It Depends (As Usual)



As a rule, the more wood in contact with metal, the less accurate a rifle will be. That is why shooters with a desire for maximum accuracy will bed the action and free float the barrel. If you were looking for a competition rifle, I would say, "don't buy any rifle with a full length Mannlicher stock." If you are heading to the woods to shoot large animals, it hardly matters and your hunting buddies will all be green with envy, when they see your very cool rifle.

 

It would be a hog/deer rifle. I saw how much contact the barrel had with the wood. If it is as accurate as my 45-70 lever action it would be good.

 

I had one like that it was a tack driver

 

I have one of the first released M-77..Ruger RSI...tang saftey...308....and as far as the full length stock affecting accuracy....mine as not shown any adverse effects. However...Ruger slimmed the barrel down to the minimum...and rapid strings of firing...will heat this up and ...THAT will affect accuracy as the barrel distorts from the heat.
With a cold barrel...slow fire...I have always gotten three round groups ...covered by a quarter at 100 yards.....plenty accurate enough for hunting.

 

Another thought, 30-06 in an 18" barrel is probably not good. A 308 would be better in a short barrel.

 

I would tend to agree with you that a .308 would be a better fit with a 18 inch barrel & Mannilcher stock. I took my Ruger M-77 Tang Safety model in.270 & made it into a Mannilcher stock model using a Bishop stock had a gunsmith cut the barrel to 20 inches add a new front sight. I had the action glass bedded this was a very nice rifle. But after I converted my rifle it grouped ok but was never as accurate as it was in its original setting. But the Ruger RSI International Mannilcher is a very rare and hard to find rifle. If the price is right and in good condition I would buy it in a heartbeat. If you reload you can work up a load that works for you good luck buy that rifle!!!

 

I have had 3 mannlichers and as stated they were marginally les accurate than a non mannlicher. I would not worry under 250 yards.

 

If I were you, I'd buy it in a minute. It would make a great hunting rifle.

 

I think this type of rifle is just out of this world. I've seen plenty in Germany where they are very popular.

 

That's the old tang safety model, I think they shoot better than the 1990s wing safety variety, though I prefer the wing safety.

 

I have the same M77 RSI in 30-06 in my Mannlicher Collection.
The 3 Rifles in the middle from Left to Right are
Ruger RSI MKII Stainless in 7X57 Mauser
Ruger RSI MKII in 30-06
Ruger RSI 77/22 in 22lr

The 30-06 Ruger 77RSI is plenty accurate, and a joy to carry.

 

I have a tang safety .308 M77 International. It will shoot under 1" MOA if I do my part. I have shoot many whitetail with this gun over the years. It likes 3031 powder and 150 grain Speer and Hornadys.

 

I inherited my dad's 308 M77 RSI. It is an older tang safety model. It won't shoot MOA, ar least yet, but not far off and way better than a hunter needs for any reasonable shot. That reminds me I need to dust it off and shoot something with it this fall.

 

Lipseys Stainless Steel M77 RSI in .308

I was lucky to get a M77 SS RSI in .308 when Lipseys had a run of them in 2011. My wife got it for my retirement in early 2012. It is a great gun, light, trim, attractive and very easy to carry hunting. In the OEM stock the best I could get with my best .308 handloads and a 2 x 7 Leupold scope was about 1.5" 3 shot groups at 100 yards. I swapped it into a stocky's laminated stock and groups were reduced to about half that size. The magazine box tightness was checked, relieved and now has perceptable free float. I suspect that pressure on the fairly trim barrel near the end hardware with the Mannlicher stock needs some sort of adjustment. I will be working on this the rest of the summer until deer season. I did successfully shoot a nice buck at about 30 yds in the deep Maine woods with it and it ran about 30 more yds and piled up. A .308 is great in the shorter distances in the North East. I used 125 gr Nosler Ballistic Tips set .050 off the lands at about 3000 fpm, which is pretty close to .270 130 grain factory loads so it carries a lot of knockdown capability on deer. I intend to try a GSR rear sight on it also as I prefer open sights when possible if my old eyes can see it well enough. A great gun and a family heirloom to pass on to my grandson when I go. Keep on shooting!

