[JohnM]

Any of you guys have one and enough use to have some opinions on them?
I always liked those Ruger 22 pistols, just great little guns from the days of the Mark I.

I like the magazine release on the Mark III.

And I just fail to understand the reasoning behind the magazine disconnect, but I suppose it could be lived with. Can't really think of too many times I would really want to load and shoot something like that as a single shot.

The funky loaded chamber indicator is the buggaboo. Looks double ugly and it was mentioned to me that it's a real dirt trap.

Haven't bought a new gun for a few months and was looking at a new one in a friends gun shop a few days ago. In fact don't even have a regular 22LR anymore of any type. Tempting. :)

So, what do you all think of the standard Mark III?

[Pilot]

I have four MK II's, and have avoided anything MK III due to the LCI, and Mag Disconnect. Also, I prefer the heal mag release in a .22 target pistol/plinker. No need for the button, IMHO, but many like it. The changes made the plethora of MK II mags out there unavailable to MK III owners.

That being said, you can remove both the LCI and mag disconnect pretty easily with a few parts and simple instructions. There are even blanks being made to replace the hole where the LCI was located.

[highlander 5]

If you can find a 22/45 MK II it has the mag release on the grip like a 45 auto. As long as I can get Ruer MK IIs I will not buy a MK III,theanswer to the question no one asked.

[JohnM]

That being said, you can remove both the LCI and mag disconnect pretty easily with a few parts and simple instructions. There are even blanks being made to replace the hole where the LCI was located.

Ah, that sounds cool. Got any idea who's supplying those parts.

[Pilot]

Go over to Rimfirecentral. They have all you need there.

http://www.rimfirecentral.com

[Leadbutt]

I own two of the Mk-3's, I don't worry about the mag-disconnect or the chambered round lever, its not a combat weapon, they are for me paper punchers/tim cams and small game shooters. both of mine are the 5" bull barreled models and like typical Rugers are built tuff and have so far after 5 bricks a piece run with every thing I have shot through them, if you don't want or don't like the newer MK-3's than the MK-2 is the way to go, have never liked Rugers' 22/45 series grip is too small for me

[JohnM]

I like the Mark I, II, & III for the lines.
The standard model has always been a favorite of mine.
A "combat" weapon? I guess not!
They're for going out and tipping over rows of tin cans. :D

[CajunBass]

I've got a MK III, My wife has a Mk II. I don't see a dimes worth of difference in them. The mag disconnect and LCI? Big deal. As far as I can tell they don't bother a thing.

I'd buy the one I could get at the lowest price. I sure wouldn't waste ten minutes looking for one over the other.

[Blue68f100]

I have a MKIII but I've removed the mag disc, setup like a MKII. I kept the LCI, I use it as a time to detail clean indicator. When it starts getting gummed up >2000 rounds it will start sticking and cause stove pipes. It can easily be disable if I want too.

[JohnM]

I'm going to a gun show Saturday, I told the guy if I didn't see anything I just had to have I might just stop by and pick up that Mark III. I seriously doubt I'll find any super deal at this show, so I might be going home with a brand spanking new 22 pistol.
Been so long since I bought a NIB gun I almost feel like a high school kid thumbing through the adds in Outdoor Life in study hall. :)

[ku4hx]

One Mark III target, one Mark II target and a Standard model ... I like them.

Once I got the magazines tweaked a bit they'll all digest any .22LR round I choose.

They all have their quirks like all guns do, but overall, they represent very high value for me. Contrary to popular internet opinion, reassembly is just a matter of following what the manual says and doing it a time or two.

[Dentite]

I have a MkIII 22/45 and I would buy again. I have removed the mag disconnect and replaced the LCI with a filler mentioned above from a member at Rimfire central.

I also have modified the grips because I felt the grip on mine was too thin right to left for my hands.

Now I love the thing.

[tuj]

have the mk3, love it to death. You really need to do the magazine safety removal / bushing install (I used Sam's bushing from the RimfireCentral forum). Then I added VQ extractor for reliability (which helped a lot on my older MKII) and a VQ trigger kit and VQ Volthane grips and an ultradot optic.

