If you are getting 1" groups, seems like you have a good rifle. I would guess that the new scope will cure the problem. Seems like if it was the rifle, individual shots would move rather than groups.

 

Glad to hear of your experiences with the Model 77. I've a 77 in .22 Hornet on my purchase list for when funds allow.

 

Are you getting the same 1" group all over the target ??

If the scope isn't the problem, check the action screws for proper torque then make sure the barrel isn't touching the stock.

 

I`m with Shooter45, if it prints one inch groups...but they wonder all over.
You`ve got a woody problem

 

If yours was like mine, (I have a .223 Ultralight) then your barrel channel wasn't clearing the barrel. Mine was touching the left of the barrel towards the front. I inlet the barrel channel and full length bedding job with 5 lbs up pressure. Problem solved.
I also agree with a previous post. Check your screws. My rear tang screw was loose when I bought mine. Didn't totally fix the problem but did tighten up the groups a little. Your definatly not linear stringing, you wouldn't be holding groups for s*$% it that was the case.
1 inch groups with Rugers Lawyer Trigger is pretty dang good.

 

Thanks guy and I almost feel like a rookie after being shooting for 40 years. I checked the screws and there were two of the three that were a little loose. I will see how it shoots at the next outing. The guy that had this stock made most have also has the trigger worked on because it has no travel and is crisp at about 4 pounds.

I put the pictures up so you can see why I love the stock. The scope isn't very good at all.

Ruger Model 77

 

wow that stock makes mine look like poopy, and I like (liked) mine. Thanks for ruining my day......I'm kidding. He did some fine work on it and at 400 bills you didn't go wrong.

 

Dang! That is one beautiful piece of woodwork!

If your 77 is like the others I've worked on with the light sporter or ultralight barrel profiles, it will like a little bit of up-pressure on the barrel at the end of the forearm.
Like Helix & Shooter posted, I would check the action bedding/screws first. I would also probably wind up glass-bedding the action and trying a floated barrel first. If a floating barrel didn't work, then I'd do a bit of up-pressure at the end of the forearm.
How well was the action inletted into the stock? Is the barrel free-floated or bedded? Any imperfections in the action bedding might let the action slip around enough to vary the barrel contact against the forearm from group to group.

BTW, to try out a floating barrel...
Spend a bit of time with some index card material and cut some shims to put under the action to lift it up enough to get the barrel floating, then go out a group the rifle. If groups go to pieces with a floating barrel, then I would go with up-pressure on the forearm too.

I love the old pre-MkII 77 triggers. Most of em that I've worked with have been acceptable from the factory...but with a little work they cleaned up even better. Sounds like yours is just about what I consider perfect for a hunting rifle. Clean & 4lbs.

 

Now that you have found the problem, contact Ruger and find out how many inch pounds to torque the action. Keep us posted on your progress.

 

Hey Bindernut have you ever had success free floating a pencil thin barrel like on the ultra light were the grouping got better? I went straight for the full bed on mine from recommendations from others b/c they all said the ultralight needed the support weather it be full length or fore end bedding. It works fine but now it seems that free floating might have been a good option also. I'm not questioning your recommendation to free float, I'm just wondering in your expertise if it works with thin barrels to free float them as well.

 

Hey Bindernut have you ever had success free floating a pencil thin barrel like on the ultra light were the grouping got better? I went straight for the full bed on mine from recommendations from others b/c they all said the ultralight needed the support weather it be full length or fore end bedding. It works fine but now it seems that free floating might have been a good option also. I'm not questioning your recommendation to free float, I'm just wondering in your expertise if it works with thin barrels to free float them as well.

The ultralight barrels I've worked with (Ruger 77s & Remington Sevens) have all been done with tip pressure. I did action-bed & free-float a Model Seven .223 that had a typical warped forearm pressing the barrel to one side. It was all over the place while free-floated (like 3-4" groups @ 100yds!) and it would start stringing on the 2nd group. Put a bit of tip pressure on it and it settled back down to around 1-1.5".
I haven't messed with free-floating any skinny barrels since that one.

 

What does glass bedding typically cost? I am thinking about doing it with my M77.

 

the kits run 20-25 dollars depending on brand and how much epoxy is included. Some kits do more than 1 action. If your only doing 1 then just get the brownells single action kit. Most of what you need is time and patients. If this is your first bedding job, the M77 is one of the most difficult because of the angled lug. Just take your time fill in any holes that you don't want filled with epoxy, with some clay. I would highly suggest looking for some web sites on it or a book or video before you try yourself. Bad things can happen if its done wrong such as your action become mechanically locked to the stock which will result in you having to destroy your stock to get the action out.

 

Hmmm.... Okay, what does a gunsmith usually charge? Sounds like I may want to have a professional take charge.

 

Depends on the Smith. 85-100 seems to be the norm. Some may want to pillar bed the M77 which is a different process.

 

That is not too bad. I think I have the same problem as fyimo. Rifle groups decent, but after a couple of groups when the barrel is warmed up, the groups start to wander. forearm seems to be touching the barrel at the end on the right side.

 

It seems thats a common problem. Mine did it too and a friend of mine who has the target version had to cut his back too.

 

Hmmm.... Okay, what does a gunsmith usually charge? Sounds like I may want to have a professional take charge.

Helix is pretty close with the action-bedding job price. I think a couple shops around here are charging $100-125 for an action-bed job. The price will probably go up a bit for pillar-bedding since there's an extra $15-20 worth of parts and a little more labor to install the pillars.

