New Ruger 77/357

[Wolfgang]

Just picked up a Ruger 77/357 yesterday. My friend who owns a gun shop ordered it on Monday. Pricey little cuss even at cost plus shipping and of course Uncle Sam's as well as the state of Ohio's cut. No time to monkey with it until a few hours ago.

Here are my thoughts on the little rifle, although I am a blued steel and wood sort of person the gun doesn't look too bad for plastic and stainless steel. The fit and finish seem to be fairly good for what it is and I love how compact it is. The sights seem OK but would better utilized by eyes younger than mine. I will be mounting a 2x7 power Mueller on it so it really isn't an issue. Might try one of the New England Custom Guns peep sights on it later. Seems that type of sight would be in keeping with the compact nature of the rifle.

Not to pleased with how gritty and stiff everything feels on it right now but after I get a chance to tear it down and clean/lube it I am sure it will smooth up some. Tried feeding some rounds I have on hand through the action and again I am not impressed. The semi wadcutters will feed but the noses get dinged up pretty good. I tried to cycle some 158gr. soft points through it and they just hung up and wouldn't feed into the chamber out of the magazine. XTP's and Hydra Shok's slide through like butter. That's fine except I want to use cast bullet's for the vast majority of my shooting. I think some time spent polishing the feed ramp of the magazine and rifle will help. Seemed to feed any .38 special load I had on hand but I have to guess wad cutters would be a no go.

All in all I am looking forward to getting it out to see how it shoots and if Ohio ends up allowing pistol caliber rifles for deer hunting this little rifle might be just the ticket. Any thoughts on load recommendations are welcome. May need to look for a heavy bullet mold for it.

Wolfgang

[Themoose]

Wolfgang,

Congrats on the new rifle.. I bought 2 77's in 44 magnum for hunting in Indiana... Always loaned one of them to the guy I hunt on and last year he offered to buy it and now I have one...I like the 44's but had a few problems with the first finding the right bullet to feed... I made a mistake and ordered a custom mold for a heavier bullet and the mold was perfect and it was accurate as all get out.... but I forgot the limiting factor on the rifle was the length of the round in the magazine... not just off the rifling... I had the crimp groove out too far and had to find the right OAL to feed properly... just got a new mold with the correct placement of the crimp groove... just have to try it out... I did not like the triggers on the Rugers... replaced one with a Rifle Basix trigger and great improvement.. on the other I put in a shim kit(can't remember the name) and it worked great... got triggers down to around 2 to 2 1/2# each. I plan on using my 44 in Washington County if the Ohio proposal goes down... by the way... I had the Mueller 2X7 Multi on the 44 before putting it on a crossbow.. think they are awesome scopes for the money.

I'm sure you will have a good whitetail rig and a fun gun to shoot that is a joy to pack around instead of a slug gun.

TheMoose

[altheating]

I have been shooting the 77/357 as well as the 77/44 for two years now. Two of my favorite guns to shoot! Neither have ever seen a jacketed bullet. In the 357 I use the NOE 360-180 boolit,10B101 powder and wolf primers. Can't get any cheaper shooting than that! That action with get smooth after a few hundred rounds. You will like it a lot the more you shoot it. Feed the wad cutters one at a time.

[Wolfgang]

Moose, I am hoping that the proposal for using a rifle in Ohio passes. I would like to use the carbine but more than that I have a 9 year old that I think the gun would be perfect for. No weight to lug around and no substantial recoil to deal with.

Unfortunately today I have our latest winter storm to deal with. Not as much snow as they were calling for but the cold moved back in with a vengeance. I have become a sissy and I don't like dealing with the cold anymore. Ten years ago I would have been out shooting it in a blizzard!

Altheating, happy to hear that your rifle has been a winner. I was thinking about getting a 358429 mold and trying some of Elmer's heavy SWC's.

[Love Life]

The 358429 may leave you disappointed. IME the gun much prefers RNFP and WFN bullet designs. 5.5 gr unique under the Lee 358-125-RF in 38 special cases was quite accurate and very easy to shoot.

[altheating]

I think I would see if you could get some of those heavy's to try before you buy the mold. I tried several boolits prior to Screwbolts fixing me up with some of the 360-180's. The 360-180's is what shots best in my 77/357 at about 1550 fps. Let us know what it likes to be fed.

