Ruger Mdl 77/MKII .350 Rem Mag First Impressions

I took the Ruger stainless bbl/synthetic stock modl 77 MKII .350 Remington Mag to the range on Sunday. I had mounted a Weaver Grand Slam 1.5X5x32 scope on the gun. The only ammunition I had on hand were new Remington 200 grain Express Corelokt factory loads. I had some reservations after reading on some shooter forums about poor accuracy with the 200 grain corelokts out of the Ruger. I know the barrel twist rate is different for the Ruger and the Remington in .350 Mag. My fears were definitely unfounded as the accompanying photos demonstrate. After an initial sighting in process at 50 yards, I moved the target out to 100 yards and fired two separate two shot groups. The first one measured 1/2 inch center to center and the second one 3/4 inch center to center. I could not be happier with this rifle and scope combination and the 200 grain corelokts. This combination should handle most of what I would use a .350 Remington magnum for. See my article on "Bigger Critter Rifles I & II" on my website at www.gunsandoptics.com.

The rifle as set up and sighted in is putting the corelokts out the muzzle at around 2775 fps and exhibiting 3419 ME. This should handle all chores asked of the .350 mag until we get to the big bears. If I work up a handload with 250 grain or perhaps 225 grain loads, this rifle should be adequate for all North American Game including the big bears.
A little history on the .350 mag. Remington came out with the .350 Magnum in its model 600 rifle in 1965. There were some inherent design problems and this model only stayed in the Remington line up until 1974. Two of the biggest complaints were the laminated beech and walnut stock and the short 18.5 inch bbl. The shooting world apparently was not ready for laminated stocks in those days. The 18.5 inch bbl and light weight at 6.5 lbs, gave the rifle a reputation for having vicious recoil. There was also the issue with the dog leg shaped bolt, and ventilated rib and shark fin front sight, that was too much of a radical departure for 1965. In any event I guess you either loved it or hated it and the rifle and the caliber developed a cult like following that still exists today. Remington brought out other models from time to time including the model 660 from 1968-1971. They also built some in the model 700 from 1969 to 1975. In 2003 it was ressurected again in the new model 673. The guns redeeming virtues are that is was accurate and it hit hard.

My gun is the Ruger Model 77 MKII in stainless with a synthetic stock and it was introduced in 1989. In my opinion it solved many of the problems of the early Remington 600 series guns. It has a 22 inch bbl in stainless, a synthetic stock, no ventilated rib or shark fin front sight, no dog leg bolt, and weighs apprx 7 lbs. With the Weaver 1.5X5X32 Grand Slam series scope, it tops out right around 7 3/4 lbs. The Ruger gun has controlled round feeding, a hinged floorplate, a darn decent trigger, and the ergonomics are excellent. In other words it handles like a dream. It also has the advantage of the intregal Ruger stainless rings, which is one less thing to go wrong on an out of state remote hunt.

Most folks think of this as a brush gun for hunting black bears over bait, hog hunting etc. It is actually more versatile than that. One can handload this rifle with bullets weighing from 150 grains on up to 250 grains. Let's look at trajectory of the 200 grain Remington core lokt load compared to a 180 grain bullet out of a 30:06.

If you sight the .350 mag in to be 2 inches high at 100 yards, it will be dead on at 200 and only 9.3 inches low at 300 yards. A 30:06 loaded with Remington's 180 grain PSP core lokt bullet if set 2.1 inches high at 100 yards, will also be dead on at 200 yards and 9 inches low at 300 yards. Out to 300 yards the trajectories are almost identical. Something to think about.

The Weaver Grand Slam scope series is a great buy in today's optical market. The scope has 3.25 inches of eye relief, 71 feet field of view at 100 yards when set at 1.5X , and 120 degrees of windage and elevation adjustment. It is 10.25 inches long and weighs just 11.5 ounces.

All in all, a great package providing excellent handling capabilities, great accuracy, tolerable recoil and with the Weaver scope on board, a wide field of view for close in and/or running shots.

Dan
www.deer-hunting-information.com

Matthew 8:27 "What manner of man is this that even the winds and the sea obey him?"