A forgotten rifle.

Muir

Well-Known Member
I was rummaging through my gun stuff last week and came across a walnut stocked Ruger 77/22 I'd forgotten I had. I have been rebuilding and shooting a lot of Brno#2s over the last couple of years and I really appreciate the quality of the Brno rifles, but I was reminded of how well the Ruger 77/22's were made when I found this one. Ruger's new rifle, the American, is nowhere near as well built as the old 77/22's.(Tho the two Americans I have shot were very accurate despite looking like a Marlin/Savage hybrid) I took this old Ruger out and shot it with iron sights last week and it was very accurate as well.

I guess where I'm going with this is if you are looking for a pretty solid rifle, don't overlook the older 77/22's.~Muir
 
Yes, I guess most .22 shooters want to spend very little and just want it to shoot well enough for them, which is mostly plinking.

So quality rifles compete in a small market. The Anschutz rifles are superb, but at the top of price, too. I am surprised that a quality rifle, cost not much more than a utility Marlin or Savage cannot find enough buyers. I think Ruger, Browning and Winchester accountants have made a mistake not keeping quality .22s in their catalog, as part of the total image of quality you would think they would want to project to their customers. Having a rimfire, a Hornet, and a .222/.223 in the lineup, which match the look of the big centerfires, seems important to me. I know several Ruger 77 owners who have lamented not buying a 77/22 before they were discontinued.

I have a Browning A-Bolt .22 Gold Medallion, which sat on a dealer rack for 2 years, handled by many until I talked them down to $425 and took it home. It shoots like a laser, and is so beautiful, such a pleasure to take hunting. I wish I had another in .22 WMR, .22 Hornet and .223 Rem.
 
My brother owns three Ruger 77/22 ,.22LR, 22Magnum & 22 Hornet they all handle & shoot very well .. I did try the New Amercan model I did liked the tigger but just doesn't have that feel like the 77/22 ..
 
I have the same rifle in 22-250. And a Hunter in .270. Beautifully-balanced, aren't they? :thumb:
And they shoot !! You can spend 5X the money and not get a more beautiful, better handling, and more accurate rifle. I have several friends with the nicer A-Bolt IIs in .270 Win, and they just stopped shopping for other rifles.

I bought my son a BL-22 Gold Medallion when he was about 12. It is really a nice size for a boy or woman, and like a feather to a man. Now in his 20s, he would never sell it.
 
I moved a bookcase and found a Romanian "Mauser" .22 training rifle for youth, complete with dual folding leaf rear sights. I think I will restore it for squirrel season next year.

It's like free money, finding a .45 auto or a Colt revolver in the back of a drawer.
 
I was born in the wrong country. I would have made a good American.
We should do a trade in citizens. Your left wing liberals would be much happier this side of the water anyway :).

Yorkie.
 
Yeah! Right?? It's always such a pleasant surprise.~Muir

(Had a few Romanian's at one time. Let them go)

It is pretty roughly made, and has had a bit of use. I probably don't have $25 in it. Might be something to give to a boy.
 
I was born in the wrong country. I would have made a good American.
We should do a trade in citizens. Your left wing liberals would be much happier this side of the water anyway :).

Yorkie.

Come on over, Yorkie. I wish I could swap you 100 to 1.

The UK is too nice for the delusional utopian socialists. We need a time machine to send them to their Workers' Paradise of Stalin's USSR. I always like it when one of them is burgled, robbed or mugged, and squeals for the police and bystanders to help them.
 
When I was about 12 my uncle gave me his Dad's (my granddad's) ww1 bandolier and bayonet in the sheath.
I went looking for granddad's rifle to completr the set but never found it...'cos I was in Scotland, not America.
Enjoy over there, you are lucky.
 
fraser,
See the posts on .303 Ammunition, and my photos.
.303 Stalking Loads

You don't have to have your grandfather's .303. Someone else is enjoying it, I hope. But get another to complete your gear.
 
Last edited:
Thanks Southern but I don't have it now.
A few years ago I took the bandolier,bayonet etc to a cousin in New Jersey,so it's your side of the pond now.
When the airline attendant enquired if I had anything unusual in my hold luggage as it all got x-rayed I enjoyed telling her, yes a ww1 bayonet and ammunition bandolier. It went OK.
Hopefully my granddad's great grandson will complete the set.

On that holiday in June 2001 we stayed in Manhattan and went up one of the twin towers.
It was first thing in the morning and I chatted with the restaurant staff as they set up then we went out on the roof. Fantastic view.
Our hotel was just along from a fire station, not far from the Empire State. It was hot and the station doors were open so I asked one of the guys if I could take some pictures. He kindly said yes and we got some great photos.
I wonder what happened to them all.
Sorry, bit of a ramble.

ps... I've added a photo of a picture on our hall wall.
It's an enlargement of a photo taken from the base of one of the twin towers.
I'ts not easy to see but on the enlargement you get a good sense of the tower stretching away up and the distinctive steelwork.
We have others taken from the top but they are somewhere in boxes as we've moved house three times since then.
 

Attachments

  • WTC picture.jpg
    WTC picture.jpg
    2.6 KB · Views: 9
Last edited:
It is pretty roughly made, and has had a bit of use. I probably don't have $25 in it. Might be something to give to a boy.

Mine were like new. Still crude but with the bits kit in the buttstock. There was a thing for converting those to CF for a while. I saw one in 25ACP once. You really need to be bored to do that conversion. ~Muir
 
Back
Top