Author Topic: So disappointed today (Read 1059 times)

azshooter · « **on:** February 14, 2004, 04:20:07 PM »

As I was looking at "value" priced guns today looking to spend around $500 or so for a new bolt gun and I realized how far downhill most American manufactures have gone. What heppened - especially to Ruger. My old Model 77 has free floating barrel and the adjustable trigger. I wouold love to have another Ruger like it. I know the story about the heavy triggers but why did they do away with the free floating barrels in the redesign? I looked at 3 model 77's and each one had hard wood metal contact. My wife gave me a new Savage Model 12 at Christmas with the accutrigger and full floating barrel shoots fantastic! So I know American companies can compete. Why can't the other US manufactures do this. No wonder Tikka is eating their lunch. Sorry for the rant but the US manufactures better get with the program.

257AI · « **Reply #1 on:** February 15, 2004, 05:05:40 AM »

Are you sure that your Ruger 77 came with a free floating barrel. It was not too long ago that a free floating barrel was a sign of shoddy workmanship. The barrel had to be bedded tight to the action. I seem to remember that the 77's I had had a builting pad in the forend tip that I had to sand away to freefloat the barrel. My wifes 77RL in 250 Savage had to have heavy pressure on the barrel before it would shoot good. Free floated it gave 2 inch or more groups, forend pressure and it came down to l inch and somethime less. It is easy to free float an wood stock barrel with a wooden dowl and a little sandpaper.

Coyote Hunter · « **Reply #2 on:** February 15, 2004, 06:25:59 AM »

azshooter -

I have two M77's and neither were free-floated. Just got the scond one last weekend, a .257 Roberts, and free-floated the barrel a couple of nights ago. The 7mm Mag shoots .5" groups and the .257 Roberts shot a 3-shot 1.35" group. (Not real happy with the .257's group, but it was the first time out, only had one box of factory 120g ammo for sight-in, and a trigger that definitely needs work. Cosmetically speaking, the gun is gorgeous.) The 7mm Mag has 20 years of hunting behind it but still looks great.

My buddy had a newer M77 MKII 7mm Mag (circa 1999) and the first thing we did to it was free-float the barrel. He gets .4" groups with it. This gun has some of the nicest wood I have seen on a production gun, and the metalwork is up to Ruger's usual high standards.

My new (Christmas present) Ruger M77 MKII VT is fully floated and has a target trigger. Yesterday at the range I fired two 2-shot "groups" at 200 yards, adjusting the scope 3 clicks up between groups. The first measured 0.275" center-to-center, the second measured 0.475", and there was 1.5" difference in height between the two (as expected). No probelms with this gun, functionally or cosmetically.

As to the Savage rifles, I just got rid of a 110E in .22-250. Although that gun shot great when I first got it, the barrel was toast. And it was, as my daughter says, "ugly". Plastic trigger guard and front sight ramp, birch stock (not bad for function, just not pretty), poorly finished bolt handle and bolt raceway, etc. The newer Savage rifles are much better looking, and still shoot.

My personal opinion is that its hard to go wrong with a Ruger. The triggers are lawyer-inspired, but so are most, and they are easy to fix. Cosmetically they are one of the best looking rifles available, IMHO, and every one I have worked with has been a shooter. (The jury is still out on the .257 Roberts, but I haven't touched the trigger, haven't worked up any loads for it and have only tried one factory load.)

azshooter · « **Reply #3 on:** February 15, 2004, 06:33:10 AM »

You have two of the old ones and neither was free floated? Wow - thats interestnig. I wonder if my old one was a fluke from the factory(seriously). It was purchased new. I assumed that all the old ones were free floated. I also love they way it shoots too - for > 20 years it has shot < 1" groups.

oneb · « **Reply #4 on:** February 16, 2004, 08:06:46 AM »

None of my four 77s -- two tang safeties and two MK IIS -- have been free-floated from the factory. All of them are now and have had trigger work too; so they are now consistently accurate.
One further tip, try adjusting the tension on the front (foreend) screw by backing off in degrees from full tight. I found a "sweet spot" where accuracy improves greatly on several of my rifles.
Good luck.

oneb

Carl l. · « **Reply #5 on:** February 16, 2004, 02:54:43 PM »

Azshooter, I bought a model 77 ruger in 1970 and it had a free floating barrel from the action out to the end to where the swivel is. There is about an inch where the swivel is that the barrel rests on. That is the way ruger made them then. So, I can say they were partly free floating. Carl L.

Coyote Hunter, don't give up on the .257 yet. I have two of them and neither would shoot factory loads. but every gun is different and I guess some will do ok with factory loads. I reload for mine and they shoot really good. So hang in there and work up a good load for that .257 Carl L

Coyote Hunter · « **Reply #6 on:** February 21, 2004, 05:00:12 PM »

Quote from: Carl l.

...
Coyote Hunter, don't give up on the .257 yet. .... I reload for mine and they shoot really good. So hang in there and work up a good load for that .257 Carl L

Carl -

Got to shoot my first handloads today. Best loads were as follows:

WW brass
CCI 250 primer
75g Hornady V-MAX
COL 2.8025"
42.0g Varget
3187fps Average (4 shots)
7.0fps Standard Deviation
16fps Extreme Spread
7.9 foot-pounds recoil (My #2 Daughter will love these!)

WW brass
CCI 250 primer
115g Barnes TSX (Triple Shock)
COL 2.8025"
48.0g H4831-SC
2936fps Average (4 shots)
6.0fps Standard Deviation
13fps Extreme Spread
13.2 foot-pounds recoil

It was on the windy/chilly side, so I sped thing up by using the 200-yard gong as my primary target while chronographing the loads. (Usually I use paper and record write down the POI as well as velocity for each shot - much more time consuming.) Of 50 shots fired, about 30 went toward the gong, with one miss (first shot went high and I adjusted POA accordingly).

Overall pretty happy, with group sizes running about 3.5" at 200 yards. Hope a trigger job will help shrink those, but even if not, this gun is FUN.

Carl l. · « **Reply #7 on:** February 22, 2004, 03:38:33 AM »

Coyote Hunter, Looks like you are on the right track. One thing to remember is every gun is different and all don't shoot the same loads. You will have to keep trying different powder and bullets to see what you gun will handle. I would suggest that you buy a lyman 1957 41st and a 1960 42nd edition handloading books. You can buy them on e-bay from time to time. They have a lot of information on loads for the .257.

I found out the .257 handles the 75 gr, 87gr and 100's better than the heavier bullets. I use IMR 4350 powder in mine and 87 gr Sierra bullets.

I can scan the handloading information and send them to you if you would like. Carl L.

Red Neck64 · « **Reply #8 on:** February 22, 2004, 02:36:26 PM »

Savage puts the quality inside the rifle,not outside.The Savage is the shooter hands down.