What was I thinking?

[NYDAN]

What was I thinking when I went to a gun auction last Friday? I guess I thought I needed to be prepared in case a rhinoceros tries to stamp out a campfire in my backyard.

Apparently, there aren’t many left-handed hunters in NYS who need a Ruger M77 Hawkeye African model chambered in 375 Ruger because it came at a reasonable bid. I won the bid for 5 boxes of 270 gr. ammo at $20/box. The six boxes of 300 gr. round nose (solids) (which I did NOT bid on) went for $16/box. The current retail price for 375 Ruger ammo is about $100/box.

I cleaned and inspected the bore last night. It had been shot but not enough to show any wear anywhere. It has never been hunted. No dings or scratches. I guess I will shoot it a little and decided what to do next. If I decide to keep it, I may have a muzzle brake put on it.

 

[salmonchaser]

Wow, that is a great deal. Can’t believe 16 bucks a box either.

 

[Slimfinn]

Nice find Dan

 

[gerry]

That's a great deal congratulations. Looks like a Burris scope on it, what model is it? I had a LH SS 375 Ruger that was very accurate, I bet yours will want to shoot. The only thing I would recommend is getting the action bedded. It's a known issue with these Ruger rifles in the more powerful rounds that you can get a crack in the tang area. That proved to be the case with mine and how I found out about it.

 

[JD338]

Dan,
Congratulations on your find. Great rifle in a really good caliber. The 375 will impress you.
It would make for a really good elk thumper this fall.

JD338

 

[truck driver]

If your going to hunt it I would take the wood stock off of it to preserve it should you want to sell it later on and find a Precision carbon fiber stock with a full metal bedding block in it like the Bell&Carlson Medalist and skim bed the action to it. You can thank me later when you find it wants to be a sniper rifle. Did this with a Ruger Hawkeye M77 in 338 Win Mag that didn't want to stay in the factory stock and tried to twist it's way out and loosen the action screws causing it to throw shots at the range.

 

[NYDAN]

That's a great deal congratulations. Looks like a Burris scope on it, what model is it? I had a LH SS 375 Ruger that was very accurate, I bet yours will want to shoot. The only thing I would recommend is getting the action bedded. It's a known issue with these Ruger rifles in the more powerful rounds that you can get a crack in the tang area. That proved to be the case with mine and how I found out about it.

Gerry, the Burris scope is a Fullfield 30, 3-9 x 40. It has a 30mm tube and with a ballistic plex reticule.

Thanks for the heads up on getting the action bedded.

 

[NYDAN]

If your going to hunt it I would take the wood stock off of it to preserve it should you want to sell it later on and find a Precision carbon fiber stock with a full metal bedding block in it like the Bell&Carlson Medalist and skim bed the action to it. You can thank me later when you find it wants to be a sniper rifle. Did this with a Ruger Hawkeye M77 in 338 Win Mag that didn't want to stay in the factory stock and tried to twist it's way out and loosen the action screws causing it to throw shots at the range.

Rodger, thanks for the suggestion. I hadn't thought of that.

 

[truck driver]

Any time Dan. I like to went crazy trying to figure out why a new rifle wouldn't shoot consistently when I got my Hawkeye. Burnt a lot of powder and primers trying to figure it out.

 

[sako2]

Nice deal.

 

[RL338]

Nice score
Don’t lose any of that brass , the 375 is hard to come by.

 

[JD338]

Nice score
Don’t lose any of that brass , the 375 is hard to come by.

Dan,
Rick makes a valid point. If you can get those 300 gr solids at $16/ box, it would be worth it just for the brass.

JD338

 

[Vince]

I’m putting my Ruger Guide Gun in a McMillan flat top.
The wood and it’s laminate cousin stocks are pretty much worthless in humid environments in my experience.
It’s a great rifle and ammo is easy to find online if you don’t reload. Being a lefty that prefers a CRF action my choices are pretty limited. I’d definitely think about a muzzle brake. The Ruger brake is pretty handy and works OK.
Thought about buying another one and rebarreling it in .416 Ruger. I came to the conclusion that the .375 Ruger is as big as I care to go unless I go for something over .500 caliber.

Vince

 

[SJB358]

Man, you scored big time Dan! Great score.

 

[gerry]

Gerry, the Burris scope is a Fullfield 30, 3-9 x 40. It has a 30mm tube and with a ballistic plex reticule.

Thanks for the heads up on getting the action bedded.

Those were tough scopes and will serve you very well. Mine did well with Big Game for full power loads using bullets from 250-300 gr. Worked so well I never tried anything else for powder. I had a reduced load using IMR 3031 and the 235 gr Speer at around 2700 fps. That's such a great bullet at those speeds for deer and bear.

 

[casey3612]

I'd be willing to make you a small profit on that rifle!

 

[wvbuckbuster]

You did good. Might be slightly over kill but I'd have to thump a deer or two with it.

 

[NYDAN]

You did good. Might be slightly over kill but I'd have to thump a deer or two with it.

 

[JD338]

You did good. Might be slightly over kill but I'd have to thump a deer or two with it.

There's no replacement for displacement

JD338

 

[DrMike]

Excellent purchase, Dan. I worked up loads for a couple of rifles chambered in that cartridge some years back. Seems as if it was easy to find a load that satisfied the clients. It is a cartridge that I wouldn't mind toting here i Northern BC.