Ruger 77 200 year American liberty

[Vortex]

A friend has offered to sell me his Ruger for a good price but I was hoping to find some info on it before I decide if I should pick it up or not. It's a tang safety in 30-06 and the barrel is stamped "made in the 200th year of American Liberty"
What drew my attention though was the gun had what looked like a weaver scope mount on it. Not Ruger rings. When I looked up the 200th American Liberty I found a link talking about some rifles being made without the milled ruger mounts and instead were shipped with "round tops".
Can anyone tell me about these guns? Are they at all rare or worth anymore then a regular 77 with the milled scope mounts in the receiver?
Thank You

 

[3DTESTIFY]

Depending upon condition of the rifle, Yes it will be worth more. Not neccesarily for the 200th liberty rollmark, but for the fact it is a roundtop M77PL or M77ST model, (PL with clean barrel & ST with sights).

These models production numbers were a fraction of the overall numbers of M77's made and are somewhat rare & would bring the rifles value. The 200th rollmark does not add much value since tens of thousands were produced in 1976. I'm not sure the current market value, but I'm sure someone on this board will give you their opinion.

 

[GAO LLC]

I sold a 95% Liberty 30-06 Ruger ring version on GunBroker recently for $500. I had it on there a year.

 

[Vortex]

Depending upon condition of the rifle, Yes it will be worth more. Not neccesarily for the 200th liberty rollmark, but for the fact it is a roundtop M77PL or M77ST model, (PL with clean barrel & ST with sights).

These models production numbers were a fraction of the overall numbers of M77's made and are somewhat rare & would bring the rifles value. The 200th rollmark does not add much value since tens of thousands were produced in 1976. I'm not sure the current market value, but I'm sure someone on this board will give you their opinion.

Thank you for the information. The model I looked at has sights on it. I'll see If I can find any on gun broker in this configuration.

 

[Vortex]

I sold a 95% Liberty 30-06 Ruger ring version on GunBroker recently for $500. I had it on there a year.

Sounds like the liberty doesn't demand anymore money then the standard models.

 

[OldRugerMan]

An ST 30-06 200th Year will bring about $375-475 in this part of the country. Like new condition, nice wood, box numbered to the gun and papers would add to that figure.

 

[pete44ru]

I sold a 95% Liberty 30-06 Ruger ring version on GunBroker recently for $500. I had it on there a year.

Sounds like the liberty doesn't demand anymore money then the standard models.

The reason being that EVERY Ruger firearm (millions of them), made that year (1976), was so marked.



.

 

[robertkirksey]

When dealing with rifles that are not truly rare, I think condition and configuration are the most important considerations. I break down rifles into three classifications, investment grade, collectables, and hunting rifles. Of course there can be some blurring of the lines, mainly when dealing with truly rare guns. For an example, who would turn their nose up at Elmer Keith's No.5 revolver because it had been re-blued and heavily used?

As to the 30/06 77R that took a year to sell, lets take a look. 30/06 is pretty common, the R version is most common (he didn't say it had the rings, if not, that knocks $80.00 off right there) and the condition quoted puts it in the hunting rifle category. The fact it was a pre-warning gun and a Liberty Model would have given it the nod over another rifle in the same condition and configuration that was a later gun, but would not have elevated it above "hunting rifle" status.

As an example, a nice looking 30/06 ST (round top with sights) rifle just sold on Gunbroker for $375.00. It was unmolested with a very clean, unmarked floorplate. The downside? It was a hunting rifle, the stock was dinged a little, and it was a warning gun, and the filler screws were missing from the receiver. The screws was not a real issue but I believe it could have been a subconscious thing with buyers.

The fact of the matter, the difference between a hunting rifle and a nice collectible in dollars is really not that great, and how many hunting rifles do you really need?

 

[Vortex]

I'm going to go take another look at the rifle this weekend and make a decision. It doesn't make a difference to me one way or the other about the gun not being cut for Ruger rings. I just thought it a little odd as I have never seen that before.

The rifle for sale has been hunted and shows signs of use. Not mint or collector grade by any means.
I will also be using the rifle for hunting so I'm not looking for a safe queen. I was just kind of curious how rare the round top model as well as the 200 year stamp made it. It sounds like in shooter condition they don't seem to bring anything special to the table. And as already pointed out the 200 stamp was used on every gun Ruger made that year. So no big deal there.

If it makes it into my safe this weekend I'll post a few pictures of it.
Thanks for the help guys