Early Ruger No. 1s were built with red colored recoil pads. They had adjustable triggers and were in many cases more accurate than the later models with black pads. I have owned 3 different 7mm Mag No. 1 Bs, 2 were red pads and 1 black pad. One of the red pad rifles could hold a 25 shot group at 200 yards under 1 ½ inches. The other red pad rifle couldn't hold a 3 shot group on a paper plate. The black pad rifle that I own now is a ¾ to 1 ¼ MOA rifle depending on bullet and powder selection. Back in the early days Ruger didn't make their own barrels for the No. 1, they bought barrels from Douglas and Wilson. In the beginning Quality Control was pretty high but fill off after a number of years. Poor QC and the “lawyer” triggers that replaced the adjustable trigger, accuracy became questionable. Today Ruger makes their own barrels and are about as good as any they ever bought from Douglas or Wilson but the reputation was already damaged. So the red pad is associated with early made No. 1s that were accurate and will made.
