Ruger Hawkeye tinkering

[thinhorn_AK]

I have a ruger Hawkeye stainless synthetic in 358 Winchester that has been in my safe for several years now, I pulled it out, threw a Zeiss conquest on it and I’m thinking of using it a lot this year but I have a few questions for people who have taken the time to play with these guns.

firstly, the magazine floorplate sort of has a gap between it and the stock, not big but I can see daylight through it, I’m wondering if this is an issue with the torque since I know rugers are a bit finicky with the torque settings.

also I read online somewhere that people often shave a few thousandths off part of the internal magazine sleeve (sort of like with a kimber and had success fitting the floorplate better.

has anybody had or seen this issue and fixed it or known anybody who has? I checked mine and the magazine sleeve is tight, apparently relieving a few thousandths so it’s slightly loose inside the gun improves accuracy and helps with the floor plate fit.

thanks!

 

[hodgeman]

That sounds totally normal for a Ruger, fit and finish has never been top notch and stock to metal and metal to metal fit is usually a bit behind other outfits. Despite indifferent fit and finish, if the barrel is good it will most likely shoot just fine.

I'd recommend to get it out and shoot it with a couple of loads before I'd tinker too much with it. The angled bedding screw system they use is weird to my mind, but it generally works better than it should.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

That sounds totally normal for a Ruger, fit and finish has never been top notch and stock to metal and metal to metal fit is usually a bit behind other outfits. Despite indifferent fit and finish, if the barrel is good it will most likely shoot just fine.

I'd recommend to get it out and shoot it with a couple of loads before I'd tinker too much with it. The angled bedding screw system they use is weird to my mind, but it generally works better than it should.

it’s a shooter for sure, I used to use it quite a bit, o just recently had a scope laying around so I thought I’d pull out that old Ruger and give it some TLC and start shooting it more.

I agree rugers can be a bit crude but that gap seems a bit excessive. I went and took about 2 thousandths off the mag box contact areas just now and went back through tightening things back down but by bit and managed to reduce the gap by 75%, I think if I go back and take another thousandth or 2 off this should fix it.

I took my first sheep as well as my first few caribou with that rifle then started earning more money and got dazzled by all the new shiny rifles and that gun sat in the safe for awhile, time to get it out again.

 

[Varminterror]

I’ve done stockwork on dozens of Ruger M77 MkII’s and Hawkeyes. Pillar blocking and bedding, free floating the barrel, and stress relieving the mag box are standard fare.

The fitment of the bottom metal is pretty simple - correct the bottom metal depth at front and rear when you do the pillar install. Free float the mag box last after the other work is done.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

I’ve done stockwork on dozens of Ruger M77 MkII’s and Hawkeyes. Pillar blocking and bedding, free floating the barrel, and stress relieving the mag box are standard fare.

The fitment of the bottom metal is pretty simple - correct the bottom metal depth at front and rear when you do the pillar install. Free float the mag box last after the other work is done.

can you expand on this or give tell me more about it? I havnt ever really messed with Ruger rifles before even though I have a few. Thank you!

 

[Wapiti1]

First check that it isn't the mag box causing the clearance issue. Take the mag box out, and put the rifle back together and see how the floorplate sits when closed. Do not tighten the center screw more than snug. If the floorplate fits better, go to the second paragraph below.

If it still has a gap, you deepen the inlet for the trigger guard to suck the floor plate tighter to the stock. You might have to deepen the front screw inlet as well, but be careful here. Deepening that inlet can move the floorplate forward to the point it won't latch on the trigger guard. You can also change the angle and make it hard to get the screw in. I leave the front alone if at all possible.

Once the floorplate sits where you want it without the mag box in, put the mag in and see if it binds. If it does, you may need to shorten it on a belt sander (sand the bottom only), or use a file to deepen the notch the trigger guard sits in at the back, or both. If you adjusted the front, you may need to deepen that notch a little as well.

A little at a time, and check your work often.

Jeremy

 

[Varminterror]

can you expand on this or give tell me more about it? I havnt ever really messed with Ruger rifles before even though I have a few. Thank you!

Free floating barrels and pillar blocking and glass bedding actions are all pretty well described various places online. Correcting the sear angle of the Ruger lockwork is also well described online, but should only be pursued if you’re familiar with this type of work, and comfortable with the idea of owning your own destiny.

For fitting Ruger bottom metal and free floating the mag box, as mentioned above, remove the mag box and first fit the bottom metal to the stock. This should be done when pillar blocking and bedding the action. The floor plate should ride flush to the stock, so if it is standing proud without the mag box installed, you know one or both ends of the floorplate are not inlet deeply enough. I prefer to do the finish inletting work, then skim bed the trigger guard and front “hinge” into the stock. Explaining it in detail makes it seem more complicated than it is - it’s just inletting. If the part isn’t sitting deeply enough, identify the high points and reduce them until it’s sitting deeply enough. Pretty simple. The ONLY complication at all is the floorplate moving forward as it moves down - and the penalty for going too far in this case is nothing; simply add bedding beneath (can bed with a shim or washer for desired height), so there really is “no harm in trying”.

Note: pillar blocking and bedding the Ruger action isn’t as simple as doing so for tube type actions with 90degree action screws. The Ruger process takes more steps. I go back and forth between setting the front or rear pillar first (both options have merit), but they largely need to be done one at a time, and then the action skim bedded at the end, rather than potentially doing it all in one fell swoop for a tube type action (which I still typically do in 2 steps anyway, but not 3).

Once the bottom metal is properly fit to the stock, floating the mag box is simple. There are three potential points of contact on the bottom edge - there’s a slight recess in the front of the box for the tongue of the floorplate hinge, another recess in the back for the tongue of the trigger guard, and finally, the side rails can nestle against the floorplate when closed. I generally fit the trigger guard first to ensure the top of the Mag box will continue to key into the action appropriately at the rear. Then I float the front recess for the hinge plate. I do both of these with hand files, exclusively. Once the front and rear are properly fit, I’ll test the floorplate fit. The floorplate should at most kiss, but really not contact the mag box. I use handfiles for this, as powertool options may take off too much material too quickly, or may not do so evenly (front to back or side to side).

Note: I prefer to remove the optic when doing this work. Less risk of bumps and bruises when dis and reassembling over and over to fit the action, better opportunity to lay the rifle flat on its back to work in the inlet, and better access to the port to observe and manipulate the mag box from the top.

If so desired, you can also then bed the magbox into the stock - free floating - by wrapping a layer or layers of tape on the sides and front of the box. I often do so, simply because I’ve bedded everything else, and it doesn’t take much time or effort. Just be mindful to not lock the mag box into the stock.

All of that text may make it seem daunting, but it should not be. It’s a quick and simple task. Blocking and bedding is far more tedious than fitting the mag box.