77/44?

[cleardatum]

what do y'all think about the 77 in .44 magnum? i've been looking at, and have always wanted, a rifle (preferably a carbine) in a pistol caliber, and my gaze fell upon the 77 in .44. good experiences? bad?

 

[44rugerr]

I have several. It my go-to deer rifle. Light weight, accurate.

 

[gramps]

I have several. It my go-to deer rifle. Light weight, accurate.

I have one. I like it, but be aware that the magazine limits the OAL of the bullet to 1.650 if you reload. A lot of the heavier bullets bring the OAL to 1.700+. Good luck.
gramps

 

[AJE]

I purchased mine last fall for deer hunting. I shot a nice sized doe with it (one shot at about 80 yards) and missed a running coyote (at about 125 yards).

It is nice and light, seems very durable, and I'm looking forward to hunting with it for quite a long time.

The only thing bad about it is the lightness made sighting it in and testing groups very hard on the shoulder :shock: I worked through it. :twisted:

 

[gramps]

I purchased mine last fall for deer hunting. I shot a nice sized doe with it (one shot at about 80 yards) and missed a running coyote (at about 125 yards).

It is nice and light, seems very durable, and I'm looking forward to hunting with it for quite a long time.

The only thing bad about it is the lightness made sighting it in and testing groups very hard on the shoulder :shock: I worked through it. :twisted:

The Rossi 92 with its metal butt is the only gun to ever bruise my shoulder! :shock: It was sold. :evil: I have not had any problems with the 77/44. It carries and points well. IMO
gramps

 

[se3388]

Mine was one from the first 1000 made and I never could get it to deliver a group under 4 to 5 inches at 100 yds. I tried all available bullet weights in cast and jacketed and about 5 different powders. Tried all kinds of different settings of torque to the action screws, three different scopes and even recrowned the muzzle, let a friend try his hand at it with the same luck. I rebarrelled it to 357 x 44 Bain & Davis and it is as close to a tack driver that it can be.

Steve...........

 

[Ferdinand]

I have a 77/357 that I really love. It's robust, and reliable, and accurate. I'm still working on optimizing the accuracy. I installed a 3-9 scope not long after buying it, and just took it off. I just messed up the gun's compact profile and handiness.

 

[WAYNO]

I think the concept of the 77/44 is great. Good luck finding one that's accurate. It's a real pig in a poke. Some folks have reported very acceptable accuracy. I cannot report very good success finding them regularly. I've now owned four of them, and only one was truly accurate, followed by a couple mediocres, and one returned to the factory never to be seen again.

Figure out how to make them shoot and they're a red hot little gun.

WAYNO.

 

[langenc]

Mine was one from the first 1000 made and I never could get it to deliver a group under 4 to 5 inches at 100 yds. I tried all available bullet weights in cast and jacketed and about 5 different powders. Tried all kinds of different settings of torque to the action screws, three different scopes and even recrowned the muzzle, let a friend try his hand at it with the same luck. I rebarrelled it to 357 x 44 Bain & Davis and it is as close to a tack driver that it can be.

Steve...........

I bought one last Jul for the fall deer season.

I found some brass and loaded em up, several times.

You need W296 or (H110 powder-same), HEAVY loads (24+ gr / 240 gr bullets, jacketed) and lots of crimp. Im told all 44 mags are like that. PS I also use Mag pistol primers (large of course).

Last 5 shots were one slot and a hole about 1/2" away. Hav about 150 rounds thru the barrel. I believe it is still tightening. Im fixing to load some Noslers 240s and shoot them probably as described above.

 

[felix cortinas]

I live in Texas, my part has some thick woods full of hogs and some really long shots over 500 yards if you want. I bought an M77/44 specifically for hogs in the creek bottoms and around tanks, some really thick brush. I fell in love with it, never thought I'd have a use for such a carbine, since then have also acquired an old Ruger .44 mag carbine made in early 70s. I have a Redfield 3x7x44 on mine and it is just right, 1" groups at 100 yards with Winchester 240 grain ammo, pretty much standard, low recoil, compact, accurate...what's not to like. I still have lots of long range caliber rifles but love the m77/44, mine is the stainless with synthethic stock. sorry, I meant 2x7x33 Redfield scope, great choice for me.

 

[wunbe]

Has anyone had success in rebedding or otherwise fixing 77/44s that will not group reasonably -- say 2 MOA at 100 yards?

Thanks for any tips,
wunbe

 

[langenc]

The barrel on my 77/44 was not 'free floated' so I sanded the barrel channel. It seems the more I sanded the more the stock seemed to drift to the right. I now have quite a clearance on the left edge (between barrel and stock) and the right is not floated.

Im to the point of being reluctant to sand any more cause I don't want a big gap on the one side?? I used a socket to apply the sand paper evenly to the barrel channel. Maybe a Boyds is in the works.

 

[wunbe]

langenc,

Another case of Ruger's nonexistent sealing of the wood during the manufacturing process! It really shows up in climates with wide humidity swings.

wunbe

 

[langenc]

This is a black plastic stock?? One would think that it would be a 'sealed unit'??

 

[langenc]

This is a black plastic stock?? One would think that it would be a 'sealed unit'??

 

[wunbe]

Mine is wood and blue, so much for assumptions.

Warped plastic yet! So much for all-weather use. I guess if they sit in a super heated storage area that can happen too.

If it came that way I would think Ruger should have replaced the stock but after lowering the barrel channel they would probably not.

wunbe

 

[Rat44]

The barrel on my 77/44 was not 'free floated' so I sanded the barrel channel. It seems the more I sanded the more the stock seemed to drift to the right. I now have quite a clearance on the left edge (between barrel and stock) and the right is not floated.

Im to the point of being reluctant to sand any more cause I don't want a big gap on the one side?? I used a socket to apply the sand paper evenly to the barrel channel. Maybe a Boyds is in the works.

I had the same experience with mine, but mine went left!

 

[langenc]

Did you get it floated or not?? If so, how??

 

[langenc]

Did you get it floated or not?? If so, how??

 

[Rat44]

I did but it ain't pretty! I continued using the socket but mostly on one side. I figured I came this far I might as well see it through. It's a brush, truck, hog gun anyway so I can live with it. Bad part is after all that, it doesn't shoot any tighter than it did before.

I even tried adding different pressure points back after I floated it, but that got me nowhere either.