Ruger M77/44 Review

[softpoint]

I bought a new one about 8 months ago. I've tried quite a few loads in mine. Shoots about an even one inch at 50 yards with 17 grains of 2400 and the 280 Ranch dog boolit, and also does it with the 300 grain Nosler hp. with a max charge of 296. Some of the lighter slugs didn't do as well in mine. I had to free float the barrel as it was touching the synthetic stock on one side .

[dbldblu]

You guys using the heavier boolits are on the right track. I have an early 77/44 and the chamber is sloppy and it will only shoot well with 300 grain; have not tried heavier. If you do a chamber cast you may be surprised at what you find.

[altheating]

Now I want one in 357 mag!

[rollmyown]

Any clue as to how well the mihec 432640 solid will shoot in one?

What diameter mould will work best (it's available as a .432 and a .434)?

Can't slug it because it hasn't been bought yet.

[Alan in GA]

Would like to 'refresh' this conversation on the stubby little Ruger 77/44: I've acquired a 'second year' blue/walnut with blued bolt....only thing that looks stainless is the trigger. Shot it with only a 4X fixed Leupold but got 5 shot groups @ 100 yards of about 3"...probably about what my visibility was capable with using the 4x scope.
I'll put a 2.5-8X Leupold on for the next range session.

Now I've got a bit of an itch: rebarreling to either 44 mag with a QUALITY barrel and probably heavy contour [might not have open sights but prefer scopes for everything anyway], AND,,,if I could find a take off 77/357 barrel I would build a .357 Bain & Davis. I've read of at least ONE conversion and he said his feeds fine with the necked down case.
I have a Contender carbine with an MGM barrel in .357 Maximum, and it shoots VERY well. However.....the thrill is gone, and I like to tinker. I can do more with a bolt rifle and threaded barrels with my lathe, and well, there is just the itch. I know the .357 B&D won't do anything the 357 Max will, and less expensively, but the itch is not getting scratched : )

I WOULD like to know what this otherwise NEAT LITTLE RIFLE could do with a HIGH QUALITY aftermarket barrel....say a Pac Nor maybe [in .44 magnum].
Anyone done it? I wished I had grabbed a pawn shop blue/walnut 77/44 a couple years ago. $325 on the sticker and it had rust inside the muzzle for a couple inches---PERFECT CANDIDATE for this project and I didn't grab it : (

Ok, who's done 'anything' with this rifle???

[Artful]

I have not myself - I have a friend who has had one rebarreled with a fast twist barrel and Integrally suppressed by Doug Melton at SRT - http://www.srtarms.com/7744.htm .
It's a fun gun to take out and shoot - here's a you tube of some else's integrally suppressed 44


Dave's biggest complaint with his was the magazine - 1) limited length of cartridges 2) only factory mags - no higher capacity available.

[W.R.Buchanan]

OK Art, that was cool. The suppressed version sounds like someone spitting out sunflower seeds. Bet it hurts more.

I have been looking at one of these guns for some time. They have three things that I really like about them. They are in .44 mag which is one of my favorites, and they are nice and compact and won't rust.

I could see myself shooting Short Range Silhouette with one easily.

I think a small red dot sight on one would be the hot tip for close range shooting of pigs and deer. I also think one would be more effective on just about anything than a .44 revolver. And since .44 revolvers have killed everything on earth, well you get the idea.

This gun would end up being my Jeep gun fo sho.

I have a Marlin 1894 CB Rifle in .44 however the 1:38 twist barrel limits the accuracy to bullets in the under 280 gr range, and you have to drive them hard to get any accuracy at all. The .431 groove dia. doesn't help. With boolits in the 250-260 range it is in it's sweet spot.

These little bolt guns have 1:20 twist barrels at .430 and as long as you don't go over the OAL that the mags will swallow, they will shoot 300 gr boolits with acceptable accuracy. A 300 gr boolit at 1500-1600 fps is into .45-70 territory. I am also sure it would let you know you pulled the trigger, but if you needed to use such a load to pop something that bites I doubt you would notice.

Brian Pearce did and article in Rifle Magazine a few months back on both the .44 and .357 versions of this gun. His conclusions were very positive. It is the epitome of the truck gun.

I am a big fan of Ruger Firearms and what I really like is they are all guns you wouldn't be afraid to take out and use. My Scout Rifle has been one of the best, if not the best firearm purchase I have ever made.

One of these 77/44's with a green laminate stock would sell me in about one second! I might just call and see if someone like Lipsey's isn't having them made right now.

