The Ruger M77 is a bolt-action rifle produced by Sturm, Ruger & Co. It was designed by Jim Sullivan during his three years with Ruger. It was designed primarily as a hunting rifle featuring a traditional Mauser K98-style two-lugged bolt with a claw extractor.[3]
History
Ruger's first bolt action rifle was introduced to the U.S market back in 1968 after some years of design and innovation led by Jim Sullivan and influenced Bill Ruger himself, who hired Sullivan in 1965 primarily to develop the rifle.
Investment casting[4] was used to save on costs.[5] Ruger M77's popularity rose fast due to features such as the Mauser type claw extractor that filled a gap in the market that occurred in 1964 when Winchester discontinued the controlled round feed version of the Model 70 in order to compete with the recently introduced Remington 700, as well as for the writings of the late Jack O'Connor favoring the rifle.[6]
Design and features
From the beginning, the Ruger M77 was intended as a modernized Mauser 98, though numerous changes were made. Bill Ruger wanted to use investment casting in place of a forged receiver. The Sullivan-designed bolt dispensed with the Mauser blade type ejector and instead used the simpler plunger style of ejector. A two-position tang safety and redesigned trigger system were also designed from scratch.
The M77 uses an angled screw that draws the action down and to the rear, tightly bedding it against the stock.
The original model was not a true controlled round feed action but a push feed with an external claw and included a tang safety. Barrels fitted to these first Ruger M77 where provided by third parties, thus resulting in accuracy variation among rifles. The first change involved incorporating a proprietary scope mount milled integral with the receiver as the first production rifles in the late 1960s had simple rounded-top receivers drilled and tapped for separate scope mounts.[7]
M77 Mark II
The M77 was entirely retooled and reintroduced in 1991 as the Model 77 Mark II. Barrels were now hammer forged at Ruger's factory. The safety, bolt, trigger, and bottom metal were substantially redesigned as well. The claw extractor was retained, but the bolt face was opened up to turn the action into a true controlled-round feed.[8] The plunger ejector was replaced with a Mauser style fixed blade ejector. The tang safety of the original model was replaced by a three-position safety, similar to Winchester M70,[9] which allowed the bolt to be operated while the gun was still on safe. Ruger also eliminated the factory-supplied adjustable trigger available on the original M77. With the Mark II, several variants were offered ranging from blued steel alternatives to stainless steel and from circassian walnut stocks to synthetic.
M77 RSM Mark II
This variant of the M77, often known as the Safari Magnum, features a circassian walnut stock, express sights and a long magnum action designed for cartridges such as the .375 H&H, .416 Rigby, and the .458 Lott.[10]
M77 Hawkeye
In 2006, Ruger introduced new features and a new name for their rifle, the Hawkeye. Major changes were made to the trigger system and the stock was recontoured, but otherwise the rifle remained unchanged.[11][12] The LC6 trigger addressed complaints from consumers about the Mark II trigger to make it easier for gunsmith adjustment than the earlier design.[13][14] The LC6 trigger is lighter and smoother.[15]
The Hawkeye featured the introduction of a new line of short magnum catridges such as the .300 Ruger Compact Magnum as well as dangerous game catridges .375 Ruger[16] and .416 Ruger, both of them capable of being chambered in standard length actions[17]
.30-06 Cal SAR (Search and Rescue) rifle
The SAR Rifle, .30-06 caliber, RUGER, Model M77 is a rifle designed for use by Canada's search and rescue technicians (SAR Techs) and aircrews. The SAR Rifle is designed to be a compact survival rifle chambered in .30-06 Springfield. The rifle is based on the standard Ruger M77 Mk II rifle but the barrel has been shortened to 14.5 in (370 mm). The orange coloured buttstock has been modified so that it can fold along the left hand side of the stock and it also can hold six additional rounds of ammunition. The rifle is issued with a special case that has been designed to attach to the search and rescue technicians' parachute harnesses.
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