Ruger M77 Mark II Compact 243

B

BigDog

Guest
I am thinking of getting my son his first centerfire rifle. He is nine years old and not real big...definitely needs a light/compact gun with small LOP. Gun will be used for hunting varmints, hogs and small deer, so a 243 or a 7mm08 seem logical. We also go to the range fairly frequently.

I found a great condition Ruger M77 Mark II compact (16" bbl and 12.5" LOP) already topped with a Leopold 3x9 for $500. Given the new ones retail for $750 (w/o scope and rings) this seems like a very attractive option.

I have never owned a Ruger, so I am not familiar with their accuracy and reliability. I hve heard that the tiggers are a crap shoot but that you can drop in a Timney. I have also never had a 16" bbl.

Anyone have any experience with this gun or 16" bbls?
 
The 243 would be a better choice for your proposed use, particuarily in a light gun because the lighter the rifle the more felt recoil, a 7/08 in a light gun has quite a bit of recoil.

The biggest concern I would have is the short barrel, in my opinion most flinching is induced by noise level, and a 16" 243 noise level can be brutal. I have a pickup gun in 243 and it has a 20" barrel on it and the noise it generates is pretty darned loud, and at one time I had a Rem 600 in 243 with a 16 & 1/2" barrel, it was just no fun to shoot mainly because it was so loud.

It is amazing how much less noise is generated by a 22" barrel and the extra pound or two in a full size rifle will help tame recoil somewhat also. If he starts flinching while learning to shoot it will be a long time before he can get over it and it certainly will take a lot of the enjoyment away from his experience.

By shopping around on the different forums used stocks can often be picked up for under $50.00 get one of these and cut down for him and use it until he grows into a full sized stock, eventually you will have to buy a full size stock for this rifle so this is just sort of doing it in reverse.

With all of that being said - depending on the condition of the rifle and which model Leupold scope it has on it $500 sounds like a reasonable price.
 
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twist

Anyone know what the barrel twist is for M77 Mark II Compact (16" bbl)? The gun I am looking at is is in like new condition, but it is not new. So not sure if Ruger has changed the twist over time.

Just trying to figure what bullets will work best.
 
The shorter the barrel, the lighter the bullet. Find the lightest bullet which is rated for medium game and load it on the low side with one of the fastest listed powders. This will give you about as much power as you can get, less muzzle flash and recoil. Then you need to hunt from a blind or stand so he can get a clean shot. On the other hand, at that age, my deer gun was a 20 ga single shot with slugs. The little J.C.Higgins/savage 24 weighed about 3 pounds. You had to be serious to shoot it. But, I didn't care, I was deer hunting!!
 
Ruger

Beware the good looking, but bargain Ruger MK. II .

My experiance is that they spray, rather than shoot.

Thats what got me onto this site, trying to accurise one to acceptable level,takes some work but can be done.

That 16 " barrel may cause a flinch in the young fella.
 
You know, 16" barrel just doesn't make any sense on a .243. There are certail internal ballistic ratios which effect performance: bore diameter vs case capacity vs barrel length. All are working against this combination.
 
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