Ruger 77 Hawkeye 338 win mags

[dgr416]

My brother and I both bought some.of the last of the stainless Ruger Hawkeye 77 rifles made in 338 win mag .They are really rough to bolt compared to my older stainless Ruger 77 mark II .They have.that grey parkerize finish on them .Should we attempt to smooth them ourselves or send them back to Ruger .My brothers is way worse than mine .I really like these guns but they are hard to bolt fast in.this condition .My old tang safety Ruger 77 is smooth.as glass shoot.Awesome.

 

[rugerjunkie]

That's the problem I see with the Hawkeye rifles...it isn't a parkerized or any other finish...it's a bead blasted finish. And the ones I looked at early on when they first came out were the same way. They really get carried away and go way too deep into the metal in my opinion. Add in the bead blasting being done on the inside of the action and that's what the result is. Really turned me off of the rifle and I've not bought a stainless Ruger 77 since they went to that rough finish.

I don't have a good answer on how to remedy it either. About all I can think of would be to cycle the action til it starts to smooth out some. I'd stay away from using any sort of lapping compound on the lugs and raceway.

 

[gunzo]

Take it out of the stock & flush it & brush it with brake clean, gun scrubber, etc. lube & try it. If still unacceptable, smear the bolt down with toothpaste, the whitening kind may give quicker results as it's more abrasive, & cycle the action till you're tired.
Thoroughly clean, lube, & see what you think then.

Not kidding here, as tooth paste has been used as a makeshift lapping compound for years. I might mention a grade of actual lapping compound to try, but figure most don't have 8 grades of it like I do. Everybody has TP.