almost new Tang Safety M77R that had trigger work done on it from a disgruntled owner that was selling off all of his Ruger firearms. I sent it in for the recall and put a Nikon scope on it, it has given me superb service!
Great video!! I have a M77 tang safety from 1984. I personally have had great accuracy with this rifle. And yes the original thin red recoil pad is still on it and it’s hard as a rock ha ha. Thank you for making such a complete and informative video!!
Thanks mate, from Australia. My older brother bought a m77 in 30/06 in the mid nineties and I would often pilfer it from him to hunt wild pigs on our cattle station ( Ranch). It only shot about 2moa but never failed me. I knelt over a lot of dead pigs with that rifle.
I just bought a Ruger m77 from a small gun shop at near camp a couple days ago and figured i would learn more about the history of this firearm. Whoever owned previously it really did an incredible job with their customization or this rifle. It has iron sights and the rear sight flips up, a leupold m8 3x fixed scope with a one piece Leopold scope mount and an absolutely beautiful trigger. Unfortunately the scope mount covers the irons but the scope is great regardless. I am not sure if it has a Douglas barrel or someone replaced with a ruger barrel or what but it's dead nuts accurate. I am shooting through the same hole several times at 50/100 yards. My research tells me it is a 1976/1977 rifle. I've never had such a pleasure shooting a rifle and while it may have been a little pricier than I usually like paying it was worth the money and then some. They don't make them like they used to, that is a fact.
I hated Ruger all my life for putting out the junk they did for the first few decades and all the cheap manufacturing problems they had with the 77's, plus all the anti-2nd Amendment nonsense Ruger was responsible for....it wasn't until recently that I started liking the company again as now they are finally putting out much higher quality stuff and they are 100% pro 2nd Amendment finally. They finally turned into a pretty decent company as of late.
@@Simon-talks ironically my first rifle was a Ruger AR-556. I actually didn't realize the original founder was a traitor until after I started researching the M77. That being said, I still think it is a quality rifle. However, I certainly would not support any company that actively supports gun control. It still surprises me how many in the gun community have supported and perpetuated infringements on our God given rights. Thankfully most people seem to be waking up to the anti gun narrative.
I absolutely love the time and effort that you put into your videos. I always stay till the end. As soon as I seen the title.. I was like this is going to be a great one! Definitely impressive and educational.. thank you sir.. much appreciated!
My favorite hunting rifle the M77 mark-II reliable and accurate well built and rugged. Have one in 280 rem one in 300WM and currently having a 338-06 built.
You just blew my mind with this one, definitely didn't see it coming. I was rolling on the floor when you mentioned the Zythel "Boat Paddle" stock. My first MK II in 338WM still has one. I will never forget the day I pulled the trigger on it for the first time. I just sat there on the bench and figured I had made a huge mistake in buying it. Never shot anything bigger than a 7mm RM in my life at that point. I later picked up another Zythel stocked MK II chambered in '06, I firmly believe it has worse recoil than most 300's. Great video, thanks!
My dad picked one up and shot then took it back to the store to trade for something that didn’t kick every screw in your body loose when shooting it🤔😳😂
@@edwardabrams4972 I wasn't so smart, I put it in the closet for several years then toughed it out for a couple of hundred rounds. Don't get me wrong, it still kicks like a Missouri mule, but I did succeed in killing the nerves in my shoulder. I will praise it for it's weight, rather nice to carry in the field as long as you can keep the sling "swivels" quiet. Have a great weekend!
Great video. I bought my Mark I in the early 80's not knowing much about them except I really liked the classic look and the price. I must have lucked out because mine is consistently accurate even without having done any adjustment to the factory trigger. As far as the recoil pad deterioration I never noticed it probably because it's chambered in 243 Winchester and recoil is not an issue. I used it on Texas whitetails for several years and killed a few that were well over 200 yards out maybe even in the 300 yard range. I hand load and plan on shooting it to determine how accurate I can get it to perform. Luckily I have never taken it apart for cleaning. I did not know and do not have the means to torque that front screw to the 95 lb-lbs. I suspect that many people that experience poor accuracy from their M77's have taken them apart and not torqued these screws properly when they reassembled them. I learned a ton of things from this video I did not know about a rifle I have owned for nearly 50 years. Thank you.
Great rifle, many people do not know that the m77, m77 mark ll, and hawkeye are among the strongest, hardest mass produced factory bolt action recievers ever made. Many people had issues making them shoot because theres things they didn't understand with the middle action screw binding the action, the mag binding if it wasnt ground enough to have wiggle room, and how to properly tighten them in the stock. I became a gunsmith/rifle builder off the m77 tang saftey. If you understand the trigger and take it apart and work it you can make it very good and thats coming from a guy with two jewell triggers in two benchrifles set under 2ounce pull weight. I have an m77 that is my custom 30" barreled 264win long range hunting rifle and it rivals both my 6xc and 7saum benchrifles in how well it preforms
Great video, very thorough! I bought one new in .270 Win 40 years ago- it took plenty of game but was a ~3 MOA rifle. My journey to an accurate rifle included re-barreling, pillar/bedding, a Timney trigger. I wished I'd known about the replacement sear... getting that Timney tucked in and working was a pain.
I have an M77 in .243. I got it for Christmas 1990 when I was 11. It has a Burris Fullfield 3-9x (the old, good one with a 38mm objective). It will shoot sub 1" groups with several of my hunting loads. Its killed mule deer, whitetail, pronghorn, coyotes and more rock chucks then I can count in the mountains and deserts of Idaho. Its still my favorite rifle and it has a ton of sentimental value to me. It will never leave my safe for an amount of money.
I have 3 M77's, two 300 win mags and a 416 Ruger. All extremely accurate. The 300 win mag I got crazy tight groups after a few hundred rounds down the barrel. I even hit a 1 inch group at 1000 yds, the video is on my channel. I wish Ruger M77 could be perfect if they added a better adjustable trigger from the factory, and better stocks.
My first rifle, I ever bought myself was a Ruger M77 mk.II in 35 Whelen.... It took a lot too get it too shoot too MOA. I wish this video was made 10-12 years ago !
I'm almost 60 yrs old now. When I was a kid I picked up a M77 in .243 topped off with a fixed 4 power Redfield for $200 at a Pawnshop. Still to this day its my favorite rifle.
I own an M77 Mark II, in 7mm Rem Mag. I like it so far. I think it is a good rifle to add to any collection. I want to get out west with it one day. I like buying rifles, owning rifles, and talking about rifles.
Thanks for posting up this video on the historical overview of the Ruger M77 rifles. Back in about 2008 I was driving through Alberta and stopped at a gun shop. I seen a LH Ruger M77 in 25-06 with a grey laminate stock. As the story goes sometimes - I didn't pull the trigger on that one. And someone bought it shortly after I left the store. So fast forward to 2023 and I found a LH Ruger M77 Hawkeye in 300 RCM. And the price was right, and they had ammo too. The length of pull felt short so I picked up a Limbsaver Slip-On Butt pad. It also had a peep site on it - so I'm just waiting for some warmer weather to go out and see how well I can shoot it. If that doesn't work well for me I'll mount a scope on it. I'll probably come back and re-visit this video in case I need to do some tweaks.
I have a original tang safety m77 chambered in 30-06. I had it for years and took many deer with it but could never get any better than 3 moa. A buddy of mine turned me onto a limbsaver barrel deresinator. They look terrible but they work! Once I found the sweet spot on the barrel, man what a difference! Sub moa with Remington core lokt ammo 180grain. I love my m77. Great video 👍
I have the m77 mkll in 220 swift . It has a custom engraved hand crafted stock. I may upgrade the trigger someday ...but I have gotten used to it .... With custom loads I can get a 1/4" group on a good day. It's my go to rifle for over 30 years.
My first and last Ruger was a M77 that I got back in the 70’s. After tiring of the extremely heavy trigger and the completely lackluster accuracy, I sold the gun. The best group that I could achieve was about 2.5”/100yds and that was in 270Win! I know Ruger has produced some great firearms throughout their history but I spent a summer’s worth of lawn cutting earnings on a unredeemable POS rifle! I upgraded to M70’s and never looked back. I’ve been tempted to purchase Ruger products over the years but then I remember that M77 and I just give them back to the salesman and file the idea away for another day. However, Ruger may yet get some of my money as I’ve been thinking about one of the Ruger-Marlin stainless 45-70’s. After the prices become more reasonable, a Ruger product may actually find a home in my safe! After 45 years, the memory of my first Ruger may be far enough behind me to consider a second… The jury’s still out on that one! Desert Dog, this was a great video that obviously brought back some memories! Have a great weekend!
