Ruger M77 love them or hate them?

Have owned traded, kept and sold all versions except the tang saftey version.

Currently have a 338 RCM, 450 marlin custom, 416 Ruger Alaskan.
 
I like the newer M77 MKII and Hawkeye models.
My left handed M77 MKIi in 25-06 is a tack driver.
The left handed African and guide guns in 375 Ruger are also excellent in the accuracy department.
To me the safety is the least of the boxes that need to be checked.
Accuracy
Reliability
Controlled Round Feed
Those to me are way more important than the safety. I can learn a safety.
 
Mixed bag here. Never had a tang safety model - couldn't have given me one. The stocks were heavy, clunky, and grotesque along with a poor fit. We overhauled, shaved down and reworked one for a buddy, it was an improvement, but still not the fit and feel we wanted. Never a fan of the tang safety and most of the ones I had experience with only had marginal hunting accuracy. If you wanted a "shooter", there were better guns in the same price range.

Then came Africa. The outfitter that we chose for our first two hunts, had a couple of Ruger Mark II as rental guns - .300 Win and a 30-06. Synthetic stainless - they were so close to our guns, we opted to travel light and shot those rifles. They were a pleasure to hunt with - the perfect African tool. Ever since those trips, I've been on the lookout for a nice Mark II in .300 Win, but just haven't stumbled onto the right one.

So I picked up a couple of Hawkeye's for the time being. As another African outfitter that I hunted with put it " a good working man's gun". They'll do everything yu need without breaking the bank. Have two Hawkeye's right now - a 300 mag that shoots well, and a .280 that has become a real project, trying to find the right recipe to tighten groups
 
I have always loved all the versions of Ruger Model 77’s, from the old tang safety models to the Hawkeye Model 77 rifles. My Alaskan brown bear/grizzly guide, George Faerber relied on a stainless Ruger Model 77 Mark II .338 Win Mag with Zytel fiberglass stock. I think these were the most indestructible and toughest rifles Ruger ever made, the stainless ones with Zytel fiberglass stocks.

This is my last remaining Ruger, a M77 Hawkeye Guide Gun chambered in the 300 RCM. Fortunately I’ve obtained a decent amount of factory ammo. It’s accounted for one 6x6 bull elk and a couple white tail deer.

IMG_4605.jpeg

DSCN0198.jpeg
 
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Inherited a tang safety rifle. First shot is deadly accurate. After that, need a barn for the target. Barrel is a piece of shit.
 
BJH65 said:
I have always loved all the versions of Ruger Model 77’s, from the old tang safety models to the Hawkeye Model 77 rifles. My Alaskan brown bear/grizzly guide, George Faerber relied on a stainless Ruger Model 77 Mark II .338 Win Mag with Zytel fiberglass stock. I think these were the most indestructible and toughest rifles Ruger ever made, the stainless ones with Zytel fiberglass stocks.

This is my last remaining Ruger, a M77 Hawkeye Guide Gun chambered in the 300 RCM. Fortunately I’ve obtained a decent amount of factory ammo. It’s accounted for one 6x6 bull elk and a couple white tail deer.

View attachment 755004
View attachment 755005
Click to expand...
Man I hate when they get down in the thick stuff and die. An electric chainsaw helps immensely.
 
Man everybody hating on the tang safety models. Not sure if I have been lucky or just living right but I have owned 2 Model77 both RSI models with tang safety’s and have not had any of the described issues. Both rifles will hold 1.5-2” groups at a hundred yards with no walking after 3 rounds.
 
Ruger-barrels.jpg


Cheers! Bob F. :)
 
I have had several tang safety M77s. I preferred those to the MK2s that I have had. Having that safety right where it should be is so much more intuitive IMHO. I had owned over a dozen different ones and I never had any problems with accuracy either. My first .270 would shoot 3/4 inch groups all day long with Federal Premium 130 grain bullets. My current tang safety in .270 will shade that from time to time. I wish I had kept some of the other like the .30-06, .338 Winmag, .257 Robert's, 7 x 57 Mauser. They all shot great but new toys caught my eyes and they got traded away (stupid me).
 
I really like my Ruger M77 Mk II and Hawkeye rifles.


01 30-06.jpg

Ruger M77 Mk II .30-06 Sprg

02 338WM.jpg

Ruger M77 Mk II .338 Win Mag

04 280Rem.jpg

Ruger M77 Mk II .280 Remington

05 35Whelen.jpg

Ruger M77 Hawkeye .35 Whelen

Bob F. :)
 
Mine is an RSM in .375. It badly needed replacing the trigger with a Timney and after that I like it very much. It shoots well and the recoil is milder than my light deer rifles.
A long time buddy has two tang safety rifles. One is in .338 that shoots great. The other is in 7/08 that couldn’t keep on a pie plate at 100 yards. Ruger bought barrels from a variety of suppliers so it was hit or miss. The 7/08 was rebarreled to 7WSM and restocked in carbon fiber. It shots great and is his favorite rifle.
 
I like the tang safety MK77s. I've had three and currently still have one. The two on the left shot great with no issues whatsoever one is a 257 Roberts AI and the other is a 300 win mag. The third is a 22-244 improved, which is the one I still have, took quite a bit of load development for it to shoot how I like, but that is to be expected on wildcat cartridges especially being someone else's custom gun that I got online with no information. Once I got a load worked out that it likes it shoots great too. It's a bicentennial model on the right in the picture.
1000117137.png
 
I had two different RSMs in 416 Rigby and an Express 338 Win Mag. Those are gone and the only 77 I own is a ,223 odd one with blued metal in the paddle stock.
Generally, I don’t like Rugers all that much.
I think the actions look like they were taken off the line with a few machining operations left.
I wonder if any custom smith has built on one and smoothed some of the edges and corners. You don’t see many customs built on Rugers though.
 
Rem280 said:
I owned a Ruger in 257 Roberts with a Tang Safety. Disliked it, too temperamental. Reluctantly bought a Ruger Hawkeye in 375 Ruger and love it. Now a fan boy, own one in 35 Whelen. Plan to buy more.
Click to expand...
@Rem280
Now all you need is an 8# jug of CFE 223 and you can load that Whelen up and leave the 375 at home unless going after DG.
Did I mention you can use that powder in the 375 as well, but why waste it when you have a beautiful Whelen.
Bob
 
My attention is usually captured by old Mausers and combo rifle/shotguns, however I stumbled upon a Ruger M77, 200th Year, in .458 Win.
It's in almost prefect, as unfired condition....
The bore however seems a bit"dark". Perhaps that's why the price is lower than I would have thought.
Any thoughts?
 
My dad's deer rifle. He bought in late 70's. A mk2 I believe in rsi.
Non-tang safety.

It's a lovely carbine in 30-06 with a 18.5" barrel!!! It's "illuminating" in the failing light with all that powder making a fireball out the front.

Trigger is abominable but to install an aftermarket requires grinding out the wood of the stock. Se la vie.

Used in my early Texas years for trash buck meat hunts and pig extermination outings.

I had a modern Hawkeye Magnum in 300 wm. It shot well but I wasn't a fan of the cast bolt and receiver.

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