I want a new plinker. Maybe a 22/45?

I have not shot the new Ruger Mark IV but I have shot the new S&W Victory 22. I liked the S&W and it was accurate. I have also heard very good things about the Ruger. Both are very easy to takedown so I'm guessing you won't go wrong with the Ruger if that's the one you want.

I also have a Standard, from 1958. Earlier this year I purchased a MkIV 22/45 Lite, and even though it did have to go back to Ruger for the recall (only took a week and they sent me a new extra magazine), I have been very happy with it.

Isn't the disassembly of the Mark IV supposed to be much less of a headache than previous iterations?

I bought a 22/45 MkIII last year, for no other reason that it was the seemingly best quality/price ratio target pistol in nearby stores.

It's fine if you just want a plinker, but if you expect anything more, according to my experience you'll have to change several things :

• the trigger mechanism was really heavy and not at all consistent (gritty, and I can still remember the "Huh! What is that? 7 lbs?" a fellow shooter said when he tried it)... installing a Volquartsen trigger instantly made it a new pistol.
• the ejector was another problem : I had up to 10% stovepipes with any make of ammunition. Once more, Volquartsen came to the rescue. I can now feed it anything but subsonics.
• the bolt release is not ergonomic at all. I replaced it with an extended one.
• I've never been able to get used to the grip, it's supposed to mimic a 1911 one and the angle is fine but it's too slim. I thickened it up with 2 grip gloves, one over the other, and recently added a piece of plastic to the rear, and it kinda feels like a proper grip now. But man, is it ugly !

Regarding the take down/reassembly process, it's not that terrible but I'll admit it takes a good deal of patience, and I'm now convinced there are some mysteries in there, for mankind to explore.

Also, this is not the forgiving kind of pistol. The slightest error will show on your target.

My general opinion about this pistol is that "as is" it's a good one for plinking, but not much more.

I have a mkii and mkiii 22/45. Very fun and accurate.
Takedown is pretty easy once you do it a time or two but if I were looking for a 22 pistol today I would get the mkiv hands down.

Victory is a fine pistol as far as I can tell but I absolutely despise needing an Allen wrench to takedown the gun.

Friend of mine has a buckmark and it is very ergonomic and has a better trigger than my rugers but I don’t shoot it any more accurately.

CLP said:

Isn't the disassembly of the Mark IV supposed to be much less of a headache than previous iterations?

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Yes. You pretty much just push a button and it comes apart from my understanding.

The Ruger 22/45 Lite is a great fun gun. I do like the Voltquartzen extractor and trigger upgrades, however, and feel it is required to changes these parts on my personal guns.

I own an old Mark II. Like you I took it apart once... and never will again! I would only buy a Mark IV if I bought another Ruger .22. Like you my choice would be the 22/45 ultralite.

Not every one has trouble field stripping a MK I-III....I can do one as quick as any other semi auto pistol.

I have half a dozen MK II pistols and a MK I. I have no complaints with any. From the factory, the trigger isn't great. A VQ sear is the best bang for the buck improvement. I go a few steps further and polish this and that and add set screws to the stock trigger to adjust pre and post travel. My triggers turn out pretty slick.





I have messed with a MKV. The frame is heavier because it is milled steel instead of stamped sheet metal like the earlier guns. Take down was simple. The trigger was heavy and gritty out of the box. I put a VQ kit in for the owner. It turned out nice.

Stimovsky said:

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• the bolt release is not ergonomic at all. I replaced it with an extended one.

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The factory part is not intended to be a bolt release. It is a bolt stop. Repeated use of it as a release will round off the edge and the gun will fail to lock back on empty...Perhaps your aftermarket one is harder steel and will not round off. I never tested ones durability.

Spats McGee

I couldn't comment on the new Mk.IV other than I am interested in getting one eventually but I'm still unequivocally happy and content with my Mk.II Model 512 Target Model. The trigger has been great right out of the box and groups are nice and tight, provided I do my part and the Wolf Match Target ammo does theirs.

I added a few extras to my 22/45. Love it....!

I used Tandemkross for my upgrading. In retrospect I may have liked the hunter or competition version better than the twenty two - fourty five. I really enjoy my Buckmark Contour seven inch too. I have not found the Mark III to be difficult to disassemble, AFTER a magazine disconnect delete.

