Ruger mkii 22/45 in bbl slabside 6 7/8 or bbl 5 1/2?

[silverlance]

Today I put a deposit down on a Ruger MKII 22/45 target competition BBL Slabside (blued steel) 6 7/8" with a volquartsen rail on it. it comes with 3 magazines and about $20 worth of ammo. It's used; I believe I'd be the third owner. $260 + $35 DROS The guy who's selling it says that it's jammed a few times with certain kinds of ammo.

A week ago, I put a deposit down on a Ruger MKII 22/45, new in box, BBL (blued steel) 5 1/2". Two magazines. $260, out the door. The dealer claims that it will seldom if ever jam on anything.

I can only afford to buy one. Which one should I get? I'm asking because I have almost no experience with 22 pistols - the closest thing that i've ever owned to this was my first gun, a ruger 10/22. Heck, either of these two guns would be my first venture into polymer gun territory.

So.. help me out?

 

[Technosavant]

I've got the 5.5" version- runs fine all day long on the cheapo bulk Remington. The gun is more reliable than the ammo, and it drives tacks.

At the same price, I'd go with the 5.5" model- no point in getting a used gun that is known to fail occasionally.

 

[Majic]

Any .22lr semi-auto can fail for a variety of reasons. Most .22lr firearms have ammo it likes and some have ammo it absolutely hates. I would buy the used model as it's track record is known. The prior owner can tell you what ammo gives it fits so you will know what not to shoot in it.

 

[BevrFevr]

bad mags and or extracter

My mkII came with a mag that causes failures. I have two more that don't fail. Also you may want to try replacing the extractor with a volquartsen.

 

[Graystar]

I had both in stainless (still have the Competition) and I would say go with the 5.5" model. It feels better balanced. I shot the 5.5" better than I do the Competition.

And get a Hogue rubber grip. You'll be happy you did.

http://www.hogueinc.com/getgrip/merchant.ihtml?id=155&step=2

 

[albanian]

I had the 5.5" in blue but sold it since I already had the MK II in SS with a 5.5" bbl. I think the MK II is a better gun so I didn't need the 22/45 hanging around. The 22/45 worked just as well as the MK II and was just as accurate, it was just that it was blued and had the plastic grip. I like the MK II grip angle better so I stuck with that.

For the price, I would get the new one as well. The used one may be being sold because it has problems. Most of the time, the problems are easy to fix but why not start out with a new gun? That way, you start clean and after a couple of thousand rounds of break-in shooting, you will probably be fine.

I actually do prefer the look and balance of the longer thinner bbl but I don't think the slab side took enough metal off to make it work. I like the 6 7/8" medium weight bbl. It is half way between the bull and the thin bbl and I think it feels the best.

 

[280PLUS]

The shorter barrel model is better balanced IMHO.

I traced feeding problems to the mags on my MKIII. If the "blades" at the top of the mag are not adjusted properly they can cause all kinds of problems. On mine they were too far apart and allowed the round to flop around in there. I pinched them together a bit till they held the round firmly and I haven't had a feed problem since.