Try a trigger shoe on one of your fire arms. Most fire arms I do not like the trigger pull up until I put a shoe on ....My M77 has one on and changed the whole felt pull.
Enjoyed this video on this lively rifle. I've owned MK I and MK Ii, never had an issue. Yes triggers were sub psr but I got by. Now own an accurate off the shelf Hawkeye African in 6.5 swede. I'm in love. I even performed a ladder test and carefully pushed it with no signs of danger before stopping at an accuracy node. It reached speeds with my 127 LRXs that no manual published. The action is plenty strong . It's my new go to hunt rifle for my NM hunts. Thank you for the info DD. GAINED SOME KNOWLEDGE. By the way, I left Cabelas/BassPro. Time to hunt and play.
Terrific video. The first rifle I bought was an M77 270 Win in 1976. The barrel is stamped “Built in the 200th year of American Liberty”. The scope is a B&L 2.5-8. I have other rifles, but old friends are best.
I've got the same. My dad bought it new, put in a Timney, 2x7 vx1, and it's been mine since 1995 and hunted every season. With 130gr, almost any factory load is near moa. almost 50 years old, she's not going to win a beauty contest but it's a real hunting rifle. Two headshots on coyotes opening day of deer season. 277 &284 yards. Never had a wounded animal. Love that rifle.
Mine was made in 1976 and has that stamp as well, chambered in .243, I bought it from my uncle a couple of years ago, I really love it, very pleasant to shoot.
Mr. Ruger was a BRILLIANT man and certainly without question a once in a lifetime genius. People speak about command presence and trust me, he had it. Being around him 24/7 for long periods was amazing on the one hand, but he could be a challenge sometimes. So many stories I could tell about being around this man.
I have a Ruger 77R in 358 Winchester. I bought this rifle in 72/73. It’s been my hunting gun since. Every deer that came into my sights went down with one shot. My longest shot was about 125 yards but most were around 50 to 75 yards. I’ve only hunted in NY. I also a big fan of the 358 Win. Still hunt with it
I had a m77 all weather in 338 WM with a “paddle” stock. As an African guide I found it brilliant! The rings had slotted screws and were terrible! so had then replaced with Hex and had to align the rings as factory replacements simply were awful. However I managed sub MOA with factory ammo and uses it well on wounded game shooting some 600+ yard shots to put down wounded game. I found her hard on scopes but loved her rugged reliability. I was drawn to her by the long extractor which reminded me of the pre 64 Win. For a working gun that can take punishment and di the job when called upon I was never disappointed.
This was my first gun! Haven't taken it out in years but I took her out for a clean thinking there would be rust spots. Nope, mint! Going shooting tomorrow! Nice video
This is the best video u have made yet. I have 9 Ruger rifles. I have a old round top in a 6-284 norma. I have 2 Ruger magnum Express rifles. 416 Rigby and 458 lott. A custom 22- 6mm. 264 win mag custom with a 30 inch bartline straight heavy barrel. I also have a m77 tang in a 338-06 ai with a 24 in bench mark barrel. I have bought 2 Ruger long range target. One in 300 win mag and 6.5 PRC. Ya u can say I love Rugers. I have done a lapping process to the barrels to get them to shoot great. Again u hit this video right on. Will look forward to more videos from u.
great stuff as always. so much I didn't know about them. Sounds to me they have too many issues, compared to old 98 actioned guns, like FN, Husqvarna, CZ and Brno that are quite easy to find up here in Canada and generally less expensive.
True. The first M77's had hand cut checkering that Ruger outsourced. Then they went to pressed for a while, then back to cut checkering when machines were developed to do it quickly on a large scale.
I bought 4 of these rifles over the years. One for myself and later one for each of my three sons. All of them are the original Model 77 with the tang safety. They are all fitted with fixed, low magnification scopes, 2 Leupolds and 2 Burris. The three for my sons are the "RS" models with iron sights, mine is an "R" model without iron sights. They are all still in use and all still working great and very accurate for sporter weight hunting rifles. Probably the best value in a bolt action rifle and they have always been very attractive and practical.
One of my rifles I am most fond of is a Ruger M77 Hawkeye African 9.3x62mm with a Circassian Walnut stock and a very thin taper Sporter barrel. With a 1.5-5 Leupold, it’s only about 8 lbs and man is it a hoot to shoot!
I asked Ruger to build me a rifle in 1976. 6mm Remington with a Dougles 24 in barrel. The rifle is a better shooter than I am. I dissembled and cleaned the rifle and after that and the 77 refused to shoot under a 2-inch group. I called the Ruger man that built my rifle. Yes they were that great as a company. He had me buy a small poundage torque wrench(go to a machine shop supply house or an aircraft parts company) torque wrench. Then he had me shoot my group and then increase the torque on the angle stock screw in 1/4 pound increments. I still have the 77 and would be the last firearm I would sell. It also shoots under one inch when I do my part. 68 years old now and it can easily hit a business card at 100 yards. Dang . I am going shooting this weekend.
I found that the Limbsaver Airtech recoil pad #10800 fits the stock profile and I only had to drill new holes. I also installed the Rifle Basix sear. Wow! Make sure the trigger pivot pin is seated flush, otherwise you will break the trigger guard when you reinstall the stock and trigger guard. Floated the magazine well also.
Good Video , brings back a lot of memories, I remember I bought a tang model ultralight with the ebony tip in 270 in 1989 or1990, I called it my lucky gun, whenever I took it away Hunting I always had a good time, then I lent it to a Buddy, the rifle wasn't lucky this time away, he dropped it in some dirt. some pigs came out in front, he let one rip, and the barrel blew apart about four inches in length from the end of the barrel. The other tang model I bought brand new, that was in 88 or 89 it had been at the store for quite a a while no one wanting a Swift but I did, A Varmint model in 220 Swift put a brand new Leupold 6.5x20 Gloss model, took it to a famous gunsmith here at the time, had a Canjar trigger fitted, and got it bedded and Floated before I even took it out of the box myself. the 270 wasn't a tack driver but it wasn't bad either 2 inch Groups were normal, It didn't matter, the rifle was only going to shoot 150 yards at most, the Swift was a tack driver never missed a beat I pulled some shots off with the Swift that I didn't think I had any chance of doing it, but it surprised me a number of Times, they were both great rifles to me, we had some fantastic trips away with back then.
I bought a new old stock 1976 7x57 M77 a couple of years ago. Ruger sent me the new screw and I installed the rifle basix sear. I like that rifle more than any I've ever owned.
Another excellent video DD. Perhaps I can add tidbit of info to the trigger discussion. I bought a tang safety MK1 77V in 1976. Still have it. It's in .220 Swift with the heavy 26" barrel. As you indicated in the video, it was of the generation of abominable triggers. My next door neighbor, who also was my mentor for all things outdoors, replaced the trigger for me with a Canjar trigger the same year I got the rifle. It was set to 2.5 pounds and it breaks clean. I used to refer to it as a digital trigger- either on or off with no in-between. The rifle went from 2.5 - 3" groups to 5 shots into a dime size hole at 100 yds. using 55gr Sierra Spitzers loaded to around 3600 fps with IMR4064 (if I remember correctly). I was introduced to the M77 a few years earlier, around 1971, when my neighbor bought the M77 in .350 Remington Magnum. He was trying to develop loads for it. As a 16 year old shooting that rifle from a bench, I developed a bit of a flinch, as well as getting some nasty black and blue marks on my right shoulder. It's funny to think of now, but we were trying to get MOA accuracy with 225 grain Speer flat nose bullets. I never thought about the rifle barrel, so your explanation about Ruger's barrel implementations was most enlightening. And you are dead right about felt recoil. That .350 kicked like a 12 gauge fired from the bench. Another thing about Ruger centerfire rifles in general and M77 rifles in particular at that time was a selection of calibers that were off the beaten path at a time when the big companies like Winchester, Remington, and Savage were limiting their productions to very popular calibers only. If I remember correctly, you could get an M77 not only in an odd caliber like .350 Rem Mag, but useful cartridges like 7 x 57 Mauser, and.220 Swift. I am talking about the 1960's and 70's. I know Remington and Winchester eventually came out with "classic" versions of their rifles that included some of the older, less popular calibers. In the "90's, I bought a MKII RSI in 30-06. It looked great but the control round feed didn't work too well. It wouldn't extract the cartridge about every third round from a full magazine. I sent it back to Ruger with a description of the problem and they sent it back with a slight improvement, but it still hung up on occasion. I eventually sold it. The design of the safety to make it more like the Model 70 Winchester was also a disappointment to me. I didn't think that it was anywhere near as good as the safety on my Model 70, which is a push feed USRAC from the early 80's. Love your videos. You are an amazing source of firearms knowledge and experience.
