Ruger M77 Hawkeye vs. Remington 700 CDL vs. Browning A-Bolt Hunter

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caparker

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So I've been lurking around here for a little while, and just came out to ask for some experienced opinions...

I recently got back into shooting, after leaving the Navy almost 10 years ago, I haven't shot much of anything until recently.

Anyway, to get to the story, I was at a friend of my fathers house, and he asked when I was going hunting with them, so I said... "whenever y'all go" and I got a date for a hunt... I don't own a rifle I thought next, and called my father to ask if I could take his Remington 700 SPS 7mm Rem. Mag. out to the range to familiarize myself with a rifle again. He came to pick me up because he was going out there anyway, and we headed to Academy for what I thought was an ammo run, and ended up leaving with my first gun, a Remington 710 .270 (I know, y'all don't think it shoots worth a ****...) and it turns out it shoots really good. Anyway, I went on my first hunt, and got my first deer, and am looking to buy another rifle, but don't know what to buy, I presently have a .270 so it doesn't make sense to buy another .270 right now...

I know I either want a 7mm Rem. Mag. or a 7mm-08 in a Remington 700 CDL, Browning A-Bolt Hunter or a Remington M77 Hawkeye...

Sorry about the long post, thanks for my first post, great wealth of information here and thanks for your opinions in advance...
 
If I only had one rifle and it was a midsized caliber like a 270 I would want the next one smaller like a 223 or there abouts or larger as in at least a 338. Not much difference in the real world between a 270 and a 7 mag. Any of those three are good rifles so what is your choice for fit, feel and looks? If I was considering a 7MM I would take a good hard look at the Remington 280.
 
I say go with the Browning if you aren't going to go all out on aftermarket stuff. My dad has a Remington 700BDL. Don't get me wrong they're nice, but I love my A-bolt. The bolt is smooth as butter. It also has a much shorter throw.
 
Brownings are nice but they don't feel right to me. I have had countless Rem 700s and they are fine rifles (just like cars, sometimes you'll get a lemon), but my current favorite is a Ruger Hawkeye in .257 Roberts. I was surprised how much an improvement it is over the feel and looks of the standard Ruger M77. It has a much better trigger and mine punchs one hole shot groups consistently. I like it so much I am going to get a stainless version in .338 Federal.

My son has a 7mm08 in a Savage Hunter model. Very inexpensive and an excellent shooter. You might look at the Savages. The new American Classic is very impressive.

In 7mm I would chose the 7mm08 or .280 Rem over the 7mm Mag any time.
 
Any of the brands you've named are great guns. My choice is the A-Bolt. Had an 3006 clover leaf 4 shots at 100 yds out of box, that was in 1987. My friend got a 7mm mag this year, same thing with 3 shots. My currant rifle bought this year is 300 winn mag in a A-Bolt, same thing. To sum it up 3 different size rounds, span of 20 years, same brand (Browining A-Bolt) same results.
 
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I just finished a few minutes ago shooting a Ruger M77 in 7.65x39 and a Remington 700 CDL in 7mm mag. The little Ruger with my 66 year old eyes shoots 1/2 MOA off the bench with Wolf ammo. The only gun I've ever owned that shot better was a Sako in 222.

The Remington shot good but not as good as my Tikka in 270. Glad I was shooting these guns for customers.
 
The Hawkeye's are the current best buy---they are well made--nicely finished--accurate--and priced right. That may change in the future--but for right now--I wouldn't look at anything other than a Ruger.
 
Very nice looking and easy to handle hunting rifles are the Remington Model 7, and the Kimber, both come in .260 Rem caliber, which is a great choice. If you're considering a varmint type rifle look at the heavy barreled Savage rifle in .223.
 
I would suggest that you go to a couple of gun shops that let you fondle the rifles and see which fit your body and hand. Plus how do the stock designs match up to your cheek in the firing position.
Also you should go through a couple of shops that have used rifles for sale. You may stumble across something that really trips your trigger.

Things to think about and play with....besides the fit to your body and head...

1. Safety type and how it works.
Some rifles like the Rem M700s have a trigger safety that slides back and forth. It only blocks the trigger from moving internally. Some people love this...
The Winchester M-70s, Montana Rifles, Dakotas, military Mausers and Kimbers, have a 3 position safety on the bolt cocking piece. It locks the firing pin in place. So while you are cycling rounds in or out of the chamber or magazine you can have the firing pin in a safe position, LOCKED.
The Rugers have what appears to be a Winchester type safety that is really not... They are really a trigger safety in the middle position and a firing pin lock in the last position which locks the bolt shut. So the firing pin is not locked while cycling rounds into or out of the chamber.

2. Magazine floor plate type.
Is is an easy to open drop box, or a blind magazine. Or maybe a harder to open magazine floor-plate like a Military Mauser. This may seem like a moot point unless you have ever had a magazine drop all the rounds into the mud while out hunting, or in the case of heavy recoiling magnums, have ever had the magazine pop open and spill out all the ammo after firing one shot at a charging Brown Bear.

3. Scope mounting options available.

4. What is the intended use of this particular rifle.
Hunting deer, open plains hunting, brush hunting, target work, varmint hunting, or just goofing off. There is another category of rifle purchase as well. I call it "The voices in my head made me buy it." category. I have several of those...

5. What type of accuracy do you need?
Rugers are like Chevy pick-up trucks. They are a tool. They have acceptable hunting accuracy but sometimes need TLC for good accuracy. But they are built like a truck and are hard to break.
Remington 700 varmint and target rifles are usually VERY accurate for an out of the box rifle. But the heavy tack drivers tend to be expensive.
The Browning A bolts have a good accuracy reputation but they seem to be either loved or hated. Their stock and action designs tending to fit some folks more than others.

6. Do you hand load?
If you are stuck with factory ammo, think about what you can get and where.... Go to a couple of stores and see how many boxes of each bullet type they have for various cartridges. You need a few different bullet weights available to really find out which type of factory ammo a rifle likes... Things like 223, 308, 270, 30-30, 30-06 and 45-70 are easy to find anywhere...
Something like a 223 varmint rifle is super easy to keep fed. The same with something like a 338 Win Mag. If you are somebody like me who likes weird cartridges, (things like the 416 Taylor) then you need to hand load.
 
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Of the three, I favor the Browning and the Ruger, depending upon use (I prefer Browning for normal hunting rifles from Browning, and Ruger for big bore rifles). I would also suggest that you take a close look at Winchester, the new Featherweight looks like a great rifle, and would honestly be my first choice (if available in the cartridge that I wanted...and for you it is...well the 7mm-08 anyway).

:)
 
I just got a .223 hawkeye a couple weeks ago. I like it, but my scope is giving me issues so I can't say how well it is shooting.
 
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