#1
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Ruger 77-17AH
I have a question on a Ruger 77 22 Hornet rebarreled to 17AH. I have had this gun for about two years and work with it from time to time. I have always set it aside in frustration because I can not get it to shoot with any consistency. I had the bolt out tonight and was inspecting it with a bright light. I spotted what at first appeared to be a piece of lint. It was on bolt face just above the extractor. When I tried to brush it off I felt a sharp edge. After further inspection it appears to be a crack. I cannot detect is any further than the bolt face. Has anyone had a similar experience? Any thoughts? I will definitely not be shooting it until I resolve the issue.
Thanks for any ideas. Rider |
#2
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don't know about your bolt face but the 77 and accuracy can be a bag of worms.
has it been bedded? have you checked the bolt to see if the face is perpendicular to the bore? the bolt is a 2 piece bolt and if the two pieces don't match up perfectly the bolt face will be crooked. if the bolt face is ok how is the head space? if you have excess head space the groups will suffer as well as brass life. headspace is easy to fix, just epoxy a shim between the front and rear to take up the slack space. all my 17 ah on a ruger 77 (5 to be exact) shot 3/8th groups with proper bullet and powder combo.
__________________
I post here because it keeps the riffraff away. 'Life's Journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting, Holy sh!t... What a Ride! |
#3
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I had the exact same rifle with the exact same problem. Just about the time I thought I had it dialed in and would start to gain some confidence - I would get flyers and the groups would open back up, seemingly with no pattern. I've only sold 2 guns in my life, that was one of them.
There is a company, Connecticut Precision I think, that specializes in this gun and it's known issues. They're prices seemed reasonable to me. |
#4
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77 rimfires
I had a couple ( slow learner) 77 22 mag rifles. Never saw the crack you mention. But accuracy was poor. They went down the road.
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#5
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I did a more careful examination of the bolt and there is not a crack but a fairly deep scratch or tool mark. Still does not solve the accuracy issue. I to must be a slow learner- this is the third one for me. The all weather heavy barrel does shoot reasonably well. I do like the rotary mag.
Rider |
#6
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One might ponder:
How is the bedding? There are some advantages to bedding at the front of the action, at the rear of the action(recoil surface), and tang. Are pillars worthwhile? Is a Remington recoil lug worth anything in this case? How is the barrel bedded or is it floated? Crown look ok? pass the q-tip quickie? Any abbynormals in the extracted just fired case? What is the twist rate of barrel? New style bullets or old style bullets.....usually 9 or 10 repectively on the bullet type. Is the load ok, powder, primer, distance to lands? Seems some rifles are picky devils. Headspacing?......on the rim, on the shoulder. What is the headspace set to? Neck sizing previously fired brass? Trigger? 8 lb or less rifles with 8 lb triggers are harder for most to shoot groups with. Follow thru might do something, maybe not. Bolt is a two piece affair. Tight headspace or not(SAMMI min or max)? Are the two pieces of the bolt look like they were from the same planet surface wise? Are the respective surfaces been machined to be flat to one another. Sometimes shimming bolt halves with irregular sufaces(not perp to bore line, flat) will not do much. Is the connection pin for said two halves fitted well? Precision reaming of the two halves for a precision pin fitment might be pondered. How do the two rear action recoil surfaces look? is one bright and the other dark(no touch)? Forgive me for not being more detailed, you know how the internet is perceived. I am the village idiot on some forums because I like to know details, and always in the search for what works for my own project attempts. Have to admit my postings are getting fewer, just time on the net I reckon. There are accurizing services (pro's)on the net that help these rifles with some problems........how they do that, I do not know really; never used them myself. Most guys do not do much themselves anymore, rather trust a known name I reckon, and nothing against that here. I have always been curious about specifics, most could care less I have found. The little rifle is nice handling, especially in the lighter weight models. Some upgrades might enhance the experience if done correctly. |
#7
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Rick
Thanks for the pointed questions. The rifle is a Wessinger Custom with a Shilen barrel. It has been pillar bedded. The trigger is consistent at under 2#. The barrel is floated from 2" in front of the action. One thing that I have noticed is that the extractor seams to make contact with the extractor cut in the barrel. When the bolt is closed I see a slight deflection upward at the joint of the bolt halves. I had a local gunsmith look at it but he was not interested in removing the barrel and opening up the extractor cut. He told me that the barrel was shot out. My bore scope will not work in a 17 caliber bore but I doubt that the barrel is shot out. I will continue to look for a gunsmith to do the work and try other powders and bullets. Pictures of the rifle can be seen on this site by searching Wessinger custom. Rider |
#8
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Rider,
The equation for accuracy in a rifle is fairly complex seems like, some variables carry more weight than others, real info is always elusive. There is a school of thought that nothing on the bolt touches the barrel. One would surmise that headspacing is always done before cutting a special extractor recess. Hard to say what the issue is from here about the contact of the extractor to the barrel cut, could be just clocking on the final assembly or was just done some off(fairly unlikely in my book). Sounds like a nice build, I have always liked the Shilen barrel blank myself. I would guess that some movement upwards might suggest some play in the two piece bolt interfaces, just a guess on my part. I have seen some that the front section of the bolt could be pushed up and down with a case in the chamber, so guess anything is possible. We have all been taught(counseled) at times about rigidity in these things. all in all, pulling a 77/22 hornet barrel is not as tough as most to remove/remount(index mark), a 3/4" shank with fine thread relatively speaking. My best on your endeavor, I still like these rifles; even when they are giving me the runaround...... Rick |
#9
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Rick:
Exceptional input on your part. Miss seeing you post like you used to do. Rider: Just might be the reason this rifle was sold.
__________________
George "Gun Control is NOT about guns, it's about CONTROL!!" |
#10
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