Ruger 22/45 MkIII "Worth" It?

Mathieu18

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Posted this on another forum too, so sorry if you see a duplicate. LGS in WIlmington is trying to clear out some MkIII's for $269-$339 NOS. I think they were all 22/45's though not all marked that way.

I know the MkIV is easier to take down and clean (and reassemble) but seemed like a great deal on these. I'd been looking for more of a semi-auto style 22LR but I know these are generally well regarded. Not sure exact models, $269 was the standard longer barrel, $339 got into threaded bull barrels, one with a Pic Rail, one with normal sights.

Reassembly aside is there much to worry about with the MkIII's? Wondering if I should consider adding one of these to the closet...
 
That’s a pretty good price for a plinker that is reliable and holds its value well. As far as disassembly? Don’t….squirt some brake cleaner in the ejection port, blow it out with an air compressor, then squirt some Marvel Mystery Oil in it, wipe out the excess. I’ve got one with many thousands through it and this method is all I do to it….
They run forever and will cycle garbage ammo like American Eagle and Remington Golden Bullets…..


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If it was local I'd grab one for sure. They are awesome pistols. The ones I've had/have eat everything and are wonderfully accurate.


The "impossible/horrible" to take apart claims are silly imo. A bit finicky, sure. Gotta make sure the hammer strut lines up and some truly are tight. Just picked up one that was like that. Previous owner said they couldn't ever get it apart and did like mentioned by 1911gobang for cleaning and maintenance. Never a hiccup.

About 15 minutes with a stone and Emory cloth to smooth up edges and a radius or two and now can use a thumbnail to pull out the mainspring lever👍
 
Mathieu18 said:
. LGS in WIlmington is trying to clear out some MkIII's for $269-$339 NOS
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Golly.

Look at the Volquartsen clearance page and see the bargain for the Mk III accurizing kit.
At the price you are mentioning, this combination is just too good a deal to pass up.
 
Thanks, I’d seen that company before but haven’t bought from them. Saw Tandemkross has parts to remove LCI and disconnect as well. Could be fun…

So cheap model or threaded bull barrel? Don’t have any suppressors (yet).
 
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I have one. Great little pist. Mine is the one with a 3" barrel. That is a good price.

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Once you remove the mag disco, it's a bit easier to take down, imo. One less step that usually gets people.

I have two mark 3's and they are really pleasant to shoot. Get threaded for when you get a .22 can.
 
What parts in the Volquartsen MK III accurizing kit that I can use on the MK IV? I know the trigger is interchangeable.
 
My favorite gun to shoot. I’m ringing a 10” plate at 175 yards while standing. My wife made a hit on the third round with CCI SV.
D75CE0DE-2166-4EAE-83DD-83517F9F9939.jpeg
Get rid of the mag disco, the loaded chamber indicator, and get the Volquartzen firing group. If you can find V's firing group kit for a MKII, it includes the mag disco bushing.
 
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Very good .22 pistols. Can not go wrong at those prices. Of course most folks dump more money into these pistols modding them as I did:rolleyes:.
After you get the hang of the disassembly its not too bad, or as others have stated just shoot it and don't worry about it. Great handgun for .22 rimfire 2-gun matches.

kcgQ5wB.jpg
 
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I don't even like the grip on a 22/45 but I'd grab one at those prices. They're absolutely solid pistols that will run forever if you wipe the crud out and splash a little lube in there now and then.
 
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I bought one 8 or 9 years ago and absolutely love it. Many thousands of rounds through her.. Mine is the 22/45 target etc. Believe it has a 5" bull barrel. Grip angle is perfect, has a rail (not mos etc) but allows you to install a red dot or scope. I went that route and then took it off and shoot as a plinker and trainer.

At the time the only threaded barrels were the lw models which didn't suit me taste... if mine were threaded it would be the perfect pistol.

I take it apart once or twice a year. I watch a youtube video while doing it... its backwards but I can usually figure it out on my own... video is just backup in case i get a brain freeze... it is not super hard.
 
I really like mine. That;s a good buy. They're not hard to take apart for cleaning,
 
I’ve got a mkIII Hunter and will never part with it. I’ve had it 10 years or more. Do the simple clean as stated before. I’ve taken mine down maybe 6 times and it’s really not a big deal. I’m not sure but it’s got to be close to 8-9k rounds. I’d like to get it threaded for when my can gets out of jail.

I have a MKIV that’s modded and it’s fun but the disassembly really doesn’t matter to me.

