Accuracy of 77 Hawkeye 358 Win?

[Hank in Indiana]

I ordered, but not received, a Hawkeye in 358 win. Can anyone give me an idea of the accuracy I can expect. I have had a lot of Rugers in the past that were not as accurate as I would have liked. I have read that ruger has gotten better since they are making their own barrels. It seems that I never read of any rifle or sniper teams that use Ruger rifles. If they were accurate I would think that someone would use them.

 

[onehandgunner]

358 Win. ???, I did not see this caliber listed in there lineup.

 

[Pal Val]

Is that a custom rebarrel job?

 

[Boxhead]

CDNN was selling them last I looked.

 

[06ackley]

Well mine is the wood/blue hawkeye and i can tell you it is very accurate.I have shot nosler,speer,and barnes out of it and all of them were very accurate.Have several moa and under groups.The best group was with tac powder and barnes 200gr ttsx bullet.I just got back from Ontario on a black bear hunt and it did the job quite well.I used the 200gr nosler accubond and tac powder in that and was impressed with the performance.

 

[onehandgunner]

I saw 338 Win. & 458 but no 358 Win, maybe a typo? I like the 358 Win round and would like to have one in a #3, but no go. I'm just dreaming anyway.

 

[Hank in Indiana]

The 358 win is not in the catalog but Bud's has them for sale every now and again. I put it in the wish list and Bud's sent an e-mail that it was in. I thought that $451 with free shipping to my FFL was a good deal. It's the stainless/syn stock model. I hope it shoots as good as it looks.

 

[onehandgunner]

Hank, If that is indeed a 358 Win and you get it for that price, wow. I looked at BUD'S site and found a 358 BL, don't know what BL means, but it was out of stock. I have never heard anyone complain about a M77 so it ought to be good. I like the almost forgotten calibers and the 358 Win. is a darn good round. Good luck Jerry

 

[Hank in Indiana]

The Bud's item number is 42488. It shows a price of $456 that includes the $5 insurance charge.

For 06Ackley: Have you tried cutting the case to 1.8" for Indiana deer legal.

 

[06ackley]

Hank,yes i have and i have a good load with the speer 180gr semi spitzer.Im going to try using the hornady flex tip for deer also.Need to work up a load with that yet but i am sure it will work fine.It just has a really short neck.

 

[Hank in Indiana]

I have some 180 and 200g that I use in a 35 rem cut to 1.8". Looks like I'm in for some bench work. Thanks for the info.

 

[firecaptain]

I have a 358 Frontier Rifle and my father has a 358 s/s/Fiberglass stock model. I cannot remember the load but it workds great in both our rifles. I know its a 200gr Rem. CorLokt but cannot remember the powder w/o looking. You will have great results.

 

[Silent Sam]

How accurate is any rifle that hasn't been shot? ;).
The cartridge is as potentially accurate as any 308 case based chambering.
Rugers in 358Win are out there in different configurations. They are typically small runs as the caliber is not widely popular, except to those who have one. I recently bought a stainless synthetic Hawkeye on closeout through Lipsey's. I believe they are all gone. I have yet to shoot mine. I do have loads worked up in other 358s that I expect will do fine in the Hawkeye. If not I'll work up something that will. I will try to get a good load using 225gr Accubonds that I haven't tried previously due to magazine length issues that shouldn't be a problem in the Hawkeye. Pick your bullet and an appropriate powder and have at it. I have very accurate loads using Hornady 200gr SPs, 225gr Sierras, and 225gr Partitions. Powders I have had the best luck with are N135 and TAC in my rifles. I don't believe there is any advantage to any loads less than 200gr and believe the 225gr weight w/ bullets having a BC of .400+ to be ideal in the 358. The only caveats to that would be using a 250gr RN for something like bear over bait or using a pistol bullet at reduced velocity that shoots to the same point of aim at short range for camp meat or plinking. An accurate 225gr bullet of proper construction can be used in those instances w/o fussing around though. If you change bullet weight in the 358 I can almost guarantee you will need to re-zero so I just use a 225gr zero just under 3" high at 100yds which puts my 200gr Hornady load centered on the bull. I am not planning on reloading anymore 200gr loads and am using those up on whitetails. I have taken moose, elk and deer with excellent results w/ 225gr partitions and will use the 225gr Sierras on whitetails from now on and save the partitions for large game.

