Hunting Washington Forum

Equipment & Gear => Guns and Ammo => Topic started by: jdb on March 13, 2019, 07:57:49 PM

Title: 77/44
Post by: jdb on March 13, 2019, 07:57:49 PM: I'm picking up a ruger 77/44 this weekend. Anyone else have one? How do they shoot? Any tips?
Title: Re: 77/44
Post by: j_h_nimrod on March 13, 2019, 08:45:52 PM: I’ve had one for a number of years, a great gun! Fun to shoot and a pretty accurate rifle. It is obviously limited in range with 150 being about my max distance for deer sized game and 200 being so if I had plenty of time and I had practiced a lot, those .429 bullets are dropping fast at that range but still pack a bit of punch. At 100 I was usually good for 3” or less groups, 150 was 5” +/-. I had a pretty good load with h110 but can’t recall the particulars, I didn’t spend a lot of time dialing in a load for the longer barrel with slower powders. A f7n gun all in all, enjoy!
Title: Re: 77/44
Post by: huntingfool7 on March 14, 2019, 07:14:42 AM: Jealous
Title: Re: 77/44
Post by: HighlandLofts on March 14, 2019, 11:51:40 AM: I have a 77/357 and love it. I haven't worked up a load for it yet. I will be using 158 or 180 grain Hornady XTP bullets.

A 77/44 is on my list of guns to get.
Enjoy it and let us know what works best for you.
Title: Re: 77/44
Post by: yorketransport on March 14, 2019, 01:42:52 PM: I missed a good deal on one a couple years ago and I've been kicking myself ever since.

H110 is always a good bet in the 44 Mag. The magazines on those are a little shorter than the cylinder of some revolvers, so watch for that when you load/buy ammo. They usually don't have the right rifling twist for bullets over 300gr either.
Title: Re: 77/44
Post by: Slow-drifter on March 14, 2019, 09:15:07 PM: Just got mine last weekend. Haven't really shot it to test accuracy, but it shoots cans at 50yds, and it's so much fun it should be illegal. Trying to decide on a scope for it right now. Also, recoil isnt much, my 11yr old daughter ran 40rds through it. She says it's hers now
Title: Re: 77/44
Post by: Tjkride on March 15, 2019, 08:57:04 AM: I was supposed to pick one up 2 days ago but the guy flaked. Im jealous. I was guna put a Leupold VX-3i 1.5-5 on it
Title: Re: 77/44
Post by: jdb on March 17, 2019, 02:02:05 PM: Quote from: Tjkride on March 15, 2019, 08:57:04 AM
I was supposed to pick one up 2 days ago but the guy flaked. Im jealous. I was guna put a Leupold VX-3i 1.5-5 on it
can I ask where you were getting it?
Title: Re: 77/44
Post by: jdb on March 17, 2019, 04:44:53 PM: Picked it up yesterday. Shot it today. Review to follow
Title: Re: 77/44
Post by: jdb on March 17, 2019, 09:16:37 PM: I took the 77/44 out today. It came with a bushnell 1x4 banner. Now I am mostly a leupold guy but I've had a couple bushnell's that I've never had any trouble with but they were never on anything bigger than a .22-250. I figured this wouldn't be a hard kicking rifle so I figured it'd be ok. Well not wanting to wade through snow and seeing as how this is a short range affair as it is I started at 35 yards. I fired five rounds just to kind of get a feel. The 6th I settled down hand center punched the bullseye! I was pretty intrigued at this point so I put up a new target and shot about an inch tight of the bull and maybe 1/2" low. Second shot was about 3/4" right of center but pretty much dead on for elevation. As I prepared to shoot the 3rd round the scope seems a little foggy but I was really working on my breathing and assumed I had exhaled on the lens and fogged it. Thinking not much of it I concentrated on fundamentals and put the third shot essentially in the same hole as the second shot but at the shot I noticed it "fogged" more. Closer inspection revealed one of the interior lenses shattered. So I came home and swapped it for a leupold 2x7 I had laying around. It could really use a trigger job but it really seems to want to shoot.
Title: Re: 77/44
Post by: Tjkride on March 19, 2019, 07:03:28 PM: Must have been the same guy from armslist. His had a bushnell banner on it.
Title: Re: 77/44
Post by: jdb on March 19, 2019, 08:20:08 PM: Quote from: Tjkride on March 19, 2019, 07:03:28 PM
Must have been the same guy from armslist. His had a bushnell banner on it.
were you trading him a .32?
Title: Re: 77/44
Post by: Tjkride on March 20, 2019, 08:54:31 AM: Oh lord no, another 44 mag
Title: Re: 77/44
Post by: jdb on March 30, 2019, 12:53:47 PM: I've been shooting this thing quite a bit and I'm pretty happy with it. Shoots the 240 grain Xtp pretty good. Anyone have any experience with these bullets on game?
Title: Re: 77/44
Post by: yorketransport on March 30, 2019, 02:24:14 PM: The 240 XTP does pretty well but you'll be at the upper end of the velocity spectrum out of the rifle. It may start to come apart if you smack something at really close range with it.
Title: Re: 77/44
Post by: carpsniperg2 on March 30, 2019, 02:39:30 PM: I have shot deer with xtp and Barnes xpb I think it is. I prefer the Barnes as York said the xtps will really come apart at faster velocity. I was running them in my 454. I have shot serval with the xpb in my 44 and had great results.
Title: Re: 77/44
Post by: jdb on March 30, 2019, 04:39:12 PM: Is there a factory offering you guys would recommend? How bout the 300 grain xtp?