Ready with the Ruger M77 .243 Hawkeye Tactical

M

mag41vance

Inactive
Got it set up and ready to test. Hopefully in a couple of
days.

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You're killing me smalls! Go shoot it already. Tonight I told my wife I'm buying that rifle after the first of the year. Surprisingly enough, all she said was "ok".
 
Wow! I can't believe it! We might actually get a review of the M77 Hawkeye Tactical! I love my Hawkeye All Weather. It is one of my favorite rifles. I have seen a lot of guys asking about the tactical models, but there are very few responses to those threads. Well, take your time and put together a nice quality review. I will be waiting as patiently as mdd. Good luck, Steve
 
Sorry bottom rung, if you're waiting patiently you're waiting alone! I'm flat out excited to see his review. He and I have talked about this rifle some via pm's. We both planned to order it and he beat me to it by about a week.
 
Got to the range today with the Hawkeye Tactical .243. Temps were in the mid 40's and I was able to do an initial barrel break-in with some sample loads. I started with 10 - 80gr Speer flat base Hot core over 33.3grs of BW 36 powder which is an obsolete extruded surplus. I cleaned the bore every 3 shots. The second 3 shot group was .554" c-c. Not bad for a throw-away load. I had 2 groups that were under an inch and none of the 6 targets were worse than 1.63".
I like the rifle very much however, the trigger was not what I had hoped. It breaks right after a bit of creep at 3-1/2lbs. I'm hoping it will self clean, but I kind of doubt it. The Ruger Add states a crisp, light target pull with no creep or overtravel. Not quite. I will say it's better than any Ruger trigger I have in the safe, but not what I tested at the Gun shop last month. That said It is a workable rig. I don't think I will have any problem getting 1/2 moa. I will put othe reports on New threads.
I have just under $1,200.00 in the rig, with the scope, and I think it will be worth the price paid.
More range time is planned for this Friday.
 
The trigger is two stage, is that what are you mistaking as creep? or is there still creep after the takeup?
 
It is creep. The first stage is obvious, the creep feels like a rough edge catching then the trigger breaks.
I tried the trigger on a M77 Hawkeye Target Rifle and it was a thing of beauty. This one is a typical feeling trigger, that needs work.
It's not bad enough that a Hunter would notice; matter of fact, it's probably a good hunting rifle trigger.
 
Mag41, if it is the same two stage trigger as in the MKII V/T model it is adjustable. The trigger in my 25-06 had more over travel than I liked but it was easily adjusted to my liking. I don't know if you'd be able to adjust the creep you mentioned but its a place to start.
 
man, the trigger on the Ruger M77 7mm mag that I bought recently (used) takes little more than a flick to make it go boom. very little travel at all> > >cBliOcOkM
I wouldn't even call it "travel"......it's more like a little pressure, then boom.
 
2nd Time at the Range

The trigger was better today. I put a touch of lithium grease at the roll over cam point on the bolt and the rough catch has all but gone. Yesterday the trigger broke without that creep. I don't fully understand why or if this helped or if it was a bit of grime in the mechanism that worked it's way out, but it was better.
Right out out the box the trigger broke at almost 4lbs then it was reading 3-1/2 consistently.
All the break-in rounds were set to SAAMI specs as I didn't have the modified case to set the C.O.L . just off the lands. The groups achieved were what I would expect from factory ammo. The worst being 1.71" and the best .554"

The Sightron scope is a Wonderful marriage of glass that works as just as well as a spotting scope.
I got all my measurements for max COL and the real load testing for accuracy will begin.
This Rifle is a Joy to shoot. I have had some frustrating rifles over the years, but this one is everything I was hoping, and once the trigger is in the 1-3/4 - 2lb range, it will be a shooters best friend.
I have already decided to get this Model in the .308, and .223 over the next couple of years.
My grandkids will be shooting these someday without fully understanding the journey it takes to get a rifle that satisfies.
 
I have a Ruger Target in 6.5 Creedmoor, and recently puchased a Ruger Hawkeye Predator in .223. They both have the Two-stage trigger, and I belive it's the same trigger as in the Tactical. Both triggers were between 3.5 and 4 lbs out of the box (and with a hint of creep). The Creedmoor has settled to about 3.5 now. I have not shot the Predator yet. These triggers are adjustable. I haven't adjusted mine yet, but here is a link to the instructions.

http://www.varminthunters.com/tech/rugervt.html
 
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Trigger is fixed

Thanks for that link. The trigger adjusted easily and to a crisp zero creep 2.1 lbs.

Can't wait to get my loads developed.
 
I was wondering if the o.p. ever got a load worked up that performed well in this rifle. I finally bought one and was hoping he could share the reloading data if he's found a good one. I also bought a bushnell elite 4200 6-24x40 ao. Never had a bushnell elite before so I hope this combo comes together nicely.
I know this thread is a bit dated but I thought it would be preferable to keep this information together.
 
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