P&Y said:
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I purchased two new all weathers and took them to a gunsmith as I had read about them being notoriously inaccurate without a fair amount of work. The smith bedded the stocks, worked the triggers and polished the barrels to give me the best chance at acceptable accuracy. Now I'm trying to learn the nuances to the strange scope mounting system found on these models. Any info is very much appreciated!
My first question is why would anyone buy two rifles they believe are "notoriously inaccurate"? Not something I would do.
As to Ruger accuracy, most of my rifles are Rugers – M77, MKII and Hawkeye. About half were purchased new, about half were purchased used. All shoot very well, some extremely well. My 1989 M77 .257 Roberts. For example, is a good choice for shooting clay pigeons on the 600-yard berm. So is my stainless MKII .30-06. Both were purchased used. Haven't it one with my All Weather Hawkeye .280 Rem, but it has danced bullets all around their edges. But maybe I get all the good ones.
Ruger's LC6 trigger, which is what you have in your All Weather rifles, is generally fairly good. I've polished all my Ruger triggers except the 2-stage in my MKII VT. Improvement on the LC6 is possible but not as noticeable as with the older ones. It will never be a Timney, but mine are fine for the range an hunting.
The "trick" to Ruger accuracy is to make sure the action is properly tightened to the stock. Front screw gorilla tight, rear screw tight and middle screw snug enough not to back out under recoil. I float the barrels on all my wood-stocked rifles, Ruger or otherwise, to avoid POI changes due to temp or humidity changes or expansion due to barrel heat. Have not found that necessary on the synthetic stocks.
Bedding a Ruger? Did one only to find out the scope was the problem. The rest are unbedded, properly tightened, trigger tuned except as noted above, and free floated. As mentioned above, all shoot very well or better.
Did your gunsmith see a rube coming?
P&Y said:
Wayno I get they are specific and I'm not funnin', wish I was. My point is when you get a set of specified sized Ruger scope mounts they will position your optic uncomfortably high. I was just looking for remedies. It's a circus how they market them. I ordered a set and they mailed me two of the same size. Well they won't work as I need a staggered set..
Because you asked I did not shoot the rifle before investing in the smith work. I figured I'd just get all the cards in my favor first after hearing many reports of inaccuracy. It was worth it to me to avoid wasting time and ammo and possibly being disappointed. They may have shot great right out of the box but then I probably would have sent them off anyways to see how much I could improve on the base line LOL!
… understand the amount of brush that gap can grab if your a hunter as well.
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By now you've figured out that a proper 'set' of Ruger rings is comprised of two different height rings – 3 and 4, 4 and 5, 5 and 6, etc. If you ordered two of the same height as a 'set', and got that, you got what you ordered.
Most of my rifles have the 4-5 medium set that are factory standard. Catching brush has never been a problem. (I also have some with low and high rings, depending on the scope). You are not stuck with the standard medium height. Remember, the Ruger rings come "free" with the rifles. Ruger provides a set that will the proudest possible set of circumstances – medium height.
There is no way I would send a rifle to a gunsmith for extensive work before shooting it – Ruger, Remington, Savage, whatever.
Sample center-to-center groups from my rifles:
.232", 3 shots @ 100, M77 .257 Roberts
.262", 3 shots @ 100, M77 7mm RM
.5", 4 shots @ 200, MKII VT .22-250
When making 100-yard scope checks prior to hunting, it is not uncommon to have multiple holes touching with overall group sizes under .75". Can't guarantee your rifles would have done that but you'll never know. In any case, I've seen no reason to bed my Rugers, except the one noted above where the scope turned out to have a problem, as any incremental improvement would be well past the point of diminishing returns.
Hope your rifles shoot superbly and that you didn't just waste a bunch of money.