Ruger M77 Barrels

[snake guy]

So I was at a local gun store today looking at the Ruger 77/17 HMR and I mentioned to the dealer that the accuracy on my 77/22 was less then great. He then told me a story about how Ruger used to get their barrels from an outside supplier, then switched to making their own barrels (and not great ones, either), but after Bill Ruger died they now get them from an outside supplier (Wilson again). He claimed these are much better then the home-made barrels, so I could expect a new 77/17 to be more accurate then just a few years ago.

Any truth to this? I've searched here and on a couple of other forums, but have seen little about this.

[Cement Man]

My Ruger 77's (centerfire and a 77/22) and my Ruger #1's are new enough that they didn't have any of the original outsourced barrels, and were purchased long before Bill Ruger passed away, so I am sure that they are Ruger-made barrels.  Mine are all superbly accurate.  The better I shoot, and the better ammunition I feed them, the better the results are.  I have a few friends that are varmint hunters and target shooters par excellence and they get phenomenal results out of their Rugers.  I bought the 77's because I liked all facets of the design and construction and just wanted (very good) hunting rifle accuracy in the 1.5MOA range.  My expectations have been pleasantly exceeded, and I intend to explore just how good my rifles will shoot, after I retire and have more time for the range.  My varmint and target shooting friends have consistently gotten astoundingly good results (to me, anyway - often significantly under .5 MOA) with Rugers of the same vintage, so I can't quite accept what your gun dealer is saying.
BTW snake guy, welcome to GBO!

[Jerry Lester]

My Ruger 77's (centerfire and a 77/22) and my Ruger #1's are new enough that they didn't have any of the original outsourced barrels, and were purchased long before Bill Ruger passed away, so I am sure that they are Ruger-made barrels.  Mine are all superbly accurate.  The better I shoot, and the better ammunition I feed them, the better the results are.  I have a few friends that are varmint hunters and target shooters par excellence and they get phenomenal results out of their Rugers.  I bought the 77's because I liked all facets of the design and construction and just wanted (very good) hunting rifle accuracy in the 1.5MOA range.  My expectations have been pleasantly exceeded, and I intend to explore just how good my rifles will shoot, after I retire and have more time for the range.  My varmint and target shooting friends have consistently gotten astoundingly good results (to me, anyway - often significantly under .5 MOA) with Rugers of the same vintage, so I can't quite accept what your gun dealer is saying.
BTW snake guy, welcome to GBO!

Same thing here. The hammer forged Ruger barrels are very high quality.

[Ahab]

Yah, i question your dealers info too. My recent acquisition easily groups under MOA and the barrel bore seems to be really smooth and easy to clean.

[safetysheriff]

So I was at a local gun store today looking at the Ruger 77/17 HMR and I mentioned to the dealer that the accuracy on my 77/22 was less then great. He then told me a story about how Ruger used to get their barrels from an outside supplier, then switched to making their own barrels (and not great ones, either), but after Bill Ruger died they now get them from an outside supplier (Wilson again). He claimed these are much better then the home-made barrels, so I could expect a new 77/17 to be more accurate then just a few years ago.

Any truth to this? I've searched here and on a couple of other forums, but have seen little about this.

he just wants to make money off you by selling you a new rifle.   

clean that 77/22 very well and try a different brand of ammo' or try reloading your ammo with different components.......including a change of primers.    .22 Hornets can be made significantly more accurate, in some cases, by changing the strength of the primer!   some have actually found the best accuracy using a pistol primer, such as a CCI-500.   not surprisingly, mild primers often make for the best accuracy in a lot of cartridges.     

it is also said that the 40 to 45 gr' bullets work the best in a 'Hornet'.   it just doesn't provide the velocity to handle heavier bullets in the 'modern' .22 Hornet  rifled with the .224" diameter.

take care,

ss'

[snake guy]

he just wants to make money off you by selling you a new rifle.   

 

My first reaction when the dealer told me this story is that this was simply a way of getting me to buy a Ruger instead of a cheaper alternative (CZ) that might be more accurate. However, a couple of things support at least part of the story. First, I have seen at least a couple of references to the initial switch away from outsourced barrels to in-house ones. For example, Shooting Times in 1999 referenced this switch as part of their story on Ruger. Second, you can easily see two strong-willed business types having a falling out and Ruger deciding to go in-house.

What really interests me is the story about Ruger switching back to outsourced barrels. My dealer claimed this was a smart business move made by the new controllers of Ruger, which is a publically-traded company. I am sure we all know how popular outsourcing is in today's business world, so that would be logical.

By the way, I love Ruger firearms and have no less than five right now. I only wonder if the possible move to outsourced barrels might solve the high level of variation among individual rifles that many refer to. In any case, I think my next rifle is a 77/17 HMR-I only have to wait two more weeks for this dealer's "Ruger Days" to get a better price.

And Cement Man, thanks for the welcome to the forums. I've learned a lot here already!

[safetysheriff]

i do believe, because of the many sources including Ruger's own catalog, that they stopped dealing with an outside source and started rifling their own barrels.    however, i don't believe they bought a hammer-forging machine or two(very expensive!) and then gave up on it/them.   i believe they learned to hammer-forge barrels that are more accurate now than what they'd gotten in the past.   

i expect Ruger will continue to produce great value for the price we pay.   it's in their best interest.

take care,

ss'   

[Lone Star]

I expect Ruger to eventually stop producing firearms.  They are no longer a pure  'firearms company' anyway - it has been years  since their investment casting business first exceeded their firearms division in sales.   Eventually their lawyers will decide that it isn't worth the trouble and continued liability to make guns, especially if the current trend of electing Democrats to Congress continues.


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[snake guy]

I expect Ruger to eventually stop producing firearms.  They are no longer a pure  'firearms company' anyway - it has been years  since their investment casting business first exceeded their firearms division in sales.   Eventually their lawyers will decide that it isn't worth the trouble and continued liability to make guns, especially if the current trend of electing Democrats to Congress continues.


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Actually, 80% of Ruger's income comes from firearms and they just sold off 1/2 of their investment casting business (this based on a stock broker published analysis and Ruger's 2006 financial statement). Whether they survive who can tell, but it looks like they are betting the farm on gun sales.