Gunsmithing ruger m-77 compact voodoo?

[marduk185]

hey yall,
sorry if is has been asked. was wondering if theres any tried and true "medecine" for the lack luster accuracy of a m-77 compact in .308 that shoots 2-2.5 moa from the pencil skinny 16" barrel. im betting its due to the diagonally set action screw and piss poor stock but wondered if anyones had any luck correcting or free floating one of these or if its one of those "is what it is" scenarios. either way its a handy usable timber rifle and im experimenting with the 125 nosler bt's for a little better speed to make sure theyre opening up nice. i realise this aint really a "serious tactical marksman" question but any suggestions are appreciated.

 

[GasLight]

Re: ruger m-77 compact voodoo?

I have heard putting upward pressure on barrel right at the foretip of the stock will help sometimes. I don't think the diagonal lug screw is a bad design, I just think gunsmiths don't like it because it is more of a pain to bed it right. I have always had good luck with my Rugers, but they definately aren't as easy to work on as a Remington.

Dave

 

[JJones75]

Re: ruger m-77 compact voodoo?

Their was an outbreak of those short little pain in the asses down here a while back (all 300WSM's) i bedded 4 of them replaced the triggers on 3 and touched up the 4th. All the guns shot very well and very consistant with the barrel free floated and the action bedded into the factroy laminated stocks.

The action is a bit of a pain to bed but they do make realy cool little guns once they get to shooting well.
With your 308 I woulden't shoot the 125's unless your having trouble with speed from a particualr barrel. Their is no reason you shoulden't be able to get 2600fps from a 155gr A-max , and those things expand VERY well , its almost all i shoot from my 15" encore anymore.

 

[mavrick10_2000]

Re: ruger m-77 compact voodoo?

That front screw is a key item. I bedded my M77MKII and had improvement but still not quite what I was looking for. After reading specs on Midway USA I found that the torque order of the screws was recommended..

Light at first:
Front
Rear
Center

Torque:
Front 90 in lbs
Rear 45 in lbs
Center 45 in lbs

Made a huge difference for me any the pencil barreld .257 Bob

 

[marduk185]

Re: ruger m-77 compact voodoo?

okay yall i did it now, pulled the booger apart last night and saw that it was riding hard on that front bit of forearm wood. so i figured shooting crappy with forearm contact maybe relieving it will help. think i got it paper width all around back to the reciever now and will try to get some rounds thru it today. figured if it makes it worse i could always go back and glass bed it. wish me luck.