06/07/2021

The Hawkeye Predator is a long range hunting rifle. Offered in 22-250 Rem, 223 Rem, 204 Ruger, and 6.5mm Creedmoor, everything from small to medium size varmints, through large game like elk and moose can be accommodated, depending on caliber selected. Between hunting outings, it also makes a heck of a target rifle with more than enough mechanical accuracy to challenged a shooter’s marksmanship skills.

What makes the Predator so unique is that it is totally devoid of trendy, superfluous nonsense. It is not a rifle that has been warped, bent, stretched, shortened or in any other way tortured to pretend it to be something it is not. No thirty round magazine parked under it, no bag cuts under the buttstock to optimize use from a shooting bench, no muzzle devices, no bull barrel…. no bull.

In fact, the only deviation from what might be called sporter class standards is the Hawkeye Predator’s 24″ medium profile barrel and adjustable target grade trigger. Standard sporters typically give the 6.5 Creedmoor a 22″ and a barrel contour one weight lighter. The result is an 8 lb Predator, rather than a 7 lb standard sporter.

In a world where weight matters obsessively to some, I figure it is easier to skip the second helping at dinner, shake a pound loose and hunt with a rifle with a bit more reach.

But it isn’t a modern sporting rifle…

Typically, the AR-15 is defined as a modern sporting rifle, which is curious as the firearm type was designed in 1956, sixty five years ago. I am not sure how something qualified for social security gets to carry the “modern” banner. Additionally, the availability of semi auto and fully auto rifles with at least the same rate of fire have existed since 1777.

The Belton Flintlock sequentially discharged eight lead balls in three, five or eight second bursts. Benjamin Franklin lobbied George Washington to make a purchase of the Belton’s firearm, Washington agreed, but an acceptable contract could not be penned. An early example of early pork spending, Presidential swamp draining and attempted price gouging by a government contractor.

Transactional analysis between myself and the group therapy conducted in the Real Guns Facebook comments section, I would state that my preference for a bolt action rifle, over a modern sporting rifle, is rooted in pragmatism. I have concluded that out of the box AR-15s not as accurate, not as reliable or as powerful as similar size and weight bolt action rifles. How does that make you feel?

Hawkeye, but no Chingachook

The Ruger M77 MK I was introduced as the company’s first bolt action centerfire rifle in 1968. The next generation was introduced in 1993 as the M77 MK II. The change brought a three position safety, a newly design floorplate latch and a blade type ejector as well as a non-adjustable trigger. In 2006, the Hawkeye designation appeared on centerfire rifles, along with a slimmed down stock and non-adjustable L6 trigger. The Ruger Hawkeye Predator version was introduced in January of 2009 with a two stage adjustable target trigger.

The Ruger Hawkeye Predator, with its full length, non rotating extractor is a controlled round feed design.Controlled round feed is an alternative to push feed found in rifles such as the Remington 700, Weatherby Mark V and Savage 110.

When a cartridge is picked up from the internal magazine, the round’s rim is guided into and secured against the flat bolt face by the extractor claw and the slot in the top bolt lug. Regardless the position or angle of the rifle, the rounds position and travel are always… controlled. Driven by the bolt, push feed actions float the cartridge from magazine to chamber and have some reliance on gravity and firearm position and angle to feed reliably.

The Ruger Predator has a stainless steel hinged floorplate to facilitate unloading a full magazine. The magazine box has an aft spacer to bring the nose of each cartridge to the proximity of the feed ramp while still allowing maximum cartridge length loads. The floor plate release is embedded in the front of trigger guard; handy but still protected. Inside or out, the Ruger utilizes high quality castings and machined parts. No plastic to be found.

I have no problems with high capacity magazines, as it is always important to match personal preference with application and situation. Within the context of hunting, high capacity firearms work well for varmint hunting, long range hunting of medium size game in an open setting. They may also fit some types of big and dangerous game where not getting a critical hit after a few shots, and being left with an empty magazine, could be more than embarrassing.

My personal preference is a lesser capacity and a hinged floorplate because it fits my hunting style. I do still, stalk and post hunt, but I am a very conservative shooter and never shoot at running game or at ranges beyond a sure kill. All of my kills have been one shot with the exception of two, two shot kills and one mystery encounter. A hinged floorplate yields a flat bottom rifle and no interference with a hand or arm. They are also easy to unload at the end of the day without cycling an action.

The Predator comes with a really slick, fully adjustable, short take up two stage trigger. A departure from what has been historically Ruger non-adjustable triggers. Ruger’s description: “Two stage, light, crisp, with no overtravel” is solidly appropriate. The subject rifle’s trigger had a measured two pound pull. Adjustment, while easy, requires separating the rifle’s barreled action from its stock.

Ruger lists the barrel as a medium contour barrel, as opposed to a heavy contour target or varmint rifle barrel. It measures 0.650″ in diameter at the muzzle.

The rifle’s 1:8″ rifling twist suits the 6.5 Creedmoor, a round that does well with heavy for bore 0.264″ bullets and the latest crop of long for weight leadless bullets. The Ruger also stabilizes lighter weight bullets, delivering excellent accuracy.

The laminated hardwood stock makes for a very stable barreled action / stock sandwich. The barrel floats in the stock’s barrel channel for uninhibited barrel harmonics.

The 6.5 Creedmoor