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Ruger M77 Hawkeye Review

Ruger_M77_MkIIThe second incarnation of the Ruger 77 has met with nothing but success. The Mark II is a controlled round feed action with dual-opposed locking lugs and a non-rotating claw extractor. In many ways the Mark II filled the gap left in the market when the Model 70 switched to a push feed action. For a long time almost all American-made rifles were push feeds due to the fact that many of the push feed designs work just as well as controlled round feeds and the push feed was traditionally much cheaper to produce. Bill Ruger’s commitment to investment casting and mechanical genius allowed Ruger to produce a controlled round feed action that was actually lower in cost than many push feed designs. The 77 is never as slick as the original Model 70 right out of the box (this has been referred to as “Ruger Smooth”), but after break-in it’s hard to tell the difference. One of the best advancements the 77 brought to the market was integral dovetail scope mounts machined into the top of the receiver. In addition to reducing points of potential failure, this system allows the scope rings to be installed correctly every time with only a large screwdriver, which is a real boon for the mechanically disinclined.

Controlled round feed actions have a reputation for jamming less and extracting better than push feed designs. Whether this reputation is deserved is always going to be a matter of contention, but what is for certain is that the controlled round feed Ruger 77 works wonderfully. As a platform for different variants, the Mark II is accurate enough for varmint rifles while still being reliable and strong enough for safari rifles. The Mark II is a favorite among gun cranks looking for an action to rebarrel for a wildcat cartridge.  Ruger has produced so many variants of the 77 over the years that they are getting hard to keep track of, but they have had no trouble selling any of them and have received few complaints.

The 77 Mark II suffered in our comparison in Fit/Finish because Rugers are not always as pretty as they could be. That being said, current Ruger rifles look far better than the original offerings and they are improving all the time.

For all uses under all conditions and especially when price is taken into account the 77 Mark II action is currently the best value in the market, and many say it is superior to far more expensive actions available from custom companies. The 77 Mark II might be Bill Ruger’s best idea among many great ones.

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Ranked #1 of 7 in our Best Bolt Action Rifle Comparison


Ruger SR Review

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The firm of Sturm, Ruger has been in the polymer framed pistol game for a generation. Their P95 series of pistol, which took their legacy P89 and gave it a pair of Dow Chemical Isoplast pants, has been relatively popular at the $399 MSRP range for nearly twenty years. Even before this, a polymer lower version of the Ruger MkII, dubbed the 22/45, was introduced and is still in production. With all of this, you can see the lineage of Ruger’s newest polymer framed pistol, the SR9.

Ergonomics and Recoil

The SR9, introduced in 2007, seems to be something of an evolutionary polymer pistol buffet of choices. Like almost every gun in its class, it has the standard double stack 9mm magazine, an often unused under barrel accessory rail, and a steel slide over polymer frame with steel inserts. From the Glock/XD, you see the DAO two-stage safety trigger and striker fired internals. From the CZ you see the slim grip and overall profile. Like the PX4, you see a rounded trigger guard and modular component groups. From the previous P95 series, you see truly ambidextrous mag and slide releases. A tactile loaded chamber indicator is atop the slide.

The SR9 points well and rather resemble the Lone Wolf lowers sold for custom builds on Glock uppers. Instead of the popular feature of replaceable palm swells found on other modern polymer guns, the Ruger uses a novel reversible phenolic backstrap. Recoil is a non-issue and the gun, like the CZ Phantom, is initially only offered in 9mm. A field test of the SR40 and SR45, larger caliber pistols built on the same frame with the same design, was not possible.

Trigger and Accuracy

When first introduced (up to serial number 30,000), the SR9 had a thin trigger that resembled the one on the P95. After 2008, a redesign came about due to safety reasons and guns that left the line after that have a trigger similar to that on the Glock and XD. It takes up a little long but breaks clean.

