Thread: Ruger 77/44

I picked up my new ( secondhand ) 77/44 yesterday .So far I'm as impressed as I can be without actually shooting it ( tomorrow )
The action is a lot smoother than I expected , the trigger is as bad as I expected .I've got a Timney trigger sear and spring coming so hopefully that will sort it .I have mounted a Meopta 3 - 9( very good scopes for the money , do you get them there ? ) until I find a good fixed 4 power scope ( Kahles etc )
We cant use or have suppressors and there are times when the BOOM - CRACK of a centerfire is to much for neighbours etc .
I have one place I can shoot that I just can't use my 308 , but have tried using my old lever action 44/40 and everyone seems happy , the problem is I struggle to shoot accurately at last light because I can't mount a scope on the 44/40 .This is the reason I got the 77/44 , I'll play with the loads and see if I can keep it as quite as possible without a suppressor .That 44 hole in the end of the barrel sure looks impressive





Ken

Its a bolt action 44magnum?

Where do you live aus ?

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Some one once told me its not the bullet that does the damage but the "light" getting in thru the bullet hole. That .44 bullet would sure let in a lot of light!!!!!!!!!

Originally Posted by veitnamcam

Its a bolt action 44magnum?

Where do you live aus ?

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Yes is the answer to both questions
The beauty of the 44 mag is that it can be run full throttle and at 100 m which is about the max distance I will be using it for ,it has similar energy to a 30/30 .
But you can use 44 special cartridges in it and go sub sonic easily . If you use 44 special brass you can seat really heavy long projectiles in the shorter case and still not exceed 44 mag OAL .
Barrel twist rate plays a part and this Ruger as far as I can tell from research on the interweb says 300 gn is the upper limit to still stabilise the bullet and 280 should not be a problem .. This is from info gathered from american forums and time will tell if this is true .
If not I will rebarrel it to a much tighter twist and go for the heaviest and longest lead bullets I can load and still function through the mag , using 44 special brass .
This thing is short and light and if I can get it shooting 2 inch groups at 100m I will be happy .
Remember 100m is about my max shooting distance anyway , and 2 inch groups mean DEAD PIGS

Ken

Sounds sweet

But is there any point in running subs and the issues that go with it without a supressor ?
Yea it will be a little quieter than full power loads but not much

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Originally Posted by veitnamcam

Sounds sweet

But is there any point in running subs and the issues that go with it without a supressor ?
Yea it will be a little quieter than full power loads but not much

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We have to do the best we can with the silly rules we've got .
Although they are still loud , there is quite a difference in perceived sound from a distance , I'm no expert but got my mate to shoot my old 44/40 about 300m away . We used two different loads ,full power and a reduced Trailboss load .The difference was quite noticeable , You still knew someone was shooting obviously ,but the Trailboss load seemed much further away .
Non shooters , even in the country can be funny and although they understand getting rid of pest pigs they don't like the idea of a " Big Gun " going off so loud it's seems "someone must be shooting in my backyard ".
Those are honestly the words that were used by one neighbour that I talked to .
He was OK and not really grumpy but he joked that my 308 stirred up his Chooks , his Dogs , his Wife , his Kids and his Heart Rate
I can understand that , and truth be known it is a very good reason and excuse to buy another rifle and play around developing some ammo for it.

Ken

Can't fault your logic there.
You always need another rifle

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Originally Posted by Ground Control

We have to do the best we can with the silly rules we've got .
Although they are still loud , there is quite a difference in perceived sound from a distance , I'm no expert but got my mate to shoot my old 44/40 about 300m away . We used two different loads ,full power and a reduced Trailboss load .The difference was quite noticeable , You still knew someone was shooting obviously ,but the Trailboss load seemed much further away .
Non shooters , even in the country can be funny and although they understand getting rid of pest pigs they don't like the idea of a " Big Gun " going off so loud it's seems "someone must be shooting in my backyard ".
Those are honestly the words that were used by one neighbour that I talked to .
He was OK and not really grumpy but he joked that my 308 stirred up his Chooks , his Dogs , his Wife , his Kids and his Heart Rate
I can understand that , and truth be known it is a very good reason and excuse to buy another rifle and play around developing some ammo for it.

