A lot happened in the world in 1964, but for bolt-action rifle enthusiasts, that year will always be associated with the cheapening of Winchester’s Model 70 bolt-action rifle. In an effort to steal sales away from the new push-feed Remington 700 rifle, Winchester ditched the full-length Mauser extractor on the Model 70 and replaced it with a push-feed design similar to the 700. The move—which amounted to pure cost-cutting—enraged gun writers like Jack O’Connor who simply would not forgive Winchester for this sin.

While all this was happening, Bill Ruger was sitting on the sidelines and taking notes. Fresh off the success of guns like the Standard .22 pistol, Single-Six, Blackhawk, and Number One, Ruger realized that Winchester’s perceived sins with the Model 70 left a hole in the market for a Mauser-style hunting rifle. With the aid of designer Jim Sullivan and stock maker Lenard Brownell, Ruger introduced a brand-new rifle in 1968: the M77.

Bill Ruger was a brilliant gun designer, but he also understood the market. The Ruger M77 rifle was beautifully crafted and looked like a classic Mauser M98 right down to the large extractor running alongside the bolt. However, he had made some significant changes to the Mauser design. Most notably, the first M77 wasn’t truly a controlled feed rifle like the Mauser.

Instead of grabbing the cartridge when it left the magazine, the M77’s extractor clicked into place when the cartridge was chambered. An even more radical departure from the Mauser design was the plunger-style ejector that replaced the traditional fixed blade ejector that traveled through a cutout in the bolt body, a feature found on the M98 and Pre-64 Model 70s. Regardless, the M77 looked good and shot well, and it was an immediate success.

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The M77 also offered a novel safety design. In place of the wing safety, the original M77 came with a two-position tang-mounted safety which was easy to operate even for left-handed shooters. The rifles came with a hinged floorplate and internal box magazine with the floorplate release located inside the trigger guard. Of course, Bill Ruger used investment cast parts, a process that cut production costs. Perhaps the most notable feature on the M77 was the angled front action screw that reduced production time yet offered a secure wood-to-metal fit. Ruger also revised their round-top receiver design and replaced it with integral scope bases.

No, the original M77 wasn’t a true Mauser, but it had the look—and most shot well. The original triggers were very good for their time and the M77 became popular with hunters; but by the 1990s the M77 was due for a refresh, and that’s what we got with the M77 MKII in 1991. The primary difference between the original M77 and the MK II was that the new guns came with an honest-to-goodness controlled feed action with a Mauser-style claw extractor and a fixed blade ejector that ran in a channel cut into the bolt. The tang safety was also ditched in favor of a three-position wing safety like the one on Winchester’s Model 70. Far less noticeable at a glance but nonetheless noteworthy was the removal of the blade-style floorplate release inside the trigger bow.

In late 1994 Guns & Ammo released a special interest publication titled Big-Bore Rifles, and in that publication (which has become a sort of manual for anyone who shoots heavy-caliber hunting rifles) John Wootters describes replacing his original M77 factory trigger with a Canjar set trigger which allowed the floorplate release to contact his finger on every shot. Wooters describes the ordeal as “first noticeable, then annoying, then painful, then maddening.” The problem was solved with the arrival of the MK II rifle with its floorplate release on the front of the trigger guard.

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One of Ruger’s most iconic rifles was the M77 Safari Magnum which arrived in 1989. With its true CRF action, Circassian walnut stock and express sights it is regarded by many as the most beautiful of all Ruger M77 rifles—myself included. I simply had to have one, and after trying out several other CRF .375 H&H Magnums I finally settled on the M77 RSM. It’s a big gun, to be sure (it was originally built for Ruger’s role in the reintroduction of the .416 Rigby in 1989—federal supplied the ammo) and perhaps a little too heavy for a .375 H&H, but it’s a beautiful rifle and one with which I will not part.

The M77 remained a best-seller for years and was offered in a variety of configurations, and I have an inkling that when U.S. Repeating Arms decided to bring back the “classic” Model 70 in the 1990s with the full-length claw extractor it was—at least in part–due to the success of the M77 Mark II. But, good as it was, the Mark II had one glaring issue—shooters hated the heavy, creeping trigger. It wasn’t as good as the original gun, and shooters believed that cost savings or lawyers (or both) had prompted Ruger to outfit the M77 MK II with the new inferior triggers.

Ruger solved that problem with the launch of the Ruger M77 Hawkeye in 2006. The Hawkeye was equipped with the LC6 trigger which was simply better than the MK II trigger. The stock geometry was also reconfigured and gave the gun a more svelte look.

The Hawkeye also helped launch the .375 Ruger, the third cartridge to bear the Ruger name. Since the .375 H&H requires a true magnum action, Ruger knew that adding it to their rifle lineup would be very costly. They needed a dangerous game cartridge that would fit in a standard-length action yet offer .375 H&H magnum performance, and they collaborated with Hornady to release the .375 Ruger (which actually beats .375 H&H Magnum ballistics). The big bore Hawkeye rifles also received substantially upgraded sights, a feature suggested by Guns & Ammo’s own Craig Boddington who has more experience hunting dangerous game than any living writer. The Hawkeye African, Guide Gun, and Alaskan rifles come with express rear sights and large white dot front sights that are easy to see when you’re focused on a dangerous animal that’s approaching you at a high rate of speed. I actually retrofitted my .375 H&H Ruger Safari Magnum with a large white dot sight from New England Custom Gun (a fast, simple, and affordable upgrade, if you’re interested) and the white dot offers much better visibility than the undersized factory-installed bras bead.

Ruger now offers a robust lineup of M77 Hawkeye rifles suited for everything from hunting prairie dogs and punching long-range steel targets to taking down charging grizzly bears. The Hawkeye Predator comes with a laminate stock and matte stainless finish in popular varmint/predator cartridges like .204 Ruger, .223 Remington, .22-250 Remington and 6.5 Creedmoor. There are a pair of Hawkeye Compact offerings with either walnut or laminate stocks, and the Hunter model blends a walnut stock with polished stainless-steel metalwork. It’s nice to see that the Standard model with blued metal, a walnut stock and signature red rubber recoil pad has returned to the lineup as a distributor exclusive. If you’re a dedicated long-range shooter the Hawkeye Long Range Target with its heavy barrel and adjustable stock are a superb option, and the Long-Range Hunter version offers features common on target rifles in a lighter, more portable configuration. The Hawkeye FTW is a collaboration with FTW Ranch in Texas which offers SAAM hunter training courses, and for those who want to chase the largest and most dangerous game the Alaskan, Guide Gun, and African models are well-suited to the task.

I’ve shot over half of the new Hawkeye guns, and every one of them has shot very well. I tested a Hawkeye Hunter in 7mm Remington Magnum that was a true tack-driver, capable of keeping groups at or under .75 MOA with factory ammunition. The Long-Range Target model I tested was just as good, capable of outshooting more expensive carbon fiber-wrapped factory rifles, and even the Guide Gun I tested in .375 Ruger went under an inch for three shots—good accuracy with a big bore.

Although the introduction of Ruger’s push-feed American Rifle in 2012 has stolen some of the M77 Hawkeye’s spotlight there’s still a place for this rifle. Ruger’s M77 is a good rifle that has improved with every revision. I’ve had the opportunity to shoot a lot of rifles as a writer, and the M77 remains one of my favorites. Even in the face of more modern rifle designs it’s one of the best American-made bolt guns you can buy.