Ruger Hawkeye vs. Early MKII

I'm considering a Stainless Ruger for my sons 1st rifle.

Read some review articles with complaints about the Hawkeye LC6 (?) Trigger.....

I've got enough years shooting experience where a bad trigger is going to bother me.
Will it come down to 4-5lbs? (Its adjustable I believe) 4.5# would be OK for beginner scope gun

I'm wondering if the Hawkeye is something I should avoid and go for the older MKII because of trigger??????

I don't want to have to dump more money into trigger.

Its going to be a under 250yd hunting rifle.

I never liked the 3 position safety but am seeking one now, its nice to be able to see mechanical condition when looking over for us to pass rifle off to each other.

Also not really feeling a tang safety Browning A-Bolt for beginners as you need to go hot to unload, I don't want to introduce that scenerio.

Ruger hasn't let me down over the years so maybe I'm over thinking it??

I know sometime quality goes away on box store rifles and depending in the years produced quality can be better or worse. I consider them better than an average box store rifle though.

My Hawkeye 6.5x55 is about 6 yrs old, but the trigger is great. Maybe 3.5lbs. I can measure it, if you want. It's for sale.

I have both, early MK II all have Timney replacements set exactly at 2lbs. I also bead blasted all of mine, too shiny as standard.
My newer Hawkeyes have the LC6 trigger, which I find heavy & creepy, YMMV.
It's not a game changer, have seen worse triggers.

Cheers.

If it were not for the trigger Ruger rifles would be one of the best box rifles in my opinion, but the trigger is a game changer for me. Their customer service has always been one of the industry's best for me. Had a malfunction with a No. 1, they fixed it no questions asked, no charge, they worked on my Mark 3 pistol, same results. Not sure why they don't fix their trigger problem. I'm left handed so my options are very limited anyway, but Bergara makes them, so I tried them. 1 MOA accuracy guarantee, can't say how they stand behind that because all three I've bought were much better than that. The wilderness series has a great trigger right out of the box, and they're nice-looking rifles.

Ruger is notorious for heavy triggers. Throughout the years I replaced them with Timney triggers.

I have Two of the older MKII's, one is an all weather in 30/06 with the Kytel stock and one is a blued 308. Had my local gunsmith do trigger jobs on them. Both are around 2.5#s. Was definitely a game changer on both rifles as they're both 1 MOA with hand loads. Have used the 30/06 for 30+ years until recently using a suppressed Bergara now.

I have a mkii .270 win from 2004 and a Hawkeye compact in 243 I bought for my girls. I prefer the mkii over the Hawkeye. I replaced the trigger with a timney on the mkii and it's perfect. I don't like the bead blast finish on the hawkeye, it will surface rust easily. But they are both solid rifles I just prefer the mkii with a trigger swap.

highfinblue said:

If it were not for the trigger Ruger rifles would be one of the best box rifles in my opinion, but the trigger is a game changer for me. Their customer service has always been one of the industry's best for me. Had a malfunction with a No. 1, they fixed it no questions asked, no charge, they worked on my Mark 3 pistol, same results. Not sure why they don't fix their trigger problem. I'm left handed so my options are very limited anyway, but Bergara makes them, so I tried them. 1 MOA accuracy guarantee, can't say how they stand behind that because all three I've bought were much better than that. The wilderness series has a great trigger right out of the box, and they're nice-looking rifles.

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Bergara HMR-PRO 300 WM. Tack driver! Or Mine is!

Just throwing this out in the mix, what about a winchester 70 with the 3 position safety????

The worst thing you can do to a young person learning to shoot is to handicap them with a bad trigger. It teaches poor technique. Weight is not as important as over travel, crispness and take up. I am also old enough to believe 2 stage triggers also promote unsafe practices in new shooters. Most Ruger triggers can be made quite good with very little effort. 3 position safeties cover both bases, those that prefer to lock the bolt when hunting with a loaded chamber and those that feel safer unloading with a safety on.

jahollis2 said:

Just throwing this out in the mix, what about a winchester 70 with the 3 position safety????

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Got to make it a Ruger, they have been good to me

I wore a Winchester out once, wasn't impressed. Aluminum reciever had too many rounds through it and wore loose

I like Winchester, but I like Ruger more

I read the M70 bolt mounted safety has broken on some peoples reviews. Also read they are heavy in the All Weather version w B&C stock that has aluminum inlet. I read quite a few circumstances where people weren't happy w quality depending on which factory.

I can say that with the Ruger to an extent too, some people aren't "happy" w some quality issues or changes, but most Ruger reviews end w an "I would buy it again, or could be better but satisfied for price"

I like the Ruger 3 position safety is mounted to receiver not bolt
Again, I was really turned off reading Win M70 problems w safeties and parts breaking, it just turned me off to find people upset w broken or poor quality rifles, without looking to hard

Allen Lone wolf said:

Ruger is notorious for heavy triggers. Throughout the years I replaced them with Timney triggers.

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That's been my experience

I own an older mkll lh wood stock in 270 win that has somewhere around 1k rounds thru it. The trigger has settled at 2.5-3 lb with minimal creep/overtravel and it still shoots sub moa with my handloads. Zeroed @200 yds it is point and shoot from 0 to 300 yds, bang flop.

I had a ruger hawkeye hunter and the trigger was fine. It wasnt as light as I wanted but it also wasnt a problem. I bought a aftermarket spring but never installed it as I could shoot it just fine out past 650 with good accuracy.
Ive also had a MKII and same with it. Shot great with stock trigger.
The Hawkeye stock has a lil better ergos.