It also happens to be my wife's favorite gun. :-)

[JohnM]

If I pick that thing up this weekend I'll shoot it for a while before I look into doing the changes.
I had forgotten I was registered at that forum a long time ago.

[Kiln]

I have a MK 3 that has been 100% with all ammo types over thousands of rounds. It is by far my favorite .22lr pistol. At first I couldn't shoot it well but after a while I got used to it and the trigger went from good to great after it was broken in.

The lawyer features are annoying but so far haven't had any effect on performance.

IMO it is the best buy in the $300 range.

[Cherokee]

I have a MK I and MK III, both 6 7/8" . They shoot very small groups and are a pleasure to shoot. I like the new mag release, don't care about the LCI. I would buy the MK III.

[foghornl]

fail to understand the reasoning behind the magazine disconnect,

for the LCI and mag disconnect, one word:

Lawyers

I have a MK II, and I wouldn't trade it for any other .22 pistol

[JohnM]

Lawyers

As I say, I fail to understand the reasoning. :barf:

[Kiln]

As I say, I fail to understand the reasoning. :barf:
Some inexperienced semi automatic owners take the magazine out and think the gun is clear without actually clearing the chamber. It is basically to protect people from themselves.

While I find it annoying, I get why they do it, they just want to cover their own asses.

[jef2015]

As others said, Sams bushing gets rid of the mag disconnect. It also simplifies take down because you don't have to worry about taking out and putting in the magazine. You email Sam, send $11 and he sends the bushing. He lives in Canada so it takes a couple of weeks.

A Volquartson sear and the bushing will lighten the trigger.

I like the LCI.

[Greg528iT]

I have a Mark i and Mark iii. love them both.
My Mark i has a crisp 2 lbs trigger pull, I can't imagine being better than that.
My Mark iii has a 2.5 lbs trigger pull out of the box. Also crisp. I've debated the LCI and bushing swaps, but I really can't argue with what's working now.
Buy a Mark iii, shoot it, shoot it, shoot it. You'll be happy you did,

[magnumman44]

I would buy the MK III. These changes are not that big of a deal. I love my MKIII Hunter...excellent and accurate.

[Fishslayer]

I have the MKIII 22/45. Nice pistol. I keep meaning to install the MKII bits but the mag disco is just a minor annoyance and the LCI... well... I never really notice it.

[BCRider]

I only got my own Ruger Mk III recently. But I have shot and helped out RO'ing at the local commercial Rent-A-Gun range on and off for a few years. The core of their .22 fleet is the 4 Ruger Mk II and III's they have. A lot of good named guns have came and went due to the amount of ammo these guns see in a week. Only the Rugers are still there. And the Mk II's they have are from a previous range. They must be into their 8th or 9th year of rental use.

You need to understand what this means. These guns likely see around 2000 to 3000 rounds a week pass down the barrel. And while they try to keep the guns clean renting them out takes priority over cleaning. So they are often simply oiled with a bit of CLP to free them up and get them back on the line until a break where they can be properly cleaned.

Yet of all the guns I've handled there on the line it is the Rugers which keep on ticking like that damned Energizer bunny... :D So recently when I found a used Mk III for a price I couldn't resist it took no time at all wondering about how reliable it would be.

Oh sure, small parts may break. It IS a mechanical assembly after all. But with Ruger's pistol design you know you can get parts easily and that the number of things which can break are few and far between.

[wild cat mccane]

No one is going to saw how horrible the rear sites are? Man, I was using my father-in-laws 6 inch fluted MKIII and the V rear site were the worst.

[tk1971]

I'm hardly ever satisfied with any firearm out of the box.

Customizing / personalizing is part of the fun.

The V-notch rear sight blade can easily be changed with a square notched version (about $5):
http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb282/tk1971/DSC_4824.jpg

I also changed out my front blade with a thinner Marble's sight.
http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb282/tk1971/DSC_4822.jpg

I really like this setup:
http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb282/tk1971/DSC_4818.jpg

My MKIII has had the mag disconnect, LCI, and internal lock removed. It's basically like a MKII with a mag release button and all Volquartsen innards.

[Dentite]

My MkIII has the square rear sight notch.