Buy two or three at the price you mentioned. Can’t go wrong.
 
All you have to do is go to Tandemkross and buy this hammer bushing:

www.tandemkross.com

Ruger® Mark III™ and 22/45™ Magazine Disconnect Removal Hammer Bushing

www.tandemkross.com

Watch this video. It'll show you how to remove the B.S. magazine disconnect and install the bushing. From then on the assembly won't be that hard.



If you really put some rounds through it, you'll have to take it apart and clean it. No amount of spraying will be an adequate substitute. This is because the chamber gets extremely dirty. Once that happens, even if you squirt cleaner in the thing and pull a bore snake through it a bunch of times, you won't be able to get it as clean as it needs to be.

Therefore, you need to take it apart. When you have the upper barrel assembly of the frame, you take a pistol cleaning rod and a .22 caliber brush and give that chamber hell. I mean run that brush back and forth, scrubbing the heck out of the chamber.

Doesn't matter if you've got a Mark IV or a Mark III, same thing goes for that chamber. As @RR said, the assembly difficulty is over exaggerated. It is not that big of a deal.
 
Mathieu18 said:
Posted this on another forum too, so sorry if you see a duplicate. LGS in WIlmington is trying to clear out some MkIII's for $269-$339 NOS. I think they were all 22/45's though not all marked that way.

I know the MkIV is easier to take down and clean (and reassemble) but seemed like a great deal on these. I'd been looking for more of a semi-auto style 22LR but I know these are generally well regarded. Not sure exact models, $269 was the standard longer barrel, $339 got into threaded bull barrels, one with a Pic Rail, one with normal sights.

Reassembly aside is there much to worry about with the MkIII's? Wondering if I should consider adding one of these to the closet...
Click to expand...
Do they still have any of these that you know of?
 
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Get Off My Lawn said:
As @Studentofthegun mentioned, you'll want to remove the disconnect with a bushing, I went this route for a much better trigger.

Accurizing Kit | Volquartsen Firearms

volquartsen.com volquartsen.com

You may want to take it to the next level

Pistol Competition Kit | Volquartsen Firearms

volquartsen.com volquartsen.com

Do any of yall know if V's CNC dissconnector makes much of a difference?

CNC-Machined Disconnector for MKII and MKIII | Volquartsen Firearms

volquartsen.com volquartsen.com
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It makes a little bit of difference just in terms of ensuring the correct geometry between the parts.

If you get the accurizing kit for the Mark IV, it comes with the disconnector now. When Volquartsen first released it, it didn't come with it. I was building a pistol at the time and it simply wouldn't work properly without also replacing the disconnector. After talking to Volquartsen about it they included it in subsequent kits.
 
Studentofthegun said:
It makes a little bit of difference just in terms of ensuring the correct geometry between the parts.

If you get the accurizing kit for the Mark IV, it comes with the disconnector now. When Volquartsen first released it, it didn't come with it. I was building a pistol at the time and it simply wouldn't work properly without also replacing the disconnector. After talking to Volquartsen about it they included it in subsequent kits.
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I’ve got a MKIII I’m happy with. I was wondering if the disconnector alone would be worth $50.
 
Man, missed them by 15-20 min today, didn’t realize they closed at 4. Then looked at a FDE P22 elsewhere, which is a sweet shooter in its own right and of course the TX22. Back to being torn which to get (both/all not an option).
 
NKD said:
Just my humble opinion:

Ruger in another league than the P22. P22 meh.
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Yea I completely agree but the P22 is awesome looking and as a conceal backup or kids trainer it’s kinda fun. That said, I’ve decided on the MkIII, primarily I want reliability, longevity and accuracy for this buy. Only other one I’d consider given that would be the M&P 22C, but that’ll cost me more than the MkIII. Hopefully I can snag it on Tuesday when they’re open again.
 
It wasn’t planned this way, but happy to celebrate 2/22/2022 with a new 22LR. New old stock 22/45 MkIII Target with threaded barrel and sights for $339. Apparently they found inventory they’d forgotten about and have several different models available if anyone else wants to celebrate, they will ship.
 
Mathieu18 said:
It wasn’t planned this way, but happy to celebrate 2/22/2022 with a new 22LR. New old stock 22/45 MkIII Target with threaded barrel and sights for $339. Apparently they found inventory they’d forgotten about and have several different models available if anyone else wants to celebrate, they will ship.
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There are several folks that will tell you that I'm a massive dork when it comes to rimfire semi-autos. Especially as it pertains to Ruger Mark pistols and 10/22s. If you ever want to optimize them or whatever, here is some decent reading on the subject. Of course you can always ping me directly with questions.

