New to me Ruger Standard...I think

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ID-shooting

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Found this little deal yeasterday and felt so sad for it I just had to adopt it. By ser # it seems to have been born in '71 according to Ruger anyway. Came with three mags and needed a serious bath (I guess I wasn't aware Elmers glue and sand made acceptable gun lube :rolleyes: )

So, is this a Standard or a MK I? I can't seem to makes heads or tails of the online info. Is the odd ball mag the original factory equipment? The guy thought it was but I also know he doesn't know how to clean guns. I do know the two with Ruger emblems are new production mags. Are both grips supposed to have Ruger emblems or are these correct? Was it worth ~$250 in some cash and trade stuffs? Anything else the Ruger experts wish to add, besides go shoot it once I can find ammo?
 

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250 is great for folk like me who like the original profile and features either due to nostalgia or function/form.

I have a 50th anniversary Ruger re-pop I'll never give up. Love the balance and lack of adjustable sights.

I think the "in the white" mag is correct vintage but am not speaking from any position of knowledge on that.

Mark I will have the recesses forward of the charging wings and it looks like yours does not. I kinda thought the pre Mark Is had the rear of the bolt in the white too but again... just "I thought".
 
Nice buy! Go over to Rimfire Central. They will tell you everything you need to know.
 
Standard Model. The Mk I had adjustable sights and heavier barrel. The Mk II was the first to have the scallops at the rear of the receiver.
 
The mag on the left is correct for this gun. It holds 9, the others hold 10
 
It holds 9, the others hold 10

Not necessarily, Ruger still makes and sells (through various outlets) 9-rd mags for the older Standards and Mk1s.

I bought one (new 9-round mag) about a year ago so as to make the Standard my father handed down to me functional again. The two mags on the right look identical to the one I have. I also still have the factory original mag and, except for being flat worn out after 50years, it looks like the leftmost mag. so it looks like the gun came to ID-shooting with one original and two current manufacture replacement mags

Also If i remember correctly the switch to a 10-round mag was concurent with the upgrade to having a bolt release/hold open, and the nub on the side of the mag switched sides to accomodate that. all three mags shown above have the right side(of mag) mounted "nub" used on the pre- bolt relase guns.
 
As the others have said, what you have is indeed a Ruger "Standard". Although a lot of people call anything Pre-Mark II, a "Mk I", the MK I is actually the target sighted version of the Pre-Mk II.

For the early guns, Ruger made two different frames. Exactly when they switched, I'm not sure, but the earlier frame was the A-54, which is what it appears you have. If you look at the grip screws, you'll note the the lower screw on the right grip is higher than the one on the left. These use the magazine with the follower on the right side.

The later A100 frame has the screws on the right grip in a lower position. This is my '74, A100. Note the grip screws. These use a magazine with the follower on the left side.

100_0480.gif

Also note the Ruger Eagle is on the right grip. The older A-54 Eagle is on the left.

The older magazines only have one slot with the follower on the right. Later magazines have two slots, and the follower can be switched around.

Check out this post on Rimfire Central dot com.

http://rimfirecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=486388
 
Thanks fornthe good info! Clears things up.

Ammo question, IIRC these guns like spicier mini-mags/stingers and other top-shelf ammo right? The lower end of .22lr tends to jam up? Does that sound correct?

My other .22's are wheel guns so we have been shooting anything for plinking at pop cans and didn't care if it was Thunderbolt or off brand.
 
Ammo question, IIRC these guns like spicier mini-mags/stingers and other top-shelf ammo right? The lower end of .22lr tends to jam up? Does that sound correct?


My Mark-II, made in 1987, does get finicky with "lesser" ammo, such as WWB bulk stuff. It does run flawlessly on MiniMags. I have heard similar comments from other Mk-II owners.
 
Ammo question, IIRC these guns like spicier mini-mags/stingers and other top-shelf ammo right? The lower end of .22lr tends to jam up? Does that sound correct?

About the only thing I shoot in mine are Federal bulk pack, both blue box, and brown, and American Eagle. I've never had any particular problem with either of those. I stopped buying Remington rimfire ammo years ago.

When the guns get really dirty/dry they'll start to bog down, but a drop or two of oil will get them running long enough to get them home where they'll get flushed with Gunscrubber, and reoiled. I very seldom tear them down.
 
Ammo question, IIRC these guns like spicier mini-mags/stingers and other top-shelf ammo right? The lower end of .22lr tends to jam up? Does that sound correct?

That's the case for mine. My .22 rifles generally get fed whatever random stuff I can get my hands on. Tried the same with my Ruger Std and it jammed quite a bit (about once every 3 or 4 mags). I've found though that if I stick to CCI Mini-Mags it generally runs fine.
 
Not necessarily, Ruger still makes and sells (through various outlets) 9-rd mags for the older Standards and Mk1s.

Pretty sure the ones pictured hold ten. They look identical to my 10-rounders.

I bought one (new 9-round mag) about a year ago so as to make the Standard my father handed down to me functional again. The two mags on the right look identical to the one I have. I also still have the factory original mag and, except for being flat worn out after 50years, it looks like the leftmost mag. so it looks like the gun came to ID-shooting with one original and two current manufacture replacement mags

Also If i remember correctly the switch to a 10-round mag was concurent with the upgrade to having a bolt release/hold open, and the nub on the side of the mag switched sides to accomodate that. all three mags shown above have the right side(of mag) mounted "nub" used on the pre- bolt relase guns.

The two current mags pictured have a reversible button to allow them to be used with the older models. It seems that many folks are not aware of that.
 
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I acquired one about 20 years ago in pretty good shape. I took it apart and just never got around to putting it back together after a pipe in my gun room leaked on it and started some rust. Serial number dates it to 1954-55.
So about a yr. or two ago I sent it back to Ruger to be reblued, well it came back rebuilt. New internal parts even new grips when I had the original.
The price breakdown was $45.00 for bluing, $35.00 shop, $30.00 for shipping.
I am still surprised this gun came back like new.
You will be HAPPY, don't know anyone who wasn't with one of these.
 

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I always have to join in on show and tell when the Ruger Standard / MK I talk comes about.

My '71 or '72 (can't remember) Standard. I wish I could find some old school mags though......the newer mags don't go in, or come out, so easy.

DSC00666-1.jpg
 
I have a Ruger RST-4 (pre Mark I with fixed sights). It's a 1965 model and is a pain to field strip and reassemble. But it is a great pistol to shoot. Very accurate and something I often take to the range as the first handgun to shoot. It's the one gun that I use to introduce a newbie to an experience at the range. Bill Ruger knew what he was doing when he designed this gun.
 
My '71 or '72 (can't remember) Standard. I wish I could find some old school mags though......the newer mags don't go in, or come out, so easy.

I've had that problem with a couple of magazines for one reason or another that I never did figure out. The magazine that wouldn't fit right in gun "A" would work fine in gun "B". The ones that come out of "B" would work fine in "A". In other words there was no reason why that I ever found. Some work. Some don't. I suspect it's just a matter of a minor variation either in the magazine itself, or in the magazine well of the individual gun. About all I can suggest is try another one.

I bought a MK III standard that came out of the box with the magazine follower button on the wrong side of the "spare" magazine. I couldn't figure out what the "bleep" was wrong with that thing at first, until I finally noticed the buttons were different.
 
ID-shooting

My Mk.II gets its best accuracy with Wolf Match Target ammo. Before I started using that I was getting great results with CCI MiniMags. Haven't got around to it yet but I have some Federal AutoMatch ammo that I want to run through it to see how that does too. Enjoy your new/old Ruger.
 
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