New Ruger 77/44

[birdshot8's]

I got this 77/44 from Cabelas the other day. It was priced at 399. I could not pass up a chance at a 44 mag rifle with 1-20 twist. I put a 3x9 on the rifle, I know, to much scope for a 44 but it was sitting around unused. The scope doesn't overwhelm the little rifle, so i got used to it fairly quick. I've not shot it at paper, but after a quick bore sighting, it was on target good enough to hit cans at 25 yards. I like the handiness of the rifle and I really like being able to mount my rifle rack on the hump in my pickup.

 

[BigBore44]

Let us know how it shoots. $399 seems like a really good price.

Especially since they’re $633 on Buds.

 

[Geno]

Cabela’s has some impressive prices lately. I did see that model listed on their website, but it seems always to be out of stock. Congrats!

Geno

 

[someguy2800]

For that price I would have picked it up to try myself

 

[ColtPythonElite]

Yeah, I would give one a try at that price, too.

 

[eastbank]

I bought one of the first one out several years ago and was a little disappointed in it, it didn,t feed very well, magizine was hard to remove. it shot so,so about 3-4" groups at 100 yards , I did kill a couple deer with it under 100 yards. I let it go, but I did like the idea of a short light carry rifle. I went to a model 7 Remington aac in 300bk. eastbank.

 

[birdshot8's]

Shooting 240 jhp, I have not noticed any feeding issues through about 40 rounds, though I have not tried cycling the bolt while upside down or while a horse at a gallop. I'll report back as I use the rifle more.

 

[chicharrones]

An excellent catch, birdshot. I would have had a hard time resisting that price.

 

[444]

That sounds like a good price.
If I saw the same gun in .357 for that price, I would have bought it in a heartbeat.
I already have the .44 version. Mine was suppressed by John's Guns. I agree, at least with the loads I have tried in it, accuracy is mediocre. More than adequate for it's intended purpose however.

 

[Skylerbone]

Looks to be a nice little rifle at a very good price. How's the balance overall? In a haste to take advantage of new hunting regs. in Iowa, my father jumped on a .357 Henry lever for my son to use for youth season. Realizing there is zero recoil I've been on the fence about a .44 Mag.

 

[eastbank]

I had no complaints on the balance or carrying it . I had a 2.5x compact leupold scope on the rifle. eastbank.

 

[ZGunner]

I'm kicking myself for not taking advantage of some of Cabela's recent deals, but there are so many right now. I contemplated this one for a good time before I decided to pay my bills instead.

 

[CoalTrain49]

I hope you have better luck than I did with my 77/357. I've concluded that a carbine that shoots a straight wall cartridge like a 44, 45, 357 or whatever isn't going to deliver stellar accuracy. I tried until I hit the wall with my 77/357. Straight wall cartridges are better left to revolvers, pistols and SBR's. Carbines really need a bottleneck cartridge as Eastbank concluded, we agree on that.

For the money you paid you got a great deal on nice little carbine. Just don't put any great accuracy expectations on it as I did with mine and you will enjoy it. For that price I would be tempted to try a 77/44.

60's Ford pickup?

 

[redbullitt]

Fun little gun I like it a lot. I would have bought it for what you paid. It carries and handles very well in my opinion. Good snag.

You will see lots of accuracy issues mentioned in searches. First off it is not really that kind of rifle, you know, a bench rifle or target gun : ). Second, proper cast bullets WILL shoot well in it, but it might take a little tinkering.

My 77/44 shot okay with most jacketed bullets, but it HATED anything that was .429 size. Simply chucked it out of the end of the barrel in some random direction lol. The fat jacketed bullets (.431) did pretty well though. I could expect 2 or 3 MOA at 100 yards with most pistol bullets. It does well with XTP bullets, especially the 300 grainers. Quite good for a pistol cartridge in a little carbine I think.

My cast bullets, especially with a gas check, DO shoot a bit better than 2 MOA with good speed out of the rifle. Most importantly they do it consistently unless I screwed something up. As long as I keep the bullet fat (around .434) and do not use too hard an alloy, they do very well. The lyman M die helped a lot too since the bullets werent getting messed up by the brass.

