xbolt,
I own, and hunt with, a Ruger Hawkeye African in .375 Ruger. Mine is pre-brake, thank heavens, with the barrel band sling attachment.
After 80 rounds, the wood stock split in several places. Not good.
I did an interim replacement with a Hogue stock I bought from Ruger- worked fine, but I really don't care for it, and in the meantime I had ordered a McMillan McWoody stock for it.
Don't know dimensions of the barrel offhand, other than it's 23" in length. I do know that with the McMillan stock, a Leupold VX3 2.5-10x scope, and factory Ruger rings, overall weight is right at 9 lb.
The rifle balances and carries very nicely, and likes to shoot Barnes TSX and TTSX bullets into sub-MOA groups.
This rifle, however, does NOT like factory Hornady ammo, in any bullet weight, at all, shooting groups that are best described as patterns.
If you buy the African, just consider that a stock replacement will be a possibility (likelihood?), and that some experimentation with different bullets, loads, etc. may be required to wring the best accuracy out of it, which I am sure it will be capable of. Ditch the brake, if you intend to keep your hearing and stay in the good graces of any outfitter or guide you may be hunting with!
