yes, that was the case all too often and another was at times when they were staked , if done TOO hard. they broke or chipped , one reason so many "pairs" back then were 'mismatched'.....too bad we KNOW of so many back in the day who "faked" stags and ivories over time there are more out there than the factory EVER had done..........another problem for the grip makers I and I knew some of them) was when there was TOO much 'bark' or too think, they had to cut, slope downward from the middle to the front edge so as to allow for the medallion to sit "flush"...........AND all to often when TOO Much bark, hurt the shooters hands, they sanded( Polished them down, removing lots of the 'bark')...bottom line is one can tell "newer" stags as the material ,so called 'Sanbar' stag the diet of the deer was not the same as in the old days, and the newer grips are whiter, brighter, LESS "dark" an d mostly came from overseas ( asia) from what we were told by the owner of Ajax grip company ( first time around) changed hands , and now out of business...........
I was furtunate over the years of doing RUgers to have handled, seen and looked as well as measured dozens and dozens at any ONE time) maybe Gary ( Jussbad) only guy I know of who has had ,seen MORE !!!!
the other three are dead and gone now.........
wish I had a nickel for every pair of grips, stags and ivory, that I have measured off of Rugers, displayed guns at all the Ruger theme shows over the years across the country, since the late 1970s....look at the books and any and all pictures you ever come across, easy to figure out KNOWING the medallion is exactly 1/2 inch......do the math...........