Hi my name is Tim I am a newbie to the forum and guns all together. I have never shoot a gun before except a BB gun. I have decided to get a handgun to shoot at the range a few miles away from my house and to shoot pop cans and stuff at a farm some friends of my parents own. I plan on taking a handgun safety course at the range and then renting some guns to get a feel for them before I buy one. I found a gun shop near my house and have held many guns. They explained to me how a gun should fit in my hand along with some other things. I have decided I want to start this hobby with a .22. Out of all the guns I have held the Ruger Mark IIIs feel the best to me. I am looking for as many opinions I can get pros/cons and why you feel the way you do. Like I said I am a newbie so type slow and please explain in detail. The two guns I am looking at are the "Ruger Mark III KMKIII678H hunter" and the "Ruger Mark III KMKIII512 Stainless" I understand there isn't a lot of difference between these two gun. The price difference at the shop is $65. One of my questions, is $65 worth the an 1 3/8" longer barrel and Fiber-Optic front sight? Will the hunter be to big of a gun to carry comfortably around the farm? I would say my shooting time will be split 50-50 between the farm and the range. How much will that extra length in the barrel help with being accurate? Since I am using my stimulus tax check to buy this the extra $65 dollars isn't a big deal to me I would rather spend more and get the best thing for what I want to use it for then go cheap and be unhappy in the long run. So if you folks could help me out that would be great. Heck the most simply question of all. If you were in my shoes what would you do?
Thanks for the help
Tim
Ruger Mark III KMKIII678H hunter"
http://www.ruger-firearms.com/Firearms/FAProdView?model=10118&return=Y
"Ruger Mark III KMKIII512 Stainless"
http://www.ruger-firearms.com/Firearms/FAProdView?model=10103&return=Y
Thanks for the help
Tim
Ruger Mark III KMKIII678H hunter"
http://www.ruger-firearms.com/Firearms/FAProdView?model=10118&return=Y
"Ruger Mark III KMKIII512 Stainless"
http://www.ruger-firearms.com/Firearms/FAProdView?model=10103&return=Y