Ruger Ultra Light in .308

[redoktober]

I'm taking a hard look at a Ruger M77 MK II Ultra Light chambered in .308 Winchester as my go-to rifle for woods and brush hunting. Shots would be limited to 250 yards, but mainly less than 100 with 150 gr. spitzers.

Is there anyone who can comment on recoil and accuracy? I don't mountain hunt, but wonder if it would be accurate enough to take full advantage of the MPBR of the .308 if I ever did need something that could shoot accurately to 275 yards or so. How's the recoil?

Seems like a nice compact little bolt action perfect for eastern whitetails. Too bad Ruger doesn't offer these in 7mm-08, .300 Savage, or .260 Rem.

 

[R77PA]

I agree with you and wonder why they do not offer this gun in those calibers along with the 250 savage

 

[257Bob]

I've had one now for about 10 years and it is one of my favourite rifles. The bullet it likes the best is the 130gn Speer HP and that's what I've used the most over the last decade and taken quite a few pigs with it. I have tried other bullets through it (all 150gn) and results have been mixed. Some have shot OK and some haven't but I guess that can be said for a lot of rifles. Whether it's due to the skinny barrel or not, but point of impact between different bullets can be as much as 10 inches at times, but as I don't really change bullets that much any more that's not really a problem. I originally had mine floated but ended up putting a little pressure back under the foreend which helped a lot. The barrel is very skinny. It's a great hunting rifle and is a joy to carry in the hands. I rarely shoot past 100 metres and 150m would be a long shot so the little .308 works great. Recoil is minimal. My load of 130gn Speer HP and BM2 will go into 1.5 inch and sometimes better. I need to hold the foreend on the bags as the muzzle does jump a bit at the range due to the lightness. I also have an Ultralight in .250 Savage as well. It shoots into an inch or better with a floated barrel and 100gn Ballistic Tips or Hornadys.

 

[Divernhunter]

I have a tang safety ultralite in 30-06 and had it Mag-N-Ported. I like it but often wish I had got a 308 instead. I shoot 150gr bullets, Nosler PAR or BT and Hornady SST and interbond, as well as my fav load for our small blacktail deer here which is the Speer 130grHP with Win760 or IMR4064. My 308 load for other rifles uses Win748 or benchmark with the same bullets as well as Nosler 125grBT.
My rifle shoots well and groups well. The thin barrel heats up fast but when hunting that is not a problem as you seldom shoot a bunch of shots in a row time after time.
The rifle handels well and I installed a Packmyer Decell recoil pad on it. It is a pleasure to hunt with.

 

[redoktober]

I agree with you and wonder why they do not offer this gun in those calibers along with the 250 savage

Probably because they already offer it in .257 Roberts. My guess is that the 250 savage is just too similar a cartridge to the Roberts.

If I thought this were a good woods cartridge I'd consider the Roberts.

 

[valkrider8]

I've hunted with a 270 Ultralight for many years and can say it is a pleasure to carry and shoots great. My furthest shot on a deer was at 175 yards and I never felt handicapped by the short and light barrel. Two of my hunting partners switched to Ultralights after drooling over mine for a couple years, one chose a 270 and the other a 308. Both guns shoot great. The barrels do heat up quick when doing some bench shooting and POI tends to drift, but for hunting you can't beat them. Find the bullet the gun likes and you got yourself a nice hunting rig. Can't go wrong with a 308 cal. :wink:

 

[Black Fly]

I've had a number Ruger RL's in a range of calibers. Presently only have one in 30/06. I never thought the recoil was that bad in any caliber even the 358 and 30/06. But according to my wife, I'm insensitive. Mine have all been tang safety models. The 257 is really a gentle version of this rifle, but you need to like light calibers. If you want a 300 savage, you can use a lighter load. I used to use a starting load with IMR 4064 and a 165 grain bullet at 300 savage velocities with one I had in 308. Deer fell over when you shot them. They didn't seem to know it was a light load. The advantage of a 308 is that you can get ammo when you're traveling. You won't find any of the other cartridges at the local Walmart when you need them.
Bfly

 

[Silent Sam]

I have a RL in 257 Roberts. The biggest 'thing" for me w/ the ultrlights is the way they balance and handle. They require a bit more muzzle steering if that makes sense. I like mine a lot and have a hard time choosing between it and a good shooting RSI in 308 for local whitetails. If they made the RSI in 257 it would have been one rifle instead of two. Not sure if that is a good thing or not...

 

[Daveboone]

I have one in .308 for about 18 years now, and it is my day to day gun. I have a 1.5x5 Leupold vx111 on it. My upgrades include a competition firing pin and spring, the action glass bedded, and a Timney trigger installed.
It is a slow gun to sight in with that whippy barrel, I give it about 10 minutes between shots to cool (make sure your barrel is free floating too).
Once sighted, i have total confidence in it for any shot that may present. Mainly hunting wooded areas, long shots are few and far between, but I have two 190 yard shots to the base of the skull on does from a few years ago. I shoot Speers Hotcore 165 grain spitzer/sp handload, on the upper end of the loading charts. I find the recoil minimal (all my shooting is done in hunting clothes).

 

[Lloyd Smale]

ive got a tang safety in 250 sav and a wing safety in 257 roberts and both are excellent shooters with loads they like. Id like to pick up one in 308 myself.

 

[3DTESTIFY]

I have both the M77RL MKII ultralight in .257Roberts and the M77RLS ultralight carbine in .308 Winchester. The RLS has the 18-1/2" barrel with sights & is the rifle my young son uses with Remington managed recoil 125gr. loads with mild recoil. I will make up some 130gr. Barnes TSX reduced loads for hunting season. This rifle weights 6lb-12oz. with a Leupold M8-2.5x compact scope in Ruger rings and can be a handfull with full power loads.
I would not hesitate getting the M77RL in .308 with it's 20" barrel. It will become your favorite walking around rifle and is perfect for what it was designed for, hunting in the mountains & woods.
Ruger did offer this rifle in 7mm-08 in the limited edition Whitetail Classic a couple of years ago. I agree with you, I wish they would catalog that caliber permanently in the ultralight.

 

[nhlever]

I've had other Ultra Lights, but currently have a .308, and a .257 Roberts. Both are great guns, and the .308 is my go to deer gun. Mine shoot very well with both cast, and jacketed bullets. I get occassional 3 shot groups under an inch at 100 yards, but normally they run 1"-1 1/2" with loads they like. I wish the .257 Roberts was on a short action. If Ruger would make the .250 Savage, and 7mm-08 available in this version I would own both.

 

[boaman88]

I have both the Ultra-light and the Compact. I prefer the Compact. Its even more handy to tote and because they used a shortened standard profile barrel instead the light profile barrel of the Ultra-light they tend to be better as far as accuracy. In the Compact you have the option of the 7mm-08 & 260 Rem. I have an Ultra-light in 7mm-08. Those were a limited run done in the Target Grey finish over stainless in a synthetic stock. I like it alot but my 260 Compact is definitely more accurate.



The 7mm-08

The260