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INSTRUCTION
MANUAL
FOR
BLUED & CALIBER
STAINLESS .50 Round or
STEEL Conical Ball
BLACK POWDER OR
PYRODEX ONLY
®
RUGER
TM
MODEL 77/50
INLINE MUZZLELOADING BLACK POWDER
PERCUSSION RIFLE
READ THE INSTRUCTIONS AND
WARNINGS IN THIS MANUAL CAREFULLY
!
BEFORE USING THIS FIREARM
For Product Service on This Model Please Call:
(603) 863-3300 (See p. 38)
STURM, RUGER & Company, Inc.
Southport, Connecticut 06490 U.S.A.
THIS INSTRUCTION MANUAL SHOULD ALWAYS ACCOMPANY THIS FIREARM AND BE
TRANSFERRED WITH IT U
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FIREARMS SAFETY-YOUR RESPONSIBILITY SAFETY MUST BE THE FIRST AND CONSTANT CONSIDERATION OF EVERY PERSON WHO HANDLES FIREARMS AND AMMUNITION. This Instruction Manual is designed to assist you in learning how to use and ® TM care for your RUGER MODEL 77/50 muzzleloading rifle properly. Only when you are certain you fully understand the Manual and can properly carry out its instructions should you practice loading, etc. with live ammunition. If you have any doubts about your ability to handle or u
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WARNINGS OF GREAT IMPORTANCE ARE ! FOUND ON THE FOLLOWING PAGES: Alterations 3 Firing 17 Manual Safety 7 Reloading 18 Lead Exposure 7 Mishandling 19 Ammunition 8 Disassembly 22 Black Powder 9 Lubrication 29 Percussion Caps 11 Storage 30 Loading 13 Malfunctions 35 Handling 17 Parts Purchasers 39 OTHER CAUTIONS AND WARNINGS APPEAR THROUGHOUT THE MANUAL. FIREARMS ARE DANGEROUS WEAPONS – MUZZLELOADING BLACK POWDER FIREARMS REQUIRE SPECIAL PRECAUTIONS. READ THE INSTRUCTIONS AND WARNINGS IN THIS MANUA
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® The RUGER MODEL 77/50 is a muzzleloading, percussion rifle intended for use with black powder, percussion caps, soft lead and jacketed “saboted” projectiles. It has a precision rifled barrel with a 1-in-28” rifling twist. It does not fire conventional cartridges, but is instead loaded from the muzzle of the barrel. It is of bolt-action operation, and must be cocked and capped by opening the bolt, placing a cap on the nipple, and then closing the bolt before normally firing the rifle by pulling
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NOMENCLATURE Barrel Muzzle Recoil Pad Stock Barrel Band Front Sight Front Sling Ramrod Swivel Thimble Ramrod Rear Sling Swivel Ramrod Tip Scope Mount Bases Rear Sight Safety (Shown “ON”) Nipple Bolt Bolt Handle Bolt Sleeve Striker/Cocking Piece Receiver Disassembly Hole Trigger Guard Bolt Stop Trigger Figure 1. Components frequently referred to are identified. In these photographs the cocking piece is shown cocked (protruding from the rear of the bolt sleeve) revealing the disassembly hole in th
Summary of the content on the page No. 6
OPERATION OF SAFETY ® The RUGER MODEL 77/50 rifle has a three position safety. The safety selector is located at the right of the bolt sleeve. The safety selector can be moved from the “Fire” position to its two other positions (“Load-Unload” and “Safe”) only when the striker is cocked. Fully raising the bolt handle cocks the striker. The bolt handle can be raised and lowered only when the safety selector is in either the full forward “Fire” or the middle “Load-Unload” position. When the safety
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WARNING –MANUAL SAFETY ! Keep the safety on unless actually firing. Always 3 FIRE move the safety fully to its intended position and check it. The safety has three positions –“SAFE,” “LOAD-UNLOAD,” and “FIRE.” Never depend on a safety mechanism or any other mechanical device 2 to justify careless handling or permitting the rifle to point in an unsafe direction. The only “safe” LOAD- UNLOAD rifle is one in which the bolt is open, the barrel is empty of both powder and projectile, and the nipple i
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Black Powder is usually classified by powder grain size, with “Fg” being the largest granulation and “FFFFg” being the smallest granulation normally available. Use only “FFg” (sometimes called “2F”) grain size black powder in the ® RUGER MODEL 77/50 rifle. Replica Black Powder such as Pyrodex RS may be used, so long as suggested loading data is strictly adhered to. Note that Pyrodex RS is less dense than FFg black powder and must only be used as a measure-for-measure substitute for FFg black pow
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WARNING–BLACK POWDER ! Black Powder is an extremely sensitive propellant and is readily ignited by heat, spark, static electricity, friction, pressure, impact, etc. Unlike smokeless powder, Black Powder will ignite with great violence and rapidity even when unconfined. Never Pour Black Powder should be handled only in Powder Directly very small quantities. Never pour powder From Flask! directly from a flask or powder horn into any muzzleloading firearm! Never smoke while handling Black Powder! M
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responsibility to select the proper lead ball/patch combination of a lubricated conical lead bullet that fits securely in the bore, yet is not excessively difficult to load, particularly after a shot or two of black powder fouling has built up in the bore. Never load multiple projectiles into the barrel. The rearmost projectile slamming into the other projectiles when fired could cause a burst barrel and severe personal injury. Use only one bullet at a time. SABOTS Some projectiles designed for