my father in law had the 6mm, bought in the 60’s, I had a 270 bought in 71, shit three shot groups that were cloverleaf and still does, then bought a 25-06, then the 7mm. Everyone shoots sub moa
You are spot on with your evaluation, I have four. My 7mm had a 270 round shot through it and messed up the headspace, Ruger repaired for free. Had a stick crack on my 25-06 and Ruger sent me a new one free of charge. My 270 shoots the same hole and have had 6 or 700 rounds shot through it.
My first hunting rifle bought with my own money was also a Ruger M77 in 270 Winchester. I bought mine same year as you and it was made same year as yours. It was also less than impressive in terms of accuracy. Not long afterward when I learned of the M77 MK II and its availability in left hand, I traded my M77 in for one which was also chambered in 270 Win. I still have it
Edit to add: a friend brought over a Ruger M77 Mk II for scope mounting with the factory rings. It took a l-o-n-g time to lap those rings decently. Also, I was unable to get the front screw torque up high enough with that slotted screw. Brownells has a replacement with a hex head, so I’ll ask my buddy if he wants one. I recently bought an M77 Hawkeye All Weather rifle in 7mm-08, so your history of the rifle is great. Especially when Ruger made changes to the rifle to make it better, not cheaper. A tang safety is really good for most shotgun enthusiasts. It’s completely natural for me, unlike buttons behind the trigger or at the back of the receiver. People complain about the tang safety Miroku puts on Winchester 92s, but I like it much better than a Marlin cross bolt safety. That said, I have no problem with the Hawkeye safety position either. It’s similar to a newer Model 70 and an older Sako A III carbine I have.
Another great video DD. l bought a Mk II Sporter (stainless/laminated) 7mm Rem Mag in '08 and it's been my go-to kill anything all-purpose hunting rifle ever since. Like you, I figured this would be the last rifle I'd ever need. But it was certainly not the last one I've bought.
After owning Mauser rifles. When Ruger came out with the Mark II I decided to get one and after a little work it turned into one of my favorite rifles to hunt with. Its a 7mm rem mag. Trigger work and porting was all that was done.
Thank you, that was interesting. My M77 story is very similar to yours, except for the happy ending. Mine was the first "serious" rifle I bought, when I was still a student working part-time in a gun shop. It was a mk II RSI in .30-06. With a Leopold 4x. Right out of the box it shot 1MOA. Took it hunting about a week after getting it and missed about 5 fairly easy shots in a row. Eventually my hunting buddy said "you are useless, give me that rifle" and he missed 3 times in a row. Problem turned out to he the scope mounts. After a shot it would "bed down" and shoot well, but the first shot after walking with the rifle or slapping it about a bit was way off. Fixed that, but after a year or so the accuracy headed south again. I glass-bedded it, and it worked for a while, then went bad again. The stock was warping and touching that pencil-thin barrel, and I never did find a lasting, reliable solution, eventually giving the rifle away. But I still think the action itself is one of the very best controlled-feed hunting rifle bolt actions ever made, irrespective of price.
This is a great video. My first hunting rifle purchased with my own money was a Ruger M77. Have owned several since. This first rifle was purchased back in 1980. So, I currently own a bone stock M77 in .270 Win. with the red recoil pad and iron sights. Just ordered the Warne scope mounts for the M77. Had been holding off ordering mounts and glad I did until now. Also, will need to bed that action and replace the recoil pad and lug screw. We'll get it tuned up soon enough....
Thank you for doing this video, I’ve been struggling to remember the details of the negative history pertaining to Ruger and gun legislation. You’ve jogged my memory and I think you so much for it.
My M77 is chambered in 7x57 Mauser, a caliber I was set-up to reload because of a 7MM Mexican Mauser rifle I owned back then. Baught it at Jensens custom ammo in Tucson in the mid 70s. Still shoots great.
The Ruger M77 was my first hunting rifle that I got for my 13th birthday. It is a special run in 7x57 Mauser open sights with Ruger rings. The action was made in ‘71. I’ve harvested quite a few bucks and it couple of coyotes.
Thanks DD this was an extremely interesting video . I bought a m77 mk11 in 2007 and have really loved it. Mine is chambered in 30 06 and has been extremely reliable and accurate. Again, thanks for the video.👍👍
Bought a used M77. It's flawless. I have only got to shoot it a couple of times. Great information. I will be checking it over thoroughly before. Mine is 30.06.
DD you did it again. Exactly what I need to know. I'm buying my first Ruger African in .375 Ruger. Just the things I need to know...Rifle Basics trigger upgrade, and a DIY grind LimbSaver buttpad. ... plus the torque sequence for the action. Thanks
I just bought a mark I in 338 and saw this video. Thanks again for the great info. This is probably the most informative vid on this rifle. Now I have a better understanding of it. Keep up the great work
Not long ago I got my hands on an older M77/270. I had been looking for an action with the .473 bolt face and this was it. I had my local gunsmith re barrel it with a .284 bore and had .275 Rigby stamped on it. A 24 inch Shilen barrel. I didn't want to pay the cost of a 1/4 rib so I had express sights installed. I am still working on a pet load but I do have a lot of experience loading the 7x57 so it won't be long now. I will have to look at the bolt to see if it has a T stamped on it. Thank You.
One of the two most accurate factory rifles I ever owned was a Ruger M77 Mark2 VT with the gray finish. It was a .220 Swift that I could get an honest to goodness 4100fps from with 50 grain Ballistic Tips. The observation about the early models was spot on, I had a beautiful looking 7mm Mauser with the beefier stock that was barely 2 MOA on a good day. Thanks for such a great presentation DDO!
@@blakesmith2594 My friend purchased the same model as I just after mine arrived, but chambered for .22-250. As I recall it shot pretty well too. Thanks for sharing!
I owned a model M77 back in the early 80s, it was chambered in 270win. Never could achieve a really good group with the ruger rifle at 100yards,it drove me crazy trying to figure it out!!! But still loved it! Great video sir.!!!
M77 ( tang safety) in 7mm Rem Mag was passed down to me, from my grandad's collection, after watching your video ,I pulled the bolt out and Sure enough, there was the T carved in where you said it would be. Thanks for a great video 🙂
Great video. Really informative. I found out things about these guns I never knew. I brought one of these in 30-06 second-hand new in 1981. It cost a fortune in those days and it really was the last rifle I have ever brought. I still have it to this day. Used it for commercial hunting for a couple of years and since then have taken it on hunting trips all over New Zealand. Must have got a good one because I have never had any problems with accuracy and so on despite all the drops and knocks it has taken.
Great video DD. I also loved the looks and claw extracter with a tang safety. I had to have one. Bought a 300 win mag one in about 1995. Had really nice blueing. Couldn’t wait to get to the range and shoot it. That rifle beat me to death and would not shoot with anything I put through it
Hey Desert Dogs, really nice informative video. M77's have always been my fav. Never met one I didn't like. Thank you for the history lesson, model codes, and tips on the RU-T. Very useul intel.
I bought a Mark II in 7 Remington mag. I replaced the trigger with a Timney trigger and put it in a Hogue pillar bedded synthetic stock. GREAT shooting rifle. Should have never sold it but we all know how that goes.
