Ruger Hawkeye Rifles

Recently Ruger introduced the Hawkeye line of rifles which are a variant of the justly famous model 77. Many of them come in compact models with 20” barrels including the 300 RCM’s that I am currently testing. However they also come in a verity of calibers and styles from a varmint version to an African model in their new 375 Ruger caliber. If you want to see the many models I suggest that you go to http://ruger.com/ for a complete listing.

The model 77 has been around for quite awhile and has always given good service. I have several and they always performed in a great manner giving good accuracy. The two Hawkeye rifles I have are chambered for the new 300 RCM which along with the 338 RCM was introduced in 2008. It is Ruger’s version of the Remington and Winchester’s short magnum cartridges. Ruger’s idea was to have a short rifle with 20” barrels that were capable of either hunting in the woods or hitting something at long range. In this regard they have succeeded. The 300 RCM is capable of propelling a 180 grain bullet at 2850 FPS or a 150 grain at 3100 with safe loads. Hornady sent me a lot of brass and ammo to test in my sample rifles. I have two one is a stainless with a composite stock while the other is a more traditional wood model with a blue barrel. The Hornady ammo performed very well giving both excellent accuracy and the velocities were very close to what they advertised. I was able to obtain groups of well under an inch with the best loads both handloads and factory loads. Hornady manufactures both the bullets and their own cases for this caliber and in fact worked with Ruger in developing this package. For more information on Hornady products try www.hornady.com In power the Ruger caliber is very similar to the much older 300 H & H magnum. It is a little more powerful then a 30-06 but in a compact package. For the handloader it is very flexible. I tested bullets from 130 grains to the 220 grain thumpers and it handled them all very well.

The model 77 which includes the Hawkeye has several great features that I like in a rifle. The action is a close copy of the Mauser model 98 which is the most successful bolt action ever designed. Even today many rifle companies copy it including Ruger. It has the big claw extractor which gives many shooters confidence when hunting dangerous game. I love the way that you can mount a scope with the rings going into the base as opposed to most that depend on a base to mount into the receiver. That is an extra part which can cause problems. The locking logs are more then adequate to protect the shooter in case of a mishap while the gas vent system is great. That means that if a case ruptures, a very unlikely event, the shooter is protected from hot gases spewing back into his face. However safety glasses should always be worn when shooting any firearm. The safety is a three position affair where at halfway it allows the bolt to be operated but won’t fire. Full position locks the bolt which is handy when carrying especially through brush. Like all safeties it makes an audible click when released which can alert an animal that something is amiss. Many animals can hear much better then us so if you have the discipline to release it slowly that will help. The trigger is a definite improvement over the older model 77’s which helps with accuracy testing. All in all it is a worthwhile hunting package though the $899 MSRP might turn some shooters off.

There are a lot of good rifles and calibers out there for the hunter to choose from. We never had it so good so Ruger has a lot of competition. Many times a rifle that is chosen by some is bases on either price or personal preferences. Anyone out shopping for a new hunting rifle would do well to take a look at the Ruger Hawkeye.