Ruger is dropping Left hand Hawkeye
- Thread starter medvedqc
- Start date
- Location
- Southern Vancouver Island
I would figure he wouldn't. The No.1 was his favorite and his designs were mostly sporting oriented. That said, Bill was also adept at business and may have put the nod to an AR type sport or target rifle, but with his own flair added in.
Slooshark1
CGN frequent flyer
I own 3 Hawkeyes and have nothing negative to say. They function reliably and they shoot better than I can. I would like a better quality finish on the steel, but that's about it. They kind of have a frosted finish on them that is susceptible to scratching more easily than a high Lustre blued finish. Other than that, they will never let you down.
The only No. 1 shown on the Ruger website is the Lipsey's distributer exclusive in 45-70
I currently have ten Hawkeye's, but have owned dozens of others... IME the rumours of poor accuracy are just that, rumours. My Hawkeyes are every bit as accurate as any 70, 7, or 700 I have owned. There was a time years ago, where Ruger did not make their own barrels and the quality was hit and miss, depending on batch (so they say, my early Rugers were nice also)... Ruger has been making their barrels in-house for a long time and all of the Hawkeye line have barrels which fall under Ruger QC. I am a big fan of the M77 build quality and features, including the 3-position safety... as for the matte stainless finish, I like it... it does scratch easier than a deep bluing would, but you can buff it out with 0000 steel wool... with bluing there is a lot work involved in dealing with finish issues. I think you will be happy with a 77.
I just looked at the Ruger website and I can see their strategy for the M77 rifles... they dropped the low cost versions to create more separation between the American line and the Hawkeye line... guaranteed this will come with a pricing increase to both... those not comfortable with $1K+ will drop back to the American line... case in point, no more Hawkeye All-Weather, But the American line offers the All-Weather... these are all marketing strategies to target the trending buyer patterns... my biggest concern is their move away from the No.1... Based on Rugers recent move to single caliber offerings of each model, I am thinking that they are planning limited runs of No.1's... which of course will sell out in hours due to higher demand and at premium prices... unfortunately, I think this strategy will work with consumers... this makes me regret the recent downsizing of my collection.
nomad 68
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Good to hear. Found a decent price on a ss version in .308.
- Location
- Invermere, BC
I really hope you are wrong and they aren't dropping the lefty's. I'm going to send them an email. I have two and was hoping to add more.
the only to find out will be at the shot show but if a big distributor in USA is relating LH hawkeye as discontinued there is something true saddly in the air ...
gunrunner8
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Kamloops, B.C.
I have two LH Ruger Hawkeyes (my preffered hunting rifles) one in 7-08 the other in 30-06 RCBS IMP.
Recently I sold one in 375/338WM that was to much of a kicker for 62yo.
In a light of recent development I should look for LH Ruger in 223Rem and 338WM for the collection to be complete.
OP, thanks for the warning.
It simply comes down to what sells.
I don't stock ANY left handed rifles anymore for sale because they don't sell unless I mark them down below cost and nobody even asks about them.
In the past couple years have only sold 1 left handed gun period and that was 870 Rem shotgun.
If no "lefty's" come in and either buy or order them, I in turn don't order and carry them and in turn mfg's like Ruger stop producing them because nobody is ordering etc etc etc.
I just received the 2015 catalog from Stoeger (Canada) and the only real selection for Lefty's is in the Tikka line.
In the T3 lite (synthetic) there are 15 caliber offerings - 9 in left hand. In the T3 lite stainless there are 16 calibers, 11 in left hand.
In the T3 Hunter line (wood) there are only 10 calibers, 5 in left hand.
That also shows that the wood stocked guns are sitting in the back seat now since the full caliber offering lines are all "black plastic".
I don't stock ANY left handed rifles anymore for sale because they don't sell unless I mark them down below cost and nobody even asks about them.
In the past couple years have only sold 1 left handed gun period and that was 870 Rem shotgun.
If no "lefty's" come in and either buy or order them, I in turn don't order and carry them and in turn mfg's like Ruger stop producing them because nobody is ordering etc etc etc.
I just received the 2015 catalog from Stoeger (Canada) and the only real selection for Lefty's is in the Tikka line.
In the T3 lite (synthetic) there are 15 caliber offerings - 9 in left hand. In the T3 lite stainless there are 16 calibers, 11 in left hand.
In the T3 Hunter line (wood) there are only 10 calibers, 5 in left hand.
That also shows that the wood stocked guns are sitting in the back seat now since the full caliber offering lines are all "black plastic".
do you mind listing the calibers for lefties?
