Posted: 6/20/2014 7:18:00 PM EDT
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I have a neighbor that wants me to make him an offer on a bunch of gun stuff. He's getting up there in years and doesn't shoot anymore so he wants to clear out what he has left. He's a good guy and a friend so I want to make him a fair offer.
The rifle in question is an M77 in 22-250. Looks like it was made in about '74. Has the tang safety, no big warning markings on the barrel and is in a really good looking stock. Also has an old Redfield 6x scope on factory rings. Damn thing looks just about brand new, with just a bit of bluing wear on the barrel. I'm thinking it's maybe a $500-$600 rifle but I wanted to ask here. Like I said I want to make him a fair offer. Thoughts? |
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Quoted:
Tag for answer. Always wanted an M77 in .270 for vaporizing ground squirrels. My "Deerslayer 2000" is a .270 M77 Mk 2 in Stainless with a Zertyl stock and a Leupold 3x9x50. I have a box or two of reloads with light bullets, never thought of blowing up tree rats though. But now I have! Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile |
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Quoted:
Ask him how many rounds have been through it. .22-250 is a barrel burner. If it's only a couple hundred or less then $500-ish. You can get almost as many rounds out of a barrel as a 223. You just can't go for that last 2% or shoot at a high rate. The problem with Ruger is they put 22 inch barrels on most of their 22-250's. They did this on the #1 too. To me the #1 doesn't look right with anything less than 26. The 22 inch is just too damned short for 22-250. I have at least 3200 rounds through a Ruger 22-250 barrel. It still looks new |
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Quoted:
I would try to shoot it first. Those guns aren't known for accuracy. Mine (.270 WIN) is plenty accurate. Does it outshoot my 5R? No. Does it kill what I am aiming at? Yes. OP, depends on what you're gonna use it for. Hunting? Go for it. 1000 yd shooting? No. |
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Mine (.270 WIN) is plenty accurate. Does it outshoot my 5R? No. Does it kill what I am aiming at? Yes. OP, depends on what you're gonna use it for. Hunting? Go for it. 1000 yd shooting? No. Quoted:
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I would try to shoot it first. Those guns aren't known for accuracy. Mine (.270 WIN) is plenty accurate. Does it outshoot my 5R? No. Does it kill what I am aiming at? Yes. OP, depends on what you're gonna use it for. Hunting? Go for it. 1000 yd shooting? No. I know what you mean. Years ago a writer in Handloader magazine said he was tired of constant whining about accuracy. He said there was a time when it was a miracle if you gun shot MOA no matter what you did. He bought a beater tang safety Ruger 77 in 7 mag at a pawn shop. He collected mixed headstamp brass from his buddies, didn't prep the cases, used some oddball bullet he had half a box of, used a dipper to measure the powder, etc. He did everything within reason to make the gun shoot poorly. It still shot about 2.5" and he killed a moose with it at about 250. He said most people can't shoot well enough to squeeze the accuracy out of a top shelf gun and would benefit more from trigger time and mastering their form and gun than fancy rifles. I bought a tang safety 77 one time at a pawn shop at lunch with Leupold Vari X II on it for $250 because I wanted the scope. One of my coworkers went wild when I showed up with it saying how much his Dad needed that gun. We were buddies and his Dad was a good guy. I sold him the combo for the $250 I paid. A few weeks later he reported how overjoyed his Dad was with the gun. He was shooting deer from his deck at 200 plus with it and thought it was the finest rifle ever made. I'm sure it wasn't some kind of ultra match rifle. When I got it the action screws were very loose. |
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Quoted: He's got 2 1/2 boxes of empties with it, says that's all it's been fired. Also has 4 1/2 boxes of Remington ammo for it. Quoted: Quoted: Ask him how many rounds have been through it. .22-250 is a barrel burner. If it's only a couple hundred or less then $500-ish. He's got 2 1/2 boxes of empties with it, says that's all it's been fired. Also has 4 1/2 boxes of Remington ammo for it. If that's legit, Excellent! M77s are basically a mauser action. The primary beef with an 'average' M77 is below average accuracy, ergo hunting accuracy, not precision. The culprit is supposed to be a long leade, meaning the amount of no rifling before the rifling begins. This is safer from a legal perspective because you won't really be able to find any ammo that engages the rifling upon chambering, so there will be no pressure spike that would with a pre-engaged bullet. |
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I have had pretty good accuracy from the 3 I have. I have 5 M77's 25-06 (1976 "Made in the 200th Year of American Liberty" with 50 rounds run through it), A 338 Win Mag made in 1983 that's never been fired). An additional SS 25-06, a SS 30-06 & a SS 338 Win Mag. My experience has been if you free float the barrels, and torque the action screws to 40 ft. lbs. it's as accurate as any Remington, Winchester, Savage, Mossberg, or Marlin. Like has been said it's probably more accurate than most shooters. |
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My buddy has the same one, in the same caliber and he loves it. Check the barrel, throat, etc for wear, just in case the guy was heading out to South Dakota every year shooting prairie dogs with it (probably not, but just in case). I've got an M77 in 30-'06 that I bought when I was a kid (I'm 46 now). It is very accurate, and the only thing I've done to it was replace the wood stock with a fiberglass one the day I bought it. Eric  |