MoovinTarget
Bearcat
- Joined
- Jan 14, 2015
- Messages
- 3
I have a '93 M77 MK II 7mm Rem Mag All Weather Stainless Steel with a 3x9x36mm Redfield LowPro Widefield scope. It was the first high powered rifle that I had purchased on my own so we have a bit of bond. She has always been my 'Ole Reliable.
She always shot rather large, 2"-3" groups at 100yd. She was purchased to stalk deer and hogs in a highly wooded area that did have a few long fairways where the deer frequented in early morning. Most shots were 100-200 yards, so the grouping never screwed me. She dropped everything dead in its tracks. I pulled her out from the back of the safe recently. I decided to revisit the large shot groups while I had some time on my hands.
The action is smooth. The headspace passes a Go/No-Go check. I tuned the trigger to 2.75 lbs with no creep. Torquing those crappy little slotted screws in the stock helped somewhat. The plastic stock stinks and is probably a significant contributor to problem. I am considering bedding and stabilizing her, but not until I am comfortable with what I found when I checked the bolt lock-up.
I did a poor man's lug check. I colored the back side of the lugs with a sharpie, put an empty case in the chamber, and cycled the bolt several times. The exposed lug shows no contact. The ink is not smudged at all. The opposite lug which is covered by the extractor makes great contact, approximately 80-90%.
Any suggestions? I have spoken with a couple of gunsmiths, but none are interested in working on a Ruger. I have zero experience with lapping or truing actions and lugs. This rifle is my 'Old Reliable' and we have some history, so I would like to fix her up.
She always shot rather large, 2"-3" groups at 100yd. She was purchased to stalk deer and hogs in a highly wooded area that did have a few long fairways where the deer frequented in early morning. Most shots were 100-200 yards, so the grouping never screwed me. She dropped everything dead in its tracks. I pulled her out from the back of the safe recently. I decided to revisit the large shot groups while I had some time on my hands.
The action is smooth. The headspace passes a Go/No-Go check. I tuned the trigger to 2.75 lbs with no creep. Torquing those crappy little slotted screws in the stock helped somewhat. The plastic stock stinks and is probably a significant contributor to problem. I am considering bedding and stabilizing her, but not until I am comfortable with what I found when I checked the bolt lock-up.
I did a poor man's lug check. I colored the back side of the lugs with a sharpie, put an empty case in the chamber, and cycled the bolt several times. The exposed lug shows no contact. The ink is not smudged at all. The opposite lug which is covered by the extractor makes great contact, approximately 80-90%.
Any suggestions? I have spoken with a couple of gunsmiths, but none are interested in working on a Ruger. I have zero experience with lapping or truing actions and lugs. This rifle is my 'Old Reliable' and we have some history, so I would like to fix her up.
