Thread: Refurbished my Wooden Stock

Finally got round to removing the scratched up and battered polyurethane coating on the stock of my Ruger M77.
Sanded it all off with my orbital sander using 220 grit. Many recommend the use of a chemical varnish remover, however I know exactly what I can get away with after years of use with my orbital. After most of the poly was off I got to the 'difficult to reach' areas by hand sanding with 120 grit.

After the sanding I did not clean the sand dust off the stock but just applied unthinned boiled linseed oil which created a sand slurry which helped fill the pores. I rubbed in the oil with my bare hands, so the heat generated from rubbing the oil into the wood makes the oil penetrate better.

After leaving the stock to dry for 3 days (purchase linseed oil that has drying agents mixed in otherwise you will be waiting for 7-10 days), I applied 3 more light coats of oil again leaving for 3 days between coats. On each coat I hand sanded with 320 grit to create the sand slurry and then hand rubbed it all in. On the final coat of linseed oil I sanded the stock with 600 grit before applying the oil. I hand rubbed in a VERY SMALL amount of linseed oil without sanding it in this time. I left this final coat for 7 days.

Now in the world of wood finishers, there are two categories:
1 - layered that sticks to the surface of wood ie, polyurethane, lacquers, varnishes and paints
2 - absorbtion oil finish that penetrates into the wood, ie linseed oil, Tung oil, Danish oil (blend of oil and polyurethane).

Linseed oil fits into the absorption category and darkens the wood (no stain required), looks great and is a water-repellent, non-filming, timber protector....but not much of a 'protector'. Polyurethane coatings would give the most weather protection but gives a 'wood under plastic' look. It will also be inflexible and relatively easy to sratch and chip (see original coating of Ruger M77 in photo). So what did I use to give the linseed oil stock extra weather protection?

I used 3 coats of Sikkens Cetol Clearcoat HB plus. It is a clearcoat made of a mixture of alkyd resins so the wood grain remains visible and it's microporous, resulting in a humidity-controlling system...but also water proof. It doesn't leave that glossy plastic coating like polyurethane but gives a very subtle satin look with a slight waxy feel. I reckon it turned out great and would recommend it for those that want more protection than linseed oil alone but without the glossy look of a polyurethane.

Forgot to mention that the rifle is an original tang safety Ruger M77 in 25-06.

Scope on before photos is a Kahles Helia S 6x42 and on after photos is a USA made Weaver Micro-Trac T16x

have the same rifle sitting in cabinet here....lovely job on the stock.
how well does yours group???
have you employed the 3 stock screw tension thing???eg middle one not much more than finger tight...

I see you also changed over the scope

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

have the same rifle sitting in cabinet here....lovely job on the stock.
how well does yours group???
have you employed the 3 stock screw tension thing???eg middle one not much more than finger tight...

What made you purchase the Tang Safety M77 in 25-06 @Micky Duck? Did you read about it in a magazine...or was it a gun store salesperson recommendation?

This is the second tang safety M77 in 25-06 I've had. The first I brought new in 1990 but wore out the barrel with Nosler 85 grain Ballistic Tips at 3600fps on rabbits.
With the rifle in the photos, I was using 100 grain Nosler BTs and the groups have been consistent .75 MOA.

Ruger used Wilson barrels for this model (1973-1990) but changed to their own manufactured barrels for the Hawkeye M77 (from 1991 to the current day I believe). I know the tang safety M77 in 7x57 caliber was known to be inaccurate due to the long throat in the Wilson barrel, but I never had any accuracy problems in both my 25-06s once I bedded them (first 2" of barrel, recoil lug, and rear tang).

And yeah the action screws are important - front I do to 'double-fisted gorilla' tight and locktite it in place, middle just snug so it doesn't fall out and rear just tight (I probably should buy a torque driver haha).

Originally Posted by Gapped axe

I see you also changed over the scope

Yes I was using the Kahles 6x42 with the Nosler 100 grain BTs - using the MPBR method as I didn't have a range-finder (100g BT gave a nice flat trajectory).
However, now that I purchased a range-finder, I put on the Weaver T16x so I can use the elevation adjustment method. I have also changed the projectile to the Speer 120gr at BC of .488.

Originally Posted by zarathustra

What made you purchase the Tang Safety M77 in 25-06 @Micky Duck? Did you read about it in a magazine...or was it a gun store salesperson recommendation?

This is the second tang safety M77 in 25-06 I've had. The first I brought new in 1990 but wore out the barrel with Nosler 85 grain Ballistic Tips at 3600fps on rabbits.
With the rifle in the photos, I was using 100 grain Nosler BTs and the groups have been consistent .75 MOA.

Ruger used Wilson barrels for this model (1973-1990) but changed to their own manufactured barrels for the Hawkeye M77 (from 1991 to the current day I believe). I know the tang safety M77 in 7x57 caliber was known to be inaccurate due to the long throat in the Wilson barrel, but I never had any accuracy problems in both my 25-06s once I bedded them (first 2" of barrel, recoil lug, and rear tang).

And yeah the action screws are important - front I do to 'double-fisted gorilla' tight and locktite it in place, middle just snug so it doesn't fall out and rear just tight (I probably should buy a torque driver haha).

That sounds like Win 70 3 screw (including pre 64) tuning. Tightest up front. Next behind trigger guard, middle just finger snug...

Originally Posted by HandH

That sounds like Win 70 3 screw (including pre 64) tuning. Tightest up front. Next behind trigger guard, middle just finger snug...

Yeah, the M77 action was based on the Mauser ’98 action and the pre-64 Winchester action.
Designed to compete directly with the Winchester Model 70 and Remington Model 700 in 1968, with the two 7s of those models eventually becoming “77” in the M77 name.
I would say that the Win and Rem actions are better though as they are easier for gunsmiths to customize/accurize.
Also the M77 tang safety barrels were 'hit or miss', whereas the Win and Rem barrels were more accurate.

I was probably just lucky that I didn't win the 'bad-barrel lottery' with the two M77s I have owned.

why did we buy one???? it was forsale here on forum at great price....
I have done lots of internet research on them and hit or miss barrels yeah.... this one seems ok so far.
guys who have them love them. she is a heavy beast..barrel same shape n size of a pool que.