I own 3 M77s 2 are tang safety Mk1 and 1 is a Hawkeye Gunsite Scout. Of the 2 tang safety models 1 is a 1969 2nd year of production that i found a a pawn shop in.308. It has the Douglas barrel and will shoot 3/4 moa with certain loads. 1 moa with everything else. My second tang safety is a 1982 in 25/06 that groups between 1 and 11/4 moa after bedding. Scout groups just under MOA. love them all. Will definitely check torque of action screws.
I bought a new ( actually traded a Browning light weight 20ga mag ) for a 7x57 in 73’ I converted it to a varmint rifle by putting a Shilen heavy barrel 6mm/244 1-12” twist, CanJar Set trigger and Lee Six fiberglass Beavertail stock. I was swapping barrels back and forth until 92’ when I picked up a new Rem 7x57 in a Mountain Rifle trim. With the 7x57 in the glass stock and CanJar trigger I shot 1.75” @ 300 yards in stiff winds with a Bushnell 4x12 scope. I could hold to an inch group with factory trigger and Leupold M8 4x scope. Trigger sucked. I worked on the bench last part of 73’ and most of 74’ on loads. Tried most available powders at that time and bullets from 120 to 175. My best accuracy came with a liberal amount of IMR 4350 and Speer 145BTSP bullets. I still have the 7x57 Barrel and stock for the Ruger. I basically had a Ruger Swat rifle circa 1980. A little heavy to carry with the 6mm barrel but once you’re set up it’s all fun.
I still have a 77vt 22-250 stainless heavy barrel target with a old Nikon monarch 6.5-20x44AO with fine cross hair.. with a 50g vmax handload I built up that gun will consistent shoot 5 shot 100y groups under half minute. It required a trigger job that's for sure the trigger was pretty damn bad but after a good custom trigger job bring it down to a crisp break at about 12oz and building up a good load for it it became a fun to shoot bench rifle and has killed a great many P dogs... was and still is a really pretty rifle that stainless barrel and action and laminate stock, it's a damn sexy rifle still to this day.
The info on the torque for the screws was great, I never knew there was an order or torque setting for them and I have had my 77 for almost 40 years, and took a lot of deer in Pa with it. My longest shot wit it was 265 yards and in Pa that is a long shot on a powerline.
Bought my M77 in 6mm back in 1982 and it has taken lots of game and coyotes. Super accurate gun. It’s amazing how hard it is to get 6mm ammo now,everybody wants the .243 but the 6 mm has it beat. They just had better PR. Love this rifle though.
I noticed when I tighted the front screw before the rear that my groups shrink in size , i wll look at the mag well and see if it moves freely . I had to add to the comb height to get a good cheek weld added about 3/8" to the stock height I'm running a bushnell banner 6-18×50 scope with the highest rings I could find to get clearance between the barrel and scope .
I've had quite a few Ruger rifles over the many years. Some were good, some were not. Most fell in the middle, but one, a varmint heavy barrel M-77 was by far the most accurate rifle, of any caliber, I've ever owned, fired, or even seen fired, I have ever seen. Foolishly, I let it go. A mistake I will never repeat, should I ever find another!
Love mine in 338. It has a Mc millon stock that really mitigates the recoil. My brother's wood stock 338 m77 cracked at the wrist, and blew the recoil lug out. Same with another wood stock 338 m77i saw . In fairness his newer left hand Winchester blew out the recoil lug in short order as well. They are very accurate rifles at least mine and his are.
I enjoyed your history of the 77, lots of good info! I bought a tang safety 77 in 338wm when I was 19. Factory ammo shot at best 1.75 moa but by working up my own I got sub moa with Speer 250 grn grand slams but it would not shoot anything else that well. Fast forward to 2018, I hadn't used the old girl in a while so I dusted it off and sent it out to be re-barreled to 30 Nosler by PacNor barrels in Brookings Oregon, they did an awesome job and after the recommended break in it was shooting .75moa with factory Nosler 180 Accubonds and I put in the same sear kit as you. Hunted the first season with those and took a 30" mule deer in Montana with it as well as a 13" Pronghorn. That winter I worked up a load for the 212 grn ELDX, 3000 fps and .44 moa. Gun is bedded but not pillared and I have a Lilja Heart breaker muzzle brake on the 26" barrel. The gun is beautiful to look at and shoots great for a hunting rifle, it still has the red pad but with the brake it is a dream to shoot. Just tell your hunting buddies to stand behind you when you fire, side blast is brutal from that 30 Nosler!
I own several M77s. I would buy a used M77 before a new anything. Just my opinion . The quality and fit are better
I agree. I collect Ruger’s revolvers from the 1950’s. Solid, well made, and shoot great!
@ I've got a few old 3 screw not modified. The 44 mag has a dark plum color. Love them all.
Absolutely agree. I have a 77V in .22-250. I know there have been 20,000 rounds through the. Barrel. Still 1/4” at 150 yards..
@@BarnyDaddy That's nothing, mine shoots 1/16" at 200yards.
I have two tang safety M77s, a standard in 30-06 that I bought in 1981 and an International Carbine in 243. The 30-06 has accounted for a lot of game over the years.
My 77 is a 30-06 tang safety from around 1980, no sights, scope only,it’s been a good gun over the years. I don’t know about new ones, but I’m happy with mine.
Same here man, mine is a tang safety as well, chambered in .243, and made in 1976. Even though I haven't had it for very long, it's been a good gun too, it also has just a scope.
The M77 in 30-06 is an excellent hunting platform. And if you are a reloader, 30-06 is a great cartridge to reload.
Phoenix, AZ
My .270 was made in 1981. I’ve had accuracy issues with it from the beginning. Maybe some of these ideas will help me get it back to a reasonable shooting platform.
I had a 338 in tang safety beautiful gun claw extraction. But not feed sad
I’ve got one in 300 win mag and 7mm rem mag! I absolutely love Ruger m77 rifles
My great-uncle gave me a tang-safety M77 in .243 a couple days before my 19th birthday in August of 2019, he wanted $500 for it, but that would've been like 60% off what the rifle actually cost, so I gave him $600 instead to make it more fair. It's a great gun and a sweet shooter, I took 2 deer with it so far, it's never let me down.
"That was a promise I was unable to keep." Hilarious because it's relatable.
Hey DD. Can't beat the timeliness of this video. Been wanting an M77 since I was a teenager. Just bought an M77 Hawkeye standard left hand in .30-06. I feel like I found a needle in a haystack. Great video.
I used my M77 in a 1981 5 day long range rifle class with Jeff Cooper at Gunsite. My M77 270 was Mag-na-ported and it shot well with Cooper calling my shots on the 400 M qualification day. Jeff Cooper was a fine man with lots of patience and teaching abilities. The DO at Gunsite was Clint Smith. I still have the rifle. I love your video. Great job.
I purchased my first rifle a week or so after turning 18, a tang saftey M77 in .270 grouped about 1-1/4 for me. Still have a soft spot for the tang saftey models to this day. Enjoyed your video!
The unsafe safety, Sooo easy to slip it into fire when carrying without knowing. I glued wooden rails to each side
to prevent the safety from being moved by accident, easy fix. Bought my M77, 270 in 1981.
Bought an M77 in '83 chambered in 257 Roberts. What a sweet shooting, deadly accurate rifle. Sold it to a good friend that absolutely had to have it and offered more than I had invested int eh rifle, scope, case, etc. I have regretted selling it ever since.
you better check your stats that's impossible Ruger did not start making bolt action rifles till 1987.
@@mikesuch9021 Ruger began production of the M77 in 1968.
@@mikesuch9021 Ruger started making the M77 in 1968.
@@mikesuch9021 better check your stats.
Wow, what a fantastic and informative video. I laughed so hard at the part about that being the last hunting rifle you would ever need to buy! Haven’t we all been there?! Lol
The sad part is; I still tell myself that!
@@desertdogoutdoors1113 lol! Me too, every time I buy another one!
I have three of them. Awesome
And we just watched the 35 Whelen video. A rifle in that caliber sounds fine as well.
To me, the Ruger M77 Hawkeye is the greatest hunting rifle ever made. Rugers casting is extremely strong.
I agree. I also have the M77 Hawkeye 30.06 I own many other rifles. The Hawkeye is smooth action accurate my favorite.
I’ve had four Ruger 77 tang safeties a 243, 257 Roberts , 280, and a 220 Swift all shot close or under moa except the 243, it found a new home .