[altheating]

Lovelife, you bought a 77/357 last year, right?

[wallenba]

Don't mean to rain on your parade, but I have one of those. Same issues with the semi-wadcutters and feeding. the big issue with me, is, after firing, a little bulge down by the case web that won't iron out after sizing. A full length sizer does not reach it. Seems as the feed ramp cuts up into that area allowing the brass to bulge. Reducing the load helps. Factory loads are the worst in mine. I tried removing the decapper/expander from a Lee FL, lubing the case, and pushing it all the way in the die with a metal disk on top of the shellholder. That worked. I could then tap it out with a short section of 1/4" oak dowel. It works, but is time consuming, and there is also the possibility of thinning brass down there.

[Wolfgang]

I will try out a few different styles before I get a mold. I do like the WFN design but I have not ever shot any. I have always gravitated toward the SWC. Need to figure out where I can get a small batch of each to try prior to committing to a mold.

[Wolfgang]

Wallenba, I hope that is not an issue I have to contend with. I can live with having to use bullets that I are not what I imagined but I don't want to have to fool around hammering cases out of dies all the time. I have not heard of this problem before. Have you checked the cases after they are sized normally to see if they can be dropped in a case gauge? I have looked at some that appear to be bulged in the past but they still gauged correctly.

[W.R.Buchanan]

Wolfgang: Chamfer the chamber mouth about .040-.050.

This will fix alot of your feeding problems with SWC's and the like.

I want a .44 cal. Ruger 77/44. I think it would be a very good knock around gun for use in bad weather.

Randy

[DeanWinchester]

What's the maximum oal for this rifle? I have thought about this time and time again. If I could get an RCBS 35-200 or a Lyman 358315 in there, even using a 38 special case...well, that'd be a lot of fun!!

[Leadforbrains]

Congratulations on the new Carbine.
I purchased mine not to long ago and I love mine. I do find that the synthetic stock is a little flimsy, but overall I do like it a lot. It shoots cast boolits really well. Mine likes Accurate molds .36-160L. They feed well and I have not experienced any hang ups in my Ruger.

98422

[wallenba]

Have you checked the cases after they are sized normally to see if they can be dropped in a case gauge? I have looked at some that appear to be bulged in the past but they still gauged correctly.

No, have not tried in a case gage. I have loaded up dummies though, and unless they happen to line up just right, mine won't chamber (easily) in the rifle. Your results might vary, depending on brass brand and case thickness.

I have resorted to just loading for mine with my 357 pistol brass that's on it's last legs. Still get value out of the brass that way.

[Leadforbrains]

I am fortunate to have no issues with the case bulge in mine. I haven't really noticed it being a problem as of yet. I just do the regular resize and reload them as usual. No Chambering issues so far. I also use the same reloads in my S&W revolvers and they go into the cylinders just fine. I use 2400 powder. It seems to work the best in my Ruger for magnum loads and W231 for light loads in .38 special.

[Wolfgang]

Leadforbrains, I like that bullet. I will be shopping around for several different types to try. I always liked the SWC's but the flatnose is very appealing too.

Randy, I plan on doing some polishing work as soon as I am able to get some uninterrupted free time. I have quite a few SWC's that I already have cast both in 158's and 125's that I would like to try but after reading several articles and posts it seems that these guns have an affinity for the WFN style of bullet.

[Leadforbrains]

98476
Wolfgang that boolit has been very good for me. These groups were done at 50 yards. I can get an inch at 100 if I do my part.

[rockshooter]

I've had mu 77/357 for several years now and it took a while to start liking it. I replaced the trigger spring with a lighter one from my junk box and have about a 2.5# pull that is very crisp. (LoveLife- I'm using it as my main rifle at NCBS). I put a NECG receiver sight on it with a higher front sight. I replaced the magazine latch spring to get the magazine to stay in when fired. Mine really prefers RNFP bullets (NEI mold)- SWCs feed but not well. It is a little sensitive to overall length- short bullets seem to allow periodic rim lock with recoil. It took some work and patience but it is now my favorite desert-roaming rifle. It's light, balanced, cheap to shoot, powerful enough for an errant coyote, accurate enough for rabbits. Enjoy yours!