Randy

[GaryN]

Wow Art, Cool video. I would love one of those with a suppressor. The best thing is you can shoot and not worry about disturbing anyone.

[Ramjet-SS]

Use H110 or WW296 the accuracy will improve as will the velocity.

[Dthunter]

I sold mine after trying every combo you can imagine!
The rifle fed flawlessly! But it would ONLY shoot 210 grain bullets and "lighter" into 3" at 100 yards. Not acceptable accuracy at all!
240 grain and up usually grouped into 4"+. Ugly!

If this rifle gad shot inside 2" at 100 with any bullet weight of 240+, I would have kept it.
It was very dissappointing!

I like EVERY aspect of the rifle "except" its accuracy performance.

Just to make it clear, I shoot many different rifles at MOA or better out to 1000 yards + in good conditions. So its not my ability thats the issue.

Damn! I wish it had shot better!

[Dthunter]

Oops! Double post! Sorry!

[Artful]

Did you try and diagnose why it didn't group well except with 210 grain bullets?

[Dthunter]

Artful:

The rifle would group well with 180,200XTP, 210 gr winchester bullets only.

Chances are, that If a range of lighter bullets shoot and stabilise well, but heavier ones dont, the twist rate "could" be an issue. But unlikely.
The barrel crown was very clean and square.

I glass bedded the rifle as well. The bore looked prestine with a bore scope. The throat was a little long for my tastes, but fuctional.

They sure are nice looking little carbines!

If I could guarantee that another one of these rifle would shoot the 240-300 grain bullets inside 2" at 100 consistantly, I would buy another. But I seriously doubt it.

Maybe I should have rebarreled it with a heavier 16" match barrel. HMMMMMM!

[W.R.Buchanan]

I seriously doubt you are going to get virtually any .44 to shoot inside 2" at 100 yards consistently with a variety of ammo. If you do it will be because of a carefully worked up load that just "works" in that gun. IE: perfect boolit/charge combo. Not likely there will be several perfect combos.

These guns have 1;20" twist barrels and should nicely stabilize boolits up to 300 gr just fine. However the boolits themselves will probably be the problem with the groups, not the gun. So many variables that come into play with Cast Boolits (that's why we play with them).

I would think that Lyman 429244 with a Gas check should work well as long as you can get it in the magazine. The Lyman 429640? Rnfp mould would probably work well. I don't see any PB boolit delivering any kind of accuracy above about 1400fps, and the whole point of a rifle is to get up into the 1600-1800 fps range so you can do some real damage. You might sacrifice some accuracy at those speeds, but accuracy is a relative thing, and as long as it is adequate for the intended purpose, why sweat it?

I would be very happy with a 4" group at 100 yds from a gun like that. You figure the gun is a 150 yd gun at best so that would be more than adequate. I doubt many could hold iron sights any closer than that consistently any way.

Considering that I am lucky to get 3" at 50 yds out of my Marlin 1894CB I think 4" at 100 would be doing pretty good for a .44. Especially when you consider what the gun would be used for. IE: Hunting at ranges less than 100yards or shooting Close Range Silhouettes.

I know many will take exception to my assertions in this thread and I'm sure others have gotten exemplary accuracy from other .44's but I personally don't see the point in a .44 caliber tack driver. It is a 100 yard hole punch! And in that context it is pretty efficient.

I know Brian Pearce got sub 1" groups at 75 yds from the one they tested, however they shoot hundreds of rounds daily and also load hundreds of rounds daily so they are a little better than most of us who only get to shoot on the weekends. They also shot many different loads and boolits in the gun, so maybe they just found the right combo.

Not trying to be an ***** here, but I bet the gun could shoot better than most of us could shoot it.

Just sayin',,, something to consider.

Randy

[Artful]

Well, I know I've seen a lot of T/C Contenders shooting 44mag in groups the size of a turkey head at 150 yards with repeatability - I don't see why you couldn't get a bolt gun to do as good - but I also know that each gun will like somethings better than others - so if you want it to shoot heavies you will have to make sure all components of the rifle are geared that way.

