Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Pro's & Con's 'tween a Ruger 77 Mk II & Hawkeye in a wood/blue rifle ?

I have not kept up with, looked at or considered buying a Ruger 77 since my last 'Tanger went down the road many moons ago. Ruger it seems is one of a few Mfg'ers to chamber a 280, and I am looking at the idea of getting into a 280, instead of a 7-08.
Can someone set me straight on the physical & desirability diff's of these 2 rifle lines in a standard wood/blue configuration? Already know I am NOT impessed with the MK II's SS too bright for me exterior finish.
Thx Ron

As far as I know, the trigger and the stock profile are the only differences. Most people prefer the Hawkeye trigger and stock. Oh and the Hawkeyes have a matte blue and the MK2s have a gloss blue.

I've owned both. Pretty much the same rifle other than the stock , metal finish and trigger. Ruger slimmed down the stock on the Hawkeye and IMO it's an improvement. I thought the Hawkeye I had, a 223 balanced better but didn't feel any lighter than a MkII 223 I owned a few years before. The MKIIs had a much better quality blue finish than the early Hawkeyes which had a thin matte finish. I read somewhere Ruger improved on the Hawkeye metal finish after a few years. Both triggers were easy to improve on. If I had a good shooting MKII I wouldn't go to the trouble of trading it for a Hawkeye or vice versa.

Any unusual quircks in either of the Mk II or Hawkeye series to watch out for ? Looks like all non Magnum Rugers are still in 22" barrels only, like the 'Tangers were ...any sub $1k Mfg'er beside Browning AB3's & X-Bolt and mebbe Winchester Sporters & Ult Shadows offering a non Magnum 24" or 26" barrel in the last 10 years?

I've got a recent BACO Ult Shadow 270 that I put a current Sporter stock under and it feels really sweet and balances perfectly with a VT Viper 30mm HS 4x16x44 on top in Warne rings....just wish I'd found a 280 instead.
Ron

I've got a 77 "tanger" in 280 I'd sell!!!

I'd really like to stay in the MkII's & Hawkeye's if I decide to buy a Ruger over a Browning or Winchester...my sweet spot would be a clean used BACO M70 Sporter, or even a Ult Shadow that I can swap my Sporter stock on from the 270 that's in it now. I'll keep your 'Tanger in mind though.
Ron

The first Hawkeyes had a matte finish. It was soft and easily scuffed or marked. Ruger then went to a more durable satin finish on the Hawkeyes. Were it me, I'd get a satin finished one. I handled one of the matte finished blued Hawkeyes at Gander Mountain when they first came out, and it was too delicate/frosty in my opinion. Don't know why either, because there are lots of matte finished guns with durable finishes. One other difference on the Hawkeye is the Ruger bird engraved or etched on the magazine floor plate. That and the Hawkeye floor plates are steel on blued rifles whereas the MKII blued rifle floor plates were aluminum. I have a Stainless MKII and it has a stainless steel floor plate. The MKII trigger isn't as good out of the box as the Hawkeye, but it can be with a trigger job. Some opt to replace with a Timney or other aftermarket, but it isn't necessary at all and the MKII trigger is reliable. I have heard also that some of the later MKII's shipped with the LC6 trigger shortly prior to the Hawkeye's release, but I don't know if that's true or not. The MKII stock is beefier, the Hawkeye' is more slender and svelte.

GL Sounds more and more like a recent Hawkeye is fitting the bill best. Had been told that the late build Hawkeye satin finished wood was well done and comperable to Winchester's...that comment has stayed with me very favorably.
Ron

If you find a good deal on a MkII, the Hawkeye stocks fit them exactly. You can swap them around.

