Ruger 77/22 Rimfire

The History of Sturm, Ruger & Co.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc., more commonly known as Ruger, is an American firearm manufacturing company headquartered in Southport, Connecticut. Founded in 1949 by Alexander McCormick Sturm and William B. Ruger in a rented machine shop in Connecticut, the company has since become one of the largest firearm manufacturers in the world - shadowed only by Remington and perhaps Smith & Wesson.

Ruger is widely recognized for producing firearms that span a broad spectrum of uses such as bolt-action rifles and pistols, semi-automatic rifles, single-shot rifles, shotguns, and revolvers. As recognition of its quality products grew so did the public’s interest in investing in the company’s shares. Ruger went public in 1969 and grew exponentially since then, and it is on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE:RGR) since 1990.

In 2020, Ruger made another big move with their acquisition of Marlin Firearms from Remington Outdoor Company.

For decades now both newbie and seasoned shooters have been consistently trusting Ruger’s guns for their excellent accuracy and superior long-term performance as evidenced by its continued success over all these years.

Today, Ruger’s most popular products include the Ruger 10/22 semiautomatic rifle, the .22 rimfire semi-automatic pistol Ruger MK IV, the bolt-action Ruger American rifle, the tried and tested Ruger No.1, and, of course, the timeless Ruger Security-Six revolvers.

Ruger 77/22 Rimfire Rifle Review

Figure 1: Ruger 77/22 chambered in .22 WMR (Source: https://scgunshop.com.au/product/ruger-77-22-all-weather-22wmr-s-n-701-20974/)

Ruger 77/22 was introduced in 1984 as a rimfire version of the centerfire Ruger M77. It was originally chambered only for .22 LR, but other calibers were gradually introduced through the years. In 1995, the centerfire .22 Hornet was added to the lineup and proved widely popular. Its popularity grew to the point where other chamberings were no longer needed, so today, Ruger 77/22 is sold only in .22 Hornet. Since Ruger is known for quick adaptations to market trends, it’s probably not too far-fetched to say that we might see some other calibers for the 77/22 in the future as well.

The barrel, receiver and bolt are made of chrome-molybdenum steel, except for the stainless-steel variants. The barrel was originally 51 cm (20-inch) long, but in 1998 this changed, and Ruger started producing some 77/22 variants with a longer, 61 cm (24-inch) long barrel.  Generally speaking, though, the barrel length of the Ruger 77/22 depends on the variant and can range anywhere between 47 cm (18.5-inch) to 61 cm (24-inch). Modern variants are sold with a threaded barrel and a factory-installed thread protector. Whether the barrel is equipped with sights or not is also dependent on the variant.

As far as the receiver is concerned, there is really not that much to say about the Ruger 77/22. Ruger’s integral mounting surface is already well known in the world of rifles, and it is naturally featured on the 77/22 as well. It is machined directly into the rugged steel action, which hosts a stainless-steel bolt with a 90-degree throw. Behind the bolt handle is a three-position safety catch.

One important thing to note about the Ruger 77/22’s mounting surface is that, at least to our knowledge, the rimfire versions don’t have one-piece scope mounts interchangeable with the .22 Hornet Ruger 77/22. That is all right, though, because two-piece mounts are more popular anyways and widely available as well.

Another thing that depends on the variant is the stock material. The original Ruger 77/22 had a beautiful American walnut stock, but then the synthetic materials gradually became more popular and more common. Interestingly enough, the market has undergone a full cycle in preferences, with many rifle owners being once again drawn to the natural aesthetic and tactile appeal of wooden stocks. As a result, the current models of Ruger 77/22 also feature a wooden stock.

Some of the inspiration for the 77/22 also came from the legendary Ruger 10/22 semi-automatic carabine. We are talking about the magazine. Like the more famous predecessor, Ruger 77/22 also comes with a detachable rotary magazine with a unique rotor to separate cartridges and provide reliable feeding. The mag is then released by pressing the release catch in front of the trigger guard. The trigger, however, breaks at around 2.7kg, and it is non-adjustable, so we think it’s safe to say it leaves something to be desired.

