Ruger M77 Hawkeye general impressions / opinions

Very happy with my new Stainless/Synthetic Hawkeye 358 Win..... great trigger, 1" groups with Win factory ammo.... the Maine Black Bear in my freezer had no complaints....
 
this last spring i was severely dissapointed with a wood stocked hawkeye in 257 roberts. i wanted one since i was a kid in the sixties reading jack o's handbook.
...the firing pin hole was not centered, the stock was binding the action, the rifling was rough even to the naked eye. it shot horizontal strings. using machinist blue showed only one locking lug on the bolt was mating the recesses in the action. fwiw bobn
 
I don't care for the Hogue stock but think the Hawkeyes in general are the best deal going if you are looking for a classic American rifle. They are one of the most dependable rugged rifles out there. There are some people who gripe about the lack of accuracy but most of that reputation was earned 30 years ago. Rugers made in the last 15 years or so will hang with most any hunting rifle. They may not be the best platform to build a dedicated target rifle on but I own 2 MK-2's that will shoot under an inch at 100 yards
 
My kind of Gun

I've got the all weather stainless and I had rather carry it than any Rifle I own(10 others). It is balanced near perfect, the weight is fine, is not bulky and it fits perfect in my Badlands ultra Day Pack if I choose to carry it that way. The accuracy is not quiet as good as some of my rifles but it is better than some also. It will probably shoot better than I do anyway. I love it, its my "kind of rifle".
 
Just got a .338 win mag stainless hawkeye 2 weeeks ago. I have fired several different loads and it is a picky rifle. However, I have found that it will shoot 225 grain and 200 grain flat base bullets under an inch. For some reason, boat tails group from 1.5 to 2.5 inches. No biggie. I have a two loads, a 225 grain Grandslam and a 200 grain hornady soft point that will print .75 inches. Those 2 will do everthing from Elk/Griz to whitetail. A buddy of mine got a stanless hawkeye in 7mag. It grouped 2.5 inches with every load he tried. Then he put a dremmel to the stock and floated the barrel. It now has a hard time printing anything over an inch. We both like the balance and feel of the rifle overall and it has that Ruger indistructible feeling to it. Hope this helps.
 
I have had two MKIIs in .30-06 so far. The first one was a pre 2001 All Weather so it had the funky Ruger synthetic stock. It was a great gun and I wish I still had it. It was all stainless, the bolt, the trigger guard, the floor plate, everything. Like an idiot, I sold it. Well, when I got the call to go moose hunting, I knew I needed another Ruger M77 MKII. I went out and ordered a brand new M77 MKII Hawkeye All Weather in .30-06. So far it has been a great rifle. I have about 250 rounds through it. It doesn't seem to be finnicky about ammo though. Usually puts factory ammo of all varietys in 1-1.5" groupings. I noticed several months ago that the firing pin hole is off center on the bolt face. This doesn't seem to have any negative effects as far as I can tell. I never tried checking the surface contact of the locking lugs, maybe I will try that. I like my M77 a lot. It works well and shoots well. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another one. I wish I had my older one still because the synthetic stock felt a lot more solid than the new ones. However, the new recoil pads actually work, whereas the old ones simply used to leave the pattern of the recoil pad imprinted on your shoulder. I did see that the old style synthetic stocks could be purchased through Brownells. I might still do that. I have always thought that the Rugers were very nice looking also. I would recomend them.
 
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