Ruger M77 Hawkeye Reviews

[257 ROB]

I am thinking of getting a ruger m77 hawkeye in 270 or 30-06 but I don't know how these rifles handle or if the action is smooth. I checked my local sports shop but they didn't have any in stock.( as usual). So if anyone has any experience with this rifle please let me know.


Thanks

[versifier]

I like the m77 a lot, but without the Ruger catalog in front of me (my brother "borrowed" it), I can't remember what specific options the Hawkeye has. You are going to have a hard time finding any new American made rifle in stock for a while, until the Obama panic has calmed down a bit. I would consider a used 77 if the stock fit you, the action was the right length, and boltface the correct size, as it could easily be rebarreled to whatever you had in mind. Depending on the gunsmith, it would end up costing you just about the same as a new one. Since you'll be loading for it, either the -06 and the .280Rem(7mm) have a much wider selection of bullets available than does the .270.

[257 ROB]

I was looking at the m77 hawkeye and they say that it is just the original m77 action but with a 3 position saftey. And up here in Canada There is no problem finding rifles, because the guys that bought all these toys are finaly realizing you have to pay to play, and in this recession they made a bad decision. Another website I found was Bashawsports.com they have a remington 700 cdl boone and crockette for about $800 new, they are only about 3 hours from where I live and For that price I would drive there. At wholesalesports they want like $1100 which is crazy for a pushfeed action. (I think)

[versifier]

I am not a big fan of the Rem700, and personally, I wouldn't buy one new anyway, no matter how good a price is offered.

As to the Hawkeye, I see no real advantage to the 3 position safety, I find a cross bolt is easier and quieter to work in the field. But if the stock fit me well, I wouldn't worry about it, I know I would be used to it after a few hundred rounds working up loads.

There are always better deals to be had in used rifles if you are patient and look them over carefully. I bring a bore light, if the barrel is dirty I ask them to run a patch through it (not a big thing to ask I figure when there is a $4-500+ sale possible), I look at the bearing surfaces on the bolt to see if it is worn, and I take a really good look at the crown to make sure it is undamaged, especially if the stock shows it has been carried and hunted with. If you buy new and the rifle does not live up to your expectations, you'll never get back what you have in it unless you're willing to let it sit in the safe for ten or fifteen years. If you buy used and are not happy, you can sell it for just about what you have in it, or if it fits you well, rebarrel it and you will still be ahead of the game. With what you save on a used rifle, you can better afford to put a decent scope and mounts on it, too.

[257 ROB]

I don't like the push feed action rem uses but i like the way they look, but whats the point of having a nice rifle with a crap action? I would like to be in the position to run out and buy a new sako but I don't have $2500 to drop on a rifle alone. I know you are a fan of savage and I like some of there rifles but I don't quite like them enough to buy one.(yet) And weatherby for the vanguard is $800 which is insane for the rifle you're getting. So for me it is narrowed down to tikka which is a cheaper sako and ruger. I've shot rugers and the muzzle doesn't jump so I know they are balanced, but I don't know about the tikkas, do you have any experience with these rifles?

[versifier]

No direct experience, but reviews of them have been good.

[257 ROB]

I heard that they are really light and with a big caliber it would kick like a mule, you would want to keep the caliber under 7mm for me right now.

[versifier]

That's why they make recoil pads, but you're right, light rifles with stout loads are never pleasant to shoot with hard factory buttplates (or the skinny little rubber things they put on them sometimes). The difference in diameter between .270 and 7mm is .02". I doubt your shoulder could tell the difference at the bench, and you would certainly never notice it in the field. FWIW, I have good thick recoil pads on all my hard kicking rifles (I even put one on my .54cal T/C Renegade muzzle loader). I spend a lot of time at the bench testing loads, the last thing in the world I need is a flinch. There is a Past Magnum Recoil Shield in my range box, and a slip-on pad, too. And I can borrow a Lead Sled if I really need it, and I sometimes do.

[257 ROB]

I DO NOT want to instal a muzzlebrake, and your right in the field you don't even notice the recoil if you are not thinking of " this is gonna hurt on both ends", after the shot your reloading and watching where the animal went if anywhere. I like the limbsaver recoil pads do you use any of them?

[versifier]

I don't own one as they didn't make them when I was fitting my rifles with pads, but I have shot a .300mag with one and was pleasantly surprised by how effective it was.

I have no use for muzzle breaks on rifles generally as they seem to make the shot so much louder, but maybe that's just the angle the sound gets redirected. If the rifle is so hard kicking that it needs one, I can happily pass on it. Even with its good pad, I will not by choice shoot 180gr bullets in my .308 unless I hit the moose lottery. And then I would not look forward to the practice sessions. I have some 180 jacketed tests to do this summer (who knows, I could win a moose tag this year), and I will borrow the lead sled for them. Firing a hundred or more in a day's testing won't be much fun without it. I would probably not have thought twice about it as a young man, but a spine injury changes one's priorities just a bit. In truth though, I have never liked hard kicking rifles, even back when my body could take that kind of pounding.

[257 ROB]

That is my thought to if the gun is too big then you aren't going to be able to shoot it well. If you cant shoot it then why have it.

[versifier]

I agree totally. I am always shaking my head when parents want to start young teens with an -06 or larger. Even a Win94 .30-30 with 170's is way too much for a anyone with a small frame to be shooting. I generally recommend a .243 for a beginner, the ammo is common and it often will be the rifle of choice for a lifetime. IME, most deer hunters aren't shooters. The rifle is only a tool for them and they have no interest in a lot of range time. I have to laugh every late summer/fall when I go to our range and find one, two, or three big magnum cases on the ground and a week later see the rifle for sale at the pawn shop with the rest of the box of ammo. Like anyone around here needs a big magnum for a 50yard shot. They do make sense in other parts of the continent, or if the owner is going to travel to hunt where the ranges are long, but these fools buy them to hunt deer in heavy brush.

A rifle that is pleasant to shoot gets shot a lot more often, and the practice makes the shooter a much better marksman. Too often after deer season, I see rifles for sale that are blamed for the owner missing an easy shot. More than once such a rifle has proven to shoot .5MOA or less when I liberated it. I still have several of them. I have no patience with hunters that shoot three or four rounds a year and think that's enough. It's certainly not fair to the animals they leave wounded, though it likely makes them very popular with the coyotes.

[257 ROB]

My dad started me with a 257 Roberts and it flops deer hard. The second last weekend I shot my dads 30-06 and didn't mind the reoil of that, but it would be the largest caliber right now for me.

[257 ROB]

And you are right a winchester 94 30-30 with 170 gr'ers kicks, I shot my cousins last summer and I didn't mind it.