Ruger, ultra light, whitetail classic ??

[Bitman]

Regarding the Limited Edition, Ultra Light, Whitetail Classic, in 7mm/08.
Does anyone have one?
How does it shoot?
Thoughts and opinions greatly appreciated.
This is the rifle:

 

[mcknight77]

Don't own one, wish I did.

 

[C6S1C]

The last price I saw for these was 499.00 from CDNN and that was a few years back. I toyed with the idea of pilling the stock on one and putting a wood stock on. I never did....Kind of a neat Talo piece. I did buy two the circassian M77 Ultralight deluxes in .308. Great rifles !!

 

[Buckeye Bill]

Looks very nice. I have been wanting a 7-08 for a while now. I read great things about the ballistics and light recoil. Never seen or shot one.

 

[TBear77]

Bitman,

I got one of the Lipsey's blue/walnut versions of this (without the etched floorplate). Great rifle. The reduced contour barrel tends to heat up quickly. Defenitely not a rifle you want for a raid on a p-dog town, but if you're using the rifle for deer/hog hunting it isn't a concern.

If you have a chance, at a good price ($499 sounds good), it's an enjoyable rifle.

Ted

 

[Pal Val]

Try the 7mm-08. You'll like it. I bought one last year, and can't seem to be able to leave it home when I go to the range.

 

[Al James]

Shameless plug. Anyone looking for one of these?

http://www.rugerforum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=154162

 

[boaman81]

I have one of the ones released prior to these, without the engraved floorplate. Its one of my favorite hunting rifles. I like the target grey finish alot and wish Ruger would offer it on other rifles. The 7mm-08 is just about the perfect whitetail cartridge. Only issue I have with mine is that the only ammo I have been able to find that it shoots decent is Hornady 139 gr Light Magnum. I still have several boxes of it. Tried the new Super Performance. Its a no go. Once my limited supply runs out, I will have to try bedding changes or some other physical change to the rifle to get it to shoot another brand of ammo.

 

[mattsbox99]

I couldn't get the Hornady Superformance to shoot in my Hawkeye 7/08 either. Nosler had some of their 140 AB Custom ammo on clearance so I picked some up and it shot great. Then I tried some handloads with the 140 AB and 140 BT and it shot both bullets to the same POA and in little tiny groups.

My first encounter with the 7/08 was tracking a wounded deer through the Maine woods. Despite searching for 5 hours and the dead end being a river we never found the buck. So the 7/08 left a sour taste in my mouth. I hunted with mine last year but didn't shoot anything with it, although I'm confident the cartridge would easily harvest any deer out there now.

 

[rugerjunkie]

The 7-08 is a fine deer cartridge. I have 2 Rugers and a Rem XP-100 custom shop pistol chambered in it. As far as the Ruger I hunt with , I've found that a 120 grain hollow point (Hornady if I remember) loaded with 4350 or 4064 shoots extremely well. For 140's , I load the Nosler Partition with great results.

Matt,

Its all about shot placement my man! :) I had the same thing happen with my 350 Rem Mag! Only the second deer in my life I wasn't able to recover. Hit her broadside and knocked her flat on the ground but she got up an ran! I believe I was a bit low on the shot by the hair that was left in the snow. It happens to the best of us!

I have probably taken more whitetail with the 7-08 vs any other caliber I use. Keep within its range limits just like anything else out there and it will rarely disappoint.

 

[Bitman]

I bought the Whitetail Classic, and mounted it in a wood Ruger ultra light stock.
Shoots 120 and 140 grain Nosler BT's in about a 3/4" group at 100 yds.
Going to try some Barnes TTSX bullets next.

 

[mattsbox99]

Jeff, if I had been the one shooting I would have known a little more about what happened, but I was helping a friend who swore he had made a good shot. Knowing what I know now, there is nothing wrong with the 7/08. In my opinion, pick the proper bullet for the job and put it in the right spot and you'll have meat on the table.

 

[Vic]

It appears Davidsons has a pretty good inventory of these ultra light rifles, however - they are not the "whitetal special" specifically.

http://www.galleryofguns.com/genie/Default.aspx?item=37182&mfg=Ruger&mdl=M77+Hawkeye&cat=2&type=Rifle&cal=7MM-08&fin=&sit=&zipcode=54742

 

[rugerjunkie]

Too bad they are in the matte stainless. I'd have another 7-08 in the stash if they went back to the satin finish...

 

[rugerdczr]

I have one bought new never shot sweet little gun.