Ruger M77 MkII vs Ruger Hawkeye
- Thread starter RT
- Start date
freddyfour
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Brant County, Ontario
Bluing on the hawkeye sucks compared to the MKII, bolts are more of a matte finish as well. But both of mine are great shooters and I don't plan to part with them any time soon.
I have one of each. The hawkeye takes a bit of smoothing out initially. An evening In front of the tv cycling the bolt will do it. I like the hawkeye non reflective finish . The mk ii is too shiny for a hunting gun. Trigger in my hawkeye is much better then the mk ii. Accuracy is great in both guns. I put boat paddles on both guns.
- Location
- NFA country
The MKII is a better gun all around than the Hawkeye except for the trigger.
I put a Timney trigger @ 2 pounds in my Ruger M77 MKII All-Weather in 300 Win Mag and it's a tack driver.
I put a Timney trigger @ 2 pounds in my Ruger M77 MKII All-Weather in 300 Win Mag and it's a tack driver.
The MKII is a better all around rifle, fit and finish is superior... I have a a bunch of MKII's, ditched all of the Hawkeye rifles... I despise the matte finish on both the stainless and black (can't call them "blued") rifles. But there are some specialty editions that received more care, such as the African models... and they are quite nice, except that you still get BBQ paint on the safety lever etc... the LC6 trigger on the Hawkeye is only an improvement over the MKII trigger if you are all thumbs, because a ten minute DIY trigger job on the MKII will net you an excellent trigger.
I've owned both. I will echo everyone else. Mk II is my favorite, but the Hawkeye has a much superior trigger out of the box. That can be fixed on the Mk II though. My Hawkeye needed an evening cycling it in front of the TV to smooth it out. Although it was smooth and better than most other rifles after that, my .280 Mk II was the smoothest, slickest, best feeling bolt I have ever felt. It was better than a commercial FN98 I had, Sakos ect. It was honestly that good.
It is exactly the same part number for both the M77 MKII and M77 Hawkeye stocks... they are drop in fit and so little difference in profile and feel that I have yet to have anyone note the difference... there are specific versions that net a different profile and feel, such as the Compact, Ultralight and African models... but the Standard MKII and Standard Hawkeye are very nearly indistinguishable without calipers, and there is no difference in the synthetic versions, other than the rounded toe of the MKII.
Ardent
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
It’s funny how much we all were struck by that same feeding slickness of the old MkII’s. I know they all still exist so it’s not some historical perspective, but it was the first action that left an impression for its slickness. My .243 boat paddle from 17 years ago was the smoothest action I’ve ever run, gave the impression if you tipped it forward with the bolt pulled back and let go of the bolt, it’d chamber and fly shut. Of course it wouldn’t, but it was effortlessly smooth. I think my Hawkeye .275 Rigby will get there with use.
Huh. Interesting. I don’t own them anymore, but use to have a couple of each. I was certain the stocks were slightly changed for the HE model, mainly around the belly of the stock. Rounder, slimmer profile at the floorplate. Guess I misremember. My apologies.
I had a spankin' new MkII in 6.5x55mm back in the day. All 'round great shooter right outta the box.
Should've never sold that rifle!!
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NAA.
I had one listed in the EE until is sold a few days ago. I have another beauty M77 MKII Walnut Blued 6.5X55 and it is an extremely accurate rifle.
My M77 MKII Walnut/Blued collection includes a .220 Swift, .250/3000, .257 Robert's, 6.5X55, 7X57, 7.62X57 Medium Mauser and .350 Rem Mag... also have the M77 MKII stainless rifles in .223, .22-250, .243, .260, .308, .350 Rem Mag and soon to be 6.5 Rem Mag... these M77's fit me to a tee... for me they are the most comfortable factory rifles to carry, shoulder and shoot.
Trimmer 905
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
I have one I'll never get rid of. As far as M77 and Hawkeye difference,I'm hard pressed to find much at all. To me,it appears like a marketing name change for the same rifle.
That's awesome.
I sold my Ruger MkII 6.5x55mm only after getting a Remington Classic in 6.5x55mm. That subsequently went, too.
These days I have to console myself with a Win 70 featherweight in 6.5x55mm which had been my holy grail of factory sporter rifles 6.5x55mm. Reason the Win 70 was my holy grail as it was the first rifle I ever shot in 6.5x55mm. Been hooked on that ctg ever since!
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NAA.
That's awesome.
I sold my Ruger MkII 6.5x55mm only after getting a Remington Classic in 6.5x55mm. That subsequently went, too.
These days I have to console myself with a Win 70 featherweight in 6.5x55mm which had been my holy grail of factory sporter rifles 6.5x55mm. Reason the Win 70 was my holy grail as it was the first rifle I ever shot in 6.5x55mm. Been hooked on that ctg ever since!
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NAA.
Ironically I had M70 Featherweights in .257 Robert's and 6.5X55 and sold them in favour of the M77 MKII's... different strokes for different folks... that is why there are so many styles and designs.
