Ruger M77 .270 (1992- tang safety) questions

[Steelerfan#1]

So I'm in the market for a new .270 and ran across a really good looking (90%) M77 and have never owned or shot a Ruger rifle. The seller is asking $500 and its outfitted with a Redfield fixed power 6X scope. So now the obvious questions:
1. Whate are these guns worth? If I buy it and hate it could I resell for same?
2. Any comments on quality ( i.e- why buy this vs a Rem 700?)

Any help is appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[sigp220.45]

I'm a big fan of the M77, and of the tang safety ones in particular. I paid more than five bills for this tang safety 7x57, and thought I got a good deal.







Condition is everything, but I don't think you'd get hurt buying that gun at that price.

 

[alwslate]

Well I don't want to offend anyone but since you asked for opinions
I'll offer one. I wouldn't buy either one, a Ruger 77 or Remington 700.
Don't want to go into all the reasons but there are lots of better
rifle actions around than the 700. The Ruger 77 has lots of fans who
like the tang safety but the 77 MK II is a much improved design. It is
a controlled feed design while the 77 is not. The model 70 type three
position safety is a big improvement over the remote tang type. The
77 barrels were purchased by Ruger, cheaply, and notorious for being
either very good or very bad. In the early 90s with the MK II action
Ruger began making their own barrels and quality improved greatly.
There are lots of used 77 MK IIs around and they often sell for less
because of the older is always better mentality. At $500.00 you're
getting close to the real world price of a new Hawkeye and they are
very attractive rifles that now have a steel floor plate I believe. The
Hawkeye is just the 77 MK II renamed and the MK II action is
probably the best action available today in a hunting rifle for a
reasonable price.

 

[therewolf]

I have a M77 MKII.

The barrel has Hammer Forged Rifling. A feature I really

like, besides the two position safety, is the mag design.

At the end of the day, I can eject the unfired cartridge,

push it back down into the magwell, and close the bolt

on an empty chamber, an quick little additional safety for

transportation which many bolt actions with detachable

mags don't offer. It's in a dead heat for accuracy with

a rifle and scope which cost me almost four times as much.

As to price, I paid 450$ for the MKII-Stainless, with

the "Canoe Paddle" syn stock, and a "Swift" scope.

(Probably not as good as a Redfield, in good condition)

So I'd say 500$ is a bit of a stretch, for an original M77

blued rifle with a wood stock. I doubt I would get my money

back for my rifle, if I went to sell it. (luckily I like it)

I guess the three variables here are:

1. Whether you mind getting nicks and scratches on a good wood stock.
Call me OCD, but I hate, like sin, putting wear and tear on really
nice wood furniture.
2. The overall condition of the rifle.
3. How well you like Ruger, (regardless of how popular anybody else thinks they are)
and if you really want that particular rifle.

I had looked for that particular rifle for a long time, SS, in that exact caliber, with that
exact stock, for years. So it was worth it to me, but unlikely anyone else.

Personally, I would probably offer 350$, as there are many rifles of this
sort out there, and as someone out there already pointed out, you could get a new
Savage, or Rem 783 for 500$,and be working on a top notch 3-9X40scope, besides.

 

[Rubone]

Being made in '92 it should be a MKII. I have a couple of them I like really well. I bought an as new Blue/Walnut 300 Rem Mag with a 3x9 Weaver classic from a guy who bought it and then didn't get his hunt so his wife said for it to go. $500 for that one (he bought it two months earlier for $832 with the scope) and I was happy to get it. Great on Elk (got a cow last month) and used it for Oryx. I also have a SS/laminate stock 30-06 Sporter I bought for $350 in as new condition with a Burris scope from a woman who bought it for her boyfriend and then caught him screwing around. ( I must admit I am an opportunist at times). It is a great deer gun. I have 700s as well and love them too. But I would not hesitate to own another one.

The Sporter and a Muley Buck last year

 

[retiredbadge8091]

I purchased a Ruger M77 in 1979 and equipped it with a Leopold Vari-X II 3x9 duplex scope. With 130 grain handloads it will shoot minute of angle at 100 yards. It also likes 100 grain bullets as well. I've hunted everything from western jackrabbits to rocky mountain elk and the Ruger has never let me down. The hinged floorplate, tang safety and classic stock with red rubber butt pad makes for a heck of a rifle. My only regret is I promised it to my son and had to revert to carrying my M77 in 7mm mag. with a Leopold Vari-X III 3.5x10 deplex scope, oh wait, it's been a great rifle too.

 

[5-Shot]

A number of years ago I bought one in 308 to take mule deer hunting. Since it was well used I ask the shop owner for a guarantee that it could shoot 3 inch groups or better. A few weeks later I took him a group I had just shot and informed him it passed, but just barely. He was a little disappointed, since it measured just under three inches...until I confessed it was fired at 325 yards!

Mine was a fine rifle.

Ed

 

[jtcarm]

I'm with SIG220. I bought a .270 in 1984 and used it to bring home truckloads of venison.

I LOVE the shotgun safety. I can work it with my hand in firing position, do it silently by pressing down and ease it forward. Doing that with the vaunted 3-position safety requires taking my hand completely off the stock.

I glassed/floated mine soon after I bought it and it'll print 5 rounds under an inch at 100 yards with the right ammo, often 3/4" when I do it right.

Resale: probably not the greatest as that's not a collectable piece. But you wouldn't be paying that much, either.

 

[murphydog]

I have a similar one in .30-'06 that will do MOA groups, and with my rifle skills that is to the gun's credit .

It is a fine gun, but only you can decide if it is worth $500. You will pay more for a current production polished blue, checkered walnut stock rifle of similar quality but it may be a little overpriced in the current market. Good luck in your decision.

 

[Chukar60]

I own 5 M77 red pads with tang safeties. I like them and have never had a bad one.
IMO, the tang safety is exactly where a safety belongs on a long gun. I shoot double bbl shotguns so there is never any looking or reaching for the safety on an old M77.
For deer and elk a 270 is plenty of gun.
Around here, $500 would be about market for a clean M77 with a mid grade scope on it.

 

[model70hunter]

I've owned a couple of the older M77's. I had one in 7 Mag that I shot a nickle size group at 200 yards off the hood of a truck in front of witness'. I kept that target for years and it finally got lost in a move or divorce or some other zombie apocalypse.

I personally would prefer an older M77 over a Remington 700. Now Mossburg makes one called the ATV(?). It is way under 500. It has a super trigger. My son bought a pair for he and my grandson. The 270 works well on deer. My grandson got an actual send it to the taxidermist its a wall hanger buck with his.

My son built a 6.5 Grendel and it is his deer gun now. He gave the 270 Mossburg to another grandson, his nephew. We put up a target. He drilled the center of the 10 ring on each shot at 25 yards.

You might look this one up. I love old Winchesters but was impressed by the Mossburg.

 

[mikeruns]

I also like them, having 4 and letting 2 others go reluctantly, I'm a fan with a 22-250, 270, 25-06 all M77R types, and one lonely 308 Hawkeye stainless which is a super rifle as well. The standard caliber 77r's will hold 5 in the mag, 4 for magnums. The MkII's will hold one round less if it matters to ya. The Rem 700 is a fine rifle as are most of the winchester bolt iterations...... $500 is not bad...I paid $450 for my similarly scoped 25-06 from my brother and I would've gone 600....cheers!