I have been Jones'ing for a Ruger Mk IV Competition for a while now, as I love the long barrel and the accuracy reports I have read about. I checked one out this weekend (couldn't shoot it unfortunately), and the wooden grips with the thumb support felt AWFUL in my hands. I could not get a good weak hand grip no matter how I tried. It was the most uncomfortable grip I have ever seen. So what is the deal here with those that have this gun with that large wooden grip with the thumb support? Is there a special way to hold it that I am missing? How have you been able to "come to grips" )) with this design? What about aftermarket replacements? I am considering using this gun in Steel Challenge matches as well as a gun for my wife to plink around with. Thanks for any help/advice!
I’ve not had trouble taking a right handed two hand grip with the thumbrest grips, but it does make the pistol decidedly right handed. Not great for me as predominantly a left hand pistol shooter. The Mark II thumbrest grips were the best of the competition grips in the Mark series. They had a lot more belly in the thumbrest and a better sweep angle. The Mark III and IV version doesn’t really come to a shelf, which makes my thumb want to roll down and out as I rock under rapid recoil. I usually end up sliding the edge of my support hand thumb over the crest of the rest and use it to wedge my firing thumb against the top of the grip. Hogue makes an ambi rubber grip, Ruger makes a wrap around finger groove ambi grip (altamont), many others on the market. Typically I just order a pair of Ruger factory black plastic shingles and shoot to my heart’s content.
Ruger sells laminated wooden ambidextrous (no thumb rest) grips on their web site ($55). (These are the ones used on their Hunter model.) I don't like them, though, because only the bottom half is checkered. I've put fully-checkered factory wooden grips on all my Mark series guns. There was no problem doing this with the Mark I and II, but for the Mark III I had to take a set of Mark II grips and make a few modifications. Doing this for the Mark IV was a real problem. I ended up getting Competition thumb rest grips in right-hand and left-hand versions, and using the non-thumb rest sides. This still isn't very satisfactory. The Ruger emblems -- and their orientation -- are specific to each generation of the Mark pistols. You can tell a factory Mark IV grip by the fact that the eagle is perpendicular to the barrel instead of parallel to the grip. These nitpicking details are what make this series so fascinating to collectors.
Thanks for the comments. I really could not get a good grip with the wooden grip with the thumb rest. I had the guy at my LGS try it as well, and he could not figure out to properly grip the gun either! It was uncomfortable to hold and I just could not get my support hand to find a place to grip. It seems as if the gun was made for single-handed bullseye shooters. The two-handed grip just does not work with my normal grip.
Doublehelix Sorry to hear about the difficulty your finding with the Mk.IV target grips. For me the target grips for the Mk.II were the best thing since sliced bread in terms of how ergonomic and comfortable they were to use. I have smaller size hands and having that large thumbrest really improved my grip on the gun. If you can't find any factory grips which fit you maybe try somebody like Volquartsen or else Herretts for a custom grip.
Wow, she is a beauty! Congratulations! The thumb rest feels great on the right hand, but when I add in my support hand, that is when things go to pot. I have been looking around online, and there are definitely other grips out there that look like they might fit the bill. Hard to try them out however until you order them and put them on a gun. Thanks for you post, and making me drool over your beautiful MK II!
James Thanks for the compliment on my Ruger Mk.II! Had to get some nicer grips for it as those black plastic ones didn't do the bluing and stainless steel justice. Found the Ruger target grips at a local gun show and not only do they look super they also make a big difference in how I hold the gun now. And yes, it shoots as good as it looks!
I have a Mk III Competition and I love the grip. The thing is, its intended for right handed, single handed, target shooting. They will never feel right in your left hand, or with a two handed grip. If you want to shoot the gun that way, you are better off getting a pair of the stock grip panels and just replacing them.
What he said. As far as I can see, those target grips are intended for bullseye-style shooting and nothing else. If that's not what you're doing, I'd look for different grips.
yea the thumb rest grip is more tuned for one handed Bullseye shooting but there are a bunch of grips available that will fix that for you.
My Mk II Government Target Model also wears the Ruger thumbrest grips...and is sporting the new Testors orange front sight post I still haven't had time to try out. I use this with a two-handed grip all the time, it just places my left hand a tiny bit further down on the grip than I normally use with centerfire pistols. Obviously leftys won't like it unless they're shooting off-hand.
They answered correctly above. Put your left hand in your pocket, where it belongs, stand on your feet, and shoot like a MAN!
Riomouse911 When I'm shooting two handed with the target grips I tend to almost cup the bottom of the grips with my left hand. Not quite as comfortable as a wraparound type of grip but still effective. Let us know how the Testor's Orange paint on the front sight does.
Will do. I have a trip coming up next week to the Eastern Sierras, and then the following week I think I can get to the range.
My postal league match Ruger Mk 2. Been modified a lot and shoots nearly as well as my Walther GSP target pistol. This is one of my put your left hand in in your pocket and standup a shot pistols.
I hate all of you!!! LOL!!! Another gorgeous gun! Love the looks of that grip, would like to see the other side though. Is there a thumb rest on there as well?
OK Doublehelix, it's not a good picture but you can see the left side of the grip. A flat thumb rest with a contour palm swell. With the thumb rest, palm filling fit, and trigger finger channel you can easily hold the pistol out at arms length with out closing you fingers on the grip with out fear of dropping it. Added rear view as well.
@Hertzer Wow, that is really nice. Probably a bit more than I need in the way of a grip I think. I want to use my standard two-handed grip, and also as a gun to teach my wife how to shoot. Standard gripping technique is going to be required. Thanks again for all of the help and input.
Oh my. You are correct those grips are really never intended to be used 2 handed or by more than 1 person. They are intended to be used for intermediate level bullseye match shooting. Most that buy grips like that, my self included, modify them to fit their hand making them fit only one persons hand comfortably. Lots of good grips available at a lot lower price point that will do what you want.
You now have a very good reason to get into bullseye match. So you can get a new Ruger target gun and start building a match pistol.