Kimber is chambering 280AI in a ton of different rifles right now as well... you can get a rifle a pounds lighter than any of the other options with a Winchester/Ruger extractor and 3 position safety setup

DD GTK about the stock swap possibility. Very aware of the Kimber's 280AI, but new ones are out of my budget parameters unless I hit at least a Scratch Off Lottery that I don't let the BH know about. Couple Rugers in Mk II's and Hawkeye's right now on GB that I am watching to see what the market will bring. There is a 'fire member I think that's listed a very nice M70 XTR 280 with a really good piece of wood under it, at a fair and decent price for almost a week and not gotten the 1st Bid. IMO stuff will pop after Labor Day and all the cheap deals will dry up last couple weeks of August.

There are some guns moving on GB but not as fast as I had expected. I also need to turn some inventory over one last time to go down the road where I want to go. Also found some stuff on Bud's this afternoon worth watching & wondering how many $'s the Price Match will save me.
Thks All
Ron .

These Rugers - the MkIIs and the Hawkeyes may be the best actions out there, as hunting rifles or as dressed up customs. The claw extractor/CRF, a safety that locks the trigger and physically holds back the striker, an open trigger that can be worked down safely to a crisp 3# and the integral scope mounts, make for a terrific basis for a hunting rifle.

I agree that the Hawkeye stock has slightly more agreeable lines.

In a nutshell, these rifles are bargains today. They will look even better in years to come as we begin to fully realize just how good they really are.

In our household, we have a few of the Tang Safety 77's, a MKII in 270 Win., and 1 Hawkeye in 264 Win Mag. I like them all, but when I got the Hawkeye last year, I have been looking at the used racks to see what I can find in one. It has the feel of what a good rifle should feel and be like to me. But then, I have been a little biased to the 77's since 1980 when I bought my first one. Good luck with your search.

GF1 "FAB's" ...aka Feature Advantage Benefit ....nicely stated. Thank you for that short no nonsense laundry list of features that make sense to me. After being in Consumer Product Sales for 40 years and hearing all sorts of this WowieDowie this is the REAL Thing and better than sliced bread yadda yadda ....it is refreshing to hear a brief summation of a product in a good plain and simple FAB statement.
Ruger 77's are priced a bit more competively too. which appeals to my always skinflint soul. IMO say what you want but RAR's have always seem to be what my Nokia based Finnish friends from Rihimaaki called "Kleenex guns with no soul" or " limited prospects of long term use" type products, and turned me off about the idea of buying any rifle made by Ruger, but the I've not looked RAR's since they 1st came out in 1st production run product.

Just need to call the guys who've made noise about whenever you want to sell that one kinda thing and get the promised cash in hand to put this deal together. I can certainly feel comfortable with a Ruger 77 Hawkeye or 2 for a long time.
Ron

Been searching now for over a year for a take off walnut short action Hawkeye stock with no luck.

Still looking if anyone has a spare for sale 👍

Geo

Oh, and I failed to mention above the simple yet rugged and positive ejector of which Paul Mauser would be proud.

They really are good value all things considered. I find the Hawkeye stocks easier on the eyes and the shoulder. For some reason the MKII's seemed to amplify recoil to me. I've heard others say the same. You just don't see Hawkeyes at my LGS anymore. Racks of Americans though.

H'man, That's an interesting comment about the diff's in recoil 'tween the Ruger Mk II's & H'eye, especially considering this Last Gun excercise I'm chasing is based primarily on being able to tolerate shooting something in a cartridge just under the '06 & 30Mgs & 9.3 I'd been using, and with the least loss of DRT Performace .... now all of 'em are GDR aka Gone Down the Road, with a 270 & a 7x57 left as my "heavy" LR guns & am getting comfortable with getting deeper into more 7MM calibers instead of staying with 270's.to narrow the reloading bench inventory requirements. I need to run my LGS traps anyway, so this'll be a good topic of conversation in the Dog Days of Summer.
Ron

You can call Ruger and ask them to sell you one.

I bought one of the CDNN Ruger Hawkeye All Weather (synthetic/matte stainless) .280's for $499. They still have synthetic/matte blue for $499.

Pass it up to your own detriment.