Ruger anyone?

[Timb0]

I have a Ruger 77/22 All Weather in .22wmr. I have owned this rifle for 15years and its been a very reliable, handy rifle that has probably killed more things than all the rifles I have owed combined ( maybe besides my old rem 700 in .222 now sold).

I don't know why but I sort of went off Ruger for the last 10 years. I didn't really like the feel of their M77 Hawkeyes ( some of the synthetic stocks a few years back) and the bolts feel like they would bind when I have worked new ones in the store, I don't like it when they offer long action cartridges like 270 in 22" barrels and at the end I was disappointed in the Ruger Scout . Nothing really wrong with the scout, i just don't like tactical looking guns ( I have a rem 7615 that I hate!). On top of all that it seems everyone I know owns Tikka's, 700's, savage etc. So not much peer pressure maybe.

Since my partner has been getting into shooting I have been looking at buying a new .223 bolt action. I thought a T3 hunter might fit the bill but the other day I looked at a Ruger M77 Hawkeye standard ( blued with wooden stock) and what a beautiful rifle it was! For the price it had an amazing finish and detail to the polished bluing and wood work. It felt really good and made me forget about the T3.

I would like to hear from any Ruger owners about how their Rugers shoot, reliability and general comments on the guns, particularly the M77.

Thanks.

[Baldrick314]

Don't have any feedback on the Rugers for you (do have a scout but that's not what you're after) but if you want to donate that 7615 I'll take it off your hands

[Combat_Wombat]

My old boy has a m77 mk2 all weather in .243. Shoots great and the action is nice and smooth. Not the greatest rifle ever made but certainly great for what it has to do.

I was going to get a hawkeye standard in .270 but at the time there was going to be a 8 month wait so I got my 700 instead.

[NukeBOMB88]

Hey Tmb0 ,
I've got a Ruger M77 VT in .204 and it's been the best rifle that I've used in ages, I've killed more foxes and rabbits with it than I ever killed before I got the rifle. The action is exceptional and requires little to no lubricant , the trigger is crisp and has no creep and the stainless barrel he had no rust spots or discolouring. I would recommend Rugers rifles to anyone

[MeccaOz]

Heya mate, about 10 -15 years ago I had a standard wood/blued 22-250 Ruger and it would not hit the broadside of a barn, so i stopped buying Rugers. Now I took the plunge recently and I'm a Ruger convert once again. They are making their own barrels now and the one I have is accurate as hell, reliable and just a GREAT all round rifle. Alot of Tikka fans here, and tikkas are a pretty good rifle, but dont discount the Ruger, they will do the job outta the box

[Timb0]

That's the sort of thing I remember hearing about Rugers a few years back. I didn't know that about the barrels.

I don't have anything against Tikka. I know that they are a good rifle, I was surprised to see how much detail in the Ruger for the same price or maybe even a bit less.

Good to hear that you are very happy with it!

[Lorgar]

Since my partner has been getting into shooting I have been looking at buying a new .223 bolt action. I thought a T3 hunter might fit the bill but the other day I looked at a Ruger M77 Hawkeye standard ( blued with wooden stock) and what a beautiful rifle it was!

I have/had a Hawkeye .308 standard in timber blue and a .243 in Laminate.

Agreed that the walnut is beaut little rifle. The laminate is good too, functional, for looks/feelgood factor though it's a bit behind the walnut though. The sythnetic is awful (as most are).

Both mine were game rifles so only needed "hunting accuracy" which they delivered. Both shot an inch or just under with the right ammo. I'll admit though finding the right ammo for my .308 was a quite a process... There was a lot which it really did not like. At longer distances though the groups did start to increase more than you'd like, in my case though as a strictly hunting rifle it didn't matter so much.

This has been said 1,000 times before but the Ruger is a great workhorse of a rifle. I'm a big fan of the Mauser action and between the 2 rifles I never had a failure to feed or extract. Love that you can top load the internal box mag also. And they're $250 cheaper than a T3 so you can't complain with that.

My only complaints would be they're a little heavier compared to some of the alternatives, and you're not going to get hair-splitting accuracy out of one - Not a critical requirement but it would be nice, right?

Having said that... I've had a T3 for a while now and have definitely come to like it more than my Rugers.

It's a bit lighter, I have the Forest stock with the palm swell and roll-over cheek piece which is a perfect fit for me (bit off topic but if it's your thing...) and it's much more accurate than my Rugers.

I'm still mostly into hunting, my T3 shoots under 0.4 MOA which has made the occasional target shoot much more rewarding. With light loads it sort of doubles as my mid-range varmint rifle as well. Not that I'm usually shooting at these ranges but I've been giving the 500m steel goat target a workout at my local range recently too which I couldn't have done with the Ruger .308. Not consistently anyway.

I like Hawkeyes but have to say, if/when I buy a new rifle which will probably be a .223 I'm going to get another Tikka.

Helpful? Soz?

Not sure which one

[Timb0]

Thanks for the comments guys. Nothing really there to turn me off, so I guess I'm off to the gun shop on Monday

BTW: I don't own a Tikka anymore but I'm sure one will get a go next time.

[Lorgar]

Cool.

I wasn't trying to ruin them for you but it sort of sounded that way by the end

[Timb0]

It took a while as I work away but I finally picked up a new rifle for the missus. It's a M77 Hawkeye compact in .223.
Hopefully she will enjoy it, but I think I will sneak a fair few shots in.

[Klem]

The sythnetic is awful (as most are).

Which would you call a nice one?

[Lorgar]

Went with the walnut, nice.

[Lorgar]

Which would you call a nice one?

Check out the Sauer 101 synthetic with soft touch coating.

It's not walnut, but it's 100x better than the standard plastics stocks.

[squirrelhunter]

It'll be fun for both of ya

Leupold on top there?

[Timb0]

Went with the walnut, nice.

Yep, my crappy photo doesn't do it justice. The wood work is beautiful.

[Guliver]

See my avatar, that's my only Ruger, very reliable and robustly built, not up to my Hammerli 280 but heaps of fun, fired thousands of rounds with no major problems.

[Timb0]

It'll be fun for both of ya

Leupold on top there?

Yes VX 1 4-12x40. I figured she would be killing more targets and not so many animals knowing her.

[Combat_Wombat]

Good looking rifle there mate should serve you well