Ruger Model 77

Cut A Check

Checkering was a particular bugbear. Hand-cut checkering was disappearing except on expensive models. Instead we got stamped “checkering” that was purely decorative and did nothing to improve a shooter’s hold on the rifle. To add insult to injury, the stamped-in patterns were often overdone, with cute little swirls, acorn leaves and fleur-de-lis patterns. All these did was remind us of what we had lost. It was also an era in which Monte Carlo stocks were seemingly taking over.

Bill Ruger understood, as the Ruger Company does to this day, all the great ideas and brilliant plans mean nothing unless you market your product at a price buyers can afford. Ruger turned to investment casting to make the equivalent of machined components at a reasonable cost. At the time, the word “casting” set off all kinds of alarm bells. For old-timers, cast parts were considered inferior, made of cheap iron, roughly finished and easily broken. Companies using the process certainly didn’t talk about it.

Bill Ruger not only talked about it, he boasted of it. Ruger believed American shooters weren’t stupid. He believed it was simply a matter of educating buyers, showing how investment casting using high-grade, tough steel properly heat-treated, produced strong, durable components.
Like many other successful entrepreneurs, Ruger surrounded himself with creative people who shared his vision. Among them was James Sullivan who developed the Model 77 action and stock maker Leonard Brownell. The original 77 was actually similar in operation to many of its competitors, with push-feed action and bolt face plunger ejection.

The 77 stock had simple, classic lines appealing to traditionalists. The stocks had real cut checkering; the patterns weren’t big or fancy but they looked good and provided a more secure grip. The 77 was a rare glimpse of hope for traditional rifle shooters. Maybe the good times weren’t over for good after all.