Manual

10. Raise the bolt handle, draw the bolt fully to the rear, then smoothly push
the bolt forward so that a cartridge is stripped from the magazine and
chambered. (Note: If the cartridge does not readily strip from the magazine,
or if the cartridge tends to jam while being chambered, discontinue the
loading procedure. Extract and eject the ‘problem’ cartridge and remove the
loaded magazine from the rifle. Then, read the “Ammunition” and
“Magazine Inspection and Care” sections of this manual) Now, lower the
bolt handle.
14
WARNING: DO NOT TOUCH THE TRIGGER UNTIL YOU ARE
ACTUALLY READY TO FIRE THE RIFLE.
!
Figure 6. To load the magazine, press the
rim of the cartridge against the magazine
rotor at the widest section of the magazine
throat until the cartridge enters far enough
to be pushed to the rear end of the maga-
zine. With the first cartridge in place, each
succeeding cartridge is pressed against the
body of the top cartridge and slid to the rear
of the magazine until a maximum of ten .22
LR cartridges (or nine .22 WMR or .17 HMR
cartridges, or six .22 Hornet cartridges, or
four .44 Magnum cartridges, depending
upon the magazine being loaded) are in the
magazine. The Ruger 77/22 & 77/44 rifles
are designed to function properly only with
the correct Ruger rotary magazine loaded
with cartridges of the correct caliber and
type.
The magazine must at all times be in good
condition or malfunctions can occur. Please
carefully read the sections in this manual on
“Magazine Inspection and Care” and the
section and warning on “Malfunctions”.
Loading the
Magazine
.22 Long Rifle Magazine Shown
NOTE: The Ruger 10/22 magazine (BX-1) will fit in the model 77/22 rifle, but the
bottom section of the 10/22 magazine will not be flush with the trigger guard assem-
bly of the 77/22. The 9 shot Ruger 77/22 Magnum and .17 HMR magazine is not
interchangeable with any other magazine, nor is the 6 shot 77/22 Hornet magazine.
The .44 magnum magazines for the Ruger 96/44 lever action rifle and the Deerfield
Carbine rifle will not fit into the Ruger 77/44 bolt action rifle due to dimensional dif-
ferences. Do not attempt to use either of them in the Ruger 77/44.
11. The rifle is now fully loaded. Unless the rifle is to be immediately fired, move
the safety selector fully rearward to the “Safe” position.
12. To Fire the Rifle: Move the safety selector to the “Fire” position (see Figure
2, p. 10), and pull (squeeze) the trigger. A cartridge will be discharged.
Always be certain that you know where the bullet will strike when you fire
the rifle. (See “Handling Warning”, p. 16) Never allow the thumb to touch
the cocking piece as it can be pinched when the striker moves forward.
13. After the chambered cartridge has been fired, the bolt handle is raised and
the bolt is drawn to the rear in a firm, smooth stroke. This will extract and
eject the fired cartridge case. To chamber another cartridge, repeat the pro-
cedure detailed directly above.