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WARNING–PERCUSSION CAPS ! Percussion caps are designed to fire as the result of a blow (“percussion”). A capped rifle loaded with powder and ball is fully loaded and will fire if the cap is struck. DON'T STRIKE Never clean, lubricate, CAP! disassemble, or work on a rifle while it is capped or loaded. Never install, remove, or carry a capped nipple or breech plug. Always remove the percussion cap before unloading the barrel or disassembling the rifle. NEVER STRIKE A PERCUSSION CAP EYE AND EAR PRO
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INSERTING THE BOLT 1. Be certain the barrel is empty by pointing the muzzle upward towards a light source and glancing through the rear of the action at the rear end of the nipple. You should see light through the hole in the nipple, indicating that the barrel is empty. Keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction, and keep your fingers off the trigger throughout the assembly and loading process until you are actually ready to fire. (See Rule 2, p. 43). 2. Position the safety selector in the “Loa
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WARNING –LOADING ! Know the bore diameter of your rifle you are loading and load projectiles of only correct diameter into it! Either a too tight or too loose projectile can cause a burst barrel, resulting in serious injury to the shooter or bystanders. This rifle is designed to use a .500” projectile (or a .490” projectile with a .010 - .015” thick patch), a #11 percussion cap, and up to a maximum of 120 grains of ? FFg black powder (or equivalent volume of Pyrodex RS) only. Never use smokeless
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C. Using a dipper or other single-charge measure, pour the desired amount of powder into the front opening (muzzle) of BLACK POWDER the barrel. (See Fig. 6) Never exceed the OR PYRODEX powder charge recommended for the ONLY! projectile you have selected from a reputable black powder loading manual. Do not pour powder directly from the flask or other powder container (See “Black Powder Warning”, p. 9) 6 LOADING POWDER D. Place the bullet in the muzzle of the charged barrel, with the flat spot
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F. Remove the ramrod from under the barrel by pulling it downward out of its recess in the barrel and then forward (upward) out of the stock and ramrod thimble. Grasp the ramrod around its side and, with a firm even stroke, seat the bullet firmly on the powder charge. Do not push down on the ramrod tip with the palm of your hand, in the event that the powder charge ignites while you are loading! (See Fig. 10) For maximum accuracy, the powder charge should be very lightly compressed by the bullet
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y t e 4. CAPPING THE SAFETY IN NIPPLE: "LOAD/UNLOAD" POSITION Remember that the NIPPLE CAP safest way to carry any loaded muzzleloading rifle is uncapped. Cap it only just before you are immediately 11 ready to fire. See “Handling Warning”, CAPPING THE NIPPLE p. 17. Be sure you use only #11 percussion caps of good quality and correct size. With the bolt open, carefully place a #11 cap on to the nipple. An inline capper, sold commercially, is preferred by some shooters. It is not required, but i
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WARNING –HANDLING ! If this rifle is to be carried loaded, certain precautions must be observed in the interest of safety. It is safest to carry any muzzleloader with no percussion cap on the nipple. The gun CAP NOT should never be carried with the striker resting VISIBLE SAFETY "OFF" on a percussion cap. Under such circumstances, a light accidental blow to the striker can readily cause the gun to discharge. Never cap the nipple until you are ready to shoot the rifle. When capping, be sure that
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Remember - Never lower the striker fully down onto a percussion cap or loaded rifle! See “Handling Warning”, p 17. WARNING: REMEMBER THAT EACH TIME A SHOT IS FIRED, ! THE SAFETY SELECTOR IS IN THE “FIRE” POSITION. WHEN YOU OPEN THE BOLT, MOVE THE SAFETY SELECTOR TO THE “LOAD-UNLOAD” POSITION BEFORE CLOSING THE ACTION. ONCE THE ACTION IS CLOSED, MOVE THE SAFETY FULLY BACK TO THE “SAFE” POSITION. WARNING –RELOADING ! Black powder is extremely sensitive and a powder charge poured down the barrel a
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Best results are obtained by cleaning the bore after each shot, before reloading. Soak a patch in black powder solvent or bore lubricant, place it over the front end of the ramrod, push it completely into the bore, and pull it completely out of the muzzle. If it is difficult to remove, push the patch back down and then up until it can be removed. This “swabbing” after each shot makes reloading much easier. Never try to reload another projectile if it is excessively difficult to push down the bar
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y t e TO UNLOAD (Keep rifle pointed in a safe direction) Completely unload the rifle immediately when you are finished shooting (by removing cap, powder and ball), or fire it into a safe backstop. It is much easier and safer to fire any muzzleloading firearm rather than attempt to unload it. However, if this is impossible, or if you are uncertain that correct components have been safely loaded, the rifle should be unloaded in accordance with the following steps. 1. Be sure the rifle is pointing