If a human dislikes cleaning lead, they ought get the steel barrels and not the very cool Lite version. My lite blue leads like crazy, but shoots great till then. It's a love / hate relationship. Apparently it's common in this version.

Your version is perfectly beautiful, ColtPythonElite.

I recently purchased the Mark IV 22/45 Target. Wow. Love it. Flawless so far. Had not planned on it, but now want to purchase the 22/45 Lite next and will consider buying a scope and silencer for it. Kinda like CaptHank did, Nice,

I have a standard model too, AND a 22-45 MK2(?). I shoot the 22-45 suppressed. But, I shoot the standard more- just because. I like them both just fine. The simple solution to the takedown problem is to not do it unless something in it is BROKE. I rinse the standard out with carb cleaner and use compressed air to blow the trash out. Clean the barrel with a otis pull- through. After, I lube it inside and out the best I can with motor oil. No issues with it.

Oil just gums up the works quicker. I use a dry lube on the bolt. My guns can go a very long time without a hiccup from being dirty. Even then, I can usually lock back the bolt, clean the port with a plastic pick, blow it out and go back to shooting.

I too have a MK3 22/45 and do like it. Yes, it can be frustrating to field strip but once you get the hang of its not bad. The MKIV is easy from the get go. I do love mine but it does have the VQ trigger and extractor. Seems to be less picky than most other 22s ammo wise, but I think the extractor is a big part of it. The light model looks cool but a no go here in NYS due to the threaded barrel. I am partial to the Ruger and dont think you can go wrong with any of the models. Changing the parts on them is not too difficult either.

Another MkIII 22/45 owner here, in my case with the heavy barrel.
Unlike some, I'm perfectly happy with the controls and even the trigger. The trigger's stiff but doesn't have any takeup or overtravel on my gun, so I have no complaints. It does feel weird going to that after my other guns, though--the reach at the break is much shorter than my revolver or SR9.
Never had any firing or ejection issues at all that weren't the fault of bulk ammo. Even ones that had a dent in the casing that weren't bad enough to worry me, I could just bump it into battery and it worked.
Mine was made before they got replaceable grips, which is a shame. It is a very thin frame. I don't have huge hands and can adjust, but thicker grips would be nice. Maybe I'll try a sleeve, but that would cover the wonderful checkering.
If it had replaceable grips and an easier takedown (maybe I'll buy a MkIV sometime...) it would be just about the perfect plinker IMO.

My one issue--and I'm not sure if it's my gun in particular or the magazines--is that, if one of the rounds tilts down in the mag, it can hit the sharp bottom of the feed ramp. I've noticed it cut a slice off or cut a big wedge into the nose, depending on the round and angle. This seems to happen more often with cheap ammo, but that's just most of what I shoot anyway...
Eventually I shoot shoot an email off to Ruger and see what they say.

A stock MK with no take up or overtravel is an oddity.

Well, maybe I should clarify that to 'creep' or something along those lines. It has about 1/8" where it's just the spring, no sear travel. If there's any overtravel, it's unnoticeable.
The actual release is like the single-action on my .38. Not the finely-tuned S&W target revolver, but a nice 'snap'.
It was bought used. The original owner could have polished the internals. Or just shot it a lot.

The pre and post travel doesn't go away with polishing parts or shooting it alot. The travel has to be adjusted out with set screws in the trigger. The VQ triggers have those screws. I drill and tap factory triggers and put screws in....Factory target triggers already have one screw in them for over travel adjustment...At least the MK II guns, do... However, the manuals, at least the one I have, don't tell you how to adjust it.

You can also drill the middle of the trigger to put in a post travel adjuster. I don't like the looks of that. Some people also drill the front of the frame and put in a pre travel adjuster. I like that even less.

Nothing useful to add, but just wanted to say I appreciate this thread as I've been planning on picking up my first-ever .22 semi-auto pistol (lots of .22 rifles and a few .22 revolvers) to work with the kids and grand-kids ... Love the idea of the 22-45 as I'm an old 1911 curmudgeon.

If you just want this pistol for “plinking” you should look at the Ruger SR22.

No screws in mine. I worded my compliments incorrectly. It does have pretravel, about that 1/8", but it's just under spring tension. I considered 'takeup' when it's moving the internal bits. It just doesn't move anything but that spring until the sear releases--there's nothing after applying pressure but the bang.
Just a little stiff, but the proverbial glass rod.