I ordered a 77/22 thought galleryofguns.com a few days ago. Today it came in early so I headed down to the shop and picked it up. I got it home cleaned and lubed it then decided to give it a test drive. Thats when my problems started I could not get it for the life of me to eject CCI mini mags, CCI Blazer, or Winchester Super X. There is tons of play in the bolt when its not locked in. The bolt will literally move in any direction. I did notice I can get it to extract some cartridges by pulling up on the bolt during extraction. This does not always work thought 50/50 it seem.

I got a call in to Ruger little disappointed but I understand things happen. I got a call into Ruger but said all lines where busy and they would give me a call back just leave name number and short message. Hopefully I will here back from them Monday. I also know they have some of the best CS in the industry so I know they will make it right.

Update

I really think the mag are trigger guard is my issue. I gave it a good solid cleaning then noticed I was still having the issue.

I also noticed the mag would not reliably feed the chamber. I decided to put some pressure on the mag when chambering a round worked chambered great. The gun still wouldn't eject so I started changing up where I was putting the pressure on the mag. When I added pressure to the left side of the mag it chamber and eject fine 90% of the time. I added 3 pieces of thin cut duct tape to kinda shim the mag. Bingo issue is completely gone.

I am going to contact Ruger Tuesday (since Monday is a holiday) and tell them what I found. Hopefully this is a easy fix and I don't have to send the rifle back into them.

Is it failing to eject fired casings or unfired chambered rounds?

Its unable to eject fired casings.

Hate to say it, but almost 20 years ago I had a very pretty one that shot patterns.

Ruger rifles shooting poorly has been the norm for me. I have not bought one in years. I hope they are better made now. Back then the rumor was they wouldn't spend the $ on barrels. They of course had cast receivers too. I don’t know about now.

Emory

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Hard To Kill

Had problems with my 10/22 right out of the box. Ruger CS is terrible. I can understand they're swamped but in the rush to get product out they are letting quality control slip. I left a voice mail 4 days ago; still hasn't been returned. I had to have a gunsmith fix mine to get it to work properly. Could not reach Ruger to get a call tag or might have sent it back for repair but probably would take weeks if not months to get it back. Trouble is, once you buy a gun you're stuck with it. No refunds/no returns.

The problems exist at all major manufacturers. Last summer I bought a Taurus 992 convertible that I waited 5 months for. It's so loose that it rattles, and came with a pitted bore. I have not been able to work up enough courge to send it back, I have read too many horror storys. Dumb thing shoots really good as is....Weird.

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Oh-no! you did it like I said!

I've had problems ejecting unfired cartridges when my .22s need cleaning. If your 77/22 is failing to eject fired rounds it probably needs go back to Ruger.

My experiences with Ruger Customer Service have all been spectacular. Wobble of the bolt in a bolt action rifle bolt that is out of battery is nothing to worry about unless the bolt is binding while cycling a round. I assume the wobble I think of is the movements you referred to.

While waiting for Ruger CS to call back you may wish to inspect the extractor mechanism and make sure it is clean and functional.

If the fired case is just being left behind in the chamber while the bolt is pulled to the rear,,
>Could be the extractor spring(s) are weak. The right side is actually the extractor. An extractor looking piece on the left side of the bolt is a cartridge guide but it does a tiny bit of extraction force too.

>If it extracts unfired rounds fine but leaves fired ones in the chamber,,I'd suspect a firing pin that's too long.
That'll turn a tiny burr into the edge of the chamber and will act like a hook as it snags the fired brass when it expands in the chamber.
The extractor has a tough time overcoming it and simply unlatches from the rim and leaves it behind in the chamber.

If that burr becomes too big from too much dry fire or a firing pin that's
way too long,,even feeding live rounds can be a problem.

Look carefully at the edge of the chamber where the firing pin would hit if it were to do so.
In a properly set up rimfire,,the pin should fall just short of hitting the barrel/chamber edge by a few .000". Not always the case anymore. Ruger used to be known for assembling their 10-22's with this being properly set up too while other mfg'rs had let the issue go..