I NEVER buy new Ruger Firearms! I do buy used Ruger Firearms. My first Ruger M77 was an M77RS Tang Mounted Safety in 7mm Remington Magnum & was recommended by a Jack O'Connor article. Andy Bischoff (one of Ray Chapman's gunsmiths and one of the the Rich Greiner group) took a shine to it so I had to replace it in '89 which was when Bill Ruger started his Magazine Limit/Ban Nonsense (he was Severely Boo'ed at the Shot Show in L.V.). But I got lucky and purchased the almost new Tang Safety M77R that had trigger work done on it from a disgruntled owner that was selling off all of his Ruger firearms. I sent it in for the recall and put a Nikon scope on it, it has given me superb service!
Great video!! I have a M77 tang safety from 1984. I personally have had great accuracy with this rifle. And yes the original thin red recoil pad is still on it and it’s hard as a rock ha ha. Thank you for making such a complete and informative video!!
My m77 tang safety 270 win is also a 1984 . Shoots great.
Excellent , worth watching many times. 50 plus years of history in 34 minutes. THANKS !! !!
Thanks mate, from Australia.
My older brother bought a m77 in 30/06 in the mid nineties and I would often pilfer it from him to hunt wild pigs on our cattle station ( Ranch). It only shot about 2moa but never failed me. I knelt over a lot of dead pigs with that rifle.
My first new rifle when they first came out. Great rifle and very accurate. The working man’s rifle.
I just bought a Ruger m77 from a small gun shop at near camp a couple days ago and figured i would learn more about the history of this firearm. Whoever owned previously it really did an incredible job with their customization or this rifle. It has iron sights and the rear sight flips up, a leupold m8 3x fixed scope with a one piece Leopold scope mount and an absolutely beautiful trigger. Unfortunately the scope mount covers the irons but the scope is great regardless. I am not sure if it has a Douglas barrel or someone replaced with a ruger barrel or what but it's dead nuts accurate. I am shooting through the same hole several times at 50/100 yards. My research tells me it is a 1976/1977 rifle. I've never had such a pleasure shooting a rifle and while it may have been a little pricier than I usually like paying it was worth the money and then some. They don't make them like they used to, that is a fact.
I hated Ruger all my life for putting out the junk they did for the first few decades and all the cheap manufacturing problems they had with the 77's, plus all the anti-2nd Amendment nonsense Ruger was responsible for....it wasn't until recently that I started liking the company again as now they are finally putting out much higher quality stuff and they are 100% pro 2nd Amendment finally. They finally turned into a pretty decent company as of late.
@@Simon-talks ironically my first rifle was a Ruger AR-556. I actually didn't realize the original founder was a traitor until after I started researching the M77. That being said, I still think it is a quality rifle. However, I certainly would not support any company that actively supports gun control. It still surprises me how many in the gun community have supported and perpetuated infringements on our God given rights. Thankfully most people seem to be waking up to the anti gun narrative.
Well if the barrel says "RUGER" is a Ruger barrel. If not it's a replacement. Pretty simple.
@@Nick-wn1xw barrel says Sturm, Ruger & Co
I absolutely love the time and effort that you put into your videos. I always stay till the end.
As soon as I seen the title.. I was like this is going to be a great one! Definitely impressive and educational.. thank you sir.. much appreciated!
One of the most informative videos I’ve seen on the Ruger M77
My favorite hunting rifle the M77 mark-II reliable and accurate well built and rugged. Have one in 280 rem one in 300WM and currently having a 338-06 built.
Cool. I have a 338-06 ai with a 24 inch benchmark barrel. 9t barrel. Shoots 200 accubonds and 210 nosler partition really nice. It's a sub moa rifle.
You just blew my mind with this one, definitely didn't see it coming. I was rolling on the floor when you mentioned the Zythel "Boat Paddle" stock. My first MK II in 338WM still has one. I will never forget the day I pulled the trigger on it for the first time. I just sat there on the bench and figured I had made a huge mistake in buying it. Never shot anything bigger than a 7mm RM in my life at that point. I later picked up another Zythel stocked MK II chambered in '06, I firmly believe it has worse recoil than most 300's. Great video, thanks!
My dad picked one up and shot then took it back to the store to trade for something that didn’t kick every screw in your body loose when shooting it🤔😳😂
I agree with you but I always meet people who are fanatically seeking out the "boat paddle " stock.
@@edwardabrams4972 I wasn't so smart, I put it in the closet for several years then toughed it out for a couple of hundred rounds. Don't get me wrong, it still kicks like a Missouri mule, but I did succeed in killing the nerves in my shoulder. I will praise it for it's weight, rather nice to carry in the field as long as you can keep the sling "swivels" quiet. Have a great weekend!
@@barrymantei7795 Yeah, I've noticed that a little too. What can you say, people will collect anything. Have a great weekend!
I had that paddle in 300 wm you never shot it for fun!
Thanks for the information - the accuracy on my favorite M77 270 has been driving me nuts - now I know some ways to fix it!!!
Great video. I bought my Mark I in the early 80's not knowing much about them except I really liked the classic look and the price. I must have lucked out because mine is consistently accurate even without having done any adjustment to the factory trigger. As far as the recoil pad deterioration I never noticed it probably because it's chambered in 243 Winchester and recoil is not an issue. I used it on Texas whitetails for several years and killed a few that were well over 200 yards out maybe even in the 300 yard range. I hand load and plan on shooting it to determine how accurate I can get it to perform. Luckily I have never taken it apart for cleaning. I did not know and do not have the means to torque that front screw to the 95 lb-lbs. I suspect that many people that experience poor accuracy from their M77's have taken them apart and not torqued these screws properly when they reassembled them. I learned a ton of things from this video I did not know about a rifle I have owned for nearly 50 years. Thank you.
Great rifle, many people do not know that the m77, m77 mark ll, and hawkeye are among the strongest, hardest mass produced factory bolt action recievers ever made. Many people had issues making them shoot because theres things they didn't understand with the middle action screw binding the action, the mag binding if it wasnt ground enough to have wiggle room, and how to properly tighten them in the stock. I became a gunsmith/rifle builder off the m77 tang saftey. If you understand the trigger and take it apart and work it you can make it very good and thats coming from a guy with two jewell triggers in two benchrifles set under 2ounce pull weight. I have an m77 that is my custom 30" barreled 264win long range hunting rifle and it rivals both my 6xc and 7saum benchrifles in how well it preforms
Wow great video. Also my first hunting rifle. 270, 7mm mag, and a 220 Swift all bought new in the mid to late 70's.
“This is the last rifle”
I believe many people have said before. Awesome
Great video, very thorough! I bought one new in .270 Win 40 years ago- it took plenty of game but was a ~3 MOA rifle. My journey to an accurate rifle included re-barreling, pillar/bedding, a Timney trigger. I wished I'd known about the replacement sear... getting that Timney tucked in and working was a pain.
I have an M77 in .243. I got it for Christmas 1990 when I was 11. It has a Burris Fullfield 3-9x (the old, good one with a 38mm objective). It will shoot sub 1" groups with several of my hunting loads. Its killed mule deer, whitetail, pronghorn, coyotes and more rock chucks then I can count in the mountains and deserts of Idaho. Its still my favorite rifle and it has a ton of sentimental value to me. It will never leave my safe for an amount of money.
I have 3 M77's, two 300 win mags and a 416 Ruger. All extremely accurate. The 300 win mag I got crazy tight groups after a few hundred rounds down the barrel. I even hit a 1 inch group at 1000 yds, the video is on my channel. I wish Ruger M77 could be perfect if they added a better adjustable trigger from the factory, and better stocks.
My first rifle, I ever bought myself was a Ruger M77 mk.II in 35 Whelen.... It took a lot too get it too shoot too MOA. I wish this video was made 10-12 years ago !
I'm almost 60 yrs old now. When I was a kid I picked up a M77 in .243 topped off with a fixed 4 power Redfield for $200 at a Pawnshop. Still to this day its my favorite rifle.
I own an M77 Mark II, in 7mm Rem Mag. I like it so far. I think it is a good rifle to add to any collection. I want to get out west with it one day. I like buying rifles, owning rifles, and talking about rifles.
