Guess I’ll be the one to put in a good word for the RAR. Hawkeyes are nice enough rifles but their real advantage for the purposes expressed by the OP is that they’re prettier. The RAR is a functional tool and a good one at that. I’ve had two so far – one RH and one LH - and out of the box both were accurate with good triggers. Their bolts are smooth operating. I’ve had four LH Hawkeyes and they all needed free floating, bedding and trigger work to get near what a RAR is out of the box. Two have smooth bolts, two are rough as a cob even after working the action many times. So besides the initial higher price, you need to put in more bucks to get a trigger as good as a RAR and have it shoot as good. I’m sure some folks will adamantly cite their exceptions, but based on my four and reports from a lot of others they need work.
If I wanted to go live in some desolate location and hunt under harsh conditions I’d take a Hawkeye hands down, they have a great reputation for working under miserable conditions. But lugging to a stand? Not exactly a high stress occupation for a rifle. Plus the RAR comes in LH stainless in multiple chamberings, stainless LH Hawkeyes are around but they are getting very scarce and expensive and they never were chambered for 7mm-08. All of my left hand Hawkeyes are stainless and I ain’t letting them go – especially now that I have so much invested in them.
Either one would work for the job specified by the OP so it comes back to what he really wants – a functional tool that gives great performance for value or a prettier rifle that needs a bit of work to come up to the same level as a shooter.
