[Toyman]

Thinking of buying a Ruger 22. Would someone tell me the difference(s) between the I, II, and III and which you would recommend to use just for shooting at the gun range?

New to these pistols and would like all the info one wants to share.

Thanks

Toyman

 

[wwb]

The first generation of Ruger .22 autoloaders (both the standard and the Mark I target model) had a safety which locked the bolt in both the open and closed positions, and had no "hold open" after the last shot.

The Mark II, in all its varieties, added the "hold open" feature and added a bolt release.

The Mark III is a "lawyerized" version of the Mark II. It requires the mag to be inserted in order to fire, has an external loaded chamber indicator, and is said to be more of a pain to field strip.

For what it's worth, a Mark II in excellent condition commands a higher price than a brand new Mark III in my neck of the woods.

The Mark II is the hands-down favorite. Get one of the target models and add Volquartsen guts of you're serious about paper punching. Otherwise, the plain-vanilla 6" is a great plinker.

 

[UncleFudd]

Exactly what WWB said.
I have both or all three on my rental counter at the range and all are good guns and very reliable and for the most part will never wear out.
But as he said, the MK11 is the hands down favorite for nearly every use you may have. You may want to consider the 22/45 in the MK11 for a little different grip and mag release function. But as he said, the MK11 will give you trouble free, accurate, long life and they are not as finicky about the ammo you put through them as are most all other 22 pistols.
I use one or the other of the CCI rounds for our rentals as they feed through almost every 22 handgun or rifle that we see in our range.
Many of the 22 pistols will burp or stop altogether until you find the right ammo for them. I have given up on all of the Remington and Winchester, 22 ammo and I have even quit selling them as too many people were experiencing too many troubles with either or both. So, for what it is worth, stay with one of the rounds offered by CCI, (stinger, Velocitor) etc. to get the best of the day to day ammo for your gun. If you get into serious, competition target shooting, you will probably change to an entirely different and more expensive firearm.

The other thing is to remember what to do to make them even more accurate than there are from the factory. Once you have the gun of your choice and if you then find that you want to accessorize or accurize or both, go to the Volquartzen catalog and load it up.
Hope this gives you more ideas or answers to help with your decisions.

UF

 

[Toyman]

Thanks for the replies. After looking around and holding several guns I bought a Browning Buckmark Camper URX. It just felt right in my hand.

On the subject of shells I have backordered some from Cabelas but it was the brands you did not like. I think I will cancel that order and go with your suggestion on ammo.

Thanks

Toyman

 

[UncleFudd]

Not sure what you ordered for ammo but I can tell you that the Buckmarks do NOT like Remington ammo. In fact not very many of the 22 pistols do like the remington. Especially their "target" or medium velocity rounds. Stay away from it if you can and I think you will find as have others if you are forced to use any of the Remington ammo it will fail regularly.
I think if I were you, I would most definately cancel if it is Rem ammo. If it is Winchester in the white box, you will find that it is quite dirty and has a tendency to lead up your barrel.

Good luck and the Buckmark is a good choice in firearms. It may not be as tough or durable as the Rugers, but it should give you many years of fun plinking as it is. Not much you can do to accurize them so just enjoy it as is for a long time.

UF

 

[Toyman]

Uncle Fudd,

Do you have any experience with red dot scopes? Is there any such thing as a low price, decent red dot? What all would you need to put one on the browning buckmark I have bought? Anyone with any suggestions on something for about $50?

Thanks

Toyman

 

[UncleFudd]

Toyman
The answer is yes, I have a LOT of experience with red dots. But first clarify either red dot "projection" or laser sights which projects the dot to your intended target. Or the internal red dot which is used primarily as your aiming device or sight.

Neither of these will come to you for anywhere near $50 and if it does, you will get what you pay for as they say.

I have used the internal red dot on my NRA bullseye competition guns and they work very well for extremely accurate shooting. But they are expensive, probably $250 or more by now. I am not at the range at this time but if you are interested, I will call my manager and have him look it up for the two top of the line and most used of the red dots.
the other, or the laser projection red dot is also very expensive and IMHO has no practical use beyond plinking or as an expensive plaything.
Do not buy one of these and install it on any gun that you may wind up betting your life to defend yourself. They have their backers who will argue their value even for self defense devises and many of them place them on their guns and practice with them. But it is a very bad idea and they will cause you to do things at the most critical time in your life or the life of your loved ones. It will cost you your most important asset at the most critical time, your concentration.

so as a person who has used them and I sell them I will tell you honestly that I do not sell the laser red dots to anyone without first telling them exactly what I have just told you and yes it costs me sales but I sleep very well at night trying to be honest. If one of my customers buys one of the laser sights they will have heard from me or one of my sales people why they should only have them for fun and not for self defense.
If you are interested, I will be happy to give you more reasons to back my opinion regarding the laser sights and not tie up this thread for others.

The basic answer to your question is NO you will not find one of the scopes for $50.

Kenny

 

[Toyman]

ncle Fudd,

Thanks for the information. I think I will just wait awhile until I have shot this new pistol before I make any decisions on what I might like to add. Your post added a lot of insight that I knew nothing about.

Thanks for taking time to supply me with this information.

Toyman

 

[ncbengal]

"For what it's worth, a Mark II in excellent condition commands a higher price than a brand new Mark III in my neck of the woods.

The Mark II is the hands-down favorite. Get one of the target models and add Volquartsen guts of you're serious about paper punching. Otherwise, the plain-vanilla 6" is a great plinker"

I will testify to the M-II Target Model w/red dot. It will shoot with anything out there. I use a lot of the Remington "Target" ammo in 100 packs which is about as cheap as anythng. Some target .22s are finicky about that, but Ruger never fails - after I got the stovepiping problem solved and a local guy to do a little trigger job.

Not long after I had the M-II, it started "stovepiping", i.e., spent case hanging up. I called Ruger and gave the serial #. Man says, "Yep, we had a problem with that series, and I am going to send you some replacement parts to fix." Parts included magazine release catch, bolt assembly, no questions asked! It has not missed a lick since! How is that for customer service!!!!!!!!!

 

[Blamm-O]

Just a quick update...I've got a mark 1, which indeed has no "hold open" after the last shot to my recollection. I believe it only goes into "safe" mode after it's either been locked back, or already chambered. I think if the round is not chambered, the safety will not engage...

I can't speak for the subsequent models...

I haven't taken this out in a while...this is just what I remember about it. If I'm wrong...my bad.

B

 

[Need2Shoot]

Thanks for the replies. After looking around and holding several guns I bought a Browning Buckmark Camper URX. It just felt right in my hand.

I think you did the right thing, Toyman. However, I must warn you, you'll get the "new gun" itch in time and you'll be shopping for another gun pretty soon. It never fails, at least not with me. I currently have a love affair with Rugers all of a sudden and have one following me home every now and then. It's a pitiful sight seeing these guns go without homes and I always have a place for them, to feed them and give them a place to sleep at night. But I digress...

Keep you eyes open for any other .22 pistols as you might want to shoot something else later on. I'm currently covering a few gun shops and some pawn shops for whats out there - bargins to be had for sure. My latest aquisition is a somewhat worse-for-wear Ruger Mk II which I got for a song. I'll be cleaing it up and afixin' various afermarket parts to make it a real tackdriver at the range. On the subject of ammo, always be sure to try different brands as they will perform differently in different guns; you'll exclaim, "What a difference!". :lol: