Bedding and free float+ing on my rugers comes before I ever fire them in order to not waste time and components in trying to tune a load.
#1 issue on Rugers- make sure that the magainze box is freefloating, remove entirely or only have the center screw finger nail tight. You should be able to drop the floor plate and easily wiggle the magazine box. If you are pushing up on the center of the action( if can not wiggle the mag box, stressing the action) this will equal flyers in your groups, and often make the gun impossible to tune.
#2 Bed the action fully, and the tang of a Ruger can really benefit from a pillar, make one out of copper tubing if you can, anything simple can work. I have also had great luck with making a flat spacer that the tang sits on(similar to a browning a bolt tang spacer) out of 3/32 stainless steel sheeting, trimming it with tin snips the filing it or using a dremel(wear safety glasses). For giggles and grins, several times I have trimmed a Wal mart gift card to fit under the tang, and behind the recoil lug under the action that raises the action up off the stock. Then put some release agent(clear shoe polish, Hornady sizing wax, Imperial sizing wax, Johnson's paste wax) on the tang and bedded the tang with quick drying epoxy(JB Weld). Many use this technique as a permanent fix. This got the gun to shooting 5/8" to 3/4" after of course free floating that magazine box. I had found deals on Ruger 7x57 mauser and a Ruger 280 Remington, wanted to go and hunt with them. Also, took about 30 minutes to freefloat the barrel with Drum sanders on a 12" drill bit extension used with 1/2" variable speed drill. All work took about 2 hours and produced some really fine shooting rifles.
#3 Ruger factory triggers stink. You an hone them if you are so inclined, replacement with a timney is advised. If you ever send the action back to the factory, they will put a factory trigger back on the action. The best Ruger barrels that have ever been made are being put on Ruger rifles made today. Ruger charges around $200 for a new SS barrel(last time I checked). They however will not change calibers from what was originally put on the rifle.
Boyd's laminate stocks with their fantastic Checkering makes Rugers look like a show piece.
Link to Ruger trigger jobs:
Link to trigger job on Rugers
http://centerfirecentral.com/77trigger.html
Good luck