Ruger M77® Hawkeye® Rifles in .375 Ruger Win 2007 Shooting Industry Academy of Excellence "Rifle of the Year" Award

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE-RGR), the nation's premiere firearms manufacturer, is proud to announce that the new Ruger M77® Hawkeye® rifles in caliber .375 Ruger won the coveted Shooting Industry Academy of Excellence "Rifle of the Year" Award for 2007. Each year the Academy, consisting of over 300 manufacturers, editors, writers, distributors, and retailers, vote by secret ballot to honor an innovative few for setting new standards of excellence through product design and service to the industry.

The presentation was made at the 2007 Shooting Industry Masters Tournament in Ontario, California on July 27, 2007. Sturm, Ruger President Stephen L. Sanetti accepted the award on behalf of the Company, stating, "Successful bolt-action rifles are always the result of a collaborative effort - from Bill Ruger improving Paul Mauser's 1898 design in 1968; to Roy Melcher creating the M77 Mark II a generation later with features like the three-position safety then in demand by the marketplace; to this latest new M77 Hawkeye rifle. It is the result of giving the latest generation of shooters what they want, such as slimmer stocks, exciting new calibers, and a better trigger pull, to name just a few features."

"And I'm so glad that Steve Hornady won the 2007 Ammunition of the Year Award with his innovative new .375 Ruger cartridge. We couldn't have won this award without him, and Pat Hogue's creative stock work, and the Academy members who appreciate the results of all these efforts. Thanks to all of you," Sanetti concluded.

Ruger M77 Hawkeye rifles are now available in a wide variety of calibers, in blued and stainless steel versions, with finely wrap-around checkered, slim, high-quality walnut or synthetic stocks. All have the new light, crisp LC6™ trigger, an effective new rubber recoil pad, hinged steel floor plate, and express sights (on African and Alaskan models). All also feature controlled round feeding, a Mauser-type claw extractor, and come with rugged Ruger scope rings, mounted on integral receiver bases which can never shoot loose. For more about the excellent value of these new rifles, go to http://www.ruger.com/hawkeye/.