Ruger MK3 ?s

[squirrel sniper]

I've been looking around for a pistol for some cheap plinking, and I've settled on a ruger MK3 standard. The questions I have are,
1) How do these guns do with cheap ammo like federal bulk pack.
2) How reliable are these with said cheap ammo.
3) Would it be any kind of accurate with federal.
4) And is there a noticable difference between the Ruger MK3 standard with the 4 3/4" barrel, and the one with the 6", regarding accuracy, balance, etc.

Any input you guys could give me would be much appreciated. To you guys that have MK3s, feel free to post pics, stories, and any sort of upgrades that are useful/needed.

 

[neededausername]

We have a MkIII that we find accurate enough for local competition shooting. For plinking I just buy bulk Remington at Wal-Mart and have no problems at all.

 

[tlen]

Read up on the Ruger MKIII here http://www.guntalk-online.com/service.html and here http://www.guntalk-online.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=10&sid=5363f7f46bee2cc7878b0124d341a691
Federal Value Paks are OK ammo. There are reported problems with Remington ammo. I recommend a longer barrel for longer sight radius and it also will give you more downrange velocity and energy. Pay a little more for an adjustable sight model since they come drilled & tapped for a scope base that is included. Sooner or later you will want to add a Red Dot scope and it's hard to do that with a standard model.

 

[Old Navy]

I have the 6" MKIII target/hunter. It is incredibly accurate. Virtually no recoil with the heavy bull barrel. It loves federal bulk from wal-mart, but is sometimes finicky about remington bulk. That's ok because federal is a little less expensive.

The only downside is the field stripping adventure. Your kids are sure to learn some new words before you're thru.

 

[onebigelf]

Field stripping = youtube video

John

 

[Deltaboy1984]

I have had a MKII for 25 years and I love it get the 6 inch barrel.

 

[XavierBreath]

I shoot Federal bulk ammo through my Ruger rimfire pistols almost exclusively. Once a Ruger pistol has been through 500 or so rounds of the Federal stuff, they eat it like cotton candy. Federal bulk ammo is reasonably accurate, cheap, and reliable. I have had less success with Remington and Winchester.

The Ruger mags can use a tweak to get them to feed all ammunition reliably. If you look through my blog (use the Ruger and the 22 caliber handgun labels at the bottom of the posts) you will find all kinds of information on the Ruger rimfire pistols, including links to guides on field and detail stripping them.

You will probably find that the four & 3/4 barrel, especially a taper barrel, balances better. The extra sight radius of the six inch will help with accuracy.

My preference is the MKII, but then I'm an old fogie.