Ruger 77/357

[johnwayne]

I saw two nifty Ruger 77/357 rifles yesterday, one was stainless steel in a plastic stock and the other blued in a walnut stock. They felt quite handy. They do not have a great reputation for accuracy. Can they be accurized sufficiently?  They seem like prime candidates for firelapping.

Which would hold the most promise for accuracy, the SS/plastic stocked one or the Blued/walnut one?
How much accuracy can be expected?

Thanks

[Goatwhiskers]

Well, I'm talking off the top of my head as I haven't cast eyeballs on the 77/357.  The 77/22 variety has a two piece bolt that swivels in the middle.  If yours is built the same, shim the bolt till it closes snugly, but not real tight, against the case head.  This gives you in essence zero excess headspace and works wonders with the accuracy.  Should have said the shim goes in the joint of the bolt body, requires disassembly but not hard.  Think I made the last one from pop can.  GW

[Veral]

  I would personally choose the blued one with wood stock, primarily because Ruger stainless is tough to lap, blue steel is easy and fast  Once lapped they should be very accurate, and print my 180 gr FN into well under 2 inches at 100 yards.  Possibly as small as a half inch, but I'm not qualified to say what the accuracy potential actually is as I've never worked with one of these.  I have heard that the magazine doesn't tolerate ammo that is a bit long, so be sure or request a few sample bullets which you can load into dummy rounds to check for feeding.  I can then put a crimp groove in the exact location required..
  If those guns are anything like all other Ruger bold guns, with a lapped barrel I firmly believe it would shoot into a half inch at 100 yards, with velocities around 1800 fps.

[TommyD]

Hi Veral,

I have the stainless vesion of the 77/357. I think I need to lap the barrel. It will shoot 1 inch groups with jacketed bullets a 50 yards, but not as well with cast bullets.

I bought your lap kit a few years ago for my 45's and I have plenty of compound left. But I seem to have misplaced the instructions. Is there a place on your web site from which I can download another copy?

You wrote that the Ruger stainless is tough to lap. Any special techniques needed, or just a lot more rounds fired?

Tom

[Veral]

  Those nifty little rifles sorta make me drool a bit!

  The lever guns are capable of a half inch at 100 yards when using my 180 gr FN, gas checked, at speeds from 1000 fps up to 1800 fps, and my wife and I have both killed deer and elk with it.

  The Ruger magazine limits OAL more than the lever guns, so velocity will be somewhat lower at the top end, but I believe accuracy would be superior to  any lever gun if you lapped it.  I would jump on the blued one, because they lap easily.  Ruger stainless is tough to lap, otherwise it would be great.

  All the rifles I'm aware of for magnum revolver cartridges have a huge funnel for a throat, so don't expect much from light bullets.  Long  and strong bearing is mandatory to make them shoot accurately.  Be sure to contact me if ordering a mold for one of them, so we can work out the proper crimp to nose length to cycle through the magazine.

[SHOOTALL]

I have the 77-44 so FWIW. The gun is very picky about bullet selection. As example Remington factory 240 gr JSP are quite accurate but the gun will not feed them PERIOD. Hornady JHP reloads feed great but are not quite as accurate. Mine is the SS / plastic stock. It was what I could find. I do agree many Rugers in Blue shoot better , at least my experience.
 I sight in at 75 yards because most shots on deer will be 50 or less here a long shot will be 100 yards. At 75 yards the Remington bullet will group all 5 into a nice hole maybe an inch in dia. The Hornady bullet maybe an inch and a half not all holes touching. This is fine with me as I don't expect a gun like this to be a tack driver at 100 yards. It is a handy gun with quite a bit of knock down power for deer in close places. For me it is a replacement for a shotgun with buckshot , less weight to carry on long walks to the stand.

[Veral]

I believe you'd find a cast bullet of LBT design would out shoot the jacketed fodder, and especially if the barrel were lapped, if necessary.    For the 44 I would reccomend a 289 gr LFN bullet, and fat enough to fill the chamber to within .002.   If the chamber is very much oversize, and it probably is, your short jacketed bullets will tip before they get to the rifling, and nothing will straighten out a bullet once it tips in the throat.  It goes through wobbling..
 
  As for feeding problems.   I would try seating deeper till I got good feeding, and a crimp isn't needed. in a bolt gun.   Best to order a sample bullet from me if you want to get a mold though, as you can try it for feeding then send a dummy round so I can set the crimp groove exactly right for the rifle, and sometimes put in two crimps if the customer wants to use the bullets in a wheel gun too.