Ruger 77/22 Rimfire Calibers

Ruger originally offered the Ruger 77/22 models in .22LR caliber but added the .22 WMR in the following years after the initial launch of the model. Today, Ruger 77/22 is mainly sold in the .22 Hornet caliber, but this is the full list of the 77/22 rimfire calibers:

• .22 LR

• .22 WMR

Ruger 77/22 Variants

These are the Ruger 77/22 Variants we were able to find. If we missed any, please make sure to contact us at info@optics-trade.eu. We will gladly update our database:

• Ruger M77/22RS

• Ruger M77/22R

• Ruger M77/22S

• Ruger K77/22RP

• Ruger K77/22RSP

• Ruger K77/22RS

• Ruger M77/22RM

• Ruger K77/22RMP

• Ruger M77/22SP

• Ruger K77/22SP

• Ruger M77/22RSM

• Ruger K77/22RSMP

• Ruger K77/22VHZ

• Ruger K77/22VBZ

• Ruger K77/22VMB

• Ruger M77/22RH

• Ruger M77/22RSH

• Ruger M77/22VH

• Ruger K77/22VMBZ

• Ruger M77/22VHZ

Ruger 77/22 models feature a unique Ruger^® mounting standard. It is factory-machined into the steel receiver.

Figure 2: The action and  receiver of Ruger 77/22 in .22 WMR (Source: https://www.emma-rifles.co.uk/product/ruger-m77-22-all-weather-22-wmr-bolt-action-rifle/)

Scope Mounts Interchangeable with Ruger 77/22 Rimfire

Rifles That Have One-Piece Scope Mounts Interchangeable with Ruger 77/22 Rimfire

The necessary condition for rifles to have one-piece scope mounts interchangeable is that the mounting surfaces of these rifles match in every dimension. To our knowledge, centerfire and rimfire Ruger 77/22 don’t have interchangeable scope mounts. The centerfire version has a longer ejection port which is not compatible with the rimfire version.

Rifles that have one-piece scope mounts interchangeable with the Ruger 77/22 Rimfire are:

• Ruger 77/17 Rimfire*

*Excluding the .17 WSM

Rifles That Have Two-Piece Scope Mounts Interchangeable with Ruger 77/22 Rimfire

For two-piece scope mounts to be interchangeable, the mounting surfaces of the rifles must match in every dimension except the action length which can vary.

Rifles that have two-piece scope mounts interchangeable with the Ruger 77/22 Rimfire are:

• Ruger 77/44

• Ruger 77/357

• Ruger 77/17 (.17 HMR)

• Ruger 77/17 (.17 WSM & .17 Hornet)

• Ruger 77/22 Centerfire

• Ruger 77/50

• Ruger No. 1

• Ruger Mini Thirty (Ranch)

• Ruger Mini-14 (Ranch)

• Ruger 99/44 (Deerfield Carbine)

• Ruger Police Carbine

• Ruger Model 96/44

Fixed Scope Mounts for Ruger 77/22 Rimfire

Warne produces all kinds of quality scope mounts, especially for American rifles. It comes as no surprise, then, that they also offer a great fixed scope mounting solution for Ruger 77/22 Rimfire.

We recommend these Warne Maxima Vertical-Split Fixed Rings for Ruger No. 1 which will also fit on the 77/22 Rimfire. They are made of steel and come with a 10-year warranty.

Check out Warne Maxima Vertical-Split Fixed rings

Weaver Base for Ruger 77/22 Rimfire

One simple way to solve a lot of scope mounting problems on the Ruger 77/22 Rimfire is to install a Weaver base that requires no drilling. Burris has a solution for that.

We recommend this Ruger to Weaver Base Adaptor from Burris. It is made specifically for the Ruger integral mounting system, and it is made of steel.

Order Burris Ruger to Weaver Adapter

Detachable Repeatable Scope Mounts for Ruger 77/22 Rimfire

With the aforementioned Weaver base installed, you can then proceed to mount this detachable repeatable 30mm Innomount for Weaver scope mount.

It is made in Germany and also comes with a 10-year warranty.

Click here for Innomount Weaver Scope mount

Help Us Build Our Riflescope Mounts Database

If you happen to own this or any other rifle, we would appreciate it if you could help us expand our database by sending us some photos of the rifle receiver (the bare mounting surface of the rifle without the mounts installed). For your help, our company offers a fair return in terms of practical rewards.

Please send us an email for more information. You can contact us here: info@optics-trade.eu