Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Ruger Hawkeye All Weather

My all weather .204 has been out in some nasty crap, haven't every really gone out of my way to take care of it.

It's remained rust/corrosion free. It's also one of the most accurate rifles I own.

The matte finish on the Hawkeyes is ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE!

Ruger should have NEVER changed their finish on the original stainless rifles like the MK/IIs!

HUGE MISTAKE GOING THE THE MATTE FINISH!

please explain why you feel that way.

Huntsman is right... that original finish was as tough and durable as it gets.

I took a good friend who was confined to a wheel chair deer hunting for a dozen years that had a M77 stainless in .25-06. It was modified to be shot with his mouth and controlled gun movement with a joy stick. And he certainly could shoot that rifle. He shot a dozen deer with it out to 250 yards over the years we hunted and at the range each year would shoot multiple MOA groups. He was an avid deer hunter before being confined to the wheelchair and when we finally got him out hunting again he didn't want to miss a single minute. As a result we hunted through rain and snow and that rifle was drenched many times. When his death ended our hunting together, the rifle didn't have a speck of rust on it nor a single bruise in the metal finish despite being used hard.

I wish I could say the same about my new Creedmoor. It hasn't been hunted at all and has more "rubs" in the finish than that old .25-06 had after years of use.

I would take the old finish any day over their new matte abortion.

I like the old stainless too and the Target Gray was tough as nails. I've owned a few of each over the years.

As to the new finish, it doesn't bother me. It does show some rubs and maybe freckles a little, but those are character marks. If one wants a Ruger, buy the rifle and not fret it.

The new stainless finish hasn't deterred my opinion of a great rifle.

I prefer the matte finish to the shiny.

The old shiny finish sucked as it shone in the sunlight like a lighthouse across the open sea. But it was fixable with a bead blaster or a can of spray paint. Same with the new finish if it gets scratched and you're worried about such things.

Shiny finishes are for Flavor Flav's bling, not hunting rifles.

I have 3 of the new All Weather. I've hunted the SS UL hard over the past 2 years. The finish does acquires "marks" but it hasn't rusted despite numerous rain/snow events, bloody hands, and plain ole sweat.

As another plug, I did a header into a boulder this year while dragging out my deer. Muzzle first into a boulder. Took a pretty good ding on the outer edge of the barrel but didn't bend the barrel and with a file and fine-grain hone took out the ding. I had to move the scope exactly 1 click - a plug for their mounting system and Leupie scopes as well. I've also dropped this same rifle from a treestand - wasn't tied to the rope as well as it should have been. I dropped one of my other AW Hawkeyes in the dirt/mud while deer hunting in rough terrain. Wiped it off with snow and water, checked the bore, good to go.

These things are dang near indestructible. I'm a big fan of the M70 but the new Hawkeyes are a very good rifle. I have 3 AW Hawkeyes, 3 SS M70's, a Marlin 1895, a M700, and a M98. Guess which ones get hunted the most?!

The new matte finish is very easily marked or scratched and shows every little scrape. In short, it just looks horrible because of how easily it mares.

The original stainless on the Ruger MK/IIs NEVER had problems like the matte finish. I have hunted for decades with Ruger rifles which had the original stainless and never, not once, did a deer spook from them. And, the original stainless looked and held up sooooo much better!

Also, I agree with the other poster, the "Target Grey" Ruger used to have is an excellent finish! I wish it was still available. My Ultra-light has the Target Grey finish and it still looks great even after being hunted hard for many years!

Ruger should have kept the Target Grey and the original stainless. Their matte finishes flat out STINK!

The old polished SS finish (non bead-blasted or greyed) was the worst finish I've ever seen.

About ten years ago I watched a guy across a sage flat during antelope season. His rifle was emitting light like the aforementioned lighthouse. I thought to myself "Ruger." Sure enough, when our paths crossed he was toting a boatpaddle stainless 7em-em.

I agree Brad. My elk hunting partner uses one that is awfully shiny. I always thought his tactic was to just scare them to me .. The target grey finish is pretty good though:

BSA, I couldn't believe it took Ruger as long as it did to go to a bead-blast finish. I've always liked the Target Grey best, but its only available on certain rifles. I believe it's actually a blued finish on SS.

Ruger SS is the most corrosion resistant stainless of any firearm on the market. Stuff is so hard, a lot of smiths refuse to work on them where any milling is involved.

I've had 8 of them( stainless Mark IIs) bead blasted at $35 ea, no big deal

I'll concede that the shiny MKII finish showed scratches and rubs less with the glossy "chrome" finish but not a big fan of the look on a hunting rifle. I had my MKII bead blasted shortly after getting it. I just got a .375 Alaskan, the finish is rougher than my bead blasted MKII and it will show some wear but I'll take that over a "chrome" rifle.

I believe that. I actually didn't mind the ss finish on my AW 308. It seemed to be pretty durable:



The synthetic stock was alright, but I like wood better so I slapped it into this Hawkeye wood stock which wasn't too bad. All in all, the Ruger Hawkey AW rifles are pretty good if you don't mind the heft.

I've got an all-weather in 35 Whelen from the run they did about a year ago and I believe it's the target grey finish, although it's my only ruger so I don't have any others to compare to. Haven't had it out in any real nasty stuff yet but it sure looks nice.

I have a MKII all weather that I had bead blasted to knock the shine off the stainless finish. The finish is a slightly darker which I like a lot more and is in my avatar.

Deans - I've enjoyed an M77 All Weather in .338 Federal for a number of years now. Finish is durable and a dull matte. When Ruger begins shipping the American All Weather's I hope my .243Win (or maybe a 7mm/08) proves just as durable. Homesteader.

Hmm...I guess all the animals I've killed with my shiny MKII's have been stupid or something.

Put me down as one who likes the old finish too...

BellyDeep - "I guess all the animals I've killed with my shiny MKII's have been stupid or something." Guess you didn't notice them wearing shades - LOL. Homesteader.

All three finishes work fine.

The shiny is most durable--easily bead blasted if desired.
The grey is the nicest--but not readily available.
The matte is scratchable--but all your doing is shining it a little, not really wrecking it.