Building Rimfire Raceguns

Do you like rimfire rifles and pistols that shoot really fast and reliably? Me too. Lots of folks have no interest in ever shooting a match, but just about everyone (at least the red blooded Americans that don't hate freedom) like guns you can shoot fast. So LOTS of people want to build...
carolinafirearmsforum.com
 
Studentofthegun said:
There are several folks that will tell you that I'm a massive dork when it comes to rimfire semi-autos. Especially as it pertains to Ruger Mark pistols and 10/22s. If you ever want to optimize them or whatever, here is some decent reading on the subject. Of course you can always ping me directly with questions.

Building Rimfire Raceguns

Do you like rimfire rifles and pistols that shoot really fast and reliably? Me too. Lots of folks have no interest in ever shooting a match, but just about everyone (at least the red blooded Americans that don't hate freedom) like guns you can shoot fast. So LOTS of people want to build...
carolinafirearmsforum.com
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Much appreciated. Have a 10/22 TD that recently got the Backpacker stock as well. Want to upgrade some internals as well, but Ye Olde Gun Club down here is having some issues, and I need a couple months to get my own range setup, so haven't wanted to mess with function when I couldn't verify I got it right. Def plan to delete the mag safety and LCI on the MkIII. Probably will do some trigger changes but not sure I'll go all the way with the Accurizing kit (I'm cheap). Will also upgrade the extractor on the 10/22 and have a Ruger PCC that I want to put the Red Spring in.

I'm sure I'll be harrasshing you in the not too distant future. Thanks again!
 
I've had good luck just doing the bushing, trigger, and sear on my various Ruger pistols, as a minimum. And LCI delete of course.

I should say I start there. I always end up doing a Kidd (or other quality) extractor as well. The stock ones are soft, in my experience.
Hard not to throw money at them as they are fun little gems to shoot and mod.
 
Studentofthegun said:
There are several folks that will tell you that I'm a massive dork when it comes to rimfire semi-autos. Especially as it pertains to Ruger Mark pistols and 10/22s. If you ever want to optimize them or whatever, here is some decent reading on the subject. Of course you can always ping me directly with questions.

Building Rimfire Raceguns

Do you like rimfire rifles and pistols that shoot really fast and reliably? Me too. Lots of folks have no interest in ever shooting a match, but just about everyone (at least the red blooded Americans that don't hate freedom) like guns you can shoot fast. So LOTS of people want to build...
carolinafirearmsforum.com
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Ha, okay that didn't take long. Was looking at Volquartsen... they have some deals on the MkIII internals. I can get the Target Hammer and Bushing for $15 or the whole Accurizing kit for $75. Since extended bolt release and sear spring aren't used on the 22/45 according to VQ, and I am not stuck on a new trigger, I'm thinking the $15 bushing and hammer will get me enough improvement and the mag disconnect is gone. I'm not trying to win competitions but am I being foolish not to do the sear?

Edit I just saw I can add the sear for $32 to the hammer and bushing. Question still stands if I should add the sear, but also if the trigger is necessary...
 
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I loved the Mk1. I had two Mk3s and sold them. Finicky shooters. But as you can see a lot of people love them. I will say, when they did shoot, they shot very, very well.

In hindsight I didn't know if it was the guns or the ammo, but I didn't have the time or patience to figure it out..
 
NKD said:
I've had good luck just doing the bushing, trigger, and sear on my various Ruger pistols, as a minimum. And LCI delete of course.

I should say I start there. I always end up doing a Kidd (or other quality) extractor as well. The stock ones are soft, in my experience.
Hard not to throw money at them as they are fun little gems to shoot and mod.
Click to expand...
Believe I should have read a bit more before my last post... sounds like Bushing, Trigger and Sear and roll with the stock trigger is the way to go. I'm good with it. Those will come from VQ.

Was looking at Tandemkross as well, they have the LCI (VQ doesn't seem too currently). Wondering if anyone has done TD's Kanewolk slingshot mod though? Would like to add that unless it's troublesome. Don't love the pull then release on the bolt. Seems like with the Target bushing and slingshot charging it'll be a more fun gun to run with mag changes.

If I'm fixing to do something foolish, please let me know. Otherwise I have some ordering to do!

Oh yea, need a RDS for the Ruger Rail now too...
 
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