The 77 is a tricky one to pillar-bed though since the front action screw is angled instead of vertical. BUT...since the Ruger has a flat-bottom action like a Mauser usually a good glass-bedding job will be sufficient.

Sandman, Is your barrel a standard sporter-weight or is it a lightweight? If it's standard or heavier, you could try just free-floating the barrel to eliminate the stock touching on just one side of the forearm. Just make sure to seal up the wood with varnish/oil finish when you're done clearancing the barrel channel otherwise the wood is guaranteed to keep warping. It might continue to warp that direction anyway...it all depends on the piece of wood.
I had one 788 Remington that I had to relieve the barrel channel three times in about 5 years time and it still continued to warp. I finally inletted and glass-bedded a chunk of 1/4 steel rod into the forearm to get it to stop warping.

 

Wow, beautiful !!!! Keep us posted on how the bedding turns out and what it does afterwards at the range!

 

The Ruger site has a place to view short video on adj the stick screws. Sorry I vant be more specific as to location. I saw it yesterday.

Im having large group problems, all of a sudden

 

Sandman, Is your barrel a standard sporter-weight or is it a lightweight? If it's standard or heavier, you could try just free-floating the barrel to eliminate the stock touching on just one side of the forearm.

mine is a standard barrel sporter barrel. Are you talking about just sanding the areas that are in contact with the barrel to free float them? If so, I will give that a try. Wasn't sure that was okay to do.

 

I did that to mine and am not sure if it changed anything. I probably need to do more sanding. Most guns should be able to pass a dollar bill along the barrel with no drag.

Somewhere, Ruger site perhaps, it was noted to add a business card between the stock/barrel or two if needed. That dont sound like freefloating!!

 

First tighten all your scope screws and mounts, if it doesn't mount directly to the receiver. Next stock screws. If it doesn't group, free float it to start with. Still doestn't work, add shims for pressure on the forestock tip to get upward pressure, I only full length glass bed as a last treatment. I have only had one that a full length glass bedding with an upward barrel pressurewas needed. The wood must be fairly straight grained so you don't get a torqe when moisture or heat can change it again when you do the full length bedding.

 

mine is a standard barrel sporter barrel. Are you talking about just sanding the areas that are in contact with the barrel to free float them? If so, I will give that a try. Wasn't sure that was okay to do.

Yup, that was my suggestion. If a standard weight barrel or heavier, you can usually get better results with a full floating barrel than if it's be tip-bedded. Not always though...every barrel can respond differently to different bedding options.
Like langenc mentioned, the typical test is see if a dollar bill will pass smoothly between the barrel and stock.
If it's a lightweight barrel, they typically don't respond well to floating the barrel at all.

To start off, make sure the action bolts are torqued to factory spec and in the correct order.
1. 90in/lbs on the front screw (Always do the front screw first...especially on a Ruger with their angled front screw)
2. 50in.lbs on the rear screw
3. 50in/lbs on the middle screw
If the screws are torqued properly and the dollar bill test show that the stock is warping to one side or the other (or if the groups still drift as the barrel heats up) then I would try free floating to get an even gap all the way along the forearm. If that doesn't work, use some card stock (I use 1" wide strips of index/recipe cards) to put a bit of tip pressure on the barrel. If you have better results with the tip pressure, then you can duplicate that tip bedding area with some resin.

I did that to mine and am not sure if it changed anything. I probably need to do more sanding. Most guns should be able to pass a dollar bill along the barrel with no drag.

Somewhere, Ruger site perhaps, it was noted to add a business card between the stock/barrel or two if needed. That dont sound like freefloating!!

 

Sorry this is late. My first rifle was a Ruger M77V (heavy barrel) in .243. I had the same problem. This gun would shoot dime size groups at 100 yards. I was trying to sight the gun in, and would shoot a group, and make the adjustments. Shoot another dime size group, but it would be way off from where I had made the adjustments. I finally gave up, and went home. I cleaned the gun, tightened all of the scope mount screws, and the stock screws. Took the gun back out, and had the same results. I took the gun back to the store, and talked to the in house gunsmith. I told him what I had done. The first thing he did was loosen all of the stock screws, and then proceeded to show me how to tighten Ruger stock screws. He tightened the front and back screws finger tight, and left the middle screw loose. He then banged the butt of the gun on the floor, and then tightened the front screw, and then the back screw, and then the middle screw. He cautioned me to tighten the middle screw just tight enough so that it wouldn't fall out. He then looked at the scope, and said they had been having lots of problems with this model scope (can't remember what it was). He sold me a new Tasco World Class scope with the BDC. the next time I was at the range, the gun shot dime size groups, and making adjustments was consistant, problem fixed. I am a tinkerer, and decided to free float the barrel. The groups went to heck. I talked to the old gunsmith again, he was told the Rugers seem to like pressure on the barrel. I cut up an old credit card, and discovered that this gun liked 2 thicknesses of plastic at the front of the stock. I shot this gun for many years, and then traded it off for an M77 with the light barrel in .280 Rem. This is my wifes gun, and has the same old Tasco scope on it. This gun will clover leaf 3 shots at 100 yards. I took this gun to the range to check it before hunting season, and it was all over the place. I checked the scope mount screws, and they were tight. I went through the stock scew proceedure, and it is back to shooting clover leafs.

I have had a Ruger M77V in ".280 Rem. or 7mm Express" for 16 years. I have never fired this gun. I have had some health problems, over the last 16 years and lost interest. I got the old gun out of the safe yeasterday, and wiped it down. I need to buy a set of rings for it, and then it is off to the range.