I truly hope that the Hawkeye has not failed. I hope that it is a clearance for other reasons as someone suggested above. The Mark II stainless rifles are without a doubt my favorite using rifles.
I have various 375 & 416 Rugers in the Alaskan versions and have built off this action. The Mark II's I have in a few various cartridges, but have always bead blasted them to eliminate the polished shiny finish and replaced the tough-ass Zytel stock with one that fit my shortened l.o.p.
I just purchased a couple of the newer previously owned Hawkeyes in SS, not for "close-out" prices, but fair prices none-the-less.
I put one in a McMillan that I already had on hand. But, after looking over the factory plastic, my opinion is; this is one tough-ass stock also and I prefer the looks over the boat-paddle Zytel and the ability to shorten the l.o.p. easier. As a matter of, I plan to leave the factory stock on a 338 that was purchased. I was actually impressed, it is not a typical flexible wet-noddle tupperware for certain. This stock is head and shoulders stiffer than the Hogue stock the Alaskans came in and the tupperware on my M70 Classics. It appears to have a Decelerator pad, though not the 1" versions. The only negative is the stock has a bit more shine than I care for, but I am sure one hunt will remedy that.
I several Win Classic M70's but, have always used the Rugers more. And the Ruger is by far my most favored rifle considering the new enclosed triggers on the M70's. I have never had a problem with enclosed triggers, but my preference is not have that potential in the equation. My son has a couple of the new SS M70's, a South Carolina & a Portugal. These both seem to be fine rifles. But, I will stick with my Rugers.
Though, I am not overly fond of Ruger's factory rings, the mounting system is in my experience tough, reliable, and trouble free. A set of Alaska Arms rings fixes any issues with looks and quality of factory rings and are my favorites. But, I have rifles with the factory rings without issue of function. And used Warne rings without issue before becoming aquainted with Alaska Arms.
I actually think the Mark II / Hawkeye Rugers are the most rough service / rugged factory rifles that I am familiar with. I suppose by default The Mark II's / Hawkeyes are my rifle of choice. No suppose to it. Hell did not realize how much I do Really like the Rugers prior to typing this.
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Why did the Ruger Hawkeye All-Weather rifle fail?
The Ruger Hawkeye All-Weather stainless/synthetic rifle is no longer on Ruger's website. It's apparently being closed out at firesale prices by a number of businesses - I've seen two places recently that have them for $499 - which isn't all that much more than the unarguably inferior Ruger American Rifle in stainless.
To me, it seemed to be the essential rugged-use rifle. An above-average synthetic stock, stainless steel metalwork and excellent build quality. A rifle that would last through Armageddon!
OK, you probably had to tweak it a bit to get MOA accuracy, but those tweaks were well within the ability of the vast majority of gun owners.
What happened?