[Alan in GA]

Guys I love Ruger bolt actions, specifically the 77 Mark II and probably the 77 Hawkeye as I have only owned and own 77Rs and 77 Mark IIs. I don't care for the older push feed [only] 77R models very much but I sure am not going to toss the two 77R rifles in .250 Savage out of the safe! If another 77R in .358 Win popped up somewhere at a 'regular price' I think I could handle buying it, too.
The two 77Rs were purchased for my sons.
My main Ruger is a 77 Mark II that I rebarrelled to .250 Savage Ackley Improved using a Shilen chrome moly blank. Now IT IS ACCURATE! I have owned a dozen or more Ruger 77R, 77UL, and 77 Mark II's in various calibers. Only one was a 'half inch' gun in factory form and that was a mid 1970's [about 1977] 77R in .270 Winchester. All the others gave an occasional 3/4" group at 100 yards but I sure couldn't muster up many groups at or under an inch. Even at THAT, I LIKE the rugged action and will put up with the so so accuracy for hunting, knowing a really NICE Ruger 77 is often going to need a 'real barrel' in place of the factory barrel. The Shilen barreled .250 SAI prints groups as small as I can occasionally hold, 3/8" @ 100 yards! THAT proved to me the factory Ruger barrels are what keep the guns from being capable of really bragging size mini groups. Now, I know some of the recent hammer forged barrels Ruger is making will print itty bitty groups but it's rare, and at that I don't expect it.
I had a 77/22 Hornet that wanted to shoot but after shooting a CZ 527 in 22 Hornet I sold the Ruger 77/22. Mine was a blued/walnut, and a good friend's 77/22 Hornet was a laminated stock stainless 'varmint' version. HIS shot much better than mine so I guess it's a toss up.
All this to say I REALLY WISH I had purchased the $325 'rusted end of bore' 77/44 I found a couple years ago at a friend's pawn shop. THAT would have been the gun to REBARREL! I like the iron sights on my newish 77/44 but though about a new barrel with an almost varmint taper and not messing with trying to properly fit a set of open sights.
Like the above poster mentioned, Contenders in 44 Rem Mag seem to be able to put those fat bullet holes very close together if not in the same ragged hole.
OH, and then there was the Remington 788 in 44 Rem Mag that a shooter next to me at a club gun range had...THAT rifle made small groups of the kind the Ruger has trouble making!
So yeah, find a low priced 77/44 and put a REAL barrel on it and lets' see what IT can DO!

[W.R.Buchanan]

OK here's some info that might be useful to those of you that have a 77/44 or 77/357 that doesn't perform like you had hoped.

While taking my morning constitutional today I found the magazine with the article by Brian Pearce on these guns.

He stated that initially the gun was shooting 3-6" at 75yds with factory loads. They went thru an extensive bore break process which consisted of using Montana X Bore Conditioner and firing the gun cleaning the bore, and repeating the process 10 times, then 3 shot strings with the same procedure, for some 2 1/2 hours. The results improved dramatically

This gun had NEGC Peep sight installed, so 75 yds. was the standard range used.

After doing this the first group (240gr Hornaday XTP's ,21.0 gr of Accurate#9 CCI300 primer) yielded a 4 shot group under 1" at 75 yds.

He also stated that this problem with loose groups is not isolated citing a local gunsmith that had one that shot 8" groups at 75 yds! He lapped the barrel and the rifle settled in Sub MOA.

Other groups mentioned were the same Hornaday bullet with 24.5 gr of H110 with CCI 350 primers for 1800 fps and a 4 shot group with 3 touching and one flyer for .90" total. Similar performance from Nosler bullets, and a real **** kicker, 300gr Cast Performance boolit at 1600 fps with 21.0 gr of H110. The last was a 240 RNFP boolit over 5.5 gr of Titegroup for 1015 fps for a subsonic plinking load.

The one thing that turned these guns around was the barrel break in, and as I said Brian and his sons fired literally hundreds of rounds thru the 77/44 and 77357 to gather data for this article.

It should also be noted that these guys shoot lots of guns almost daily gathering data for articles, and probably can hold a lot better than most, if not all of us here can. This would account for sub MOA groups with Iron sights which they shoot nearly as well as scoped guns.

Constant practice trumps good intentions everytime.

I am seeing considerable improvements in my own shooting from just shooting my Air Gun nightly at Silhouette paper targets at 10 yds with iron sights. My target last night was 4/10 at 10 yds with peep sites,,, the chicken target is roughly 1/2" in size and I can barely see it. A week ago I was lucky to hit one out of 40!

At any rate if anyone is actually interested in reading the whole article it is in the July 2012 Issue of Rifle Magazine.

It made the point clearly that with a little work these guns can be made to shoot very well indeed, completely blowing my earlier assertions that you shouldn't expect tack driver accuracy from a .44 cal. carbine.

I stand corrected.

Randy

[rollmyown]

Am I safe with a .432 mould, or do I need a .434? What diameter do these rifles run at?

[ballistim]

I'd recommend slugging your barrel, that model has had a variation of bore size, mine was fine with a .432 mold & then sized to .431.

[rollmyown]

I don't have the rifle yet.