I suppose it is official, I am on a Ruger bolt gun tangent. I started out desirous of a Marlin lever gun in .357, but after being politely told at the gun shop I would have better luck scoring with Marissa Miller, I picked up a Ruger 77/357 instead. I purchased it new for $650.00. Upon initial inspection I was a little disappointed that there is a tiny scratch on the receiver and what appears to be a tiny chip at the top rear of the receiver. Neither has any bearing on the function, so I went with it (again, being politely informed it would be 8 months before I saw another one).
Other than the minute imperfections as noted, the rifle is a nice looking, smallish, stainless steel handy carbine weighing under 6 pounds. The action cycles smoothly and the trigger is surprisingly crisp, with no creep or aftertravel. I do not know how many pounds the pull is, but it is heavier than my CZ452 and about the same as my Gunsite Scout.
I like the look and feel of the gun, it shoulders quickly, but the sights are a little vague and hard to pick up with my aging eyesight.
I was able to go to the range with it today to sight it in and break in the barrel. All pro's and cons aside about barrel break in, I thought it judicious to slow fire for the first fifty rounds, cleaning the barrel every 5 rounds. It was a bit tedious, but hopefully it will improve the accuracy of the weapon, as well as satisfying any superstitions I may have.
I fired it about 120 rounds, shooting .357 PMC Bronze 158 grain, .357 Hornady 158 grain XTP over 7.4 grains and 7.8 grains of Unique. Additionally, I fired some .38's that were Hornady 125 grain XTP over 5.5 grains of Unique and Hornady 158 grain XTP over 5 grains of Unique.
Recoil was pronounced for the .357 loads, but quite manageable, if not pleasant. The recoil from the .38's was mild. The gun functioned flawlessly, the action literally getting slicker by the round.
I managed some decent groups with the PMC ammo at 50 yards, they clustered nicely around 3 inches. The Hornady 158 XTP over 7.4 grains of Unique shot to the left, with a fairly open 5 inch cluster. The Hornady 125 grain XTP over 5.5 grains of Unique shot a little high, but clustered nicely around 3-4 inches. I was having a difficult time with the sight picture and I plan to put a Leupold VX1 Hog scope on the rifle. Hopefully The scope will help.
I did not shoot any 100 yard targets, but merely fired into the backstop berm. The rounds terminated with a satisfying thump and cloud of dust at 100 yards, and the gun was definitely hitting where aimed.
I like this rifle as it has satiated my immediate gun lust for a .357 carbine. I plan to get an optic on it fairly quickly as the factory sights, for my eyes, are poor. I also intend to put walnut furniture on it, which I think just looks much better.
Here are some photos of the gun:
H
Other than the minute imperfections as noted, the rifle is a nice looking, smallish, stainless steel handy carbine weighing under 6 pounds. The action cycles smoothly and the trigger is surprisingly crisp, with no creep or aftertravel. I do not know how many pounds the pull is, but it is heavier than my CZ452 and about the same as my Gunsite Scout.
I like the look and feel of the gun, it shoulders quickly, but the sights are a little vague and hard to pick up with my aging eyesight.
I was able to go to the range with it today to sight it in and break in the barrel. All pro's and cons aside about barrel break in, I thought it judicious to slow fire for the first fifty rounds, cleaning the barrel every 5 rounds. It was a bit tedious, but hopefully it will improve the accuracy of the weapon, as well as satisfying any superstitions I may have.
I fired it about 120 rounds, shooting .357 PMC Bronze 158 grain, .357 Hornady 158 grain XTP over 7.4 grains and 7.8 grains of Unique. Additionally, I fired some .38's that were Hornady 125 grain XTP over 5.5 grains of Unique and Hornady 158 grain XTP over 5 grains of Unique.
Recoil was pronounced for the .357 loads, but quite manageable, if not pleasant. The recoil from the .38's was mild. The gun functioned flawlessly, the action literally getting slicker by the round.
I managed some decent groups with the PMC ammo at 50 yards, they clustered nicely around 3 inches. The Hornady 158 XTP over 7.4 grains of Unique shot to the left, with a fairly open 5 inch cluster. The Hornady 125 grain XTP over 5.5 grains of Unique shot a little high, but clustered nicely around 3-4 inches. I was having a difficult time with the sight picture and I plan to put a Leupold VX1 Hog scope on the rifle. Hopefully The scope will help.
I did not shoot any 100 yard targets, but merely fired into the backstop berm. The rounds terminated with a satisfying thump and cloud of dust at 100 yards, and the gun was definitely hitting where aimed.
I like this rifle as it has satiated my immediate gun lust for a .357 carbine. I plan to get an optic on it fairly quickly as the factory sights, for my eyes, are poor. I also intend to put walnut furniture on it, which I think just looks much better.
Here are some photos of the gun:
H
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