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> Ruger M77 Hawkeye All Weather .270win
Ruger M77 Hawkeye All Weather .270win
@ 11:06 pm (GMT) |
Brett MachenHI ForumI'm new to this forum, and thank you Nathan for the outstanding resources you make available to the hunting and shooting community. Before I embark on an accurizing journey I would like some feedback from this forum on whether you believe the Ruger M77 Hawkeye All Weather in .270win is worth all of the effort. The Rifle shoots well straight out of the box, however, readings from around the web have lead me down the line of thinking that my rifle could get better if I spend some time, effort and money on accurizing it.... or is it a lost cause and I should sell it and buy something else? Do any forum member have experience with this rifle; has anybody given this type of rifle the full treatment and what was your outcome. Thanks for your advise. Brett |
Replies
@ 11:43 pm (GMT) |
Paul LevermanRe: Ruger M77 Hawkeye All Weather .270winWelcome Brett.Yeah, I know you asked for someone with experience with this rifle, sorry, that's not me. But, if your rifle shoots ok from the box, my opinion is that you would be better off spending funds on reloading and finding the load that makes it a tack driver. The reason I say this is that you already know that the rifle is capable of some degree of accuracy. You could spend a lot of coin on bedding, etc. and still have the same results. Find a load that you are happy with and you may not have to accurize. By the way, I do have a M77 Mkll, in .338 WinMag. It was good from the box, found a load and now it's five shots in 7/16". Good enough for me.[b] |
@ 01:01 am (GMT) |
Thomas KitchenRe: Ruger M77 Hawkeye All Weather .270winHi Brett and welcome to a great forum thanks to Nathan's and stephs hard work.I don't have any experience with the ruger hawk eye and only you know your rifle. I would give it a go as you only really got the price of the bedding kits and your time to loose. I can't guarantee it'll shoot better but I highly doubt it'll shoot any worse. I would suggest buying the accuracy book from Nathan and having a good read before you start to get yourself prepared for the journey ahead |
@ 01:06 am (GMT) |
Nathan FosterRe: Ruger M77 Hawkeye All Weather .270winHi Brett, yes, sometimes it is a case of if something ain't broke, why fix it.I have worked on a few of these rifles now while also buddying clients. They are not really any different to the previous M77 apart from the barrel which is in my experience of far greater quality in comparison to the former M77 barrels. The old barrels were hit and miss. You never could tell from one week to the next what you might get, Paul got a good one by the sounds of it. My wife Steph also has a good one in .270. What you have is a rifle with a magazine length perfect for your chosen cartridge, a controlled feed action (the older M77 was not fully controlled), a good safety mechanism and by the sounds of it, a good barrel that needs to be cherished. These rifles can be worth tricking right up and many are capable of sub half minute accuracy. It all depends on how far you want to shoot really and also whether the rifle actually holds its POI over time because sometimes a rifle can be accurate without bedding, but with groups wandering with handling in the hills etc. If you wish to, you could start by reading one or two of the books I have written before jumping straight into any accurizing work. The books have specific info for your rifle if you want to look into matters more closely. The Accurizing and Maintenance book will at the very least help you keep the barrel in optimal form. |
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@ 07:22 pm (GMT) |
Brett MachenRe: Ruger M77 Hawkeye All Weather .270winThanks guysGreat advice. I am definitely going to accurize this rifle. I'll start with Paul's advice and work on load development. Then through Nathan's books I'll study the craft of accurizing. I will keep this thread posted on my journey. Bye |
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@ 02:13 am (GMT) |
Brett MachenRe: Ruger M77 Hawkeye All Weather .270winHi GuysIt has been 5 months since I started this journey. I have read all of Nathan's books several times over. A fantastic source of information, thank you for sharing your knowledge Nathan. I have started to accurize my M77 Hawkeye, starting from the beginning as described in the book Bolt Action Rifle Accurizing & Maintenance. Step 4 instruct how to make sure the magazine box is fitted correctly and not pinching the action. This has presented a problem with the Ruger M77 Hawkeye All Weather. The front action screw clamps the magazine box between the action and trigger guard. My intention is to dam and fill the void with Match Grade stabiliser or bedding compound, thus freeing the magazine box and providing a decent bedding for the front action screw / trigger guard. My questions that I hope the forum can answer is: 1) Do you think this approach is feasible, i.e. filling the void and effectively extending the stock well under the trigger guard to create a bedding for the action screw; 2) Should I use the stabiliser or bedding compound, or both. Thanks for your advice.  
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@ 02:26 am (GMT) |
Brett MachenRe: Ruger M77 Hawkeye All Weather .270winhere are some pics
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@ 03:27 am (GMT) |
Nathan FosterRe: Ruger M77 Hawkeye All Weather .270winYes you can. But, it may still try to break away if we don't get a good key. A shear stress rather than a compression stress. You can't put a pillar here because the thickness of the pillar will be so wide as to interfere with the mag box. Even with the stabilizer, the hole you drill after will be very close to the mag box.Very interesting, this looks like a design flaw with this most recent stock. The fill: Sit the (warm / prevent air bubbles) trigger guard in place so the stabilizer is used as under side bedding at this point. Under fill your square, then flip the rifle so the rifle is upright / scope at top. Prefer that you don't try to bed the entire underside with the stabilizer, just that proposed sqaure. If you want to do the entire underside and square, then you need a second bedding kit, split this in half (digital scales), and use a half to bed the entire area and fill in your square. Then bed the top (normal bedding job) with a blob in the middle as per Stephs job in the book. The thing is, we need the fit to be good at both the top and bottom so that it is a compression stress and not a shear stress. Will need a severe burn prep. If anyone else wants to chime in and double check me- please do so. No doubt there are a couple of ways to attack this. Please keep in mind that the wood and laminate Hawkeye do not have this gap. The one you see in the book is a Hawkeye laminate (.270 Win). By the same token, if this job turns to shizam on you, you may want to fit a Boyds, then bed as normal including the middle blob as the Boyds will also split there with time (most Rugers split there over time and without due care). I think your job should go well if planned properly. |
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@ 03:28 am (GMT) |
Nathan FosterRe: Ruger M77 Hawkeye All Weather .270winSorry, you askjed about bedding compound versus stabilizer. if you have spare bedding compound, use this. We want a good metal fill through here if possible. |
@ 10:24 am (GMT) |
RussellRe: Ruger M77 Hawkeye All Weather .270winI have the same rifle in a laminated stock and am looking at bedding it as well, if you could please post up some photos of how this comes out as I'm going to have the same problem. Not sure how you will locate the hole for the screew maybe insert a threaded piece into the action with tape on it so that it will leave a larger hole for the screw to pass through. |
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