I have a few minor mods on mine:

http://i1137.photobucket.com/albums/n507/jschmiddy/R%202245/DSC05309800.jpg

[jbkebert]

I like the v-notch rear sight on my mark III hunter. works just fine and to me its easier to pick up the front sight quickly.
http://i724.photobucket.com/albums/ww241/jbkebert/rugermarkIII010-1.jpg
http://i724.photobucket.com/albums/ww241/jbkebert/rugermarkIII004.jpg
http://i724.photobucket.com/albums/ww241/jbkebert/rugermarkIII006.jpg

[wild cat mccane]

I guess I should have said I don't understand how to use it.

With the picture above, are you trying to dot the i, or form a straight l? With 3 dot I know its the picture looks like . . .

[WardenWolf]

I'll never understand why people hate the loaded chamber indicator and magazine disconnect on this gun so much. The LCI works fine, and is safe (and cannot make the gun fire if struck; this has been heavily tested), and the magazine disconnect is kind of a moot point. It's a target pistol, not a carry piece. Neither of these features have any negative impact on its primary function.

The button magazine release is also a significant improvement, regardless of what adherents to Ruger's particularly-awful heel release say. There's good ways to do a heel release. Good: Walther PPK, Makarov, and any of a variety of European designs. These are all quick and easy to operate, with a minimum of pressure required to release the magazine. The magazine on these actually pushes itself partway out when released. Bad: Ruger's, where you can't get any real bite on the release and it takes a ton of pressure and effort to get the magazine loose, and it requires pulling outward on the magazine since it doesn't self-eject.

The Mark III is still a notable upgrade, and eliminates the one glaring design flaw that has plagued this series of pistol since the beginning: the mag release.

[Kiln]

My MK3 is all stock and doesn't have a "V" notch back site. Do they have different variations?

I am experienced with a few things but I will admit that the differences between the Ruger MK series is not one of them.

[WardenWolf]

My MK3 is all stock and doesn't have a "V" notch back site. Do they have different variations?

I am experienced with a few things but I will admit that the differences between the Ruger MK series is not one of them.
There's variations depending on what version of the Mark III you purchased. There's even some distributor-exclusive variants that mix and match features of different standard versions. Some of the versions have different sights.

[Jolly Rogers]

A Mark III with the mag disconnector removed will allow the mag to pop out just like a 1911. No other changes but the hammer bushing to effect the removal of the mag disconnect dropped my trigger pull 3 lbs. Good deal for me.
Joe

[JohnM]

The LCI and the mag disconnect are idiotic lawyer add on's to protect fools from themselves. And serve no other function plus make the action more complex.
Far as sights go, yeah, there are several options available. I kinda like the patridge.

[Kiln]

I'll never understand why people hate the loaded chamber indicator and magazine disconnect on this gun so much. The LCI works fine, and is safe (and cannot make the gun fire if struck; this has been heavily tested), and the magazine disconnect is kind of a moot point. It's a target pistol, not a carry piece. Neither of these features have any negative impact on its primary function.

The button magazine release is also a significant improvement, regardless of what adherents to Ruger's particularly-awful heel release say. There's good ways to do a heel release. Good: Walther PPK, Makarov, and any of a variety of European designs. These are all quick and easy to operate, with a minimum of pressure required to release the magazine. The magazine on these actually pushes itself partway out when released. Bad: Ruger's, where you can't get any real bite on the release and it takes a ton of pressure and effort to get the magazine loose, and it requires pulling outward on the magazine since it doesn't self-eject.

The Mark III is still a notable upgrade, and eliminates the one glaring design flaw that has plagued this series of pistol since the beginning: the mag release.
I agree, these things never bothered me either. I also prefer the mag release on newer versions over the old style.

[wild cat mccane]

^also agree. LCI and mag disconnect aren't horrible. Nor does pulling the disconnect out REALLY measurably affect the trigger.

[jbkebert]

I personally dot the i and hold dead on target. If trying to form a solid I aim with a 6 o'clock hold. It took me a few mags and some explaination from Ruger for me to really catch on.

For plinking rabbits and squirrels I love the speed of the sight and the hi-viz front. It comes to aim at least for me so much faster than a black front sight and a black horseshoe rear sight. Even better while in the woods where shade a shaddows at least for me make things harder to see.

