Ruger Hawkeye African .375 Ruger as Dangerous Game rifle?

[poco]

Good info, thanks. I agree the stock is a tad svelte for a .375 caliber rifle and may restock it down the road. I recently ground a new recoil pad for my .458WM and will definitely replace the pad on this African in the interim.

I think you’re right on the stock, my safari buddy was handling my 375 the other day and said “ this gun is going to be great when walking, but it’s gonna kick your ass when you run some 300gr loads into it “ it’s 7lbs with no scope

 

[Captain Munro]

Is the safety lever polymer or just light metal on the African? Held one the other day and it felt cheap (the lever).

 

[ChrisG]

Is the safety lever polymer or just light metal on the African? Held one the other day and it felt cheap (the lever).

It is investment cast steel. They seem to be fine but are by no means a "refined" rifle

 

[Captain Munro]

Thanks, @ChrisG. I thought it was a handy rifle though, little front heavy, but pointed fairly well. A little gunsmithing could smooth out some of the grit in the action.

 

[ChrisG]

Thanks, @ChrisG. I thought it was a handy rifle, though, little front heavy, but pointed fairly well. A little gunsmithing could smooth out some of the grit in the action.

I had the African in 416 Ruger and a copper pipe full of lead in the buttstock evened the weight out and a threaded rod running the length of the wrist braced it. I also lopped the threads off the front and recrowned mine. I also fitted a new recoil pad to it. Eventually, I sold it. But not before it downed a Black bear!

My current .375 Ruger Guide Gun has similar problems and was even rougher. I 400 grit sandpapered that whole rifle and polished up the internals. It's no Purdey, but it gets the job done.

 

[Bonk]

Ruger bolt actions are excellent rifles that are no more or less prone to problems than any other rifle. I've owned dozens of them and never had a functioning problem at all. Ever. 223 to 375H&H. You hear the same complaint about CZ too and while I haven't owned dozens of them the dozen or so I have owned all also functioned perfectly.

You'll hear/read anecdotal accounts of guns failing in the heat of the moment but I suspect that with rare exceptions operator error played at least some part. That applies to Ruger, CZ and guns that cost five figures.

 

[Daisy]

Picking mine up today from gunsmith. Had it glass bedded and cerakoted. Will let you know how it looks. Was brand new and never shot when I took it in.

 

[Papa72]

Good info folks…thanks. The action on my African has smoothed itself very nicely over time and I’m confident with it. I have tried to make peace with the factory stock but wishing for a thicker palm swell ain’t getting it done. I’ll jump on it after I finish this Poor Man’s Double Rifle project that somehow slipped in the cue.

 

[RayAtkinson]

I got one of the special Hawkeye 375 Rugers they sold in 2008, it was as good a rifle as Ive ever owned, sold it recently as my African is over due to age (89) and its a cow elk in the alfafa and a deer out the pickup window, legally by the way and I earned it..

 

[375Ruger416]

Picking mine up today from gunsmith. Had it glass bedded and cerakoted. Will let you know how it looks. Was brand new and never shot when I took it in.

Ruger Guide gun or Alaskan?

 

[Daisy]

Ruger Guide gun or Alaskan?

Alaskan.

I have a 416 Ruger guide gun I need to move too

 

[geopat]

I have a.375 Ruger African LH.
It fits me perfectly. It is the best feeling rifle I’ve ever owned. 5’9” 175 ish.
I’ve put many hundreds of rounds through it. Everything from 200-300 gr. (All my reloads) (it has never been polluted with a factor round)
NEVER a jam or ejection issue.
Favorite bullet is the Speer 235 gr Hot-Core.
And yes it will shoot MOA if my old body does its job ‍
My only issue was that it had a hairline fracture in the stock out of the box. Ruger replaced the stock quickly with no issues and did it quickly and was very accommodating.

 

[Daisy]

I have a.375 Ruger African LH.
It fits me perfectly. It is the best feeling rifle I’ve ever owned. 5’9” 175 ish.
I’ve put many hundreds of rounds through it. Everything from 200-300 gr. (All my reloads) (it has never been polluted with a factor round)
NEVER a jam or ejection issue.
Favorite bullet is the Speer 235 gr Hot-Core.
And yes it will shoot MOA if my old body does its job ‍
My only issue was that it had a hairline fracture in the stock out of the box. Ruger replaced the stock quickly with no issues and did it quickly and was very accommodating.

I have found the caliber needs a small gap at back of action where it meets stock. If no gap there the handle or the stock will crack. I also bedded mine.

 

[Rem280]

My 375 Ruger worked just fine at 110 yards, 270 grain barnes tsx.

 

[Hunt anything]

My 375 Ruger worked just fine at 110 yards, 270 grain barnes tsx.
View attachment 621752

Nice bull, I used 300gr DGX

 

[hoytcanon]

Issues??? What issues??? I have been shooting Ruger rifles for more than four decades... literally hundreds. IMO they are the most solid and trouble free field/hunting production rifles available. Bill Ruger did not focus on peak refinement, he focused on peak function... and was successful.

 

[Hutch01]

I bought .375 Ruger African in 2014 and have hunted croc, buff, lion and ten or twelve larger plains game with it. It’s one of the sweetest shooting and handling rifles I own. I took the muzzle break off on my last safari to save ears and liked it even more. The floor plate is a little sticky but for $950 you can’t beat it! The svelte stock I love and makes it faster and lighter. Recoils not much in .375.

 

[1dirthawker]

I have shot all sorts of Hornady factory ammo (DGS, DGX, RN, GMX) in my 375 Ruger with no issues in cycling. I handload 300 gr Swift A-Frames and no issues there either. Yes, the 375 Ruger Hawkeye is very much a DG rifle. The only negative I can find is that it's a bit light in weight. The recoil is noticeable. A good rifle that is carried a lot and shot a little.

+1

except, it is a bit light, but i truly don't notice the recoil issue. my rifle is the 20" alaskan model, great rifle!! i use it as backup on brown bears.

 

[hoytcanon]

I bought .375 Ruger African in 2014 and have hunted croc, buff, lion and ten or twelve larger plains game with it. It’s one of the sweetest shooting and handling rifles I own. I took the muzzle break off on my last safari to save ears and liked it even more. The floor plate is a little sticky but for $950 you can’t beat it! The svelte stock I love and makes it faster and lighter. Recoils not much in .375.

Shim the front trigger guard screw... I use a larger cartridge case, cut it out to the width if the recess, pound it flat and cut it to length so that it just reaches over the back of the Mag well and then drill a hole for the action screw... that will be the end of the sticky mag release. You can also use feeler guage or some other thin metal, but I have used cartridge cases to do dozens of shims.

 

[Doug3006]

My Hawkeye African was in 416 Ruger. I say “was“ because I sold it to my good friend’s son when I acquired an American Hunting Rifles gun in 416 Rigby. I had absolutely no complaints with it. In fact, I took my first Cape buffalo with it. However, I had originally bought a Hawkeye Alaskan. Those were stainless with a Hogue overmoulded stock that had a somewhat grippy rubberized texture. It could not be made to feed properly even after 2 trips back to Ruger. I met a Ruger exec at the DSC convention. He asked me to send it to him. After a few weeks he offered to replace it with the African version. I still can‘t figure out why the Alaskan couldn‘t be fixed.