Thanks for posting up this video on the historical overview of the Ruger M77 rifles. Back in about 2008 I was driving through Alberta and stopped at a gun shop. I seen a LH Ruger M77 in 25-06 with a grey laminate stock. As the story goes sometimes - I didn't pull the trigger on that one. And someone bought it shortly after I left the store. So fast forward to 2023 and I found a LH Ruger M77 Hawkeye in 300 RCM. And the price was right, and they had ammo too. The length of pull felt short so I picked up a Limbsaver Slip-On Butt pad. It also had a peep site on it - so I'm just waiting for some warmer weather to go out and see how well I can shoot it. If that doesn't work well for me I'll mount a scope on it. I'll probably come back and re-visit this video in case I need to do some tweaks.
I have a original tang safety m77 chambered in 30-06. I had it for years and took many deer with it but could never get any better than 3 moa. A buddy of mine turned me onto a limbsaver barrel deresinator. They look terrible but they work! Once I found the sweet spot on the barrel, man what a difference! Sub moa with Remington core lokt ammo 180grain. I love my m77. Great video 👍
I will have to look into what you mentioned about a barrel deresinator... never heard of that in my life.
I have the m77 mkll in 220 swift . It has a custom engraved hand crafted stock. I may upgrade the trigger someday ...but I have gotten used to it .... With custom loads I can get a 1/4" group on a good day. It's my go to rifle for over 30 years.
I have a model 77 mark 2 in 7mmremmag I bought in the early 90s and I have always liked it.
My first and last Ruger was a M77 that I got back in the 70’s. After tiring of the extremely heavy trigger and the completely lackluster accuracy, I sold the gun. The best group that I could achieve was about 2.5”/100yds and that was in 270Win!
I know Ruger has produced some great firearms throughout their history but I spent a summer’s worth of lawn cutting earnings on a unredeemable POS rifle! I upgraded to M70’s and never looked back.
I’ve been tempted to purchase Ruger products over the years but then I remember that M77 and I just give them back to the salesman and file the idea away for another day. However, Ruger may yet get some of my money as I’ve been thinking about one of the Ruger-Marlin stainless 45-70’s. After the prices become more reasonable, a Ruger product may actually find a home in my safe! After 45 years, the memory of my first Ruger may be far enough behind me to consider a second… The jury’s still out on that one!
Desert Dog, this was a great video that obviously brought back some memories! Have a great weekend!
Try a trigger shoe on one of your fire arms. Most fire arms I do not like the trigger pull up until I put a shoe on ....My M77 has one on and changed the whole felt pull.
Enjoyed this video on this lively rifle. I've owned MK I and MK Ii, never had an issue. Yes triggers were sub psr but I got by. Now own an accurate off the shelf Hawkeye African in 6.5 swede. I'm in love. I even performed a ladder test and carefully pushed it with no signs of danger before stopping at an accuracy node. It reached speeds with my 127 LRXs that no manual published. The action is plenty strong . It's my new go to hunt rifle for my NM hunts. Thank you for the info DD. GAINED SOME KNOWLEDGE. By the way, I left Cabelas/BassPro. Time to hunt and play.
Terrific video. The first rifle I bought was an M77 270 Win in 1976. The barrel is stamped “Built in the 200th year of American Liberty”. The scope is a B&L 2.5-8. I have other rifles, but old friends are best.
I've got the same. My dad bought it new, put in a Timney, 2x7 vx1, and it's been mine since 1995 and hunted every season. With 130gr, almost any factory load is near moa. almost 50 years old, she's not going to win a beauty contest but it's a real hunting rifle. Two headshots on coyotes opening day of deer season. 277 &284 yards. Never had a wounded animal. Love that rifle.
Mine was made in 1976 and has that stamp as well, chambered in .243, I bought it from my uncle a couple of years ago, I really love it, very pleasant to shoot.
Mr. Ruger was a BRILLIANT man and certainly without question a once in a lifetime genius. People speak about command presence and trust me, he had it. Being around him 24/7 for long periods was amazing on the one hand, but he could be a challenge sometimes. So many stories I could tell about being around this man.
I have a Ruger 77R in 358 Winchester. I bought this rifle in 72/73. It’s been my hunting gun since. Every deer that came into my sights went down with one shot. My longest shot was about 125 yards but most were around 50 to 75 yards. I’ve only hunted in NY. I also a big fan of the 358 Win. Still hunt with it
I had a m77 all weather in 338 WM with a “paddle” stock. As an African guide I found it brilliant! The rings had slotted screws and were terrible! so had then replaced with Hex and had to align the rings as factory replacements simply were awful.
However I managed sub MOA with factory ammo and uses it well on wounded game shooting some 600+ yard shots to put down wounded game. I found her hard on scopes but loved her rugged reliability. I was drawn to her by the long extractor which reminded me of the pre 64 Win.
For a working gun that can take punishment and di the job when called upon I was never disappointed.
This was my first gun! Haven't taken it out in years but I took her out for a clean thinking there would be rust spots. Nope, mint!
Going shooting tomorrow! Nice video
This is the best video u have made yet. I have 9 Ruger rifles. I have a old round top in a 6-284 norma. I have 2 Ruger magnum Express rifles. 416 Rigby and 458 lott. A custom 22- 6mm. 264 win mag custom with a 30 inch bartline straight heavy barrel. I also have a m77 tang in a 338-06 ai with a 24 in bench mark barrel. I have bought 2 Ruger long range target. One in 300 win mag and 6.5 PRC. Ya u can say I love Rugers. I have done a lapping process to the barrels to get them to shoot great. Again u hit this video right on. Will look forward to more videos from u.
great stuff as always. so much I didn't know about them. Sounds to me they have too many issues, compared to old 98 actioned guns, like FN, Husqvarna, CZ and Brno that are quite easy to find up here in Canada and generally less expensive.
When the Ruger came out it had real checkering which made it look better than the gaudy pressed checkering on Remchesters.
True. The first M77's had hand cut checkering that Ruger outsourced. Then they went to pressed for a while, then back to cut checkering when machines were developed to do it quickly on a large scale.
I bought 4 of these rifles over the years. One for myself and later one for each of my three sons. All of them are the original Model 77 with the tang safety. They are all fitted with fixed, low magnification scopes, 2 Leupolds and 2 Burris. The three for my sons are the "RS" models with iron sights, mine is an "R" model without iron sights. They are all still in use and all still working great and very accurate for sporter weight hunting rifles.
Probably the best value in a bolt action rifle and they have always been very attractive and practical.
One of my rifles I am most fond of is a Ruger M77 Hawkeye African 9.3x62mm with a Circassian Walnut stock and a very thin taper Sporter barrel. With a 1.5-5 Leupold, it’s only about 8 lbs and man is it a hoot to shoot!
I asked Ruger to build me a rifle in 1976. 6mm Remington with a Dougles 24 in barrel. The rifle is a better shooter than I am. I dissembled and cleaned the rifle and after that and the 77 refused to shoot under a 2-inch group. I called the Ruger man that built my rifle. Yes they were that great as a company. He had me buy a small poundage torque wrench(go to a machine shop supply house or an aircraft parts company) torque wrench. Then he had me shoot my group and then increase the torque on the angle stock screw in 1/4 pound increments. I still have the 77 and would be the last firearm I would sell. It also shoots under one inch when I do my part. 68 years old now and it can easily hit a business card at 100 yards. Dang . I am going shooting this weekend.
I found that the Limbsaver Airtech recoil pad #10800 fits the stock profile and I only had to drill new holes. I also installed the Rifle Basix sear. Wow! Make sure the trigger pivot pin is seated flush, otherwise you will break the trigger guard when you reinstall the stock and trigger guard. Floated the magazine well also.
Good Video , brings back a lot of memories, I remember I bought a tang model ultralight with the ebony tip in 270 in 1989 or1990, I called it my lucky gun, whenever I took it away Hunting I always had a good time, then I lent it to a Buddy, the rifle wasn't lucky this time away, he dropped it in some dirt. some pigs came out in front, he let one rip, and the barrel blew apart about four inches in length from the end of the barrel.
