Picked up a new Hawkeye All-Weather .223 yesterday and was going over it before mounting a scope. The action was all gunked up with some brown goo that reminded me of the Lepage's Mucilage that was required kit for elementary school kids in the old days. Even the inside of the bolt was gooped up. Cleaned up easily with 91% alcohol, but what a mess. The barrel, for some reason escaped the slime treatment, as did the rings.

The mag box was wedged firmly in place between the action and the bottom metal, but a little filing fixed that.

When CDNN had a bunch of the 77's for a great price a while back I picked up a couple and they had the same grease. My guess at the time was they were wholesaled so Ruger didn't clean them up prior to shipping. No clue about the accuracy of my guess though.

I was happy to get this one. Thought I was going to have to settle for one of the compacts with the stubby barrel. The SS Hawkeyes are my favorite all-arounders. This one's going to get a workout.

Where did you find it Pappy? I am an unabashed Ruger nut and love Hawkeyes. I have a Remington 700 SPS and a Savage LWH in 223. They are both good shooters and the 223 is so easy to load for. I'd probably send the Remington packing if I found a Hawkeye 223 for a good price.

On Gunbroker. Mine was a backroom discovery according to the nice lady I talked to, but I saw more than one when I looked. I paid $575 for mine, BTW, happily.

Bought one of the All Weather rifles in .280 Rem. Shoots great with no work other than cleaning that stuff off the bolt.