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Posted: 8/6/2011 2:07:10 PM EDT
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I picked up a m77 rifle that was made in 1992 based on serial number
Looking to try more long range shooting , I have been shooting mostly 300 yards and closer shots - now I want to reach out 300-600 yds on my uncles farm This is stock rifle with no scope , is this rifle capable? Has anybody built one ? Different stock ? Custom barrel? Trigger ? Or should I invest my money in my current set up ( a DPMS LR308 with a Springfield armory scope ) all stock I know this is wide ramie of questions and I reallly appreciate anybody who takes the time to reply |
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The stock trigger on my M77 Mark II (about the same year as yours I think) was horrible.. about 8lbs and gritty - I had worked by a local gunsmith and got it down to a tad under 4lbs.. MUCH better groups...
You did not mention what stock you have - that may make a difference.. I have the synthetic (skeletized) stock that I have been meaning to free float.. good luck b |
| i have a 1992 mark 2 m77 .308 in stainless with the zytel skeletonized stock . It was the first rifle i bought back in the 90's it has anon adjustable trigger and is 2lb break i did get it used (less than 1 year old) so it could have had some trigger work done. |
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I have just got 3 boxes of ammo to try when I sight it in
1 Winchester power point 150 gr 2 Hornady SST 150 gr 3 Federal premium 168 gr sierra boat tail hollow point Gives me a few different types of bullets , not sure what kind of results I will get Got a Harris bipod and robbed a scope of my 10/22 T ( for now ) a Simmons 6-18x I will get to try it next weekend at my uncles farm. We have targets at 50,100, 200, 250, 300 |
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Ruger (like most manufactors) tend to long throat the barrels, so to get the most out of it, you are going to need to hand load to the longer side of OAL to get the most out of the barrel.
In regards to BT bullets, you want a jump of no more than .004 to lands, and with the factory ammo, going to find a very long jump. if you have a long jump to lands, then you will find that a flat base bullet will over group better than a boat tail design. So, first step is to have the trigger worked done (around 2lb's should be fine), and have the receiver bedded to the action.If the receiver is not bedded, then barrel harmonics from one shot the next is not the same, and getting the bullet to exit the same at end of muzzle path is going to be next to imposable. Next is a scope and mount that will hold their settings. Not sure of the mount (if Ruger mounts, you good for now), but on the scope, if your looking for something on the less expensive side, the suggest something like a super sniper scope. Note: with most scopes and the stock mount, your going to run out of adjustment around 600 yards. So your looking at either having the factor rings reworked to get 15MOA added to them, or if you can find the older Burris mounts that had offset rings on them, you get it that way instead. From there, you need to pick a bullet type (Serria 168GR HPBT is a good one), figure out the jump to lands distance, OAL load to .002 short of that, then start working up loads to find where the barrel just sings. In short distances (under 200 yards), you want the bullet to sleep within 70 yards out, so you will be looking for the sweet spot of the barrel harmonics off the bottom/min load. When you start pushing distance (200 plus yards), then you will need the speed, so starting with your min load, start working up until you find the other side of the barrel oblong movement end for the next barrel sweet spot. Barrel harmonics, When the bullet is being driven down the barrel, the muzzle is going to move in a oblong circle. You want the bullet to exit the barrel on one of the ends of the circle, where the muzzle is at it's stillness. Again, the receiver has to be rock solid to the stock of the harmonics will change from shot to shot. On the barrel, guessing that you have the thinner hunting type one, and depending on how well it shoots to begin with free floating (don't rapid fire or you are going to heat the barrel up, cause worse harmonics/will start to spray), then may want to try single point bedding on it if you can not get it group sub MOA for a slow 10 shot group. |
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The basic design is generally very accurate if properly bedded.
I have a M77 MK II VT in .308. The VT uses a medium weight barrel that is a nice compromise between a lightweight and bull barrel. At the time (about 10 years ago) it was the only Ruger M77 you could get without a lawyer trigger on it and it is both adjustable and set at about 2 pounds. The laminate stock had a thick target profile, so I replaced it with a composite stock and then pillar bedded it. I get half MOA 5 shot groups with 168 gr Sierra HPBT match bullets and I get 3/4MOA with 165 gr SPBT bullets, which work well on game. I use 43.0 grains of IMR 4064 in a military match case and get 2750 fps out of the 26" barrel. |
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