How many of you have had or wanted a Gorgeous Vintage Rifle

[Wyoming270]

Nice rifle @Wyoming270. I've got a tang safety 77 that I just dropped a new timney in. The factory trigger is good, but I couldn't get it below 3 pounds after honing & changing sear springs. Factory trigger was crisp with zero over travel & very repeatable. Just a tad heavy for my tastes. The timney required a lot of fitting of the stock, but it did give me a very nice 2 pound trigger that matches my other big game rifles.

Those old rugers are tanks. Very undervalued for the strength of action & accuracy potential.

You can get them under 3 lbs, if you know which flat surface to gently shorten by about .001" with an arkansas transluscent whetstone. However, i would not recommend a trigger that light for a hunting rifle shot wearing gloves.


Aa far as strength, i think its impossible to destroy one. Somewhere online there is a thread by a guy who hand loaded 30 06 with alliant reloader 7 instead of 17 and then shot it in his m77. It blew the stock to splinters but the action was ok. Theres also a video on youtube where someone shows another m77 that had the wrong ammunition shot in it, cant remember the details but it was the wrong cartridge by a long ways and should have destroyed the gun but it didnt.

Cool thing with m77 is they have holes either side of the receiver that start from where the bolt face sits and angle forward away from the shooter.

Ans that investment cast receiver is a heavy solid chunk of cast iron that stays consistent with weather changes.

Cant ask for a better hunting rifle.

 

[Mustangs Rule]

Nice rifle @Wyoming270. I've got a tang safety 77 that I just dropped a new timney in. The factory trigger is good, but I couldn't get it below 3 pounds after honing & changing sear springs. Factory trigger was crisp with zero over travel & very repeatable. Just a tad heavy for my tastes. The timney required a lot of fitting of the stock, but it did give me a very nice 2 pound trigger that matches my other big game rifles.

Those old rugers are tanks. Very undervalued for the strength of action & accuracy potential.

glad you are happy with the new trigger. I have hunted a lot in real cold with gloves. Three pounds is my happy zone.

 

[Ben Lamb]

You can get them under 3 lbs, if you know which flat surface to gently shorten by about .001" with an arkansas transluscent whetstone. However, i would not recommend a trigger that light for a hunting rifle shot wearing gloves.


Aa far as strength, i think its impossible to destroy one. Somewhere online there is a thread by a guy who hand loaded 30 06 with alliant reloader 7 instead of 17 and then shot it in his m77. It blew the stock to splinters but the action was ok. Theres also a video on youtube where someone shows another m77 that had the wrong ammunition shot in it, cant remember the details but it was the wrong cartridge by a long ways and should have destroyed the gun but it didnt.

Cool thing with m77 is they have holes either side of the receiver that start from where the bolt face sits and angle forward away from the shooter.

Ans that investment cast receiver is a heavy solid chunk of cast iron that stays consistent with weather changes.

Cant ask for a better hunting rifle.

The pressure relief holes were built into the 1903 Springfield first, irrc, which adopted them as opposed to the Mauser gas vents in the bolt body, which redirects pressure into the magazine. Great safety feature on the 77's. I've taken mine up to the high end on pressure with little wear to show for it.

2 pounds is the correct trigger pull weight on a hunting rifle. Everything else is incorrect and worth fighting over.

My 98 mauser's set trigger is at 8 ounces & my set trigger on a drilling is about 6 oz. Those require a level of engagement & thought with your rifle that helps your focus stay on your game. Super light triggers are a time-tested method to achieve accuracy but they do have their downsides. Similarly, my Ruger #1 is about 6 pounds. While it's crisp, and it is on a hard recoiling chambering, I still prefer a 2 pound trigger. 6 pounds is too much unless the adrenaline is really flowing.

 

[Wyoming270]

The pressure relief holes were built into the 1903 Springfield first, irrc, which adopted them as opposed to the Mauser gas vents in the bolt body, which redirects pressure into the magazine. Great safety feature on the 77's. I've taken mine up to the high end on pressure with little wear to show for it.

2 pounds is the correct trigger pull weight on a hunting rifle. Everything else is incorrect and worth fighting over.

My 98 mauser's set trigger is at 8 ounces & my set trigger on a drilling is about 6 oz. Those require a level of engagement & thought with your rifle that helps your focus stay on your game. Super light triggers are a time-tested method to achieve accuracy but they do have their downsides. Similarly, my Ruger #1 is about 6 pounds. While it's crisp, and it is on a hard recoiling chambering, I still prefer a 2 pound trigger. 6 pounds is too much unless the adrenaline is really flowing.

I also like light triggers. i simply wanted to make sure i put that disclaimer in there since i described how to acheive it. The method also works on the second gen m77 that have that horrendous 6 lb pull just like the #1.

 

[Mustangs Rule]

The pressure relief holes were built into the 1903 Springfield first, irrc, which adopted them as opposed to the Mauser gas vents in the bolt body, which redirects pressure into the magazine. Great safety feature on the 77's. I've taken mine up to the high end on pressure with little wear to show for it.

