Ruger's M77 Hawkeye Standard

Living in Maine, prepping for winter gets to be instinctive, primal… It’s like having a brain with a mind of its own. Sort of like Freddie Francis’ 1962 Sci-Fi classic “The Brain”. Well, not exactly like “The Brain”… more like the 1972 classic, “The Man with Two Heads”. In any event, this time of year, the car gets put away and the 4×4 truck comes out. The mower head comes off the tractor and the snow blower gets installed. On the firearms front, the superfluous, gadgety guns that occupy most of my time during the summer, give way to real hunting rifles.

Being a relic, hunting season isn’t about male bonding, modeling designer camo, satisfying a G.I. Joe fixation, or getting all sniper…y to hunt deer. I just dress to keep warm and dry, put a few essentials in my pockets, then go out and kill a deer. Seems to work. When it comes to a rifle, I don’t need or want gimmicks, just a rock solid reliable gun with appropriate power and range. The Ruger M77 Hawkeye Standard represents just such a rifle.

Did you know that “Dis” is a pronoun in my home state of NJ?

The Ruger Model 77 Hawkeye Standard is a U.S. made firearm, manufactured from casting pour to assembly in New Hampshire, and serviced by the same company. With the established fact that this is a well designed and well executed product, I can say that “Made in the U.S.A.” means a lot. It means Ruger, rather than being a glorified outsourcing agent like many of its competitors, maintains an investment in this country and is providing jobs to Americans, without hanging a premium price tag on firearms to cover the cost of the company’s commitment.

 

Unlike Ruger’s current 16.5″ barrel Compact, or the 20″ barrel of the company’s earlier Ultra Light model, the Ruger M77 Hawkeye Standard has a 22″ or 24″ barrel, as determined by cartridge. The M77 Hawkeye Standard’s slightly longer barrel means significantly improved ballistics, but without a noticeable weight increase and without diminishing handling.

Ruger seems to always find a way to combine high dollar functionality and reliability with realistic prices. The M77 has a good trigger, crisp and light, however, pull is not owner adjustable.  The Ruger is controlled round feed, facilitated by a non-rotating Mauser type claw extractor. The Ruger does not have metallic sights which, in these days, is the norm. The straight cut stock keeps the muzzle down under recoil and the comb is relatively high, which works out well for its intended use with a scope. At 7 pounds even the M77 Hawkeye is much lighter than most 22″ barrel firearms.

 

 

Both the three position safety and floorplate can play a role in unloading the Ruger Hawkeye. The safety is in the “Fire” position when full forward, in “Safe” mode, but with the bolt free to cycle, in the mid position and “Safe” with the bolt locked in the closed position with the safety in its aft position. The safety is placed in the mid safe position to load and the bolt can be cycled to empty the magazine. Alternatively, the rifle may be emptied by depressing the release latch recessed into the front of the trigger guard.

 

Considering that a decent set of rings and bases are priced in the $50 – $75 range, having integral scope mounts bases and getting a free set of rings is a thoughtful customer service.

 

1″ rings are included with all M77 rifles, however, they can be swapped for 30mm rings if desired and other configurations can be purchased from the Ruger store. There are twenty two different part numbers to help optimize selection. If you’re looking for an additional options, Brownells offers compatible rings made by Redfield, Ruger, Warne, Millet, and Leupold.

 

Ruger rings are secure to prevent movement in any direction. They are clamped into the scalloped recesses in the sides of the receiver and a center tab projecting down from each ring locks are keyed into the top of the receiver. A scope will stay put under recoil and rough handling, but it can also be quickly removed by loosening the cross slotted and knurled ring nuts.

 

Rings are supplied one step apart in height, with the taller ring installed in the aft location to place the scope parallel to the rifle bore’s centerline.

 

With scope in place and lunch out of the way…

 

A 3-10x42mm scope went on cleanly, forming an overall appearance I can only refer to as.. spiffy. Very little adjustment was needed to laser align the scope and the installed height was just right for eye – eyepiece  alignment. With a break in the overcast skies, a chronograph was set up and some targets posted to collect velocity and accuracy data.

 

Commercial ammunition is available in bullet weights from 120 to 168 grains, however, the 7mm-08 Remington is mostly at home with 120 to 140 grain hunting ammunition. The Ruger rifling twist can easily stabilize lead core bullets through to 160 grains but sectional density, trajectory, muzzle and impact velocity and energy suggest 140 grains is the optimal bullet weight for the cartridge.

 

In context, the ever popular .243 Winchester tops out at 105 grains and the flat shooting 25-06 Remington extends bullet weight to 120 grains. The 7mm-08 Remington’s 140 grain bullet gives a nice power bump without moving up to one of the long action 7mm cartridges.

 

Ammunition is readily available and mostly inexpensive, although the price range for twenty rounds can run from $17 to $56 for the exotic. Any ammunition in the range will deliver good hunting ammunition, the more expensive will get you much fancier boxes and nifty names.