Update March 7, 2010: I have had a hard time finishing this gun. The burs I use have been back ordered for the past three weeks.  Pictures will be put on here either Monday or Tuesday. Thanks for waiting so patiently!

 Today I have started another gun. It is a Ruger .243 Model M77. This Ruger gunstock carving has been inspired after finding a mount from a taxidermist. It is of a mountain lion attacking a mule deer. The image that formed in my mind helped me develop this custom carving on this gunstock. (Pictures will be forth coming). To bring some of the old west into this century has been a wonderful experience. This gun has been carved and painted to show the detail even more.

Just a little history of the M77 Ruger rifles. They where first produced in 1968.

Design details

From the beginning, the Ruger M77 was intended as a modernized Mauser 98, though numerous changes were made. Bill Ruger wanted to use investment casting in place of a forged receiver. The Sullivan-designed bolt dispensed with controlled-round feeding and instead used the simpler plunger style of ejector. A two-position tang safety and redesigned trigger system were also designed from scratch.

Perhaps the most novel feature of the M77 is the only one that has not been redesigned, the angled action screw. The front action screw of traditional bolt-action rifles draws the receiver directly down against the stock. The M77 uses an angled screw that draws the action down and to the rear, tightly bedding it against the stock.

Variants

The M77 has undergone one minor and two major redesigns. The first change involved incorporating a proprietary scope mount milled integral with the receiver. The first rifles had simple rounded-top receivers drilled and tapped for separate scope mounts.

M77 Mark II

The M77 was retooled almost entirely and reintroduced in 1991 as the Mark II. The safety, bolt, and trigger were completely redesigned. The claw extractor was retained, but the bolt face was opened up to allow controlled-round feeding. The plunger ejector was replaced with a Mauser style blade ejector. Finally, a three-position safety allowed the bolt to be operated while the gun was still on safe, making unloading of the rifle less hazardous. Ruger also eliminated the adjustable trigger that came stock on the original M77.

Hawkeye

In 2006, Ruger introduced new features and a new name for their rifle, the Hawkeye. Major changes were made to the trigger system and the stock was recontoured, but otherwise the rifle remained unchanged.^{[citation needed]} The LC6 trigger addressed complaints from consumers that the Mark II trigger, though safer than the earlier one, was poorly designed for accurate shooting.^{[citation needed]} The LC6 trigger is lighter and smoother. Despite the listed improvements of the LC-6 trigger there still seems to be nagging complaints about it