Ken

Thats why silencers are so good, its nice n polite to use em. Dosent stir up the neighbours lol, but that's politicians for ya-banning sensible tools! The 44 will be great as a short range pig gun. I have a liking for pistol calibre carbines and like the idea of the ruger K357 aswell. You can use cheaper .38 in it aswell for practice or on possums n goats( well maybe not for the possums in Aus aye).
Enjoy the rifle and let us know how the loads go.

Cheers.

I'm abit surprised more of you guys aren't experimenting with them ( maybe you are , and I don't know it ) .
If we were allowed suppressors I would set it up as a pure Sub sonic quiet rifle .
I looked at the Whisper range of cartridges and a few others , but in the end this Ruger meets alot of my requirements at a cheap cost .
I paid $600 delivered , secondhand but only a honest handfull of rounds through it .
What did I get for my $600 .

All weather plastic stock ( actually very stiff compared to some other makers stocks )
Stainless barrel and action .
Rugers fantastic rotory magazine .
5 1/2 pound weight ( without scope , sling etc )
Very short overall lenght .
Rugers steel scope mounts ( other makers need to take up this idea , as it's one less cost to worry about )
A cartridge that is easily reloaded ( carbide dies , lots of different components , bullets - jacketed or lead that are designed to work at the slower speeds because of it's pistol background )
A cartridge that will throw bullets up to 300 grain , and in the world of sub sonic bullet weight is very important
Ability to use both 44 special and 44 magnum ammo
Factory ammo avalible in ever gunshop over here and in everything from lead Cowboy 44 specials to full noise jacketed magnums.
No it's not a long range destroyer , but after abit of range time to work out loads and bullet drop I feel that 150 m with full power loads would be more than possible .
I just wish we where allowed suppressors


Ken

Yep you should be allowed suppressors .
They are very popular here. Lots and lots of people/company's make them.
Some people say they would never own another unsuppressed rifle.
Each to there own... My main hunting rifle will never wear a suppressor or brake.
However i did suppress the wifes rifle. For her benefit learning to shoot, less of a boom and i don't want her developing a flinch right off the bat

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Not a 77/44 but a Ruger 96/44 lever gun. Subsonic 310gr cast slugs at 780fps. Suppressor is alloy and PVC ,works a treat and quiet compared to a gunworks suppressed 77/44 a mate has with the same load.No prise for geussing its my night kit!!.

Haha australias stupid gun laws are the main reason im still living in nz

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Well I shot it today with some Magtec 44 special Cowboy loads .
It functioned perfectly and feed the shorter rounds from the mag without a hangup .
The trigger is horrible , but as I have mentioned that is in the process of being fixed .
I now have a baseline accuracy with these loads of about 1 1/2 inchs at 50 m .That was shot from a bipod and rear bag .I'm more than happy with that , when you consider that it is the first load tried and in the past when reloading I have always been able to improve on factory ammo , and this is cheap , lightly loaded 44 special factory ammo , and not 44 mag loads.
If overseas reports are to be believed then my results are about on par with what others have achieved . With some load development and time I'm confident I will better my 2 inch at 100m wish for this rifle .
Anyway I feel today was a success and I'm really starting to like this thing .
With the loads used today it's really fun shooting , there is hardly any recoil and the gun feels and acts like a 22 rimfire , the only difference is that it is throwing 240 gn lead bullets not 40 gn

Ken

Originally Posted by Tasbay

Attachment 7998

Not a 77/44 but a Ruger 96/44 lever gun. Subsonic 310gr cast slugs at 780fps. Suppressor is alloy and PVC ,works a treat and quiet compared to a gunworks suppressed 77/44 a mate has with the same load.No prise for guessing its my night kit!!.

Holy Hell , thats one impressive piece of kit there mate
I'm interested to hear that you have no problems getting the 310 gn bullets to work in these rifles .Thats good to hear from my point of view because I want to go as heavy as I can .What sort of accurracy are you getting ( These things aren't Benchrest rifles ) and may I ask why you have gone to a slower speed of 780 fps ( is it a accurracy or sound reason ) .
Any advice on loads etc would be greatly received .

Ken

a friend of mine was experementing with one over here suppressed as a designated subsonic caliber

he ended up selling it due to it not stabilising the particular bullet he wanted to run, due to a too slow twist.
I like the idea, but I have a 308 set up to run cast led projectiles subsonics so its not worth the outlay for me.