Why no Ruger Mk I II III in centerfire?

[igotta40]

Does anyone know why Ruger's famous rimfire semiauto has never been offered in a centerfire platform?

Would it be prohibitively large and heavy? I would imagine developing a centerfire cartridge specific to such a pistol as a target round would be popular.

Maybe a .223 scaled down to maybe a .17 caliber? Or a long case .25 caliber pistol cartridge? I'm just spitballing here....

 

[GarySTL]

22tcm?

 

[rcmodel]

Because it is a low-pressure .22 RF, Blow-back operated fire-arm.

Chambering one for .223 or a center-fire .17 would require a bolt made from a truck axel to hold it shut long enough to keep from blowing the bolt out and sticking it into your eye the first shot!

High-pressure calibers require a locked breach design to keep the bolt closed until pressure drops low enough for the bolt to unlock and extract the case.

If they did that?
It would no longer resemble a Ruger .22 pistol.
It would more closely resemble a Desert Eagle, or AR-15 pistol.

rc

 

[R.W.Dale]

I have always thought a slightly plus sized mark pistol in 32acp or 32 long would make a dandy target pistol that I could reload for

There are centerfire pistols that share the lines and grip of the mark2 they're called the Luger and to a lesser extent the Nambu type14

 

[GLOOB]

It's already been done. As close as you're gonna come. It's made by Magnum Research, and it's single shot. And one is enough to oversaturate the market for a 223 pistol with a sub 12" barrel. If you think you can make a gun the size of a Mark III autoload .223, have at it!

 

[243winxb]

Large & heavy made me think of the old Automag fron the 70's

 

[MedWheeler]

I think it's called the P-08 (Oh, wait.. you said Ruger.)

 

[mooosie]

Aren't there 9 mm blowback pistols

 

[brickeyee]

Aren't there 9 mm blowback pistols

With massive slides and some of the loudest firing blast you will hear.

 

[Madcap_Magician]

Aren't there 9 mm blowback pistols

Yes, they're called Hi-Points.

 

[MrTravelDog]

High Standard of the early 1900's only manufactured .22lr except one .380 model. The .380 was definitely larger but not large enough to manufacture. I'm not sure I have seen a target pistol not chambered in .22lr.

 

[g.willikers]

There is and has been quite a few blowback centerfire carbines.
But there's more room and size to them to accomodate the design.

 

[Kleanbore]

There was a Colt Woodsman that fired the .221 Askins, which was cut down from the 5.5 mm Velo Dog cartridge. The reason was to use it in centerfire competition. It was so successful they changed the rules.

 

[Nathan Detroit]

I am surprised by the answers you have received so far. RW Dale had the right idea. There are a number of target guns that are available in both .22 rimfire and in .32 S&W. They are made by Pardini, Hammerli, Benelli, Walther, etc. Like the .22 LR they are blowback designs and in appearance are indistinguishable from the rimfire configuration..

People I know that have used them have commented on the fact that recoil is noticeably worse with the .32 than with the .22. That is the reason they do not use them for the CF stage of the 2700 matches.

 

[jakk280rem]

The ruger MK series is an ideal 22. But I don't think it has the necessary bolt mass for even a blowback pistol cartridge like 32 or 380.

 

[Walt Sherrill]

There have been a few centerfire semi-auto pistols, and one -- the Astra 600, in 9mm -- actually saw military duty with the Axis during WWII.

The Astra 600's were made in Spain for the German war machine; while about 60,000 were made, only 10,000 actually made it to Germany before the Allies captured France and blocked the supplies lines to Germany. According to Wikipedia, many of those that didn't see wartime use were used by the West German police after the war; a small number went to the Portuguese Navy.

The Astras were apparently rugged, accurate, well made from quality materials, and quite heavy. The recoil spring was stout and made cocking and stripping the weapon a chore. Recoil, I'm told, was snappier than expected and some found it a unpleasant.

 

[Jim Watson]

Long ago, a gunsmith did a .32 S&W Long wadcutter conversion on a Ruger Mk I.
It had a big knob on the rear of the bolt to add blowback mass.

When the question "Why don't "they" make _______ ?" comes up, there is usually a reason.
Sometimes because "they" don't think it will sell, sometimes it is just not feasible.


I have read both versions of the .221 Askins story. Both by Askins but with different outcomes.