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Having owned most major rifle brands, there's no question in my mind that some brands are built with more quality than others. The difference does not show up in accuracy (if at all), however, nearly as much as it does in how well and how reliably they function. Cycle the bolt of a Sako and then do the same with a Ruger and you'll know instantly that more effort (quality) went into the Sako. I've never had a Sako, Mauser or Winchester pre 64 model 70 fail to function in any way, but I have had Remington 700's fail to extract spent cases on several occassions. This has as much (or more) to do with the design itself as it does with the execution of that design. In my mind the 700 is an inferior design to begin with, which means it's going to be of inferior quality from the get go. The Ruger 77, on the other hand, is a sound design, but because it's excecuted rather sloppily, the result is a firearm of lesser quality, again IMHO.
So, I can't agree that quality only refers to how "pretty" a rifle is. Then again, in my experience a rifle of higher quality can be and usually is very pretty. I guess it's all in the eye of the beholder.
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