2 pounds is the correct trigger pull weight on a hunting rifle. Everything else is incorrect and worth fighting over.

My 98 mauser's set trigger is at 8 ounces & my set trigger on a drilling is about 6 oz. Those require a level of engagement & thought with your rifle that helps your focus stay on your game. Super light triggers are a time-tested method to achieve accuracy but they do have their downsides. Similarly, my Ruger #1 is about 6 pounds. While it's crisp, and it is on a hard recoiling chambering, I still prefer a 2 pound trigger. 6 pounds is too much unless the adrenaline is really flowing.

Just over a year ago, my friend and one of my three shooting mentors, Alan passed away at 88. He had two shooting careers. first as an active duty, USMC Officer, and then decades later as a senior.

He won 36 national and international shooting competitions, mostly rifle, but some with handgun.

Going through his shooting trophy room was amazing. Me being the doubting Thomas I am, i checked the official records, and sure enough, every claim he made as a winner, every trophy he had, was really won by him.

He won all his handgun trophies with a 45 1911 Colt. He won all his Rifle trophies with a pre-64 Model 70 Winchester, 30-06, walnut stock with a 3-pound trigger. and a heavy barrel. Basically, one of the early Vietnam Sniper rifles.

He won most every one of the most prestigious long-range civilian and military shooting matches in America.

His Winchester rifle and Colt 1911 both had long "oil on ice slick" three-pound triggers. With these firearms he beat long lines of shooters with light triggers.

One day I showed him a rifle I had just bought. It was a near 100-year-old Winchester model 54 in 30-06. With a dry fire snap cap in the chamber, he tried the long slick 3-pound pull and smiled then he said:

" I could win tournaments with this rifle"!

Wi

 

[Ben Lamb]

I also like light triggers. i simply wanted to make sure i put that disclaimer in there since i described how to acheive it. The method also works on the second gen m77 that have that horrendous 6 lb pull just like the #1.

I didn't bother with stoning my Mkii trigger, just put a Timney in. I did have a smith turn that mkii stock into something that's far better than the original, though.

 

[Ben Lamb]

Just over a year ago, my friend and one of my three shooting mentors, Alan passed away at 88. He had two shooting careers. first as an active duty, USMC Officer, and then decades later as a senior.

He won 36 national and international shooting competitions, mostly rifle, but some with handgun.

Going through his shooting trophy room was amazing. Me being the doubting Thomas I am, i checked the official records, and sure enough, every claim he made as a winner, every trophy he had, was really won by him.

He won all his handgun trophies with a 45 1911 Colt. He won all his Rifle trophies with a pre-64 Model 70 Winchester, 30-06, walnut stock with a 3-pound trigger. and a heavy barrel. Basically, one of the early Vietnam Sniper rifles.

He won most every one of the most prestigious long-range civilian and military shooting matches in America.

His Winchester rifle and Colt 1911 both had long "oil on ice slick" three-pound triggers. With these firearms he beat long lines of shooters with light triggers.

One day I showed him a rifle I had just bought. It was a near 100-year-old Winchester model 54 in 30-06. With a dry fire snap cap in the chamber, he tried the long slick 3-pound pull and smiled then he said:

" I could win tournaments with this rifle"!

Wi

I mean, we quibble and josh about these things, but the most important aspect to accuracy is the shooter. The miniscule differences we get hung up don't matter if your skillset is correct.

 

[Wyoming270]

I mean, we quibble and josh about these things, but the most important aspect to accuracy is the shooter. The miniscule differences we get hung up don't matter if your skillset is correct.

It does make a difference if all of your rifles have a great trigger and then one is really bad. Ive found this to hang a shot.

 

[noharleyyet]

I find that my modern triggers are much more forgiving to my chronic lack of trigger discipline. It's not that I don't know the 'how' as much as it is that my brain controls the 'get it over with' button.

 

[Ben Lamb]

It does make a difference if all of your rifles have a great trigger and then one is really bad. Ive found this to hang a shot.

Agreed. Also from my experience, form, practise and repetition give the skillset to master any trigger regardless of how bad it is. focusing on the basics and shooting cheap old 22's, NEF's, etc really helps with your form!

 

[Mustangs Rule]

I mean, we quibble and josh about these things, but the most important aspect to accuracy is the shooter. The miniscule differences we get hung up don't matter if your skillset is correct.

Alan was convinced the secret to winning shooting tournaments was dealing with the micro-flinch. Further a long super smooth trigger pull was his solution,???

 

[Ben Lamb]

Alan was convinced the secret to winning shooting tournaments was dealing with the micro-flinch. Further a long super smooth trigger pull was his solution,???

I can see that. I love a quality 2-stage trigger.