> If the extraction is OK,,but it's a problem with ejection, that is kicking the casing out of the action,,check for the ejector itself being flawed.
I'm not familiar with the 77/22 much at all. I'd suspect it's built into the trigger group or mag itself so that the bolt sliding backwards past a small protrusion just (barely) reaches and kicks the empty away.

As to how much play in the bolt,,these days I'd believe about anything from any of the manufacturers.

Just some thoughts.

I have a call and email into Ruger now plus I find a sight online that had 77/22 mags in stock. I ordered one going to try that while waiting on Ruger to contact me back.

I have gotten conflicting info on the ejector. I read one place its a little piece built into the trigger guard. I read some where else its built into the mag. I am hoping its just built into the mag and that a replacement mag will fix my issue.

I am also having a issue with the mag feeding properly. When trying to chamber a round from the mag it sends them into the side of the chamber.

The extractor should be a claw like device that snags the rim of the cartridge when the bolt is in battery . As the bolt is retracted the case is held by the extractor on the bolt face until the case hits the ejector. In some rifles the ejector may be a spring loaded plunger. The ejector dislodges the case from the extractor and hopefully throws it clear of the action. What I was originally reading was that you were retracting the bolt from battery and the case was staying in the chamber. If you are also having feeding problems from factory magazines, there is more involved than I can assess without being there.

I agree with Emory. My 77/22 was pretty, but that was it's only redeeming feature. The bolt had too much play and the gun shot patterns. Functionally it was OK. No amount of tinkering or bedding could fix it.

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Regards, Ron
USASA 1965/69

Re: OP. I have a Ruger M-77/22 which was purchased in 1983. Only God knows how many 500 rd. bricks of .22 LR ammo have been fired through it! It has been superlative in every respect. Out of battery the bolt exhibits the play that is normal to the design. In battery it is in every way tight, etc. This is not nunlike the 98 Mauser which out of batter demonstrates a loose fit while in battery it is solidly locked and secure. It is the nature of the design.

In all the years and all the rounds that I've fired through this rifle, I've not ever encountered a problem with ejection. Given the way the bolt is designed, I'd give it a careful going over with normal cleaning materials and see if that corrects the problem. If not, then I'd contact Ruger CS for instructions for repair.

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Thanks for all the replies I cleaned it when I got it but tommrow going to take the bolt out give it another thought cleaning and then a lube. I have some Slip 2000 EWL 30 I will use on it. I am also going to take the mag apart and try cleaning it. I loaded it to max tonight a while ago the thing is dripping grease. I guess they ship them like that so they don't seize up not sure.

It's dripping grease?

Yeap I was a little stunned my self. The side plate started leaking and oozing grease. I hadn't loaded it to max only 2-3 rounds at a time. I was a little surprised I am going to tear it apart tommrow and give it a thought cleaning.

If I recall correctly, the 77/22 has a plastic 10 round rotary box magazine in .22 Long Rifle similar to but not interchangeable with the magazines for 10/22s which I am very familiar with.

There should be no grease in those magazines. I would recommend that you not attempt to disassemble the magazine. The cleaning process is to soak in solvent and then drain until completely dry. Taking one apart and putting it back together is not recommended.

Talk to the nice folks at Ruger. They will treat your right.

Ruger has excellent customer service but I would not rely on waiting for a return call. Start early and be sure to call the correct plant.

I would not even try on Monday, try Tuesday and just redial until you get a live person. It's a pain but the only way to get through

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Still Running Against the Wind

The magazine for the 77/22 and the 10/22 are functionally interchangable, but they don't quite fit flush. The magazine for the 10/22 will stick out of the well on a 77/22 just a hair, and the opposit is true. The one for the 77/22 will fit a 10/22 it just fits up inside the magazine well by hair. But either one should work just fine.

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John 3:16 .