Reviews of Ruger Long Range Mod 77 Rifle
Ruger Hawkeye Long Range Target Review
The Ruger Hawkeye Long Range Target is worth a difficult look if you're in the market place for your first (or next) long-range gun.
July 02, 2019
Ruger has launched a defended long-range version of the Hawkeye. Known as the Long-Range Target, this new rifle incorporates the company's non-rotating hook extractor action and stock-still ejector into a dedicated long-range shooting platform—one that won't toll you an arm and a leg.
Ruger's ii-lug 1-slice stainless bolt design has been effectually for decades, and the system has proven itself time and over again to exist utterly reliable considering the large claw extractor bites down on the cartridge case. Controlled-round-feed rifles are more than expensive to produce than button-feed guns, but Ruger kept the suggested retail cost of this burglarize at $i,279, which ways street prices volition likely be a bit over a grand, certainly a good price for a defended long-range rifle capable of excellent accuracy.
While the action might look familiar to longtime Model 77 fans, virtually every other component on this rifle has been upgraded or redesigned to make it capable of shooting at farthermost distances. For starters, this new gun comes equipped with a 26-inch gratuitous-floated cold hammer-forged 4140 chrome-moly steel barrel with a heavy contour and a 5/8x24 threaded cage.
The Hawkeye's barrel comes with 5R rifling, and the benefits of that are twofold. For starters, by using five lands and grooves instead of the more conventional four or half-dozen lands and grooves, the bullet is not compressed between opposing grooves equally it passes down the butt. Instead, 5R rifling seats lands and grooves reverse one another in the bore, and this leads to amend concentricity and, as a consequence, improved accurateness.
Another key element of 5R is that the sides of the lands are sloped toward the grooves as opposed to being cut at sharp angles. This makes it easier to effectively clean the barrel because fouling is easier to remove—and besides less likely jacket material will be stripped from a bullet as it passes down the bore.
Eagle Long-Range Target rifles come with Ruger's hybrid muzzle brake, borrowed from the company's Precision Rifle, which reduces felt recoil by as much as 58 percent while simultaneously reducing racket and blast to the sides. Therefore, your neighbors at the range will be less inclined to petition to have you banned from the club. The brake is locked into position via an external jam nut, and it weighs just three.ii ounces.
The stock on this rifle is excellent, especially given the cost betoken. It'due south made of durable, high-quality brown laminate and features black epoxy resin texturing over the entire length. This epoxy provides a comfortable gripping surface in whatever weather conditions, and it also looks great. The broad beavertail fore-finish comes with a flat K-Lok rail for mounting accessories like bipods, and in that location are QD attachment points fore and aft on the stock for attaching a sling.
Length-of-pull spacers and a two-style adaptable rummage make it easy to adjust the stock to the shooter, and the pistol grip of the Hawkeye has a steep vertical angle and scalloped sides for shooting from the prone position. The soft condom buttpad on the stock is thin and basic, but it's dumbo enough to do the job.
A 20-thou.o.a. Picatinny rail with iv eight-40 screws sits atop the receiver, and this runway offers not only the top benefits long-range shooters demand, but also a stable platform for mounting optics. I opted to mount a Trijicon AccuPoint ii.5-12x42mm scope with an illuminated duplex crosshair on the Ruger, and Trijicon'due south beefy 30mm rings bit down on the Ruger'due south rails like a vice grip.
1 Magpul PMag v Air conditioning L Magnum five-shot magazine comes standard, and the mag release lever is located but alee of the trigger baby-sit and has a wide tang that makes mag swaps elementary. The 5 Air conditioning 50 Magnum is built from vanquish-resistant polymer and features a self-lubricating follower and a stainless steel bound, and the polymer pattern is both durable and calorie-free. It's nearly indestructible yet weighs merely iii ounces.
The mag is one of the few lightweight components in the structure of the Eagle Long-Range Tactical, though. At 11 pounds (11 pounds, ii ounces on my scale) you can expect a fully loaded and scoped Hawkeye Tactical to run in the neighborhood of 13 pounds.
Only this is a gun for the serious long-range shooter, including competition shooters, and gun weight is not typically an issue. A little extra heft tin can even be an advantage if you're calling your ain shots since the gun is more stable, and that extra heft really helps tame the recoil of this rifle. When yous plant the Hawkeye on bags or on a bipod information technology stays put, and information technology's piece of cake to stabilize. And since in that location are multiple comb and length-of-pull adjustment options, you can make this gun fit properly, so you're ameliorate-equipped to handle recoil.
In shooting the rifle I found zilch nearly it feels flimsy or cheap. The dual-lug activity runs smoothly through the raceway, and there were no issues with feeding throughout the duration of the test.
This reliability is thanks both to the controlled-circular-feed activeness and the supplied five-round magazine. With its shine yet durable spring and polymer follower, the magazine is piece of cake to load, and at that place's no need to fiddle with the cartridge to make sure information technology's seated correctly. The action feeds, extracts and ejects cartridges with say-so, merely as yous'd wait from a Mauser-inspired controlled-circular-feed rifle.
