Since mangeorge’s thread about gun rating sites has run afield of the OP’s GQ I thought I’d start a new one here.
mangeorge, don’t sweat the pre-travel screw right away. Until you get some experience under your belt you won’t appreciate the subtlties of a finely tuned target trigger. For my money taking up the pre-travel slack is the least important thing and a crisp break and no overtravel are more important. Wait a few months and when you have a trigger job done to your MkII it will be like getting a new gun.
unclviny, that’s one wicked bad looking MkII. Who made the muzzle brake you have on it? I like my MkII but I’m envious of all the aftermarket accessories. Say, if you have a caliper could you meausre the diameate of the barrel at largest diameter and across the slab side flats? The standard Buckmark barrel is slab sided too and I wonder it the dimensions are similar enough to use the same muzzle brake.
That is a V-Comp http://www.volquartsen.com/product.asp?pid=38, I hot-rodded the Mark II in an attempt to compensate for my bad eyes and the fact that I shake like a dog passing a Peach Pit (it damn near worked too!).
unclviny, my eyes are on far side of the curve too but still doing pretty good. Have you considered a red dot sight? I’ve got a 30mm BSA on my wife’s gun and she’s found it very easy to use.
My gun hot rod stuff from memory (I’m at work):
KMK678GC (SS), Ultradot scope, VQ V-comp, Weigand scope base, extended safety and magazine release, rubber grips (they are the same as on my Beretta 96 but I forget who made them), polished sear, VQ Accurising kit. When you need more magazines buy ALL the parts from Ruger and assemble them yourself, they are cheap that way. I got 5000 rounds of Winchester Xperts from Oshmans in Houston last year for less than $80.00 (tax and all), they run fine in both of my .22’s (I use “fancy ammo” for real target shooting).
This works fine for me too. We were getting pretty opinionish over there.
I was making a little joke about the PTS. I read all about it, and understand the concept. First thing to come to my dirty old mind when I read the name was a monogamous truck driver on his last night at home before he hit the road.
Anyway, since unclviny brought it up, what’s a good ammo to use for massive target practice? Price isn’t that much an object unless it’s excessive. I went to Big 5 Sunday some of the stuff on sale, but since I can’t pick up my gun till the 2nd I thought maybe I’d do a little checking around.
I didn’t even get the PTS double entendre at first, rofl.
Except for my Anschütz rifle I’m a whore when it comes to cheap .22 ammunition. About the only thing I stay away from with semi-autos is CCI blazer. The bullet lube tends to gum up with powder fouling in my pistols. The Remington that Big 5 has on sale all the time works well but most anything that uses a copper washed bullet instead of lubricated bare lead will probably be fine. No reason to buy Ely Tennex which can cost ten times as much.
Ok, I know I’m going gadget crazy here*, but I’m getting impatient for my 10 days to be up (Tues. PM). I’ve been looking for a bore guide, and all I can find (for my Ruger Mk II) is at Stoney Point, and it’s for a Ruger rimfire rifle. All other sites lead back to there.
Any recommendations? Don’t need it? I drink way too much coffee?
*I already got an Ultimate Cliploader, recommended at markII.org, a site linked on the other thread. Looks pretty cool.
I have an Ultimate Ammo Burner Upper too, it seriously rocks (just keep fiddling with the screw, you’ll figure it out) make sure you spray some oil in it (I use Rem-oil in the Aerosol can). When you decide that you need more magazines buy all the parts from Ruger (the Grandma in the parts department at Ruger knows), assemble them yourself and the mag’s are about $10.00 each. Welcome to the “Rimfire club”, even as cheap as stuff is it can get expensive!. Forget the Bore Guide you don’t need it, buy a Bore Snake (nothing ever!!! goes the wrong way in my barrell!!!). Check out www.rimfirecentral.com.
I honestly don’t know anyone who has ever asked for a breech cleaning rod guide for a Mark II. Mainly because most people hardly ever clean .22 pistol barrels. They don’t build up metal deposits like centerfires. Boresnakes are okay and I use them on my lever rifles which can’t be cleaned from the breech but it’s mainly to get the bulk of the black powder schmutz out of them. The synthetic rope doesn’t absorb like a cotton patch but in this case I’d rather leave a film of beeswax lubricant from the bullets in the bore.
The reason we’re so uptight about cleaning the right way is that the smallest damage or assymetical wear at the muzzle can destroy a barrel’s accuracy. Having the whole length of a cleaning rode slide by the muzzle increases that chance. In y our case I’d just get a quality, coated cleaning rod like a [URL=http://www.deweyrods.com/]Dewey, use it from the breech when you do clean which shouldn’t be that often and you’ll be fine.
Rifles are another matter. I sometimes clean my target rifles during a shooting session so I have a guide made specifically for each model.
