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