Ruger MKIII???

[waburn]

Hello.
I am thinking of purchasing a Ruger MKIII. But I have a few questions. If owners of the MkIII could please share their opinion of the pistol it would be appreciated. Accuracy, reliability, blued or stainless, bull or standard barrel, are basically what I have questions about. Thanks

 

[12many]

I recently picked up the mark III hunter 678 with metal frame. I like it and find it very accuracy, much more than my capability.

You should do lots of forum and web searching as there is lots of info on this gun. Several magazines and gun blast have info with pictures. There is also lots of aftermarket parts.

IMO, the Ruger Mark II and III are the best .22 to buy, that is why I bought mine. They are very accurate. I have shot about 500 rounds so far, no jams or FTF or FTE. 500 is not a lot, but zero FTF/FTE is a good number for a new gun.

The trigger is fine out of the box, but you can reduce the pull by inserting a 25$ sear. This gives a ligher trigger pull, which should increase your accuracy. There are also aftermarket grips.

As for blued or stainless, as far as I know, it is just asthetics as far as target and plinking goes. Someone else may know more about this. My hunter is stainless, but my next will be blued.

Re bull barrels, do a search, but bull should be more accurate, more resistant to heat issues, and heavier. Some like a heavier .22 at it can be more accurate to hold but others want lighter for obvious reasons. For an all-around gun, I would recommend the 5.5" bull barrel with metal frame, unless you have some other requirements. This gun will probably outlast you. The 22/45 versons have plastic/resin frames, which are lighter, and thinner, and IMO not as strong and not as many grip options.

What are you going to use the gun for? Do you have any other .22?

 

[waburn]

Thanks for the reply 12many. I do not own any .22's. I planned own purchasing this for informal target practice as well as varmit control.

 

[thunder]

I own a Ruger Mk II and my father owns a Mk III Hunter. Both have been reliable (the Mk III more so), dang accurate (especially the Mk III), yada yada. Basically, 12many summed it all up perfectly. MY experiences have mirrored his. Great guns, my suggestion is to go with the Mk III Hunter if you can put up the cash. There is quite a large difference in accuracy and shootability [in my hands]. Both will serve you well though.

 

[12many]

Hey Thunder, which model of mark II does your dad have. Specifically, is it the 5.5 bull barrel or something else? Thanks Chad

 

[aaronrkelly]

I own 2 Ruger .22 autos...

This Mark I dated 1975:




This Mark III 22/45 bought in 2006:



I have found them to be accurate and reliable. I suspect thats the norm for these guns. I would buy with confidence.

 

[Jim K]

A lot of people dislike the Ruger because they find takedown difficult. It can be, especially on a new gun, but that takedown system will last forever and there are no screws or other small parts to lose. I have always liked the Ruger autos.

Jim

 

[Baphomet]

I've owned three MK-series pistols over the years. Dependable? Absolutely; the series all but defines the word. Accurate? Absolutely. All my MK's have been fond of CCI Mini Mags in particular however. Blued or Stainless... Aesthetics really, but S/S is, in my opinion, one less to worry about and easier to take care of. As for barrel length, that all depends. If I had to give one answer I'd say the 5.5" bull barrel on a steel frame. But then too, I like a liiiiittle bit of a muzzle heavy feel in a .22 and the 5.5" barrel gives me that. Not so much that you notice it, really, but it's there. If you like/want/need a lighter package or just don't care for muzzle-heft, go for the tapered barrel.

Also, do yourself, and your thumb's in particular, a huge favor and get a couple of mag loaders now, NOW, NOW. Loading more than a few Ruger MKII/III mags can bring any man to tears.

 

[Simon Yu]

A lot of people dislike the Ruger because they find takedown difficult. It can be, especially on a new gun, but that takedown system will last forever and there are no screws or other small parts to lose. I have always liked the Ruger autos.

Disassembly is easy, outside of the tight fit from the factory and needing to remember that the hammer needs to have fallen before removing the mainspring. It's reassembly that can drive you to tears. That's when you have to make sure to follow the manual EXACTLY, without skipping any sentence. Some of those "steps" listed have multiple steps in them that are critical for doing it right.

Outside of that, great guns. Some of the older ones don't have the front sight LocTited down, but you can fix that yourself if you find your sight coming loose during firing.

 

[51Cards]

I have the 6-7/8" Hunter. Wow, have those prices jumped!

I use an ATN red dot on it. The gun is (as I guess all are) better than me, too. This one is superb. I can live with the takedown quirks.

As with any firearm (and, it seems, especially .22s) your results will vary from ammo type to ammo type, and depend on the target distance, as well.

Lapua Midas is ludicsrously expensive --- if I could afford it, I'd buy about 100k rounds. In my Ruger, this stuff consistently --- from a sandbag --- shoots tiny groups; frequently one hole, at 50 feet. Eley Biathalon Match, and a couple of other Eleys, are close, shoot a little more open, but not much, cost less. Again, in mine, Federal Premium Gold are the best for the bucks. Of course, shooting off-hand will show you the difference between you and the gun.

AT fifty feet, I don't find the higher-velocity stuff either necessary or as accurate: Aguila SuperMaximums (insane velocity), Stingers (up there), Velocitors (also up there), YellowJackets, Thunderbolts. If you're hunting or varminting (I don't, but would like to), or you're shooting 50 yards or more, you might want to check the "zippier" rounds.

When I say 50 yards or more, that's not being overly-optimistic. I've used a Bushnell 3200 on this thing. Holy smokes! With a rock-steady rest (any kind of rest), I think squirrels or rats at 50 or more yards would be toast.

I'm yakking too much. The thing's like a baby-baby carbine. Spend a month with it, you'll rapid-fire everything into a 3" bull at 50'. Off-hand. Enjoy!

PS
I put Hogue "fingers" on mine. I have thumbrest grips, etc., but I like the grips for my hands. Looks neat, too.