New to Me Ruger Mark II

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Tallball

Tallball

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I sort of got it by accident. I saw it in a GB auction and whimsically bid $245 for it, knowing that a nice-looking Mark II should go for more like $300.

Surprise, surprise, surprise... I won the auction. I hadn't paid enough attention when I bid. I knew it had the 6" barrel, which I wanted, but for some reason I assumed it had adjustable sights and came with a magazine.

It had fixed sights and no mag. Shipping and FFL were excessive. It cost me $310 OTD, then I bought two OEM Mecgar mages for $20 each. So I'm into it for $350.

The grips are nice. The finish is very good except for a couple of areas of holster wear. It balances and points extremely well.

I took it to the range today. I put... I dunno, more than fifty but probably less than 100 rounds through it, and my friend shot maybe 30 or 40. It shoots just a little low, with the particular ammo we were using, but was easy to adjust for. The mags fit and functioned perfectly. The pistol never once malfunctioned.

Its trigger is not quite as nice as my Standard. My friend and I both have Browning Buck Marks, and its trigger is not quite as nice as those, either. On the other hand, the trigger is better than any service pistol. Really, I am being picky, the trigger is more than adequate. My friend had his Buck Mark with him (I think it's 5.5"). Both of us shot the Mark II and the Buck Mark. For both of us our practical accuracy was the same with either pistol. The Buck Mark has a slightly lighter trigger, but apparently the difference in the triggers was not enough to actually affect our accuracy.

So, the Mark II ended up costing more than I expected, but it is a good shooter and I will get a lot of use out of it. I shoot more 22lr than anything else, and it will be nice to have another accurate and reliable choice when I am loading my range bag.

Ruger Mark II 22lr

Ruger Mark II 22lr

 
I love my Ruger MK2 bull barrel. I put Clark grips (1911 grip angle) and a fiber optic front sight on it and now I love it even more. They are great guns. (I may be prejudiced)
 
Never a poor purchase.

I prefer the Buckmark but I couldn’t resist $250 OTD for this MK II Target from my favorite LGS a few months ago.

Always wanted a MK II Target slabside but they became uncommon and expensive in the last 10 years and the price was right with this one so I got it.

It’s a heck of a shooter as well. Might decide to do a few upgrades from Volquartsen in the future but it is definitely fine as is.

124688ED-4DAC-4842-AD60-52A3443B1B32.jpeg
 
Always liked the Mk ll as the best of the Ruger .22s. I believe the front and rear sights can be changed out to be adjustable quite easily.
 
I have a MARK I (no hold open) in bull barrel. The 2 best mods I made to mine were the Volquartsen mag release and the Hogue wraparound grips. They just fit my hand perfectly. Both mods are highly recommended, especially the mag release.

Here it is next to my Buckmark. My favorite .22 shooters. The Buck is a bit more accurate, or at least I can shoot it more accurately for some reason.

upload_2020-7-26_9-45-23.png
 
Thanks for all of the kind comments.

If you have a Mark II, what ammo does it like?

Do you have a favorite holster?

I will bring a few different kinds of ammo to the range next time. I grabbed a sandwich bag full of cheap bulk stuff yesterday.
 
Tallball said:
Thanks for all of the kind comments.

If you have a Mark II, what ammo does it like?

Do you have a favorite holster?

I will bring a few different kinds of ammo to the range next time. I grabbed a sandwich bag full of cheap bulk stuff yesterday.
Click to expand...

well...

As for ammo: All my .22 LR's are work horses - so I have Four basic loads stacked high and deep:
- Aguila SE 40 gr. plated solid.
- CCI MM 40 gr. plated solid.
- CCI MM 36 gr. plated HP.
- Federal AE 38 gr. plated HP.

As for a holster for the MkII 6-7/8" Target - went w/ a used HUNTER 1100-26.

But they are hard to find.

For a new holster, would probably go w/ this one:




GR
 
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The Mark II is the classic of the whole series. The Marks III and IV have some undeniable improvements, but serious users often end up changing the internals to the Mark II configuration (which is what you just about have to do if you want to get rid of the pesky magazine safety). In particular, if you have a Mark II hammer in decent shape, hang onto it, because you may need it later.
 
The fit and finish ARE very nice. My FiL likes his Mark II a lot, and he is not an easy person to please.

I am curious to shoot it with my 4" fixed-sight "Standard" next time. My guess is that their practical accuracy will be about the same at 15 yards, but I could be wrong.

I'm guessing that the Buck Mark will outshoot the Rugers most days, by a small margin. Its (adjustable) sights are larger and its trigger is slightly better. It's a 5.5".

I have dozens of handguns and am a revolver guy at heart. I would have to say, though, that I am more accurate with nice 22 semiautomatic pistols than I am with any of my other handguns. Occasionally I might shoot my K22 or Single Six better, but those days are rare.

Ruger Standard 22lr

Ruger Standard 22lr

 
Tallball said:
I'm guessing that the Buck Mark will outshoot the Rugers most days, by a small margin. Its (adjustable) sights are larger and its trigger is slightly better. It's a 5.5".
Click to expand...

As a long time Bullseye shooter, I can tell you that there are far more Ruger .22 autos on the line than there are Buck Marks. In fact, though I never actually looked for one, I don't ever recall seeing a Buck Mark in competition (I'm sure there must have been and no doubt still are). The Buck Mark is a fine pistol and there may be many reasons for choosing one over an equivalent Ruger-but accuracy isn't one of them.

Note: a caveat may be in order here, as it been a few years since I last competed at Camp Perry-maybe some things have changed that I'm unaware of in terms of which .22 auto pistols are shooting best now. When I could draw a finer bead than I can now, High Standards, Colts, the Smith & Wesson Model 41 and Rugers ruled the range. When it came to Browning pistols, the Medalist was hard to beat.
 
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I have a Mk II standard than has been utterly reliable and very accurate. I have thought about getting a dovetail red dot mount for it (mine isn't drilled and tapped). I think I paid $200 or $225 for it a few years ago, I bought it used but it was like new and still in the original case with all the paperwork when I bought it.
 
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