Hawkeye Compact or M77 MKII Compact in .223

[QB]

Instead of a Mini-14 I may purchase a bolt action rifle. I need a compact model and have narrowed it down to:

Hawkey blued with green laminate stock
M77 MKII blued with walnut stock

I have not seen either gun but read on this forum that the finish is different on the newer Hawkeyes.

Does anyone know other differences such as the trigger? And can anyone explain the differences in the triggers?

Which model is better and why, the MKII or the Hawkeye?

I thought the MKII Sporter was a great looking rifle but it has the 22" barrel which is too long for me.

Thanks for any suggestions you may have. This rifle will just be used at the range for the most part.

 

[Dixie Rebel]

Get the MK/II; it is a beautiful rifle!

The new matte finish Ruger is putting of all of the Hawkeyes, both blued and stainless is horrible!!!

Wake up Ruger and go back to the quality finish you USED to put on your rifles!!!!!

 

[QB]

Decided to get the discontinued model M77 MKII rather than the Hawkeye (may still get a Hawkeye later).

Just ordered a M77 Mark II Compact Model KM77CRMKIIBBZ. It's a stainless black laminate stock & 16 1/2" barrel with shorted LOP.

I found one this weekend but when I sent an inquiry I got a response back that it had just been sold. Finally found another one even though it was about $30 higher. I'm a little skeptical about getting it but they swore they had one in store and that it would ship within 7-10 days.

Shipping time really is unacceptable to me but since I can't find that model anywhere else I went ahead and purchased it. I have a sneaking feeling that I'll be notified that they are "out of stock" once they really check their warehouse......but maybe I'm just being paranoid.

I'll post pictures and a range report once I get it and can find time to go to the range, sometime in early October I suppose.

Thanks for your comments and info.

 

[45flattop]

I think you chose wisely with the Mark II, I agree with the poster
that the finish on all Hawkeyes is a POS, its the money guys at
work there, that can be applied mechanically with reduced manual,
I.E. hand buffing, labor costs. I also don't think the stocks on the
Mark IIs needed to be "slimmer" in the forened, I suspect a desire
on some miserable cold souled CPA's part to shave pennies per unit.
Ruger has made some truly UNFORTUNATE decisions lately!!

 

[MFD]

I recently bought a Hawlkeye RSI/'06 to go along with the RSI MKII 308 I have and yes, the metal finish is a dull gray in color. I believe all Hawkeye versions have this metal finish and from what I have been told Ruger offers this on the Hawkeye's since that line of rifles are intended to be your basic pure hunting rifle w/ no glare finish?? I have heard that it is not very durable and somewhat easier to damage or show wear much quicker than std. blueing. Don't know about that, but time will tell.

The new trigger is an improvment over previous ones and the checkering on the stock is a better pattern w/ more coverage. The slimmed down stock is again part of the effort to make the rifle a handier "hunting" rifle.
The bolt movement is very smooth despite the gray,dull finish so have no complaints there. As compared to most of the MK II's, the bottom metal on the Hawkeye's are all steel, no aluminum which is an improvement, but I don't really care for the etched Ruger logo on the floorplate. Inletting on the rifle is the same as my other Ruger's, first class for a factory rifle. I think Ruger would have been better served if they had applied a true parkerized/military type finish in a darker gray/black color instead of the dull light gray. It appears as a parkerized finish which did not take "color" as much as it should or half finished so to speak. Would I buy another one? Probably not.

I have noticed that when placing the rifle in the cabinet with the other Rugers, the others don't want to be sitting beside it and my Ruger Safari Magnum's, 375HH and 458Lott, absolutely refuse to sit beside of the Hawkeye and the No 1 458Lott considering itself in a class by itself does not want to be in the same room with any of them!!

 

[Dixie Rebel]

I have noticed that when placing the rifle in the cabinet with the other Rugers, the others don't want to be sitting beside it and my Ruger Safari Magnum's, 375HH and 458Lott, absolutely refuse to sit beside of the Hawkeye and the No 1 458Lott considering itself in a class by itself does not want to be in the same room with any of them!!

Your other rifles are smart (and better) than the ugly finished new Hawkeye rifles! :wink: :lol: