ruger 77/22 magnum accuracy problems

sunranchwyo

i have a recent production Ruger 77/22 magnum of which i'm the second owner that shoots poorly. looks like a shotgun pattern instead of a rifle group. i've tried CCI, remington, federal and winchester ammo. the best(inconsistant)group i've got is 2" at 100 yards not including a couple flyers. most "pattern" 6-8" at 100 yards with a few strays thrown here and there. i think this rifle should shoot better than that. any ideas on getting this rifle so group consistantly? are these rifles capable of shooting 1" moa groups? thanks!

please e-me at risinsun@ida.net

284 Fan

Connecticut Precision Chambering (www.ct-precision.com) do VERY good Ruger 10/22 and 77/22 work. I have a 77/22 Mag that shot like yours and the differance after CPC work was dramatic! Ground squirrels can be victims to 150 yards on a calm day. Check the site out and call for help. They are good folks.

Circle 3

Contender Man

Really need more info. if your looking for suggestions other than where to send the rifle.

Condition of bore?

Iron sights or scope?

If iron sights are they tight and show no signs of damage?

If scope, are the bases or base tight, and is the scope a known good scope on other rifle(s)?

Is the action snug in the stock?

Is the barrel free floating or making contact with the stock, and if it is making contact it that contact only near the front of the stock or at different points along the stock?

Does the bolt face or lugs show any signs of un-even wear?

And the preceding is just the majority of the "high points" pf checking it out?

Eliminate or respond to the above, plus provide any other info. you can think of, or that others mention. The members of this forum have a lot of experience, but you have to help us to help you.



If you only have time to do two things so-so, or one thing well ... do the one thing!

temblor

This is not an uncommon problem with this rifle. Seems like they shoot pretty well or terribly from the factory, with not much in between. I think the quality control on the barrels is poor to say the least. The place to start is to make sure everything is tight(scope mounts,receiver screws,etc.)including the barrel assembly tightening screws that attach the barrel to the receiver. Make sure no one has tightened them unevenly and put the barrel in a bind to one side or the other, or left them loose at the other extreme.If none of that works, try glass bedding the action and free floating the barrel. If that doesn't work, go back and put a small amount of glass bedding near the end of the forearm at the muzzle end of the stock to put a slight amount of upward pressure on the end of the barrel. To try it before adding the bedding at the tip, try a matchbook cover, folded business card, etc. to see if it helps and try all the different types of ammo after each change to see if one load likes the barrel vibration where it's at. -- If none of the above works, it's probably the barrel/chamber. I've seen three of these guns in the last couple of years with the same problems. The last one a friend had I removed the barrel and took it to a guy I know that makes target barrels for benchresters and silhouette shooters and had him air gauge it to check for tolerances.While doing this he determined that the chamber was sloppy and the barrel was inconsistently bored from one end to the other.-- Before I spent money on having any work done on the barrel, I'd get prices and check them against just buying a good barrel from Volquartsen or one of the other aftermarket match grade barrel makers. If you were so inclined you could even buy a 17HMR barrel and put on it as an option, or stay with the 22WMR.-- Just some stuff I've seen/done.....hope this helps..........good luck...........[8D]

Rafter-S

I have a production 77/22 magnum and so does my son. Both rifles shoot dime size 5-shot groups at 50 yards. We both use Leupold scopes on the rifles.

Rafter-S

"What is truth? No wonder jesting Pilate turned away. The truth, it has a thousand faces -- show only one of them, and the whole truth flies away! But how to show the whole? That is the question."
--Thomas Wolfe, "You Can't Go Home Again" (1934)