 

[LongCut]

I inherited a model 70 Safari grade in 375H&H. I'm guessing my uncle never fired it? He would buy things that related to whatever his latest hobby was, then never do anything with them. It was in a fire and has some smoke damage that needs cleaned up, but looks like its in really great shape. I tried to figure out when it was made. This was what I came up so far:

"The WACA serial number lookup tool for Model 70s only covers the period of Olin ownership (serial numbers 1 through 1,525,323). Around S/N 1,000,000, a G prefix was added to comply with the Gun Control Act of 1968, but the serial number sequence continued uninterrupted. For future reference, it’s not necessary to enter the “G”, if looking up a M70 made between 1936 and 1981. Just the number…



In 1981, the Olin sold the New Haven plant and licensed the Winchester name to US Repeating Arms Company. USRAC continued the “G” serial number sequence on the push feed M70s then being made, again uninterrupted. Unfortunately, USRAC did not provide serial number information to the Cody Firearms Museum, and there seems to be little information out there allowing one to exactly date USRAC M70s. Further complicating things, when USRAC re-introduced the controlled round feed M70 as the M70 ”Classic”, they DID restart the serial numbers for “classics” at G10001.



In any event, your rifle was made after the sale of USRAC to FN/Browning. Hence the serial numbers, and letter prefixes, have nothing to do with Model 70s made by “Winchester” when owned by Olin Corp or even USRAC. FN/Browning has not provided serial number information to CFM either… That’s what’s going on here…



Have you tried calling Browning/Winchester Customer Service (the current company)? You own one of their rifles, and depending on who answers the phone, they should be able to provide your date of manufacture. I know several people who’ve gotten a straight answer from them about FN/Browning/“Winchester” Model 70s. My sense is that not everyone there tries to be helpful, but it’s worth a shot. Sometimes they just refer questions to us (WACA), and as I explained above, we do not have the information.



Good Luck!!!

Lou"

 

[elkantlers]

I collect 1st gen Ruger M77 rifles. Only rifles I keep, only rifles i hunt with. I hunt the mountains of wyoming with them. Last year i traded off a few thousand rounds of 223 Vmax loads and acquired a 1980 m77 in 270 win. The stock has been refinished with oil. It is way better wood than ever seen on an m77. My theory is they ran low on m77 stock wood and cut one out of the better wood they use for ruger #1 falling block rifles. It is on par with the stock of my grade 4 browning citori. This rifle is faily low round count, but was certainly someones main hunting rifle for a generation or two. The wood is gently worn where it was held, where the cheek contacted, the bluing worn off of the bolt handle where it was grabbed, the finish worn off of the face of the trigger. I love gentle wear details like that. it does something for me. To understand this rifle was cherished AND used and beloved by someone who harvested decades worth of elk with it. That does something for me. I have the money for fancy guns, but dropping 3k on a christensen arms rifle to worry about scratches in cerakote or plastic stocks does nothing for me. my first centerfire rifle I ever bought was a first gen m77 in 300 win mag. Back of a small gun shop for $300. Gun shop owner had had it for years and no one would buy it. This was in a no rifle hunting state. That one was nearly unshot and looked pristine. The original owner died, and with it i received 5 boxes of ammunition that were handloads from 1991 and 1992 with his load data and dates. Unfortunately that ammunition lived in a wet basement and all of the powder had decayed to the point the nitric acid ate through the casings. I pulled the bullets, tumbled them clean and tossed the powder and brass. The boxes with the hand written load data have been over my loading bench for almost 15 years. Still hunt with that rifle. Just put a lower mag scope on it this year for it to be more usable for shooting walking elk at 80 yards. In addition to triggers being smooth as glass on well used rifles, the first gen m77 offers set screw adjustment of length of pull, over travel, and trigger weight. The triggers on these feel better than any new rifles I have handled.

Nice rifle @Wyoming270. I've got a tang safety 77 that I just dropped a new timney in. The factory trigger is good, but I couldn't get it below 3 pounds after honing & changing sear springs. Factory trigger was crisp with zero over travel & very repeatable. Just a tad heavy for my tastes. The timney required a lot of fitting of the stock, but it did give me a very nice 2 pound trigger that matches my other big game rifles.

Those old rugers are tanks. Very undervalued for the strength of action & accuracy potential.

I just picked up a Ruger m77 in 257 Roberts Improved. Don't know much about it, but it was in good shape and the caliber intrigued me. A SN lookup found the gun was made in 1972. I searched that year and I found that this is the first time the 257 Roberts was offered as an uncatalogued run of approximately 2500 in 1972. Whatever that means. lol

I also did a little research on the gunsmith that Improved it. His name is Mike Bellm. I found a phone number and actually called and got ahold of him. He's 79 now and quite a character. He said he bought his tools directly from P.O Ackley in 1979. He had no way of knowing when my rifle was done, but he said probably early 1980's. he didn't do any after 89.

I took this rifle out and shot it with some ammo that came with it. I was pretty happy when I shot a 3 shot group at just under 1".

I haven't decided whether I'll keep it yet, but it's pretty cool for a rifle I wasn't even planning on buying.