We have an early whitetail season in my home state of South Carolina. It begins one hour before sunrise on August 15 every year. I would say, (and you’re allowed to disagree), I am not like every other hunter; I’ll explain. Many hunters have their trusty rifles, bows or shotguns that accompanies them to every hunt; they’ve built a confidence in their equipment through success. I test big bore air rifles and write articles from my experiences with a rife number of firearms, meaning I rarely take the same tools in the stand time and time again. I never know what the outcome will be until the kill shot presents itself and I take it. That’s how I found myself taking yet another new gun to me, the Ruger Hawkeye 7MM-08 REM Laminate Compact, afield for deer.
The first feature that caught my eye was the beautiful black laminate compact stock with a total length of 35.5 inches, as opposed to the standard length of 42 inches. With a couple types of hunts in mind, the shorter length of this one, I’m sure it will serve me well.
When I get a new gun and pull it out of the box, like many other gun buyers, I shoulder it to get a feel for it checking the balance and comfort of the rifle. There’s one word I would use to describe how it felt: perfect.
This one may be a dual-purpose rifle, first spending some time in the blind for some whitetail hunting, followed by some predator hunting in an open field. Not only is it a manageable length for these purposes, but also with the total weight of 6.2 pounds, it gives me more confidence that it won’t be a rifle that hinders my hunts by weighing me down.
Ruger included one-inch scope rings to be attached to the integrated scope mounts machined directly on the solid steel receiver for stability. With a simple request, Ruger sent me 30mm rings to enable me to mount my Hawke Sidewinder 30mm Second Focal Plane 4-16X50 Scope. It offers a crisp clear view with multiple elevation and windage aimpoints.
After mounting my Hawke scope, I hit the range to zero my rifle at 50 yards. Sixty-five yards is the max visual distance in my deer stand. I’m hindered in both distance and width from any farther shots by the mass amounts of trees and vegetation. As in every hunting situation, I pray for the perfect presentation, aim and follow through, from start to finish.
Many shooters and hunters know just because you have a box of ammo that match the caliber of gun you’re shooting, that doesn’t equate to being a perfect match for the gun. You need to test the ammo on the range. Ammunition is expensive, especially good hunting ammo. I perform my testing with three shots per group, to see which one’s group tighter.
Which one will get the best accuracy flying through the 1:8.5-inch RH twist rate that the Hawkeye’s 16.5-inch barrel has to offer? I tested Winchester 140 grain Power Points, Hornady Superformance 139 grain SST, Remington 140 grain Core-Lokt PSP and finally, Fiocchi 139 grain Hyperformance. The best match for this compact rifle is the Fiocchi Hyperformance. I dialed my optic in for that ammo and called it good.
I took the Hawkeye into my deer stand several times when the season opened, with no appearances of a deer, I still lacked the knowledge of how it would perform in a hunting situation. I did not lack the knowledge of how light it is and easily maneuverable in tight spaces. One evening as I packed my gear into the woods, I stopped in a panic. I thought for a moment I had forgotten my rifle! It was too late to go back to get it and return for prime time, then I touched my right shoulder to find the sling draped naturally over it. I sighed in relief and continued to the stand.
A little more than a month into deer season and no bucks harvested yet, I decided my freezer is lacking one of my favorite meats. I returned to my stand with the intentions of remedying my problem.
Even though I hadn’t experienced a harvest with the Ruger Hawkeye yet, I had a confidence that if I would make a good shot placement, the gun and ammo team would accomplish the rest.
Two does and a yearling approached, and I set my sights on the largest one of course. There was one problem, she found the only pine tree in my eight-foot-wide lane to shield herself behind. The moment she stepped out and gave me a broadside shot, I placed the crosshairs for a high shoulder shot, quietly disengaged the three-point safety, and let it fly.
This was a first, you’ve heard of the “off button” right? She dropped in her tracks, drew her back legs in and that was it, she was done. No kicking, flopping, or shaking, that was my first perfect kill shot, aside from any head shots! To have that experience the first time taking an animal with the Ruger Hawkeye, if I didn’t test rifles regularly, requiring me to swap them out, this would be my new trusty deer rifle.
Before exiting the stand, I waited until dark to see what else may come in. When I noticed the violent movement of a limb about eight foot off the ground, my attention was diverted to in time to catch the glimpse of the body of another deer. Without a surety of what it was I began to tremble in excitement. I could hear it making its way through the woods. There stood a couple smaller does in my shooting lane when suddenly, he made his appearance with a quick dash across the lane to chase the small deer away. Lo and behold, he was one of the big nine points from last year.
By this time the light and visibility were fading and with a doe on the ground, he was nervous. Without cooperation from him or the light, I faced the reality, I wasn’t going to harvest him that night. With such great results how can I hang this rifle up before I try for another attempt to take my target buck?
The Ruger Hawkeye Laminate Compact MSRP: $1,379.
Check out the fine line of Ruger Hawkeye rifles at Ruger’s website.
Read about another successful hunt – this one by Sarah Colbert (vice-president of administration for Ruger) in Texas for an axis deer, using a Ruger Hawkeye, left-hand model.
Follow Angie Perry on her social media to see if she takes that buck!
I am a wife and a mother who loves the outdoors, I also review and test airguns and shooting products for various manufacturers. As Airgun Angie, I get to spend a fair amount of time outdoors hunting and shooting! I love what I do, I get the opportunity to test many different types of shooting and hunting gear. My current adventures can be found on https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC764VE4T-i2XihiyISmkJKA You can also follow me on Facebook, @leadlife17 "Airgun Angie." View all posts by Angie Perry
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