jester714
Member
Hey has anyone done any reloading for the Ruger Hawkeye Tactical in .308? If so, what has worked well for you?
Thanks!
Thanks!
Ruger M77 Hawkeye Tactical .308
- Thread starter jester714
- Start date
Help Support Long Range Hunting Forum
mooser
Well-Known Member
46gr. varget with rem primer and 150gr. sierra game king works well for me.
2800fps and 1/2 inch at 100yds
2800fps and 1/2 inch at 100yds
jester714
Member
Nice! I'm still burning up a bunch of factory ammo that I had laying around, so I haven't tried loading for it yet. Did you ever try using H335 in your attempts? I know that they have it listed in the sierra reloading manual.
Thanks for replying. It gives me a decent stepping stone.
Thanks for replying. It gives me a decent stepping stone.
jester714
Member
Hey all,
I know that that this thread is quite old, but when I originally started it the Ruger Hawkeye Tactical was relatively new. I'm just curious to see if people have since purchased one and have reloaded for it. In the last few years I have been just shooting a bunch of 150gn. Federal power-shock stuff that I had purchased earlier and also some 149gn. NATO ball ammo for "plinking". Since I now live in a heavily wooded area of MN and am rarely presented with the need for overwhelmingly accurate deer hunting ammunition I have just been using the Federal loads.
A couple years ago I had the opportunity to go elk hunting in northern Idaho so I embarked a short journey to find a competent elk load. I ended up selecting the 165gn. Nosler Accubond because at that time it was difficult to find a decent selection of bullets (most places were sold out of some of the other brands). I selected Varget because of hearing of how well it typically performed in the .308 Win. and because it is insensitive to hot and cold temperatures. My test loads were 43gn, 43.5gn, and 44gn, each with three different primers (CCI Benchrest, Federal Match, and Winchester WLR). COAL 2.806" Using 5-shot groups to judge accuracy I found non of them to be very accurate with the most accurate being the 44gn. load with the Winchester primers at just over an inch (average velocity of 2633fps). I was kind of disappointed, but with time running out I didn't have time to try different powders or bullets. I chose the most accurate load and ran with it. Fast forward to the day before the hunt begins. I come to zero my rifle in at altitude at 300yds. I ended up shooting a 1/2" group at 300 yds! Granted, I only shot two shots after I zeroed, but I was more than pleased. I'm aware that sometimes bullets are not done stabilizing at 100yds and sometimes require a longer distance to stabilize. I can only assume this is what was happening. I ended up getting a small 4x5 bull the last day. Hit him at 75yds with him quartering away fairly sharply. I put the bullet just in about 12" in front of his rear quarter. He ran about 15yds up the steep ravine and fell over dead, rolling down until a couple logs caught him. I retrieved the bullet in his neck lying just under the skin after traveling through about 48".
Now I'm developing a load for target practice and deer hunting. I have selected the 165gn. Hornady SST because of the price point and they seem to be pretty decent bullets. I have attached a photo of the loads I'm going to test tomorrow or the next day.
I know that that this thread is quite old, but when I originally started it the Ruger Hawkeye Tactical was relatively new. I'm just curious to see if people have since purchased one and have reloaded for it. In the last few years I have been just shooting a bunch of 150gn. Federal power-shock stuff that I had purchased earlier and also some 149gn. NATO ball ammo for "plinking". Since I now live in a heavily wooded area of MN and am rarely presented with the need for overwhelmingly accurate deer hunting ammunition I have just been using the Federal loads.
A couple years ago I had the opportunity to go elk hunting in northern Idaho so I embarked a short journey to find a competent elk load. I ended up selecting the 165gn. Nosler Accubond because at that time it was difficult to find a decent selection of bullets (most places were sold out of some of the other brands). I selected Varget because of hearing of how well it typically performed in the .308 Win. and because it is insensitive to hot and cold temperatures. My test loads were 43gn, 43.5gn, and 44gn, each with three different primers (CCI Benchrest, Federal Match, and Winchester WLR). COAL 2.806" Using 5-shot groups to judge accuracy I found non of them to be very accurate with the most accurate being the 44gn. load with the Winchester primers at just over an inch (average velocity of 2633fps). I was kind of disappointed, but with time running out I didn't have time to try different powders or bullets. I chose the most accurate load and ran with it. Fast forward to the day before the hunt begins. I come to zero my rifle in at altitude at 300yds. I ended up shooting a 1/2" group at 300 yds! Granted, I only shot two shots after I zeroed, but I was more than pleased. I'm aware that sometimes bullets are not done stabilizing at 100yds and sometimes require a longer distance to stabilize. I can only assume this is what was happening. I ended up getting a small 4x5 bull the last day. Hit him at 75yds with him quartering away fairly sharply. I put the bullet just in about 12" in front of his rear quarter. He ran about 15yds up the steep ravine and fell over dead, rolling down until a couple logs caught him. I retrieved the bullet in his neck lying just under the skin after traveling through about 48".
Now I'm developing a load for target practice and deer hunting. I have selected the 165gn. Hornady SST because of the price point and they seem to be pretty decent bullets. I have attached a photo of the loads I'm going to test tomorrow or the next day.
Last edited:
