Ruger 77 quick tips

F

Foxtrotoscar

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I am helping out a FNG with this .270 M77. I forget the model, it's one of the new models with the Hogue stock. Before everyone gets all excited as to how inaccurate a Ruger is-I have the same rifle blued/walnut and I get three shot cloverleafs, which amazes me as much as anyone else for a factory rifle and about fifteen minutes of load development work. I also have had other 77s that get 3-5" on a good day.

What are some quick tips for potentially enhancing the accuracy of a stock Ruger? Nice enough guy, but he's never going to advance beyond the stock rifle/store bought ammo/Burris scope stage, which is fine, since he's a keen hunter and still young, therefore all full of vinegar. I seem to remember reading something about the trigger guard screws-some tight, some loose, etc. Any comments would be appreciated.
 
Bed it...

I've got two varmint models, one old 77 with tang safety and the other the Mk II. Both were sub moa shooters out of the box but they absolutely woke up when I full length bedded the action.

I usually don't use the action screws when bedding but since the Rugers have that angled screw pulling the action toward the back, I did insert the front screw and put a little pressure on it when I set the action into the bedding compound.
 
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here's one.....

make sure the magazine is loose in the stock. They uaually are in a bind, pushing up on the center of the action. You need a file to deepen the areas that contact the trigger guard and the magazine, you want the magazine to be loose in the stock, not putting the action in a bind.

Be sure that the center screw is loose enough to move it with your finger nail.
Again, you don't want to put the action in a bind by having the center screw pull down on the center of the action.

Good luck!
 
What Keith and Yote said. The middle guard screw should only be tight enough to keep the trigger guard from rattling around. That's loose! The rear guard screw shouldn't be tightened down enough to bend the tang down either. The 77 action behind the recoil lug is a flexy-flyer, and it can easily be fouled up by overtightening the tang and middle guard screws.

Put a finger along the top of the stock touching both the stock and action tang when the tang screw is tightened, if/when you feel the tang starting to bend down the tang screw is too tight.

When I bed a Ruger 77, I use the front screw, and put a paper shim under the barrel to keep the front guard screw from pulling the barrel down into the channel and to keep the action level in the stock. Bedding Rugers isn't like bedding anything else.
 
When I shot 77's.......

I torqued the front to 45 lbs and the rear to 35 lbs. That dang tang screw will get you in trouble often. With the center screw left completly out or just finger nail tight, custom barrel, tuned trigger, 1/4-3/8" groups are to be expected!

I often traced the tang and put a thick piece of brass or thin steel to act as a pillar in this area...works well.
 
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