What to do with my Ruger?

[utnapishtim]

I traded a friend of mine an older 9mm for a Ruger M77 mk2 in 300wsm. It's never been shot.

Now, before I get jumped and told about how poor Ruger's are, please keep in mind that the farthest I've shot is 300yards, but I want to shoot further, and this was a good deal at the time.

Here's what I'm thinking -
Timney trigger
Shilen barrel - varmint profile
Ops Inc muzzle break
SWFA SS 10X

But I also want a stock. And therein lies the question.

Which is better, the Bell & Carlson or the McMillan?

Also, does anyone know a good gunsmith in the Minnesota area who can do a bedding job, install the barrel, and attach the break?


Now, here's the tougher question . . . Am I better off selling the Ruger and picking up a semi-custom Remington for a grand or so?

--> I have a 6.5 Grendel, so I don't want a 308, so whatever I do, I'll be sticking with the 300wsm.

Any and all advice woud be extremely appreciated.

 

[benchmstr]

Re: What to do with my Ruger?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Utnapishtim</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I traded a friend of mine an older 9mm for a Ruger M77 mk2 in 300wsm. It's never been shot.

Now, before I get jumped and told about how poor Ruger's are, please keep in mind that the farthest I've shot is 300yards, but I want to shoot further, and this was a good deal at the time.

Here's what I'm thinking -
Timney trigger
Shilen barrel - varmint profile
Ops Inc muzzle break
SWFA SS 10X

<span style="font-weight: bold">But I also want a stock. And therein lies the question.

Which is better, the Bell & Carlson or the McMillan?</span>

Also, does anyone know a good gunsmith in the Minnesota area who can do a bedding job, install the barrel, and attach the break?


Now, here's the tougher question . . . Am I better off selling the Ruger and picking up a semi-custom Remington for a grand or so?

--> I have a 6.5 Grendel, so I don't want a 308, so whatever I do, I'll be sticking with the 300wsm.

Any and all advice woud be extremely appreciated. </div></div>

here is a equally good question. do the company's you listed even make a stock that you like for your rifle

bench

 

[steve123]

Re: What to do with my Ruger?

Now, here's the tougher question . . . Am I better off selling the Ruger and picking up a semi-custom Remington for a grand or so?

Yep.If you want to throw money at something to fix it up then throw it at something that's going to be easier to sell later and most likely will shoot better.That said,the Ruger will make a good hunting rifle as is for 300 yards.

Steve

 

[Pete E]

Re: What to do with my Ruger?

May I suggest you shoot the Ruger first and see how it performs as is?

I have the same rifle in .223Rem and with my homeloads, it shoots 3/4" groups fairly constantly if I do my part. A local 'smith adjusted/stoned the trigger to a really nice crisp 2lb and also bedded the action...Its certainly not the most accurate rifle out there, but for the money and what I use it for, I think its a very reasonable "honest" working rifle..

Regards,

Peter

 

[utnapishtim]

Re: What to do with my Ruger?

I just took possession of said rifle . . . It's a .300 SAUM.

Damn ammo runs about $2 per.

I'm thinking I should rechamber to .308.

Thoughts?

 

[Queequeg]

Re: What to do with my Ruger?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Utnapishtim</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I just took possession of said rifle . . . It's a .300 SAUM.

Damn ammo runs about $2 per.

I'm thinking I should rechamber to .308.

Thoughts? </div></div>

That would require work on the bolt too, correct?

Think I'd trade or sell that baby for something closer to what you want to end up with, or keep it for what it is, as the build costs on that rifle sound prohibitive if you are looking at ever selling it for a price close to what you have invested in it.

The Rem. SAUM line of cartridges didn't take quite as well as the WSMs did they? How much do the WSM cartridges cost/round by comparison?

 

[utnapishtim]

Re: What to do with my Ruger?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: queequeg</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Utnapishtim</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I just took possession of said rifle . . . It's a .300 SAUM.

Damn ammo runs about $2 per.

I'm thinking I should rechamber to .308.

Thoughts? </div></div>

That would require work on the bolt too, correct?

Think I'd trade or sell that baby for something closer to what you want to end up with, or keep it for what it is, as the build costs on that rifle sound prohibitive if you are looking at ever selling it for a price close to what you have invested in it.

The Rem. SAUM line of cartridges didn't take quite as well as the WSMs did they? How much do the WSM cartridges cost/round by comparison? </div></div>


I wasn't counting on any bolt work being needed.

I'm finding WSM ammo about 30% ceapr than the SAUM ammo. That said, Remington has factory sierra match king BTHP available.

Think it would be worth bedding the action?

If I leave it as a hunting rifle, I think I'd go with a Bushnell rangemaster scope.

Bummer, I was hoping to use this as a donor action for a project . . . My 6.5 gets me out there, but I was hoping to carry a bit more punch past 300 . . .

 

[Queequeg]

Re: What to do with my Ruger?

Head diameter is wider on the SAUM than the .308 so I believe the bolt would need to be opened up or possibly replaced. There are smiths here that can answer these questions.

My understanding of bedding the Ruger stock is that it is more complicated than Rem.,Sav., Win., Sako, etc., because of the angled recoil lug. It can be done of course.

As to ammo, reloading solves many problems, especially regarding the more unusual cartridges.

 

[Top Cat]

Re: What to do with my Ruger?

The 300 SAUM is an excellent LR round for those that like to run a 30 cal and need the extra capability it offers. One might even prefer it to the WSM, but that is splitting some already very fine hairs.

Being a dedicated and experienced handloader is a prerequisite to all the above commentary, otherwise a 308 or 223 will cover most situations under 1K yards without all the extra hassle.

A Ruger is an excellent hunting rifle, and I would leave the Ruger in stock configuration for that purpose. If you base your decision for a rifle to fill the gap in your arsenal on a more commonly built on action, it will be a better and less expensive route to go than the Ruger.

Perhaps a Rem Tactical would be a consideration.

TC

 

[nashlaw]

Re: What to do with my Ruger?

Not knocking your Ruger as I have more than a couple, but you would probably be better off keeping it as is for a hunting rifle, or selling it and getting a Remington. $1000 will get into a very nice and very accurate Remingto PSS, LTR, used 5R and all you have to do is take it out and shoot it.

With the factory rifles mentioned, you get a nice stock, trigger, etc., for the same money you would spend on booting up the Ruger. Also, Remington add-ons are everywhere. Not the case with the Ruger.

 

[RH4540]

Re: What to do with my Ruger?

If I was you, I'd shoot it before changing anything. My old, Mark 1 in 7mm magnum used to always shoot 1/2" MOA, but, now that the throat is starting to erode, it's up to 3/4", which is still good enough for most hunting.

 

[utnapishtim]

Re: What to do with my Ruger?

I'm going to throw on a holland brake, and a limbsaver recoil pad, because his sucker is light.

Anybody wanna recommend a good smith in the Minneapolis area?