My Ruger Hawkeye is a Keeper

I also like my bolt- or lever-action rifles made of metal and wood. I am happiest when my rifle is a classic sporter with iron sights. It also means that I prefer bolt- or lever action rifles made from metal and wood. I am happiest with a classic sporter rifle and iron sights. My first centerfire rifle, a Mauser 98 which I converted into a sportsman configuration. I eventually traded that rifle for a handgun, but never lost my love of rifles with the Mauser 98’s features. I have several rifles with push-feed action, and they are all great, but the Mauser is special. When I needed a rifle with.257 Roberts for reloading, I wanted a rifle with the classic features from the 98. Ruger Model 77 Hawkeye was the obvious choice at that time. I already owned a Model 77 Mark II 7×57, and the Hawkeye was almost identical. Ruger bolt-actions have been characterized by classic lines, Mauser claws, non rotating extractors and dual locking lugs since the Model 77 was introduced in 1968. Ruger Hawkeye.257 Roberts, a stylish sporter. By the time the Mark II was introduced in 1991, the original sliding safety mounted on the tang had been replaced with a three-position safety located at the right-hand rear of the receiver. In the rear position the safety is “on” and the bolt is closed. In the middle position the safety is “on” but the bolt can still be opened. The rifle can be fired while facing forward. This arrangement is similar to the Winchester Model 70. It would be hard to imagine a safer type of safety which locks the firing pin and bolt. Ruger Model 77 Hawkeye comes in many configurations and calibers but I prefer the classic Hunter version. The Ruger Hawkeye features a versatile 3-position safety which allows you to open your bolt while the safety is on. The 7mm Mauser, or 7×57, is a case that dates back to 1892. The bullet diameter is.284 inch (bore or groove), but the distance between the lands are.275 inches. The cartridge was known as the.275 Rigby in Britain, and soon became world famous. The 7×57 was filled with a 173 grain round-nose full-metal jacketed bullet, with a muzzle speed of approximately 2,300 feet per second. The bullets penetrated extremely well, as W.D.M. proved. Bell used that load on elephants. Jim Corbett used the cartridge in sporting form extensively with his Rigby rifle in India, eradicating man-eating leopards and tigers.This article is an excerpt from Gun Digest 2024, 78th Edition, available now at GunDigestStore.com.With a cartridge case as world-famous as the 7mm Mauser, it was only natural to be given the “neck treatment.” Necking it up produced the 8×57 Mauser that became a worldwide military cartridge. Ned Roberts developed a wildcat cartridge by necking down the case to accommodate bullets with a.257 inch diameter. Remington would standardize this cartridge in 1934. The.257 Roberts cartridge was popular for many years in popular rifles such as the Winchester Model 70 or Remington 722. A.257 Roberts round is a great choice for hunting in many different types of terrain. Warren Page, who was the shooting editor at Field & Stream for many years, was also a Gun Digest Contributor, an avid competitor, and an experimenter. One of his projects was to neck the.308 Winchester cartridge to fit bullets with a 6mm diameter. This resulted in a cartridge similar to the current.243 Winchester. Remington, not to be outdone by Roberts, necked a.257 Roberts casing to hold 6mm Bullets and created a.244 Remington with a 1:12 inch twist. The.243 had a 1 in 10 inch twist and was initially available with bullets of 80- and 100 grain. The former was intended for varmints, and the latter, for medium game. The.243 was considered by many to be the more versatile cartridge. This led Remington to change its twist rate to 1:10. They also renamed the.244 to 6mm Remington. These 6mm calibers are the most responsible for the decline in popularity of the.257 Roberts. Factory loads in.257 Roberts calibre are effective, but somewhat limited. In 1955, the.243 Winchester,.244 Remington, and.250 Savage cartridges were introduced. This quickly reduced interest in the.257 Roberts,.250 Savage, and.250 Savage. The newer cartridges may be more suitable for hunting varmints or predators, but their advantage for medium game is purely imaginary. The fact is that rifle makers make products to sell so there are very few factory rifles available in.257 Roberts. The floorplate release can be used to remove cartridges from the magazine. I always admired Page’s writing and, while working on reloading, I felt it necessary to purchase a rifle that fired.257 Roberts. I chose the Ruger Hawkeye and had my local dealer place an order. When it arrived, I completed the paperwork while admiring the elegant rifle. The Ruger Hawkeye is currently priced at $1,399 but I believe it can rival some classic rifles even more expensive. My Hawkeye’s walnut stock has wraparound checkering around the forearm. The Hawkeye’s polishing and bluing is probably the best of all the rifles I own. I could not have asked for a more refined and beautiful rifle. The author’s M77 has a well-executed grip checkering. When it comes to.257 Roberts ammo, availability is almost equal to the availability of rifles of that caliber. I can find 10 factory loads listed in product listings. But try to find them on the shelves of dealers and don’t pay attention to price tags. The traditional 117 grain load is available in the factory and has velocities around 2,700 fps. This load is adequate for most deer-sized game in most conditions. Several companies list more exotic loads. Nosler, for example, lists ammo with the 110-grain AccuBond bullet at 3,050 feet per second, 115 grain Nosler Ballistic tip at 2,925 feet per second, and 100-grain partition at 3,000 feet per second. Hornady’s Superformance load is a 117-grain SST with a listed speed of 2,945 fps. These loads make the.257 Roberts a great performer at long ranges on medium game. Handloads using the 60-grain Hornady (left) and the 120-grain Speer can make a 257 Roberts very versatile. I’ve used a variety of bullets, from the 60 grain Hornady Flat Point intended for the.25-20 up to the Speer spitzer 120-grain boattail. The 60-grain Bullets loaded at 2,000 fps create a ragged hole that works well (and quietly). The author’s favorite bullets are (left to right), 60-grain Hornady and 75-grain Sierra. Also included are 100-grain Speer bullets, 117 grain Sierra bullets, and 120 grain Speer Grand Slams. My favorite varmint loading is the 75-grain Sierra Hollowpoint with enough IMR-4064, or Hodgdon Varget, to give just under 3,000 fps. This load consistently prints five-shot groups of under an inch at 100 yards, the smallest that I have ever obtained with my Ruger. Loaded at 3,000-3100 fps, the 75-grain V-Max produces similar groups. Handloads in the 100 to 120 grain range work well for larger game. My favorite is the 115-grain Nosler Ballistic tip. A load using the 117-grain Sierra SPBT with IMR 4955 has a velocity of 2,700 fps and has performed well. An attractive grip cap is adorned on the stock. The Ruger Hawkeye Model 77 has a beautiful design and excellent performance. The Ruger.257 Roberts is one of my favorite centerfire rifles. If I had to get rid of some, it would be the Ruger Hawkeye. This article is a part of Gun Digest 78th Edition, 2024. 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