M77 tang model 300 win mag- thoughts?

[deerandduck]

I was lucky to come across a good deal on a older (1980s) M77 tang safety, 300 win mag.  It appears to have the heavy barrel and iron sights.  Also, it has rings and a cheap scope mounted.  Its wearing a black after market syn. stock.  Stock trigger measures about 5 1/2 to 6 lbs.  Plan to reload for it, mainly for local whitetails.  (yeah, way overkill but its a new toy....)

Any thoughts on reloading starting points?  Did some research and it seems that Re22 and IMR4350 are recommendations for 180 grains.  Actual user loads would be nice to hear, as I have all the manuals and internet sites.

Also, been considering installing a Timney trigger? Has anyone done this?  Heard there may be some small stock mods dealing with the safety?

thanks,

Deerandduck

[Coyote Hunter]

Congrats on your new toy!  I scratched an itch a couple years ago and picked up a new MKII (blue/synthetic).  Great gun, but with a safe full of Rugers I expected that.

Drop me a PM with your email and I'll send you my reloading spreadsheets.  Quite a bit of info on my .300 loads.

[Siskiyou]

The Ruger M77 with the hard RED BUTT plate is not very pleasant to shot in a magnum caliber.  Hopefully yours with the after market synthetic stock is more pleasant.  I know of a least one hunter who sold his at a discount because of the painful recoil.

That aside I went hunting for a M77 in .300 Winchester because I think it is idea long-range deer and elk round.  And I like the M77 tang safety.  Admittedly I settled for a 7 Remington Magnum, but I regret not waiting for the .300 Winchester to be in stock.

My brother bought a Ruger in .300 Winchester some years back.  It was stainless steel and had that strange synthetic stock that Ruger was selling at the time.  The rifle was a little on the heavy side, but the recoil was unpleasant because the butt plate was not a true recoil pad. He went so far as to have it Mag-Na-Ported.   http://www.magnaport.com/

He has several magnum rifles so recoil is not normally an issue.  He also owns other Ruger rifles in non-magnum calibers.  Admittedly he is always buying and trading so the recoil may have not been the deciding factor.  At one time he had a .257 Weatherby and he liked it but traded it off.  The other day we were in a sporting goods store and he had the itch to buy another one.  The only one in stock had a synthetic stock.  He immediately lost interest.  Frankly I liked it, but passed.

He likes the 180 grain Nosler PT and the 4350 powders, along with WMR, and H4831.

[Rangr44]

[ been considering installing a Timney trigger]

Your Mark I should have an adjustable factory trigger - mine all do.   

[flintlock]

I bought my Ruger M-77 tang safety new in 1980...Before I took it home I had the gunsmith adjust the original trigger down to 2 1/2 pounds...

The tang safety Rugers could be adjusted pretty well, might want to try that...

[Skeezix]

I own a Ruger M-77R tang-safety .300 Win Mag I bought new in 1975.  My favorite elk and large deer load for it is 74.0 gr of IMR-4831 with a 180 gr Nosler Partition and a CCI LR Mag primer in W-W brass.  This is a MAX load and you need to work up to it. I get around 3100 fps out of this load and less than 1" groups.  I'm gonna try H-4831SC when I shoot up my present supply of the loads with IMR powder.  I used to load this with a standard partition for in the chamber and then the Protected-Point partitions in the magazine, but I found that out to 400yds, I couldn't tell the difference in the POI between the two, so I load the Protected-Pt partitions exclusively now.

If you want to tear a whitetail nearly in two, try the 165 gr Hornady SST or 165 gr Nos Ballistic Tip and 79.0 gr of RL-22.  This gives over 3300 fps in my rifle, but again, it is a MAX load.  Approach carefully!  If you shoot the deer in the shoulder, it makes a huge mess but will blow all the way through.  Punching through the ribs behind the shoulder isn't nearly so bad, and doesn't tear up too much meat.

I honestly think that the 200gr Partition pushed with 71.0gr of IMR-4831 could probably do a "Texas Heart Shot" on a bull elk, but I wouldn't try an iffy shot like that.  If I was elk hunting in grizzly country, that would be load I'd carry, if I used my .300.

Note:  You can back off of all of these loads a few grains and still exceed .30-06 velocities, but with less recoil and LOTS less muzzle blast than the max loads.  The .300 Mag Rugers with the red butt-pads really are vicious kickers. 

I've also shot some 130gr Speer Hollowpoints out of my .300 that did amazing things to groundhogs, coyotes and feral dogs.

Also, you can adjust the factory trigger to a very good pull.  It is adjustable for weight of pull, sear engagement, and overtravel.  I bought a new trigger return spring from Midway or Brownells that allows adjusting the pull weight all the way down to around a pound or so, and really like it. I keep mine set to 2 1/2 lbs.  But you can achieve the same thing with the factory spring, and if it won't go that low, you can CAREFULLY trim it to achieve the desired weight of pull.

[Swampman]

You might find a nice original stock on ebay, or another auction site.

[deerandduck]

Thanks for all the replies.
I did find a good factory stock on Ebay for about $85 shipped.  It fits good and also looks real nice now.  However, it does have that hard red pad.  Maybe have to get a slip-on pad (so ugly) or maybe find a pre-fit Pachmyer or Limbsaver.

Yet to shoot it, weathers been too hot.  I do have some handloads.  I think it was 71 to 73 grains of Re22 with a Nosler 180 accubonds.  Maybe I can get to the range in the week or so.

deerandduck

[Siskiyou]

Get a pad installed before you shoot it.  That way you will not store unpleasant memories when you go to shot it next time.

[Coyote Hunter]

I'm gonna try H-4831SC when I shoot up my present supply of the loads with IMR powder. 

I tried that with my 7mm Rem Mag and just couldn't get the same velocities.  Ended up going with H1000 instead.

In the .300 Win Mag I've been very pleased with H4350.