The other tang model I bought brand new, that was in 88 or 89 it had been at the store for quite a a while no one wanting a Swift but I did, A Varmint model in 220 Swift put a brand new Leupold 6.5x20 Gloss model, took it to a famous gunsmith here at the time, had a Canjar trigger fitted, and got it bedded and Floated before I even took it out of the box myself. the 270 wasn't a tack driver but it wasn't bad either 2 inch Groups were normal, It didn't matter, the rifle was only going to shoot 150 yards at most, the Swift was a tack driver never missed a beat I pulled some shots off with the Swift that I didn't think I had any chance of doing it, but it surprised me a number of Times, they were both great rifles to me, we had some fantastic trips away with back then.
I bought a new old stock 1976 7x57 M77 a couple of years ago. Ruger sent me the new screw and I installed the rifle basix sear. I like that rifle more than any I've ever owned.
Great video thanks for sharing! I have my dads m77 in 270 and it is a wonderful rifle
Fabulous and super informative video on the Ruger M77! Thank you🙏✌️
Another excellent video DD. Perhaps I can add tidbit of info to the trigger discussion. I bought a tang safety MK1 77V in 1976. Still have it. It's in .220 Swift with the heavy 26" barrel. As you indicated in the video, it was of the generation of abominable triggers. My next door neighbor, who also was my mentor for all things outdoors, replaced the trigger for me with a Canjar trigger the same year I got the rifle. It was set to 2.5 pounds and it breaks clean. I used to refer to it as a digital trigger- either on or off with no in-between. The rifle went from 2.5 - 3" groups to 5 shots into a dime size hole at 100 yds. using 55gr Sierra Spitzers loaded to around 3600 fps with IMR4064 (if I remember correctly).
I was introduced to the M77 a few years earlier, around 1971, when my neighbor bought the M77 in .350 Remington Magnum. He was trying to develop loads for it. As a 16 year old shooting that rifle from a bench, I developed a bit of a flinch, as well as getting some nasty black and blue marks on my right shoulder. It's funny to think of now, but we were trying to get MOA accuracy with 225 grain Speer flat nose bullets. I never thought about the rifle barrel, so your explanation about Ruger's barrel implementations was most enlightening. And you are dead right about felt recoil. That .350 kicked like a 12 gauge fired from the bench.
Another thing about Ruger centerfire rifles in general and M77 rifles in particular at that time was a selection of calibers that were off the beaten path at a time when the big companies like Winchester, Remington, and Savage were limiting their productions to very popular calibers only. If I remember correctly, you could get an M77 not only in an odd caliber like .350 Rem Mag, but useful cartridges like 7 x 57 Mauser, and.220 Swift. I am talking about the 1960's and 70's. I know Remington and Winchester eventually came out with "classic" versions of their rifles that included some of the older, less popular calibers.
In the "90's, I bought a MKII RSI in 30-06. It looked great but the control round feed didn't work too well. It wouldn't extract the cartridge about every third round from a full magazine. I sent it back to Ruger with a description of the problem and they sent it back with a slight improvement, but it still hung up on occasion. I eventually sold it. The design of the safety to make it more like the Model 70 Winchester was also a disappointment to me. I didn't think that it was anywhere near as good as the safety on my Model 70, which is a push feed USRAC from the early 80's.
Love your videos. You are an amazing source of firearms knowledge and experience.
my father in law had the 6mm, bought in the 60’s, I had a 270 bought in 71, shit three shot groups that were cloverleaf and still does, then bought a 25-06, then the 7mm. Everyone shoots sub moa
You are spot on with your evaluation, I have four. My 7mm had a 270 round shot through it and messed up the headspace, Ruger repaired for free.
Had a stick crack on my 25-06 and Ruger sent me a new one free of charge.
My 270 shoots the same hole and have had 6 or 700 rounds shot through it.
My first hunting rifle bought with my own money was also a Ruger M77 in 270 Winchester. I bought mine same year as you and it was made same year as yours. It was also less than impressive in terms of accuracy. Not long afterward when I learned of the M77 MK II and its availability in left hand, I traded my M77 in for one which was also chambered in 270 Win. I still have it
Edit to add: a friend brought over a Ruger M77 Mk II for scope mounting with the factory rings. It took a l-o-n-g time to lap those rings decently. Also, I was unable to get the front screw torque up high enough with that slotted screw. Brownells has a replacement with a hex head, so I’ll ask my buddy if he wants one.
I recently bought an M77 Hawkeye All Weather rifle in 7mm-08, so your history of the rifle is great. Especially when Ruger made changes to the rifle to make it better, not cheaper.
A tang safety is really good for most shotgun enthusiasts. It’s completely natural for me, unlike buttons behind the trigger or at the back of the receiver. People complain about the tang safety Miroku puts on Winchester 92s, but I like it much better than a Marlin cross bolt safety. That said, I have no problem with the Hawkeye safety position either. It’s similar to a newer Model 70 and an older Sako A III carbine I have.
My dad gave me his M77 .270 and I love it. Had to replace the scope this year and I love shooting it. Still getting used to it.
Another great video DD. l bought a Mk II Sporter (stainless/laminated) 7mm Rem Mag in '08 and it's been my go-to kill anything all-purpose hunting rifle ever since. Like you, I figured this would be the last rifle I'd ever need. But it was certainly not the last one I've bought.
This dude is always spot on with relevant facts. Great info.
After owning Mauser rifles. When Ruger came out with the Mark II I decided to get one and after a little work it turned into one of my favorite rifles to hunt with. Its a 7mm rem mag. Trigger work and porting was all that was done.
I have the stainless all weather M77 MK2 in 30/06 .....I set the action in a Houge over moulded stock...,and put on a limb saver slip on recoil pad
Thank you, that was interesting. My M77 story is very similar to yours, except for the happy ending. Mine was the first "serious" rifle I bought, when I was still a student working part-time in a gun shop. It was a mk II RSI in .30-06. With a Leopold 4x. Right out of the box it shot 1MOA. Took it hunting about a week after getting it and missed about 5 fairly easy shots in a row. Eventually my hunting buddy said "you are useless, give me that rifle" and he missed 3 times in a row. Problem turned out to he the scope mounts. After a shot it would "bed down" and shoot well, but the first shot after walking with the rifle or slapping it about a bit was way off. Fixed that, but after a year or so the accuracy headed south again. I glass-bedded it, and it worked for a while, then went bad again. The stock was warping and touching that pencil-thin barrel, and I never did find a lasting, reliable solution, eventually giving the rifle away.
But I still think the action itself is one of the very best controlled-feed hunting rifle bolt actions ever made, irrespective of price.
This is a great video. My first hunting rifle purchased with my own money was a Ruger M77. Have owned several since. This first rifle was purchased back in 1980. So, I currently own a bone stock M77 in .270 Win. with the red recoil pad and iron sights. Just ordered the Warne scope mounts for the M77. Had been holding off ordering mounts and glad I did until now. Also, will need to bed that action and replace the recoil pad and lug screw. We'll get it tuned up soon enough....
I had a 1980 Ruger m77 7mm Mauser and converted it to a 300 mag. A great gun. And yes a Douglas barrel.
Thank you for doing this video, I’ve been struggling to remember the details of the negative history pertaining to Ruger and gun legislation. You’ve jogged my memory and I think you so much for it.
My M77 is chambered in 7x57 Mauser, a caliber I was set-up to reload because of a 7MM Mexican Mauser rifle I owned back then. Baught it at Jensens custom ammo in Tucson in the mid 70s. Still shoots great.
The Ruger M77 was my first hunting rifle that I got for my 13th birthday. It is a special run in 7x57 Mauser open sights with Ruger rings. The action was made in ‘71. I’ve harvested quite a few bucks and it couple of coyotes.
Thanks DD this was an extremely interesting video . I bought a m77 mk11 in 2007 and have really loved it. Mine is chambered in 30 06 and has been extremely reliable and accurate. Again, thanks for the video.👍👍
Bought a used M77. It's flawless. I have only got to shoot it a couple of times. Great information. I will be checking it over thoroughly before. Mine is 30.06.
