rburg, solid advice. This was the 8th type of ammo I tried through it today and happened to give me the best groups. Others ranged from 2" to over 4" at 100.

quote:

Originally posted by Killer Instincts:
Holy crap! This thing shoots 1" groups at 100 yards with Federal bulk pack 36 gr HP ammo
Others ranged from 2" to over 4" at 100

It's interesting that your rifle shoots so well with ammo that is generally considered to exhibit pretty crappy accuracy. Especially since the other types of ammo do show poor accuracy of 2-4". FWIW, what were the other types of ammo?

My gut says you won the chamber-size lottery for your ammo with this rifle. I suspect this means your chamber is cut fairly long, which likely means most match-type ammo may not shoot very accurately.

I agree, that stuff generally groups very poorly. I'm particularly thrilled that it shoots well in this rifle because it's pretty inexpensive and performs well on small game.

Other ammo:

SK "Magazine" match - 40 gr waxed solid (2")
Federal auto match - 40 gr solid (4")
CCI Match - 40 gr solid (4")
Federal Game Shok - 40 gr plated solid (1.5")
Federal Game Shok - 38 gr plated hp (3")

A few others I can't remember off the top of my head.

Ruger 77/22 All Weather model. Made in .22LR and .22 Magnum.

A local gun shop, defunct about 3 years ago; had a synthic stainless 77/22 that I really liked. I'd bought a couple other guns there over 20 years and tried to buy that Ruger several times over about 5 years, but they would never budge on the price ... sometimes thats how they were.

I had pointed out the machining marks in the metal and maybe I offended them or maybe it was worth it, they were asking $799 and including the day their last day of business they wouldn't take even $50 off.

kimberkid, not terribly surprising they went out of business if that's how they operated! Can't blame you for trying.

Timney and Volquartsen both offer a replacement sear as a lower cost option as compared to an entire fire control replacement.

You got a NICE rifle!

cee-Kamp, thanks! It was way too pretty to pass up. I ordered a full drop-in Rifle Basix trigger for it, which should be here in three weeks or so... backordered in silver, naturally. It had good reviews and cost me about $80 all told. Further reports to follow...

I had a 77/357 briefly... track down a Volquartsen sear. About $60 if you can find one. Made a huge difference.

Also look into the bolt head shims.

Bolt head shims purchased for the shocking total of $10 shipped. Thank you for mentioning that, it was on the list of necessary upgrades. I'm curious to see how and if tightening that fit helps my group sizes with various ammo. Mine is particularly sloppy.

I'll try the Rifle Basix trigger by itself first, and probably buy the VQ sear after I decided it's not good enough. I do obsess a bit over triggers, although I shoot just fine with a crappy one.

Come spring in the high country, the ground squirrel and prairie dog populations around my dad's ranch are going to be hurting.

Update: I received and installed my shims yesterday, as well as installing an old Leupold Mk4 4.5-14x40 LR/T in a set of new, lapped Ruger Medium 30mm rings. Still waiting on the trigger.

Bolt shims and improved optic really helped with grouping. The group shown below was the best one during a (very) quick garage session today. 5 rounds of Federal Champion 36 grain HP bulk pack stuff at 50 yards.

quote:

Originally posted by ArtieS:
Oh, try to get them to come down a bit, but get it. The 77/22 assuming it's actually chambered in .22 LR and not .22 Hornet is a fabulous rifle.

They are really holding their value. The last one I saw at the Orlando gun show was a regular stainless with walnut stock and the guy wanted $850.

I have one in 22 hornet, it's a great little rifle. It's not a target rifle, but with good ammo it will shoot very well. A great rifle for around camp and is pretty good for shots under 200 yards. Did you have a bad experience with a 77 in .22 Hornet?

quote:

Originally posted by Killer Instincts:
...in a set of new, lapped Ruger Medium 30mm rings

Modern rings from quality companies should not be lapped. Lapping only serves to deteriorate the ring's precision sizing and its surface coating. Lapping rings is a practice should have died a couple decades ago.

quote:

Originally posted by fritz:

quote:

Originally posted by Killer Instincts:
...in a set of new, lapped Ruger Medium 30mm rings

Modern rings from quality companies should not be lapped. Lapping only serves to deteriorate the ring's precision sizing and its surface coating. Lapping rings is a practice should have died a couple decades ago.

Interesting, I’ve not heard that before. FWIW I would not describe Ruger’s cast rings as “precision sized” nor well finished... or finished at all. This is actually the first set of rings I’ve ever felt the need to lap.

I almost bought Leupold rings for that reason but they weren’t available in the right finish yeah, I know.

I assumed that Ruger's rings were of high quality and came with a finish. But I've never seen them up close, so I guess that was a bad assumption.

But yeah, good rings should not be lapped. Leupold rings fall into this category.

I'm not certain about their blued rings, but these are definitely just cast stainless. Options are pretty limited in rings for a stainless 77/22.

I have been following this thread, but I am missing the photos KI posts. All I get on my computer or iPhone is a grayed-out “do not enter” traffic sign-type of symbol. I tried “copy image” and “copy image location” without success. Any ideas or tips?

Sigfreund, mot sure how to help you there. I’ll mess with my settings on Google photos, let’s see if that helps.

FWIW, I see the same thing that sigfreund does. I suspect it MAY be because my employer's network has something running on it that blocks some photo sites. It does something similar (only without the "traffic sign") for every one of Sigmonkey's posted images; when I'm at home I see them fine. I need to check the ones in this thread at home tonight.

Mine is just my home computer. I may try a laptop and see if the photos appear there.