Vince that is fantastic. Don't see enough about the Ruger 77's and Hawkeyes on this forum. In my opinion, there is nothing and I mean nothing wrong with them at all! My son has a MKII in a 6mm Remington that is a shooter as well. I really like the stainless with the wood laminate stocks. They are stable and strong and every bit the equal to a synthetic with the aluminum bedding block, plus they feel like wood! What is not to like. My son's rifle has the nutmeg laminate on it and I really like that stock.
The 30-06 just seems easy to get to shoot. I don't shoot 180's in mine but choose the 165's. The powder is the same, IMR4350. Man that's a great powder in the 30-06 for all weights of bullets. That's all I have ever used in THREE 30-06 rifles I have owned. The one I have now is a Ruger as well. It's a #1B with the 26" barrel. I love that rifle and it shoots great too.
Go kill a hog and hopefully you can recover a bullet or two for us to see how it did!
David
I have had two rifles, and loads give me that feeling.
The funny thing is, they are both of the '06 variety. One is a 25-06 and the other is this 30-06. The other two calibers I've recently loaded for have been an exercise in frustration. I'm hoping to change that with the .338 Win mag in a couple of weeks.