 

[Walkalong]

If I saw the same gun in .357 for that price, I would have bought it in a heartbeat.

Amen to that!

Nice pickup and a great price on the .44.

 

[birdshot8's]

60's Ford pickup?

1962, good eye, There was not much of the PU showing.

 

[Armored farmer]

Congrats.
I like handgun/ rifle combos.
Can't go wrong with ruger/ruger.
I think that scope wo u ld be fine, especially to carry on the low settings, then dial it up if you have the luxury of time.
I got this one in 1980.

 

[birdshot8's]

I got this one in 1980.

Nice Chevy. Looks like you really take care of your truck. I was going for the nice patina look.

 

[Armored farmer]

Nice Chevy. Looks like you really take care of your truck. I was going for the nice patina look.

Sure did, I only totalled it once. Son #1 drove it for 5years. Son #2 drove it for 5 yrs totalled it once on the ice. Son #3 us 15 y.o.. I am getting it ready for him to drive it as soon as he gets his license.

 

[CraigC]

For that price, I couldn't have walked away. It 'should' feed up to a 320gr WFN and obviously it has the right twist rate. The only real limitation is the magazine length.

I've concluded that a carbine that shoots a straight wall cartridge like a 44, 45, 357 or whatever isn't going to deliver stellar accuracy. I tried until I hit the wall with my 77/357. Straight wall cartridges are better left to revolvers, pistols and SBR's. Carbines really need a bottleneck cartridge as Eastbank concluded, we agree on that.

One really has nothing to do with the other. If the rifle does not shoot well, it's the rifle, load or shooter's fault, not the cartridge. Perhaps these guns have oversized chambers, I don't know but if it doesn't shoot well, it's not the cartridge's fault.

 

[greyling22]

I saw that and was on the fence until I handled one in a local store. It was so light and handy I had to have one. Of course, by then they were all gone......

 

[CoalTrain49]

For that price, I couldn't have walked away. It 'should' feed up to a 320gr WFN and obviously it has the right twist rate. The only real limitation is the magazine length.



One really has nothing to do with the other. If the rifle does not shoot well, it's the rifle, load or shooter's fault, not the cartridge. Perhaps these guns have oversized chambers, I don't know but if it doesn't shoot well, it's not the cartridge's fault.

That logic would lead one to believe that the case or chamber has nothing to do with accuracy. Compare a bottle neck cartridge with a pistol cartridge of about the same capacity. Everything else being equal which will shoot with better precision?

"Shooting well" is a relative term. Can you be more specific?

 

[CraigC]

That logic would lead one to believe that the case or chamber has nothing to do with accuracy. Compare a bottle neck cartridge with a pistol cartridge of about the same capacity. Everything else being equal which will shoot with better precision?

"Shooting well" is a relative term. Can you be more specific?

I don't see how you make that connection. By your logic, no straightwall cartridge would ever shoot worth a damn, regardless of the firearm it's chambered in. We know this is untrue. The only thing keeping the .44Mag, or any other revolver cartridge, from shooting sub-MOA at 100yds is the firearm that chambers it. In other words, the issue here is the rifle, not the cartridge. The 77/-series (77/22 not the centerfire 77) has never been known for fine accuracy. I've never seen a 77/44 or .357 shoot as well as any of my leverguns. I have a Marlin 1894S that shoots sub-MOA with loads it likes. This is why I don't own a 77/44.

The main advantage a bottlenecked rifle cartridge has is in the bullets it uses at the velocity it pushes them to. High BC coupled with high velocity means less atmospheric influence on the bullet's flight. However, this doesn't seem to keep big bore muzzleloaders from shooting tiny groups with archaic round balls and antiquated ignition.

 

[Skylerbone]

There you go again, dispelling the "inherently accurate/inaccurate calibers" myth. One uh day, we will uh find one an uh disprove you!

 

[444]

Yeah, I commented earlier that accuracy was mediocre. I was talking in terms of rifle accuracy. I can shoot a couple inch group at 100 yards, which is not horrible. Especially if you are buying this rifle to hunt with.
I am probably never going to hunt with my rifle and it is a range gun. So I am a little more picky about accuracy. But the rifle isn't horrible or anything: just not a one hole shooter or a 1 MOA shooter.