I started buying Ruger 77s in 1980 because they were the only new rifles that could be purchased in 250-3000, 257 Roberts, and 7x57. Since then I've probably bought, sold, and gifted nearly five dozen of them in all sorts of configurations. Still have a few, mostly 77 RSIs, with the most recent being a 77 Hawkeye in 6.5 Creedmoor that is waiting for a McM McM Hunter to arrive.
I like the tang safety 77s and have installed Timney triggers on those that I shoot occasionally. My only gripe with that installation is that the original alloy trigger guards were really brittle and would often crack/break when you opened up the rectangular hole for the Timney trigger to fit. I now use a stainless trigger guard when I do the Timney installation and save the original trigger and trigger guard to covert back to the original configuration, except for the stock work to fit the larger Timney unit, if desired at some future point in time.
My oldest Ruger 77 is a flat bolt in 6.5 Rem Mag from circa 1969. My oldest Ruger 77 that I bought new is a 77R in 257AI that I bought at Pat's Pawn & Gun in Ogden, KS, in 1982. It was the vehicle for my initial forey into the world of wildcat cartridges and one of the few AI rifles that I still have.
