Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Ruger Hawkeye SS Vs. Winchester M70 EW.....your thoughts please!

Thanks BSA, your help and advice was greatly appreciated on what needed to be done. I need to "verify" this load but if it shoots anything near that I will be perfectly happy. I ended up going to H414 and a 165 BTSP, should be a great Game Getter.

If he has, he's probably REALLY wishing he flipped the coin on the Winny or Ruger. LOL

Yup.

I have an 'older' EW in 300 WSM, a couple M70 SS Classics, a several AW M77's.

My take aways:

* Prefer M70 safety by along shot - but the M77 safety is functional if you get used to it
* Ergos of both fit me well
* Scope mounts on the M77 - indestructible but a bit heavy
* Talleys on the M70 make for a lighter rifle
* Both triggers can be tuned to 3.0 lbs rather easily
* My EW was accurate out of the box. My buddy's EW required bedding to get it shooting well. His now shoots better than mine - need to fix that.............
* The M70 is easier to make light weight and has more stock options
* All the Ruger AW's I have (4) shoot decent with the standard OEM - haven't bedded any of them yet.
* The EW came with a very smooth action, not so much with the Hawkeyes. A little valve grinding compound fixed the M77 smoothness
* Prefer the trigger assembly on the Hawkeyes over the new EW/M70's. Cutting off a coil or two also helps alot.
* M77's a bit less expensive than the EW's - and come with mounts. I also tend to lap my Ruger mounts.

All told, I could live with either the rest of my life. In fact, I have a mix of SS rifles all by Winchester or Ruger.

That's how I feel about it.They are comparable rifles and will give comparable service...which means either will outlast us.I'd hunt with either one.

I have not owned a SC rifle since maybe 2009 or 10....they came well bedded and free floated. The triggers needed nothing IMO,all functioned flawlessly, and all 5 of them were very accurate. One (a EW 300 WSM) was undoubtedly one of the most accurate factory rifles I have ever seen.

I am surprised that folks say the quality has slipped since then. Since I don't want another right now I will take their word for it.

What happened?

I don't know but have heard the same thing. I think my rifle was the first year model - can't recall exactly but remember I bought one shortly after I heard about them. It has been a joy to play with. My buddy's rifle was bought used and think it is an 'older' version as well. Someone tried to bed it but suffice to say, I re-did it. It shoots accubonds into little bitty bughole groups and Partitions into 0.75". The load is getting right at 2800 with 180's and a 22" barrel. It might work <G>

The first SC 70 I had was fabulous. It was an early production Extreme Weather. The finish was perfect, the trigger was perfect it was one of the most accurate productIon rifles I'd ever purchased. It was a 308 and I wanted a 7-08. Sold the 308 about a year later and ordered a 243 and 7-08 thinking I'd found Nirvana.

They came in and the differences were immediate. The finish was rougher (more gray) and neither cycled as smoothly as my original. They both had mushy triggers and were finicky in the accuracy department. I was truly disappointed and they both went down the road...

Fast forward to newer production -- some friends have purchased a few and accuracy is good. The triggers aren't as nice as my original, but better than the 243 and 7-08 I had. The finish still isn't as nice as it once was, on par with the second batch I had.

I think they're still a really nice rifle, but quality has slipped a little. For what it's worth, I've spent some time with one of the Portugal 70's and it shoots really well with about anything I try. Then again, most of my 270's have done that!

Laugh all you want, but everything I said is true..

Why would we trust anyone who has to drag his waders to stop his car. Hell, you were probably born in in a blizzard in a Willys Jeep.

You might want to read Otteson..

And I quote " A special fixture measures critical points along the length if the receiver casting. After a quick scan of the dial indicators it is slapped in a vice and straightened with a mallet and a steel bar. Workman become so.skilled that this "massaging" seldom needs to be repeated." Stuart Otteson on - The Bolt Action .page 137

So Rugers are built by skilled American workers? Nice. Makes me feel proud to own a few.

Using cheap, cost cutting manufacturing methods. Don't get me wrong, they are serviceable rifles built.to a price point and I have owned a few, but a FN Winchester they are not. And really I would rather own a remington 700 over a Ruger.
The other thing is Winchester aren't perfect either, but they are a higher quality gun than Ruger.

Depends on how one defines quality.

That book was also written in 1976 - there's a good chance how Ruger produces their rifle has changed a bit in the last 38 years.

I've owned Win/Rem/Ruger and honestly - Ruger's were always fit and finished better than the others. Accuracy was about the same for all (factory).

FWIW, I wasn't digging on you for the ruger hating. I was givin a fellow yooper a hard time...

Still love my rugers though..then again, there's only a couple guns I've ever owned that I didn't like...

They are still investment cast and as such will need the treatment described above. As far as fit and finish expectations vary, and Ruger IMO aren't fit nor finished well. In fact they have very little finishing period as the bolt raceways are as cast and rough as cob.

And you should like your Rugers. I like mine, I just am not under any illusion as to what they are.

Still LMAO!

Keep going, this is good stuff.

The roughest winny action is smoother than the smoothest ruger.

The M77 MkII stainless/boat paddle is a workhorse here in AK. I have plenty of hunting acquaintences (none are gun snobs, like around here) who are plenty happy with their Rugers.

I've been known to hunt my kids M77 .308 on occasion.

OP, choose whichever you want and you'll end up with a fantastic eastern whitetail rifle. That is what you are looking for right? No work will need to be done to either to get it to work spectacularly in that capacity. If made in the USA is important to you, then the Ruger is the way to go. Check the ergonomics of both to see how you like them. One may just feel better to you. Smoothness of an action never killed a deer. I'd rather be in the woods with a rough action rifle than on the keyboard while my smooth action rifle sat in the safe. BTW, neither have a rough action. Go work the bolts on a few and see for yourself.