Shim in the bolt of 77/357 or 77/44 Rugers

[rollmyown]

Has anyone tried the shim thing to improve accuracy? What did you find with your before and after groups?

I'm just wondering if it's worth a try in the 77/357.

Also are you having better results with heavy or light cast? I have only tried Lee's 125gn RF with pretty poor groups so far.

[Themoose]

I can't answer your questions yet... I just put a shim in my 77/44 and hope to get out Tues or Weds to see if it helped. The shims do make a difference in the "slop" in the bolt... should make a difference on the range. I'll try to send you my results.

TheMoose

[rollmyown]

Thanks moose, I'll be watching for your results.

[rockshooter]

Can't address the shim issue but I found that my 77/357 prefers longer 158 grain boolets. The shorter ones cause intermittent "rim lock" issues where the recoil puts one of the bottom rounds in the magazine ahead of the top ones and the whole thing is tied up. For this same reason, I avoid .38 special rounds. Some of the longer rounds, like the Lyman 358429 may have feeding issues with the barrel throat. It just gives me reason to keep experimenting!
Loren

[kweidner]

It really helped in my 77/22 hornet.

[Gtek]

Been thinking about leaning in to one of these. What are you shimming? We have covered bolt and magazines above.

[rollmyown]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CmRPQ4h9uM

The rifle in question is a 77/357.

[altheating]

I guess I am lucky. Neither my 77/357 or the 77/44 needed to be shimmed. My 77/22 absolutely needed the bolt shimmed. I had it done by CPC. As far as boolits, the heavier the better. I'm using the NOE 360-180. I have been loading them in 38 special cases seated to 357 length. The same powder charge as I'm using in the 357 cases. Accuracy, good enough to split playing cards in half at 50 yards.

[Gtek]

Thanks, got it. Appears to me this is all going on forward of locking lugs. Am I to understand these are being pushed out the door with the headspace all over the place?

[Goatwhiskers]

Did a 77/22 Hornet. Shimmed it such that closing the bolt on a round was faintly firm, in other words such that it had zero slack headspace, rimmed cartridges headspace on the rim, not the shoulder. Neck sized the cartridges 1/8", groups went from 3/4" to less than 1/4" with the same load. GW

[Gtek]

Well I guess I came to the realization. If I spend seven hundred or so on that little bang stick, do not be surprised if I need to spend more money and time with it to make it right/nice. Got it, Thanks.

[rockshooter]

my rule of thumb is that once the perfect load, perfect function is found, time to sell the rifle and start anew with another challenge
Loren

[Themoose]

Rollmyown,

I got out to the range this morning to see how my load development is coming... Used the 77/44 after installing a .002 shim. I can't say that accuracy was impacted either way with certainty. My perception was that the groups had less vertical stringing than before, but that is just a gut feeling. I did use my chronograph this morning and was able to see that vertical stringing in this particular rifle seems to go with variation in velocity. Perhaps removing any "slop" in the bolt with the shims helped reduce the variance. I think a better test will be made when(hopefully soon) I come up with my pet load for my rifle and try shooting groups and chronographing them with the shim and without the shim.

Sorry I couldn't give you a more definitive answer.

TheMoose

[Marine Sgt 2111]

I have owned a 77/22 hornet for 14 years and when I got it, the very first thing I did was to make up shims for the bolt and a new bolt pin. I guess Ruger doesn't understand the concept of holding a close tolerance on critical parts. Anyways, after a year of trying to get the .22 hornet to shoot well, I re-barreled with a Pac-Nor .17 ackley hornet and never looked back. Day in and day out the rifle shoots from 1/2" to 1/4" (sometimes much less).

As to the .357/.44 calibers, seeing as they are straight cases, I am wondering if fixing the bolt will be worth it. Certainly it can not hurt. I do not know how bad your bolt slop is but there was .010" difference between the hole in the front of the bolt and the stud on the rear part the bolt. As a Machinist with 37 years in the shop, that was beyond horrible and absolutely had to be fixed. I also made up a .005" shim to fit between the face of the rear of the bolt and the front half.

[rollmyown]

Rollmyown,

I got out to the range this morning to see how my load development is coming... Used the 77/44 after installing a .002 shim. I can't say that accuracy was impacted either way with certainty. My perception was that the groups had less vertical stringing than before, but that is just a gut feeling. I did use my chronograph this morning and was able to see that vertical stringing in this particular rifle seems to go with variation in velocity. Perhaps removing any "slop" in the bolt with the shims helped reduce the variance. I think a better test will be made when(hopefully soon) I come up with my pet load for my rifle and try shooting groups and chronographing them with the shim and without the shim.

Sorry I couldn't give you a more definitive answer.

TheMoose

Thanks to all for the replies. I still have not fitted a shim, but will give it a try. I know there are more having trouble with getting these rifles to shoot accurately than don't. I will persevere with load development and see where that goes. I'd like minute of head shot rabbit at 75 meters. Time will tell.