Gents,

Picked up my new left-handed Hawkeye and Mark11.

The Hawkeye is in 375 Ruger and the stainless Mark11 is in 300 Win. mag.

Does anyone else have a Hawkeye?
This is the only rifle I've owned that has a strange condition regarding the stock forend.
When I place my right hand on the forend, I can make the stock move and touch the barrel. The Mark11 with it's laminate stock does not do this.
Do I have a problem?
BTW, there seems to be no difference between the Hawkeye and the Mrk11 action excepting the stainless.
One nice thing though, is the magazine box on both actions is long enough for the 458 Win. mag. A dummy loaded 458 works through the action of both guns very nicely.
I plan on rebarreling the Mark11 to 458.

Roger QSL

My Hawkeye does the same thing -- my 'smith's currently working on getting me a fully-bedded stock for it -- don't know that I really need it, but it can't hurt anything other than my wallet... I'm not sure that the fully bedded stock will fix the touching issue, though...

quote:

When I place my right hand on the forend, I can make the stock move and touch the barrel

I went to the doctor once and said "Doc, it hurts when I move my arm like this." The doctor replied "Then don't move your arm like that."

Don't worry about making the stock touch the barrel. Are you going to shoot while doing this?

quote:

Originally posted by Sergeant_Sabre:

quote:

When I place my right hand on the forend, I can make the stock move and touch the barrel

I went to the doctor once and said "Doc, it hurts when I move my arm like this." The doctor replied "Then don't move your arm like that."

Don't worry about making the stock touch the barrel. Are you going to shoot while doing this?

Expect big groups if you do . . .

quote:

Originally posted by Roger:
Gents,

Picked up my new left-handed Hawkeye and Mark11.

The Hawkeye is in 375 Ruger and the stainless Mark11 is in 300 Win. mag.

Does anyone else have a Hawkeye?

Yes I have the Ruger Hawkeye and the Mark 2, both are brand new and are being use for rebuilds for Jeffes' AR rounds, one in .458 the other in .510

quote:

This is the only rifle I've owned that has a strange condition regarding the stock forend.
When I place my right hand on the forend, I can make the stock move and touch the barrel. The Mark11 with it's laminate stock does not do this.

I'd have to agree with the other guys on this one, DON'T MAKE IT DO IT, you have to realise it's synthetic right, it's always going to have a little more flex in it than wooden laminate. If you want to fix it you can try and bed a rod into the forend

quote:

Do I have a problem?

Not on a rifle that big you don't, but on a 204 or 22-250 you might, if your going to loose sleep, get yourself a laminate or walnut for it

quote:

BTW, there seems to be no difference between the Hawkeye and the Mrk11 action excepting the stainless.

Well the stainless is blasted so it's a matt grey, the action is a matt black, the floor plate on the Hawkeye is metal not alloy, the trigger is thinner in profile and it's inletted under the action so you can see the spring, for that reason it is easier to have adjusted than the old Mark 2

regards
S&F

S&F,

I have the wood stocked African, it's not plastic.

I've never handeled any rifle where the forend would flex.
I will be trying to contact Ruger to see if this is the norm for this gun.

Thanks,

Roger QSL

S&F,

BTW, my stainless Mark11 is not blasted matt grey, it's bright and shiny stainless. I missed that on your post.

Roger QSL

It sounds like that stock is headed for the firepit.

Call Ruger and see what they'll do.

George

Gents,

Well, I called and talked with a fellow named Mike at Ruger's Product Services.
Told him of the flexing of the forend and was informed that is typical for the African.
I ask him if shooting off of sticks would cause a poi problem and was told not to worry.

Will assume he is truthful and forwith......


Roger QSL

The cheesey plastic stock on M70 Classic Stainless moves quite a bit when flexed. Doesn't seem to effect accuracy much though.

Have bunch of Hawkeyes and having each one glass bedded as the wood is far too nice to risk splitting..this is the rifle Ruger should have made years ago...243,25-06,
270, 264 WinMag, 7mmRM, 300WM, 338WM, and the 375RM.
To say I like them is an understatement I guess...LUV is closer...

quote:

Originally posted by Roger:
Gents,

Well, I called and talked with a fellow named Mike at Ruger's Product Services.
Told him of the flexing of the forend and was informed that is typical for the African.
I ask him if shooting off of sticks would cause a poi problem and was told not to worry.

Will assume he is truthful and forwith......


Roger QSL

Methinks 'Mike' doesn't know what he's talking about. I've owned dozens of wood-stocked firearms, and even the most slender stock (on a Browning A-Bolt) didn't flex under 'normal' pressure.

Still, shoot it a lot, off the bench and off sticks to see whether the flex actually does cause the POI to wander.

You can always remediate the flex yourself if Ruger won't stand behind the product.

George

quote:

Originally posted by Roger:
S&F,

I have the wood stocked African, it's not plastic.

I've never handeled any rifle where the forend would flex.
I will be trying to contact Ruger to see if this is the norm for this gun.

Thanks,

Roger QSL

OK you didn't mention it was the African

But all of my stocks will flex and touch the barrel if I wrestle with them

regards
S&F

quote:

Originally posted by Roger:
S&F,

BTW, my stainless Mark11 is not blasted matt grey, it's bright and shiny stainless. I missed that on your post.

Roger QSL

Yes I knew your 300 was the Mark 2 and yes....your are correct, Ruger didn't factory realease the mark 2's with blasted actions and stainless

But I wasn't refering to the Mark 2 when I was talking about the blasted actions and bolt

regards
S&F

On all wood stocked rifles, especially older and collectable ones when I want to check to see if it has been free floated and thus ruined, I always squeeze the barrel and the foreend together. In a factory free floated barreled rifle there is always motion there when the barrel and the foreend are squeezed together, this is normal. Dr.C

Dr.C,

I completely understand free floating of a barrel.
I am not pinching the barrel and stock together. I am grabbing the stock, much as holding the gun for shooting, and squeezing the stock, causing the stock to touch the barrel. It seems that the wood is not as thick as possibly should be. Have owned and still own wood stocked rifles, of which none have this odd movement.
Don't get me wrong, I like and will probably keep both guns.
Thanks for all the response from all the posters.

Roger QSL

Glass bed the existing stock..Big bores usually shoot real well when bedded tight..That should cure the problem, unless your just looking for an excuse to buy a new stock!!

BTW the Hawkeye has plenty of wood on it, that has nothing to do with your problem..I suspect you could work on the inletting and cure the problem, but a glass is usually a better option with factory wood..You live in a high dry climate and that gun came from a more humid area, so the wood has probably moved a bit...

Roger,

I asked someone who has a Hawkeye, and he said his fore-end does not flex as much as you describe.

George