Hi there,

I have a Ruger Hawkeye stainless in 270 Win with the factory stock - which is a big improvement on the boat paddle!!

However, this stock doesnt provide a free floating barrel. When firing several shots in quick succession (at a paper target at 100 metres off the bench) the first shot is where it should be, then you get vertical stringing as the barrel heats up.
Free floating would help.

What aftermarket stocks would fellow shooters out there? Still want to keep it syynthetic .

Any suggestions appreciated.
Con

The McMillian MKII classic is a wonderful stock.

i have a 280 Mark II in a newer Haweye stock and i can do two to three shots before i see any apreciable stringing. you could try adjusting the torqe on the action screws to see if you can limit the stringing. how much stringing are you gettting on the second and then third shot? anything after that i don't worry about because i can count on one hand how many times i fired a second shot, and i have never put out a third shot ever. if your three shot group is 1 1/2" or less you're fine for most hunting situations, i would be more concern with how the first two shots group.

You can always free-float the barrel. The McMillan is a good suggestion, if you are inclined to change the stock.

I tried a Boyd's laminate for mine, and like it. It does need to go on a weight-reduction program, but I'll wait until after this season to do so.

I own a Ruger Mk II 280. I wanted an Edge fitted to it but Dick Dastardly at McMillan told me no. That means if you want a McMillan you have to go with the heavier molded fiberglass in only two offerings, the Classic & the Hunter. This is all due to the sub-par recoil lug, in comparison to other rifles. So, your options will be somewhat limited. If you can stand the added weight of the fiberglass McSwirly's you maight want to look at them. I had one and liked it better than the factory stock.

There are other stocks available of course, but be aware the recoil lug design might cause trouble. I am assuming the Hawkeye has the same lug as the Mk II's but I don't know for sure.

...............Any particular reason why you happen to be firing several shots in rapid succession?

McMillan.

Hello, thanks for your help so far.

If I let the barrel cool I would get quite acceptable groups. I should accept the fact that this is a hunting rig, made for larger game such as deer, pigs, goats, dingo etc....

I have read somewhere that for every 1 inch group shot at the bench by a hunting rifle, there have been five 1-2 inch groups !!!!

I do howver like the McMillan stocks and now with the strong Aussie dollar, I may look into them.

Cheers'

CK

McMillan Classic, factory walnut, or boat paddle.

You pays your money and makes your choice.

Howa1500man,

HS Precision and Hogue make synthetic stocks with aluminum bedding blocks and also provide a free floating barrel for your rifle. I have a Hawkeye in 222 and I bought the Hogue to put on mine because HS Precison does not make one for the short action Ruger. The Hogue provides a free float, but the forend flexed enough to touch the barrel easily. I called Hogue and they said to take a dremel tool with a sander and remove some extra material until I got the proper free float. I did what they said and it worked out great and I only removed about 1/4" of material and it looks like it was made that way.

Also the Hogue comes with a 13 3/4" length of pull and the HS precision is 13 1/2". You can get a custom length of pull on the HS Precision, but not the Hogue.

Top is a Banzner High Tech, Bottom is a MPI. You can get a lighterwieght MPI

338RCM,

Are either of those your signature rifles - the 338RCM?

They aren't. the 338 RCM has sights.

What sights? Stock? I just bought a 338RCM.

Neither is a RCM. Top ones a lightweight 300 win mag and bottom is a 338 win mag
I would buy a 338 RCM if they would come with a 24" BBL.

if you like the factory ruger stock, and don't particularly want to spend the money on one of the replacement stocks previously mentioned, you can float the barrel on your current stock in about 10 minutes. grab some 80 grit sand paper and a 3/4" dowel maybe 4" in length. remove the barreled action and sand the channel a bit. re-install the ba and see how it looks. repeat until it suits you.

this won't take long at all, and you can always buy an after-market stock if you are not pleased with either your newly floated stock or the groups you are getting. good shooting!

HotSoup,
thanks for that post.

My Hawkeye is purely a hunting rig. I would say that when i was setting up the outfit and observed Vertical stringing (when shooting a 5 shot group) maybe I was not letting the barrel cool. I have read that firing 5 shots in quck succession , and not having a proper free floating barrel can lead to stringing. Maybe I should try this again and let the barrel cool properly between shots.

Nevertheless, I am about to take it on a deer shoot tomorrow and hopefully can take my first deer with it.

Cheers
CK

i can tell you my first Ruger, a N77 mark II in 7mm RM was like that. i would limit myself to two or maybe 3 shots and let cool completely before completeing the last couple shots to eliminate the stringing. i eventualy had the rifle free floated and it removed the verticle string i was getting but knowing what i know now i would not have wasted the money doing such. i traded that rifle off after i had cervical fusion done on four of my disk in my neck and down sized to rifles and shotguns that would be more suited for a 52 yr old puss such as self. i have other Rugers and i have found that between messing with the Torqe on the action screws, checking the mag well liner box for contact and lastly slightly sanding the pressure pad if needed is all i need to do to get most Rugers shooting well if they aren't already on their own. as a note, realy pay close attention to the reassembly of your rifle if you pull the action out of the stock and make sure that mag well liner is in correctly and no visable light can be seen between the bottom floor plate and the pottom of the stock, thus indication a miss aligned placement of the mag well liner and placing undue stress into the action it's self.

You could also put a good hard pressure pad in the forend, to (hopefully) eliminate the flexing going on when it heats up.