The sights that come standard on the pistol are some of the best offered in their class. They are fully adjustable 3-dot type with click-screw adjustments on the rear for elevation. Of the guns tested, the Ruger had superior standard sights. The only bad thing to say about the lightswas the fact they were not augmented for low light use.

Reloading and Disassembly

Ruger ships these guns currently with two nicely made 17-round mags. Unlike some other pistols, they seem easy to load fully right out of the box. The end user, without gunsmithing if desired, can remove the standard magazine safety.

The pistol fieldstrips with a removable takedown pin found on the left hand side of the center slide. For those who have used a Ruger LCP 380, you will find it most familiar. Once the firearm is cleared and safely unloaded, the pin can be pulled out and slide removed with ease. Reassembly is just as simply accomplished.

Reliability and Durability

In testing on the range, the Ruger polymer pistol held up well and was a joy to shoot. Functioning was flawless with all types of ammunition used, including both heavy and light grain FMJs and JHPs. It is in range time that you see the logic behind the SR9s borrowing of features that have worked on other pistols over the decades. It eats up 9mm Parabellum brass, spits it out, and leaves nice tight groups in the paper.

Internally the SR9 uses a tried and true cam-block recoil-operated tilt-lock method of action that leads to few issues in the short term. Long term the SR9 has something of an asterisk by it as it is only six years old and already has had one very large recall to address safety issues. Some users report slide/barrel peening after just a few hundred rounds. Ruger does not officially warranty their firearms, but they do have a reputation for correcting defective guns promptly.

Final Verdict

The SR9 is a more fully evolved pistol than either the Glock or XD when they were introduced. It is a nice and slim piece that has a good natural balance that in turn leads to excellent point shooting. Pricewise, it is lower than most of its competition, even if just a little. The newness of its design is the only warning issued and hopefully it will have a long life once the bugs are worked out.

Ranked #7 of 10 in our Best Polymer Handgun Comparison

Ruger American Review

The Ruger American is the company’s first venture into any kind of entry-level bolt gun, although the price of all Ruger products has always been very reasonable for what you get. The American is a big divergence from the company’s previous bolt action offerings; about the only thing it has in common with other Ruger cousins is the reappearance of a two position tang safety like that found on original Model 77s.

Action-wise, this new Ruger has three locking lugs and a 70 degree bolt lift. Multiple bolt lugs are nothing new — the Weatherby Mark V, T/C Venture and the old Texas Rifle all have more than two lugs; currently there seems to be a resurgence of interest in the idea. The American’s trigger is adjustable and the action is bedded, both features which generally improve accuracy. The overall package is trim and feels light with good balance for offhand shooting. Ruger’s traditional receiver-integral dovetails for scope mounting have been abandoned on this model, but the new scope base is included in the box. Some folks will miss the dovetails, but if the new scope mount works well most will get over it. The most interesting feature of the American might be its magazine. While detachable magazines on bolt guns are no longer uncommon, the American has a polymer three-round rotary magazine, which makes it unique. At first blush a plastic rotary magazine might seem like a bad idea, but Ruger turned out a lot of them for their 10-22’s over the years and they were very reliable. No centerfire magazine will see nearly as much use as one for a 10-22, and rotary magazines are less prone to rattle in the gun or in the pocket.

With The American we have been cautious in our scoring. It lost points in the scope mounting, fit/finish, loading, safety and accuracy categories. The average grade for accuracy should be expected on a very light sporter in early production. The rest of the points were lost because the rifle is such a radical departure from Ruger’s time-tested designs. When people step into new territory they may stumble. This might be unfair to a company like Ruger that prides itself on breaking new ground, but we’ll have to wait and see which of the new concepts fail or flourish. The new Ruger American has a lot going for it and they are going to sell a lot of these rifles. Ruger has an extremely loyal following and some folks will buy this rifle just to have another Ruger product.

Ranked #5 of 7 in our Best Budget Bolt Action Rifle Comparison