Shooting at a range with plenty of light and taking my sweet time. Yeah a more standard sight may be favored.

[tuj]

the magazine disconnect is kind of a moot point. It's a target pistol, not a carry piece. Neither of these features have any negative impact on its primary function.

Wrong, the magazine disconnect drags on the hammer bushing, negatively affecting the feel of the trigger. This, like you say, is a target gun, one that requires dry-firing to take it down nonetheless, so it seems very stupid to have a magazine disconnect safety.

[Shadow 7D]

I have a hunter, trigger could use some work, it's light - enough.. - crisp - kinda
but there is more not grit, just, well I have some that have a SWEET trigger, like say a Polish P64 in SA (scary actually), and for a 'target pistol' type gun, the trigger just isn't there, and you have the other crap thrown in, the lawyer trash, the basic gun is great and will last me a lifetime, even if I have to watch the YouTube video and pull up the bookmarked detailed instruction, every time I want to break it down for a detail clean.

Sights are whatever you want, and there are enough aftermarket parts, you could end up with just the grip (not the 'frame/receiver') that's actually Ruger

[bragin]

Nearly 35 years ago, I wathced my stepdad knock 19 squirrel's out of trees in TX's Big Thicket, with 19 shots w/a Mark I. He shot 21 times that day to bag them. Two of them squirrels hit the ground and attempted skurry away and he shot twice more for the kill. 19 squirrel w/ 21 pops. Over the yrs, we've talked about that outing together with him saying, "Might as well not tell that story, cause most won't believe it". Since, I'm on my second Ruger .22. First the Mark II and now the Mark III. Can't shoot it like he can, but absolutely no issues w/either. I believe if you put it in a vice and MT'd the clip at about 40/50 yrds, it would just make the hole grow.

[Dentite]

Originally Posted by WardenWolf
I'll never understand why people hate the loaded chamber indicator and magazine disconnect on this gun so much. The LCI works fine, and is safe (and cannot make the gun fire if struck; this has been heavily tested), and the magazine disconnect is kind of a moot point. It's a target pistol, not a carry piece. Neither of these features have any negative impact on its primary function.

The button magazine release is also a significant improvement, regardless of what adherents to Ruger's particularly-awful heel release say. There's good ways to do a heel release. Good: Walther PPK, Makarov, and any of a variety of European designs. These are all quick and easy to operate, with a minimum of pressure required to release the magazine. The magazine on these actually pushes itself partway out when released. Bad: Ruger's, where you can't get any real bite on the release and it takes a ton of pressure and effort to get the magazine loose, and it requires pulling outward on the magazine since it doesn't self-eject.

The Mark III is still a notable upgrade, and eliminates the one glaring design flaw that has plagued this series of pistol since the beginning: the mag release.

The mag disconnect actually does negatively affect it's function as a target pistol...as mentioned above it causes more drag on the trigger.

And the fact that you don't like to have to pull the mags out of the MkIs and MkIIs you should like the fact that once you remove the mag disconnect the mags will drop free.

LCI take it or leave it. I just don't see the point and I would prefer it without for only the cleaner look and one less thing to gunk up and have to clean.

But I do agree with you that neither are deal breakers for me to not want to buy a MkIII. My pistol functioned fine out of the box. It just functions better now. :)

[Kiln]

The MK3 trigger gets better over time. At first it was kind of gritty but after a thousand rounds it felt fine. Now after quite a few more it is smooth as butter.

[StrutStopper]

I think the worst thing about the mag disconnect is the mag in, mag out hokey-pokey you have to do when disassembling/reassembling the gun.

[BCRider]

Mag disconnect? My pistols all see use at the local club level Speed Steel matches. At the end of the last string of shots I have to "slide forward and hammer down" before I holster. Having to stick a mag into the gun to do this is a PITA and opens up the door to an ND if for some reason I don't do things correctly for whatever reason. Simply put the mag disconnect serves no useful or safety related purpose in a target pistol at all. And as mentioned already it degrades the trigger pull and makes it less easy to drop mags.

The LCI I could care less about except that it's a dirt trap of the worst possible sort.