Ruger M77 Hawkeye .338 Ruger Compact Magnum

Got this out since I haven’t shot it in awhile. Left hand bolt. 3-9x scope. Cast load of Lee 220 gr RNGC, 25.5 gr Reloder 7, gave me a 4.2 inch 5 shot group @ 100 yards. Box says loaded 21jan14. I’m 80 now, so not too bad.

These days, I think it is important to know trajectory in case one has to grab factory ammo (I lucked into 5 boxes Hornady .338RCM @ $35 each at Kittery Trading Post right after I got the rifle). The sight setting putting the CB load on at 100 yards puts the factory 185 gr 9”high, 1” right @100 yards. At 300 yards, the same setting is correct for elevation, putting the 185 gr 5” right, and the 225 gr 9” right.

Went back and measured the 300-yard groups this morning, which I forgot to do yesterday. The 185 gr was 3 shots, 3.5 inches. The 225 gr was 2 shots, also 3.5 inches. Hornady factory ammo with those orange plastic tips.

The motivation to get this rifle may be of interest. I had a high-school friend who had gotten a .338 WinMag. He lived in Alaska, I in Mass. He complained of the cost of shooting it, so I bought a $20 Lee mold, a sizing die, and gas checks, and sent him 100 bullets. Years later, I was contemplating buying a single-shot Peabody in .33 Winchester, (Providence Arms & Tool, IIRC) at the same time as a mold 338220 (for .33 Win) came on eBay. I bought the mold, but couldn’t come up with the $1800 or so for the Peabody. So now I had two .338 molds.
As we all know a mold cries out for a rifle to shoot it in, so I started looking for one. I found a nice little Ruger .338 Federal caliber, on GunBroker, and won the bid on it. RH, but I have been used to reaching over the top of the bolt guns all my life, and .338 Federal can be made out of .308 Win in a snap. All set. But as we also know, guns come in threes. No sooner had I worked out some .338 Federal loads, a shooter two towns away put this Ruger .338 RCM in Uncle Henry’s, and it was left handed! Had to buy it. I soon found out why he wanted to sell it; the stock was a little too short and the heavy recoil smacked hell out of the third finger with the trigger guard. I cured that with a rubber Pachmeyer stock boot, lengthening the stock about 3/4 of an inch.

By the way, the third gun was another left-hander, a Rem 788 in 6mm Rem. Also two towns away, from Uncle Henry’s.
The buddy in Alaska, I later found out, became a flaming liberal, decided lead bullets poisoned the earth, and threw them away. He never shot any of them.