Target guns like the Hawkeye incorporate more upright pistol grips that position the hand comfortably for decumbent or bench shooting. The Eagle's pistol grip design is particularly comfortable because it'south trim plenty to permit a secure concur and consummate command over the rifle while the rounded profile fills the shooter'due south hand.
The front end face up of the pistol grip is virtually vertical, which allows for plenty of freedom to position the hand equally high or low on the grip as you'd like. Information technology's a comfortable design that offers maximum flexibility so that each shooter can observe the right position for their hand.
Speaking of flexibility, the two-way adjustable comb is like shooting fish in a barrel to customize to arrange the shooter's facial structure. Information technology'southward an austere design—a screw-adjustable clamping lever allows the shooter to lock and unlock the hard plastic comb—but this simplicity makes information technology easy to make pocket-size adjustments on the field or in the range.
The lever itself is easy to open and locks securely in identify, and the organisation is intuitive and allows the shooter to keep his or her optics downrange while adjusting the comb if needed. And although the comb is made of polymer, it'south durable and has a wide, comfy surface that doesn't scrape or jar your face with each shot. The included length-of-pull spacers let for fifty-fifty more customization, and the recoil pad does a skilful chore absorbing recoil.
Ruger's hybrid muzzle brake is quite effective at reducing recoil, and the Hawkeye Long Range is among the softest-shooting .300 magnums on the market—thanks to both the restriction and the gun'south weight. The downside to whatsoever restriction, of form, is added blast, yet the Ruger's restriction doesn't seem to be as loud as competing models. I had no means to measure muzzle boom at the range, so the evidence is anecdotal, just the Ruger seems less offensive than competing braked .300 magnums I've shot—although I surely wouldn't call it repose. No braked burglarize is.
Shooting the Ruger in .300 was enjoyable, which is non the case with all .300s, and if you elect to purchase this rifle in either the 6.five Creedmoor or 6.5 PRC, I'm certain recoil would exist light indeed and quite manageable even for new or immature shooters.
The adjustable trigger on this rifle is superb, breaking at ii.2 pounds out of the box with no adjustments. It'south a make clean, crisp design with no blades or take-up, just a smoothen trigger face up that breaks like glass.
The trigger guard is oversize and tin easily accommodate gloved fingers for shooting on cold days, and the extended magazine release on the front of the trigger guard is easy to operate. Simply run the finger around the outer edge of the guard and you lot'll contact the rear of the release lever; minimal forward pressure drops the magazine free. It's some other characteristic on this gun that allows the shooter to remain target-focused.
Every bit I mentioned, the xx-m.o.a. acme runway made scope mounting a snap, and it obviously provides plenty of summit adjustment for most whatever shot. Similarly, the M-Lok arrangement on the beavertail fore-stop makes it easy to deeply mount a bipod, and the broad, flat contact surface betwixt the burglarize and the bipod provides a strong and stable base. There's besides a generous cutout in the rear of the stock for resting on bags.
The controls are traditional M77/Eagle design, with a wing-type three-position condom that allows the rifle to be loaded and unloaded with the safety engaged when the rubber is the middle position. Removing the commodities is unproblematic thanks to a release lever on the left rear portion of the receiver, though fully extracting the bolt may require readjusting the rummage then it doesn't interfere with commodities removal.
The Hawkeye managed groups at or under an inch with all three loads I tested. With moderate recoil and a great trigger, you'll want to fire grouping after group to see just how tightly you tin can compact three-shot clusters at 100 yards. I was limited to 300 yards at my range, but I did shoot the rifle out to 428 yards at stumps on a friend's subcontract, and the Ruger performed perfectly. Wherever the Trijicon's green dot rested, a .308-inch hole soon appeared, bravado spouts of moisture, rotted wood loftier into the air. And, as I already mentioned, I was able to call my own shots.
While this is primarily a target burglarize, and its weight and overall dimensions would brand most hunters recollect twice before dragging this beast afield, if you find yourself in a situation where you're non going to move much and shots are long, the Hawkeye Long-Range Target would be a solid choice. I think information technology would be great for, say, hunting deer from a box blind or when glassing for antelope or elk from a ridgetop.
The price of dedicated long-range rifles ranges from a few k to as much as ten 1000, so at $1,279 the Ruger is something of a deal. Information technology's not a poser, a manufacturer'due south endeavor to wearing apparel-up an existing model only to lure in a few long-range shooters. This gun has the chops information technology takes to brand long shots, and it won't trounce y'all to death.
Nor will you have to excuse cut-charge per unit workmanship in the name of value. This gun carries the Dna of Ruger's original Model 77 rifle, which dates back fifty years yet manages to hang with the most modern, cut-border rifles in terms of functioning. Information technology's certainly on the short listing of the all-time bang-for-the-buck guns in contempo memory, and it's worth a hard look if y'all're in the market for your start (or adjacent) long-range gun.
Source: https://www.rifleshootermag.com/editorial/ruger-hawkeye-long-range-review/363382#:~:text=The%20Ruger%20Hawkeye%20Long%20Range%20Target%20is%20a%20great%20take,the%20supplied%20five%2Dround%20magazine.
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