 

[jn 41]

Hank, I have the same rifle. I get 3 shot, 1 inch groups at 100yds. IF I do my job! listen to SILENT SAM, he is getting same results I do. 225gr sierra gameking. Both TAC and IMR 3031 work well in my rifle. only tried 2 powders, no reason to look at anything else.
I have taken 2 whitetail and a cow elk with those loads, worked well.
GOOD LUCK, jn

 

[Hank in Indiana]

That's the info I'm looking for. I've had a half dozen Rugers and the accuracy was less than I'd hoped for. My last one was a 77,bull barrel, varmint 308 that should have shot better than a consistant 2"@100. I've had excellent groups with Browning, Remington, Marlin, and Savage. After 15 years the best group I had was 1 3/4". I sold it and moved on. The stainless Hawkeye looked so darn good that I had to try one more time. That and the price seemed good.

 

[cornbush]

My brother has a Hawkeye All Weather in .358 and it is very accurate, no problem getting 1 1/2" and smaller groups with several different loads, with a couple 250 gr handloads from a rock solid rest it goes under an inch quite often.

 

[Hank in Indiana]

I picked it up thursday, $471 OTD. It looks really nice. Friday I left for a Dove hunt so I haven't shot it yet. Hopefully tomorrow.

 

[boray]

Hank, I'm very curious as to how your rifle will shoot. For the last several months I've been trying to wring some kind of accuracy out of my .308 M77 Hawkeye All Weather, but alas it's just not there. Years ago I owned a superbly accurate .308 M77 MkII but this new rifle, so far will not shoot anything. My last resort is to try some of the lighter stuff (125gr) but if I've got to go down to a bullet that light I'd rather it be out of a smaller caliber with a better BC. I hesitate to call what this gun shoots a group as it's more like a pattern...a shotgun pattern. It doesn't shoot 150 gr Nosler Ballistic tips over W748 or H4895 or Varget, nor will it shoot 169 SMKs, nor factory Remington 150s, nor factory Winchester Super X 180s. Another man at our range was fighting the same problem with his .308 M77 and said he finally got some acceptable accuracy from Winchester Supreme 169gr but at nearly $35 a box I was hoping to find something else. Still got some Fusions to test and some of the high dollar Supremes but frankly I'm disgusted with this rifle and like Townsend Whelen said "only accurate rifles are interesting".

 

[Hank in Indiana]

The first two shots are nearly touching. The third shot add an inch and the fourth shot add another inch @ 100. After the second shot the barrel is hot. If you only shoot one shot and let the barrel cool it prints pretty good. I want it for hunting so cold shots have to be consistant and it is. I have my own range so it is easy to take one shot and change rifles or do something else for a while. The thin barrel make for a nice carry rifle but it does get hot fast.

 

[jn 41]

Hank, what ammo you using?

 

[boray]

The first two shots are nearly touching. The third shot add an inch and the fourth shot add another inch @ 100. After the second shot the barrel is hot. If you only shoot one shot and let the barrel cool it prints pretty good. I want it for hunting so cold shots have to be consistant and it is. I have my own range so it is easy to take one shot and change rifles or do something else for a while. The thin barrel make for a nice carry rifle but it does get hot fast.

Hank, am I doing the math right?...Two shots nearly touching in 35 caliber equals approximately .40" center to center, plus the third added an inch as well as the fourth making your overall group size 2.40"? Had you in fact let the barrel cool or was this just 4 shots in succession? Must be nice to have your own range! Thanks for the info.

 

[Hank in Indiana]

I'm shooting hornady 180 psp, and 200 rn with H335 and IMR 4198. Vel in the 2400-2500 range. WW cases cut to 1.8", CCI primers.

 

[Brad]

Give Varget a try.

 

[Silent Sam]

Those are fairly soft loads. You can push 225s that fast.

 

[Hank in Indiana]

I loose some case capacity cutting the brass to 1.8" I only load until the velocity deviations start to take a jump indicating pressure spikes.

 

[Silent Sam]

Why 1.8"? What is your OAL?

 

[Hank in Indiana]

Indiana state law for deer with a rifle requires a bullet 35 cal or larger and a case length that does not exceed 1.8" There are no restrictions for the rifle cartridge used for squirrel, coyote, or varmints. Deer only. I know that it doesn't make sense but I did not make the law, I only obey them.

 

[Silent Sam]

Understand, well actually I don't if you know what I mean. Good luck. N133 works well w/ lighter bullets. Relatively expensive but clean, accurate in my rifles and very consistent. I don't have to deal w/ the silly regs that you do. I only load 225s anymore.

 

[Hank in Indiana]

Thanks for the tips. I don't do much testing now until spring. Deer season starts Monday for me and runs into January. I have a load for this season.