On the Ruger M77 Series (short video)

[AJMD429]

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I learned some things listening to this. Didn't know the connection with Eugene Stoner (minor) and some of the variants and changes over the years.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmS4QAICJ2k

I've owned them in 6mm Rem (old tang safety model), 308 (heavy target Hawkeye version), and 375 Ruger (Alaskan Hawkeye version), and all of them were pretty great firearms.

[GunnyMack]

I have a Hawkeye, 338 Federal. I shot a cow elk with it just a few weeks after buying it. I didn't particularly care for the plastic stock but a stainless gun doesn't need wood .
' elk don't know how many feet a horse has'

[Scott Tschirhart]

Great presentation. I did not care for the original tang safety rifles as they seemed to be inconsistent in accuracy.

The newer rifles are amazingly good for the price.

[44shooter]

I have two tang safety M77s and two Hawkeyes, all good rifles with the Hawkeye action being the best overall. I never cared for the heavy triggers and rough actions of the Mark II 77s I handled at the time. I also have an early 77/22 with the hard plastic butt plate

[AJMD429]

Great presentation. I did not care for the original tang safety rifles as they seemed to be inconsistent in accuracy.

Not using my 6mm heavy barrel in a rugged environment, the tang safety was ok with me (the others I have have the modern style).
As to accuracy, I think in the 70's Ruger kept contracting barrels out to various manufacturers. Some were iffy but some were superb.

I don't know who made my M77V heavy barrel (1976) - nor do I even know how to tell...? - but I'm guessing it may have been one of the better makers; that rifle shoots ten shots in a dime-sized group at 100 yards. I've never shot a more accurate gun.

[Scott Tschirhart]

Now, do any of you have any experience with a Hawkeye chambered in .450 Bushmaster?

I’m wondering how well the controlled round feed works on a rebated rim.

[samsi]

Back in the day they built .500 Jefferys on Mauser 98's, so a rebated rim can and will work in a CRF action. How successfully Ruger addressed the issue I have no idea, the 450 Hawkeyes appear to be relatively rare.

[GunnyMack]

I would venture a guess that Ruger had the rebated rim /extractor worked out early on.

[Old Savage]

The 77 Tang safety models can be inconsistent but I have a couple that are very accurate after some work or changes. One is a 6mm Rem another is a 7x57. I’ll have to check the others

[Scott Tschirhart]

I had a little jingle from a gun trade I did several months ago. So today I dropped by a shop in Beeville and picked up a Ruger 77 Hawkeye compact in .308.

Looking forward to seeing how it shoots.

[AJMD429]

I had a little jingle from a gun trade I did several months ago. So today I dropped by a shop in Beeville and picked up a Ruger 77 Hawkeye compact in .308.

Looking forward to seeing how it shoots.

That could come pretty close to a do-everything gun in my book (even though I'm partial to leverguns).

Maybe paired up with a 357 Mag levergun, for the close/small stuff...

[Scott Tschirhart]

That could come pretty close to a do-everything gun in my book (even though I'm partial to leverguns).

Maybe paired up with a 357 Mag levergun, for the close/small stuff...

It’s much lighter and more compact than my Ruger Scout Rifle.

Let’s see if it will shoot.

[Lastmohecken]

Great presentation. I did not care for the original tang safety rifles as they seemed to be inconsistent in accuracy.

The newer rifles are amazingly good for the price.

Ruger used several different barrel makers back then, some shot really good, some did not shoot that great. I did trade for a nice, looked new, Ruger M77 Ultra light or whatever they called them, in .308 Win, a few months ago, with the tang safety. I have not put it on paper yet, I hope it shoots at least into a 1.5" group or so at a hundred and I will be happy. A lot of them had pretty bad triggers on them, but this one seems to have a pretty decent hunting trigger. We will see.

[Lastmohecken]

Ruger has come out with (Lipsey's) the Ruger Hawkeye Alaskan Brush Rifle, in 35 Whelen and 9.3 x 62 with 20" barrel and express sights. I am tempted on that one. I had an M77 many years ago in .35 Whelen, but I eventually gave up on it, and should have sent it back, as it started misfiring on me, but I don't think it was my handloads. However, I watched a Youtube with Ron Spooner and he was shooting a .35 Whelen in that model and experienced misfires with Remington Factory ammo. So, now I am little gun shy of it. However, other brands did not misfire. This makes me inclined to get the 9.3 x 62 instead as it has a slightly more pronounced shoulder on it than the Whelen. But since I already have a proven Remington 700 in 350 Remington Magnum, it doesn't make much sense for me to do either. But I guess I ran out of need to buy a new rifle many years ago. I wish I could find one to look at, before buying one. Maybe Cabela's will get one in, eventually.

[Scott Tschirhart]

Thus far I am impressed.

I took the bolt apart and cleaned out the firing pin channel. Properly lined now.

Working the bolt is a joy. Smooth out of the box and that’s not like previous generations of this gun.


That big claw extractor picks up cartridges from the magazine and controls them right into the chamber. I really like a fixed ejector.

I mounted a 1.5-5 Leopold and it appears to be ready to go. Trigger could be better but I think it will get better with wear. It’s safe and I don’t think I’ll mess with it.

I traded off a Ruger .308 AR pattern rifle and this is the replacement. No detachable magazine (I like that) and it seems like a lot less weight.

It may kick a bit more but it feels really “friendly” if you know what I mean.

[Scott Tschirhart]

Shoots great! 1.75 inches at 200 yards with Remington 150 gr core Lok’d factory ammo. Same point of impact with Winchester white box ball ammo. Very comfortable to shoot.

I’ve had this old scope for more than 20 years and when
I bought it it was on a used rifle. No telling how many rifles it has been on. But it is probably my favorite scope.

[TraderVic]

I bought a 77, tang safety, .270, back in 79'. I had a gunsmith friend glass bed the barrel. It was a very accurate rifle.
The down side of the tang safety rifles was the safety had to be moved "off" to work the bolt. Ruger corrected that with the second generation M77 MkII, with a 3 position safety up on the receiver. My son and daughter both have M77's (MK II's), his is .270, hers is .243. Both are real shooters....