I just bought my 2nd Hawkeye yesterday. It is the blued/walnut version in 25-06. My 1st was a stainless 7-08. Aside from all of the already discussed features that set it apart from MKII's, I discovered that it also has a free floating barrel. I have not seen this advertised so I thought perhaps it was a fluke. However, a call to Ruger confirmed that the blued/walnut versions (not stainless/synthetic) are indeed free floating.