 

I have a CZ 550FS in 6.5x55. It's a sub MOA shooter with my hand loads. It's all the accuracy I need from a hunting rifle. I have rang a steel gong at 1200yds with it. I can only think that the Ruger will shoot just fine once you find the load it likes.

 

What Stockys stock will fit an RSI? Is it a full length stock also?

 

Stocky's Stock for RSI



My RSI has a SS Hawkeye action from a special run for Lipseys. The stock I bought is a "Classic Sporter" with fitment for a 77 MK II (Hawkeye), Short Action. It is a typical sporter stock, not a full length Mannlicher. I bought it to try and improve accuracy and to take the wear and tear of hunting while I kept my full length walnut stock safe and unworn. Accuracy improved from 1.5" 3 shot groups at 100 yds to half that with the laminated stock. The RSI barrel profile is a litttle slimmer than the standard sporter barrel profile that this stock was made for, so this is a bit more barrel / stock gap than normal in the area right after the chamber where the RSI barrel slims down quickly. This stock would not fit a tang safety M77 RSI, but they make one that does fit the older models.

 

I have one of the 77 Hawkeye RSIs in .308. Joy to carry. I have chronographed the Hornady 150 grain SST Superperformane at 2808 fps out of the little barrel. Handloaded Nosler 125 gr Accubonds at 2940 fps. Just a tad above an inch with both. Shot a small 8pt with the Accubond this past season. Great performance! When you take one of these out of its case at hunting camp everyone wants to hold/admire it I like full-length stocks. The front is a Custom Shop Remington Model 7 MS in .260 Rem and behind it is the Ruger .308.

 

Good looking rifles!

 

I have to agree those are two sharp looking well set up rifles. I would be proud to have either one.

 

We have several full stock CZs and they are every bit as accurate as the same gun with a regular stock, which is to say, very accurate. As long as a full stock gun is bedded, correctly, no reason for it not to be as accurate.

The only negative on a Mannlicher for our use - shooting at the range - is that the barrels on a full stock gun heat up faster, so for the sake of group size, we have to wait longer between shots to keep the barrels at a reasonable temperature. For field use or hunting, though, this would hardly matter.

 

A CZ 550 FS is in my future

 

hello i'm new here. just wanted to say, you can still buy a new stock from ruger as long as it's a mk2. price is 354.78. I have to replace one on a 270 so it can be sold. right now it's wearing a hogue overmolded

 

Ruger still has stocks

hello i'm new here. just wanted to say, you can still buy a new stock from ruger as long as it's a mk2. price is 354.78. I have to replace one on a 270 so it can be sold. right now it's wearing a hogue overmolded. tis is in response to RSI308

 

I have been Buying and Shooting RSI Internationals since Ruger first released them in the Tang Safety version. I presently own RSI Lipsey guns in 22lr, and 7X57, and and MKII RSI guns in 06, 08,and a .243 Tang Safety. I am so sorry to see these fine Rifles Discontinued.
These Rifles are Designed as a Light Weight Hunting Gun. The Game being Hunted could care less about MOA. They are still plenty accurate for what they were designed to do.

 

The beauty of buying that RSI in .30-06 (I hope original poster did buy it) is you're getting the long action which Ruger also used for the .270 Win caliber. I'd classify them as at least semi-rare. I have one I picked up probably 20 years ago, it's a Mark II.

To further my tiny RSI collection I acquired one of the Lipsey's special run rifles in .308, at the time there were a few in the various calibers Lipsey's had offered, all in stainless steel, all short actions.

Recently, I saw that Lipsey's had again commissioned a run in 6.5 Creedmoor, I couldn't resist buying one. It's stainless steel and short action.

I, too, mourn the fact that Ruger took the RSI out of their catalog. I prefer the bolt/extractor type patented by Paul Mauser over 100 years ago, and the full length stock. I've asked Andy to make a leather Rhodesian sling for the newest one, brush nickel finish to match the stainless steel.

 

Does any one know who manufactures the RSI stock that is pictured on the Remington custom shop gun at the beginning of this thread ? Surely Remington contracts that out to a stock maker. If any one knows...I have a Ruger American wearing some tupperware that is in desperate need of some beautiful wood.

Thanks.