Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Ruger M77 Hawkeye Rifle Accuracy

I am thinking about getting a Ruger Hawkeye M77 in 7MM rem mag and would like to know if there is anyone that has had some experience with this rifle and if the new M77 is a accurate rifle? I have heard that they are and then read that they are not.

Lonehawk, I've got a Hawkeye All-Weather in 7mm08. It will shoot Hornaday Am. Whitetail fac. 139 gr. into 3/4 " all day. It has done this since the first trip to the range brand new without fail, so I've never even tried anything else in it. I can't remember when I've been more pleased with a rifle right out the box. While mine is s/a and a 22" bbl, the balance and handling are just about perfect. The l/a 24" shouldn't be that different.
John

Mine are all excellent rifles. My Rugers are all floated and bedded and if you need the trigger tuned a bit they are easy to work on.

My Dad has an All-Weather chambered in 308......I don't have anything in my safe that is as accurate as it is.

I have a 223,308, and 358. All three are very accurate going below 3/4 MOA with ammo they like. A few years ago I got dad the 338 Fed. It shoots the 200 gr Fusion load into a big ragged hole.

A friend got one in 7 Mag and its OK but not great. 1 1/4" groups with factory ammo and just below 1" with handloads.

Another friend got one in 257 Bob. It was crap out of the box. bed/float and lapping the bore took care of it and its a heckuva shooter now.

I bought a Hawkeye in 257 Roberts about 2 years ago. Would not shoot for anything. Replaced trigger out of the box, tried in stock form. Nada. Floated, nada. Bedded the action, nada. It is now a 7x57 in a McWoody. Its the only 77 I couldnt get to shoot out of the 7 I have owned. Lemons every now and then I guess.

I had one and it was a 1.5 moa shooter when I got it. After bedding it, it became a solid 1 moa shooter...

Some 100 and 200 yard targets from the 308 SS All Weather Hawkeye I used to own. I only sold it after buying a Winchester EW that I like slightly better. Accuracy is about the same with the Winchester. I'd highly recommend the Hawkeye.

I have a left hand 7mm-08 I just got this year. After I replaced the trigger spring with one from earniethegunsmith and got it to two and a half lbs, it shoots the 139 interlocks into a half inch 5 shot group and I'm a lousey bench shooter. Havn't tried anything else with it as to why mess with success.

I purchased my first Ruger Hawkeye in 308 winchester. I was disappointed at first when trying to work up loads. I was getting 1.5-3 inch groups. After consulting a few guys here on this forum with suggestions to free float, bed, and putting in an aftermarket rifle basix trigger it shoots sub moa. I will more than likely buy another down the road.

People forget that 2 inches at 100 is plenty accurate for hunting but for the perfectionist it simply won't do.

That says it for me, too. Have three LH Hawkeyes in .308, .25-06 and .223 and had a gunsmith glass bed, free float and do a trigger job on all three. Triggers all break cleanly from about 3 down to 2 pounds (he overdid that last one ), and all three are definitely sub-moa for five shots, not just three. The .25-06 especially is a real bug hole shooter.

Out of the box with no mods all three were good shooters although triggers were a mite heavy - all three rifles definitely benefited from the tweaking.

I have one NIB (blue/wood) that I should get pics of and list to sell.

Buy it. They are a little rough around the edges but easy to work out and in my experience they will shoot. I like Rugers...........

In my opinion the Ruger Hawkeye rifles are one of the best values on the market. But I'm definitely biased as I have a safe full of Ruger M77, MKII and Hawkeye rifles and all shoot well. (I ditched the Ruger American I fiddled with for a year and couldn't get to shoot.)

Free float the barrel and reseal the channel, a 15-20 minute job you can do yourself, then torque the action to the stock - really tight up front, tight in the rear and just tight enough in the middle to keep the screw from backing out.

The LC6 trigger on my Hawkeye and Scout was pretty good as it came from the factory, a definite improvement over earlier Ruger triggers. All of them are easy to work on, though, and I've yet to replace one. The LC6 is the easiest yet - sear engagement was already close to minimum on the Hawkeye and on the Scout it was at minimum. Pretty much just took a Dremel and Cratex fine and extra-fine polishing wheels and polished out the faint tool marks on the mating surfaces, then used jeweler's rouge and a buffing wheel for a final polish, leaving a mirror finish. Maybe half an hour's work start to finish.

The 7mm RM is a fine cartridge - my first centerfire was a Ruger M77 in 7mm RM back in 1982 and it has been my most-used hunting rifle. (Partly because it was my only big-game legal bolt rifle for the first 20 years.) Took it out again this year. It will outlast me and, with a modicum of good treatment, my children's children.

Hey, who you calling a perfectionist Willis...

Have a SS Hawkeye in 223. Floated the barrel and put in a Timney. Great shooter and loves the Nosler 64 gr BSB. The more I use it, the more I like it.

My LH Hawkeye .270 is under an inch, shooting 130gr tsx over H4350..... All day long!

I have a the 375 Ruger Alaskan, only Ruger rifle I own. All I've ever done is put a scope on it, very minimal load work up, and it shoots better than I can. Makes one heck of a handy whitetail rifle.

After working on it some, not bad but could do better?

Finished product. Magazine Box was binding.


Ruger Hawkeye 308 with 165 Hornady BTSP