DD you did it again. Exactly what I need to know. I'm buying my first Ruger African in .375 Ruger. Just the things I need to know...Rifle Basics trigger upgrade, and a DIY grind LimbSaver buttpad. ... plus the torque sequence for the action. Thanks
I just bought a mark I in 338 and saw this video. Thanks again for the great info. This is probably the most informative vid on this rifle. Now I have a better understanding of it. Keep up the great work
Not long ago I got my hands on an older M77/270. I had been looking for an action with the .473 bolt face and this was it. I had my local gunsmith re barrel it with a .284 bore and had .275 Rigby stamped on it. A 24 inch Shilen barrel. I didn't want to pay the cost of a 1/4 rib so I had express sights installed. I am still working on a pet load but I do have a lot of experience loading the 7x57 so it won't be long now. I will have to look at the bolt to see if it has a T stamped on it. Thank You.
One of the two most accurate factory rifles I ever owned was a Ruger M77 Mark2 VT with the gray finish. It was a .220 Swift that I could get an honest to goodness 4100fps from with 50 grain Ballistic Tips. The observation about the early models was spot on, I had a beautiful looking 7mm Mauser with the beefier stock that was barely 2 MOA on a good day. Thanks for such a great presentation DDO!
I had a m77 mark 2 in 22-250
@@blakesmith2594 My friend purchased the same model as I just after mine arrived, but chambered for .22-250. As I recall it shot pretty well too. Thanks for sharing!
I owned a model M77 back in the early 80s, it was chambered in 270win. Never could achieve a really good group with the ruger rifle at 100yards,it drove me crazy trying to figure it out!!! But still loved it! Great video sir.!!!
Another excellent presentation. Love my hawkeye in .257 roberts.....once I found a load it liked.
M77 ( tang safety) in 7mm Rem Mag was passed down to me, from my grandad's collection, after watching your video ,I pulled the bolt out and Sure enough, there was the T carved in where you said it would be. Thanks for a great video 🙂
You are welcome. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Just picked up a model 77 mark 2 in 25-06. Now to get ammo for it
I currently own an M77 Hawkeye in 30-06 with a Bushnell Prime 3-9x40 mounted in Warne rings.
I have three M77s. Love them. I have not had any that shoot badly. I bought two new and one used. All shot sub MOA right out of the box.
Great video. Really informative. I found out things about these guns I never knew. I brought one of these in 30-06 second-hand new in 1981. It cost a fortune in those days and it really was the last rifle I have ever brought. I still have it to this day. Used it for commercial hunting for a couple of years and since then have taken it on hunting trips all over New Zealand. Must have got a good one because I have never had any problems with accuracy and so on despite all the drops and knocks it has taken.
Great video DD. I also loved the looks and claw extracter with a tang safety. I had to have one. Bought a 300 win mag one in about 1995. Had really nice blueing. Couldn’t wait to get to the range and shoot it. That rifle beat me to death and would not shoot with anything I put through it
Hey Desert Dogs, really nice informative video. M77's have always been my fav. Never met one I didn't like. Thank you for the history lesson, model codes, and tips on the RU-T. Very useul intel.
Watching this again. Might be my third or fourth viewing. So much to take in! Fabulous
I bought a Mark II in 7 Remington mag. I replaced the trigger with a Timney trigger and put it in a Hogue pillar bedded synthetic stock. GREAT shooting rifle. Should have never sold it but we all know how that goes.
I own 3 M77s 2 are tang safety Mk1 and 1 is a Hawkeye Gunsite Scout. Of the 2 tang safety models 1 is a 1969 2nd year of production that i found a a pawn shop in.308. It has the Douglas barrel and will shoot 3/4 moa with certain loads. 1 moa with everything else. My second tang safety is a 1982 in 25/06 that groups between 1 and 11/4 moa after bedding. Scout groups just under MOA. love them all. Will definitely check torque of action screws.
I bought a new ( actually traded a Browning light weight 20ga mag ) for a 7x57 in 73’ I converted it to a varmint rifle by putting a Shilen heavy barrel 6mm/244 1-12” twist, CanJar Set trigger and Lee Six fiberglass Beavertail stock. I was swapping barrels back and forth until 92’ when I picked up a new Rem 7x57 in a Mountain Rifle trim. With the 7x57 in the glass stock and CanJar trigger I shot 1.75” @ 300 yards in stiff winds with a Bushnell 4x12 scope. I could hold to an inch group with factory trigger and Leupold M8 4x scope. Trigger sucked. I worked on the bench last part of 73’ and most of 74’ on loads. Tried most available powders at that time and bullets from 120 to 175. My best accuracy came with a liberal amount of IMR 4350 and Speer 145BTSP bullets. I still have the 7x57 Barrel and stock for the Ruger. I basically had a Ruger Swat rifle circa 1980. A little heavy to carry with the 6mm barrel but once you’re set up it’s all fun.
Great video lots of information I didn't know. I absolutely love the m77 I own 3 of them
I still have a 77vt 22-250 stainless heavy barrel target with a old Nikon monarch 6.5-20x44AO with fine cross hair.. with a 50g vmax handload I built up that gun will consistent shoot 5 shot 100y groups under half minute. It required a trigger job that's for sure the trigger was pretty damn bad but after a good custom trigger job bring it down to a crisp break at about 12oz and building up a good load for it it became a fun to shoot bench rifle and has killed a great many P dogs... was and still is a really pretty rifle that stainless barrel and action and laminate stock, it's a damn sexy rifle still to this day.
The info on the torque for the screws was great, I never knew there was an order or torque setting for them and I have had my 77 for almost 40 years, and took a lot of deer in Pa with it. My longest shot wit it was 265 yards and in Pa that is a long shot on a powerline.
I have a m77 Hawkeye chambered in a 300 win mag and I love it it’s the all weather model.
I have a m77 hawkeye in 300 win ,wood stock , blued, put a vortex crossfire 2 3x9 and the thing shoots awesome using it on 9/6/22 for fall black bear
Bought my M77 in 6mm back in 1982 and it has taken lots of game and coyotes. Super accurate gun. It’s amazing how hard it is to get 6mm ammo now,everybody wants the .243 but the 6 mm has it beat. They just had better PR. Love this rifle though.
I noticed when I tighted the front screw before the rear that my groups shrink in size , i wll look at the mag well and see if it moves freely . I had to add to the comb height to get a good cheek weld added about 3/8" to the stock height I'm running a bushnell banner 6-18×50 scope with the highest rings I could find to get clearance between the barrel and scope .
I had a M77V HB .308 in the early 80's. I was a bit heavy but it was a great deer rifle. Wish I still had it. It was nice and accurate.
Very very outstanding video friend. Great job. Clean language too. Thanks. Keep up the good work. Thanks a lot friend. SC Navy vet. 1965. 🇺🇸😊
I've had quite a few Ruger rifles over the many years. Some were good, some were not. Most fell in the middle, but one, a varmint heavy barrel M-77 was by far the most accurate rifle, of any caliber, I've ever owned, fired, or even seen fired, I have ever seen. Foolishly, I let it go. A mistake I will never repeat, should I ever find another!
Love mine in 338. It has a Mc millon stock that really mitigates the recoil. My brother's wood stock 338 m77 cracked at the wrist, and blew the recoil lug out. Same with another wood stock 338 m77i saw . In fairness his newer left hand Winchester blew out the recoil lug in short order as well. They are very accurate rifles at least mine and his are.
Winchester what? Model? Caliber? Just curious/
I enjoyed your history of the 77, lots of good info! I bought a tang safety 77 in 338wm when I was 19. Factory ammo shot at best 1.75 moa but by working up my own I got sub moa with Speer 250 grn grand slams but it would not shoot anything else that well. Fast forward to 2018, I hadn't used the old girl in a while so I dusted it off and sent it out to be re-barreled to 30 Nosler by PacNor barrels in Brookings Oregon, they did an awesome job and after the recommended break in it was shooting .75moa with factory Nosler 180 Accubonds and I put in the same sear kit as you. Hunted the first season with those and took a 30" mule deer in Montana with it as well as a 13" Pronghorn. That winter I worked up a load for the 212 grn ELDX, 3000 fps and .44 moa. Gun is bedded but not pillared and I have a Lilja Heart breaker muzzle brake on the 26" barrel. The gun is beautiful to look at and shoots great for a hunting rifle, it still has the red pad but with the brake it is a dream to shoot. Just tell your hunting buddies to stand behind you when you fire, side blast is brutal from that 30 Nosler!