KJS
Member
The 22/45 are polymer from what I understand, I find that I prefer the grip of the Mark 3 more, the 22/45 is a bit narrow for my hands.
Yes, the 22/45 is polymer. I've never shot a 22/45, only handled it at a gun counter and I immediately noticed the grip as I really disliked how narrow it is. Also, obviously lighter than the regular all-steel MK III.
After renting an MK III twice I decide to buy one for myself. I went with a 5.5" bull barrel Target version which I love to shoot. Hefty gun at 40 ounces, though so nicely balanced that it doesn't feel heavy in use. The weight is also great for staying on target. The grip just feels right to me, even though it's quite distinctive & extreme in terms of angle.
Stories about disassembly and reassemble are far overblow, especially with Youtube. Just following the manual though will get you there. Read it.
Some folks make it look easy with practice, but then almost anything is easy with enough practice. (Like how German citizens have no problem speaking German, though I could hardly say anything even after two years of it in high school.) I've only stripped my MK III a few times and I find it to be a royal pain in the ***. To me this is the major downside to Ruger .22s. Could they actually make it any harder? The first time it took me half a week and extreme frustration to finally get it back together. Someone I know who has an MK II tells me this is why it's called "Ruger's Cube," a puzzle that's been frustrating folks since 1949. Another shooter I know who has decades of extensive firearms experience tells me he has to follow the manual to strip & reassemble his MK III. It's not at all simple and intuitive IMO.
It was the first semi-auto I'd ever field-stripped, so I had no basis for comparison. Then I stripped a Taurus PT92, where you push a button, flip a lever, and the gun literally falls apart & putting it back together takes all of a minute even for a clueless novice like me. No need to look at a manual more than once for a gun that easy. Then I had a basis to say an MK III really stands out as a P.I.T.A.
The complaints are legitimate, but it's really fun to shoot!