Padeye, could you or unclviny fill me in on what is different between the MKII 512 which costs ~$325 and the 22/45 which costs ~$200?
There are a bunch of MKII models and for the most part the main differences to my eyes are the colour of the metal (stainless or blued) the material of the grips and the thickness of the barrell. What are things that are important to look at?
I hope I can make this simple. There are numerous variations so I’ll start with the big ones then work mor specific.
The MkII has been made for many decades and has a distinctly angled grip that is shaped very much like the P’08 Luger. I don’t think it was entirely coincidence that Bill Ruger designed it this way. The grip frame which houses the trigger, hammer and magazine is made of stamped and welded steel but the ouside is finished to be perfectly smooth. it also has replacable grip panels. It has a European style magazine release at the base of the grip. There was a previous MkI version but the only differences were a magazine which held 9 rounds instead of 10 and the bolt did not lock back after the last shot.
A few years ago Ruger introduced the the 22/45. It is really a variant of the MkII though I don’t recall mine having MkII inscribed on it anywhere. The reciever, barrel and bolt are identical to the MkII and are infact interchangable. Its grip frame is molded polymer in roughly the shape of the Colt 1911 and has no replacable grip panels. The magazine release is at the rear of the trigger guard in the traditional American position. The original 22/45 has a slick finish on the grip which I didn’t care for and is why I sold mine. There are now a few companies who specialize in recontouring the grip and adding a textured finish but I couldn’t find anyone who did that when I owned mine.
The MkIII which is just recently released adds some new features to both the traditional and 22/45 style. It has a loaded chamber indicator on the left side of the reciever. It also has a locking mechanism and a magazine disconnector which keeps the gun from being intentionally being fired without a magazine in the grip. The traditional style with the metal “Luger” grip frame now has the magazine release in near the trigger guard and the 22/45 version has a somewhat thinner grip with a textured finish on the polymer. From what I’ve seen the MkIII models are about the same price as similar MkII versions.
The model number like KMK512 means several specific things. The first K means stainless steel. MK for MkII and 512 fo 5-1/2" That particular barrel size happens to be a heavy, untapered “bull” barrel with adjustable target sights but you’d need to look at the catalog to know that. That happens to be my favorite barrel configuration and from what I hav seen is one of the more popular ones. I think it has ideal balance with enough weight at the muzzle to make it easier to hold steady without so much it become tiring to hold. Barrels come in other lengths, some are tapered and some are untapered but have flat “slab” sides and various models may or may not have adjustable target sights. I really don’t care much for stainless steel. It is more resistant to rust but that should be a non-issue for a gun like this if you maintain it properly.
I’m guessing the 22/45 you say may have had a different barrel size or lacked target sights at that price. The 22/45 512 models I have seen go for about $260 locally. Pick the one that feels right to you. You will own this gun long after you forgot what the difference in price was.
Honestly, for most types of shooting you’d use a MkII for you’d rarely adjust the sights if ever. I’ve shot to 100 meters with a MkII just using a little holdover with the front sight. It’s more of a pain to get sights zeroed if they aren’t asjustable - you drift the rear sight in its dovetail for windage or remove a small bit of metal from the top of front or rear sight for elevation - but Ruger has been making this pistols long enough I seriously doubt if that will be an issue.
You can’t get adjustable sights as a separate option and all the most desirable barrel sizes, again IMO, come with adjustable sights. Right now you may think the lighter barrel is more desirable but I’d wager most of the expereinced shooters on this board prefer something like the 512 barrel or heavier. I’ve owned two and my target Buckmark has a similar barrel.
Oh, we have places to shoot. What part of town do you live in? Northwest there is Ben Avery, the largest public shooting facility in the US, at I-17 and Carefree highway. South there is Phoenix Rod and Gun club at the end of 7th Avenue at the base of the mountains next to the police academy. I’m a member there. In the East valley is the Rio Salado Sportsman’s club on Ellsworth about seven miles north of the superstition freeway. Several indoor ranges but I’ve only shot at a few, Arizona Tactical just off I-17 and Indian school and for the snobs Scottsdale gun club off the 101 and Frank Lloyd Wright.
That would be a Colt Factory Model from my home state of Connecticut. (Note I changed my Latitude from 41 degrees north to 33…we just moved)
I like it myself. It’s a Bull of a gun and practically indestructable. My Uncle just brought me to a range on I-10 and Ocatillo. It’s more of a dump where they let you shoot. I’d rather a real range. I’ll check out Phoenix Rod and Gun.
I got another question. You guys will be sick of me in no time, assuming you aren’t already.
What is involved in actually buying a gun? I don’t have a criminal record, but I am not an American citizen either. I am a Canadian with resident alien status (a green card). Would I still be able to buy a gun? FTR, my green card approval came after 9-11.
What state are you in? I am not sure, but I think that rule is state specific. Easiest way to find out is call your local town hall or state legislature.
