Recommend me a Ruger Mark IV

RangerPark

RangerPark

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I've been looking around for a good .22 LR pistol. After much looking around I settled on the Ruger Mark IV. It comes in many flavors and must fulfill the following needs:
- Cheap plinking with .22 LR, fun for me.
- Be small and light enough for my boys to learn on, fun for them.

My oldest will be turning 9 this summer. He's rather tall for his age and has good sized hands, for a kid.

I'm hesitating between the Ruger Mark IV 22/45 Tactical or the Lite version. 33 oz vs 25 oz. I'm not sure about the grip angle on the regular Mark IV but it looks very nice also.

So which model would you recommend as good rimfire pistol for kids to learn on?
Is the weight (33 vs 25) really an issue for kids?
Is there a preferable grip angle to learn on (22/45 vs regular)?
Should I stay away from the Mark IV and look at something else?

Thank you!
 
Mk.4 is a great choice as is the Buckmark.

I have a Mk.4 Target in stainless (43oz) and recently loaned it to my club for an open house. Minimum age to shoot was 12yrs (insurance...what can ya do?) and while few of them had trouble most preferred the lighter models. Given 9 years is your oldest I think the Lite is a good choice at 25oz. We use the Steyr LP2 Compact at 27oz for our youth air pistol program and all of the kids are quite comfortable at that weight.

25oz also gives you some room to play with accessories & optics if desired. It’s always easier to add weight to a light gun rather than try to slim down a heavy one.

Enjoy!
 
The Ruger mark series are good 22. The mark IV are easy to clean, reliable and accurate. I would look on the EE if your looking to buy used. Both 22/45 and regular grip are fine to learn on, the 45 angle is just more common on other pistols. It might be easier for him to adjust to full size handgun with similar angle.

9 y/o is pretty young, I would vote for the lite version.
 
Last edited:
TT1900 said:
Mk.4 is a great choice as is the Buckmark.

I have a Mk.4 Target in stainless (43oz) and recently loaned it to my club for an open house. Minimum age to shoot was 12yrs (insurance...what can ya do?) and while few of them had trouble most preferred the lighter models. Given 9 years is your oldest I think the Lite is a good choice at 25oz. We use the Steyr LP2 Compact at 27oz for our youth air pistol program and all of the kids are quite comfortable at that weight.

25oz also gives you some room to play with accessories & optics if desired. It’s always easier to add weight to a light gun rather than try to slim down a heavy one.

Enjoy!
Click to expand...

Can't speak for the Ruger, but they are decent for sure. My vote for what it is worth is the Browning Buckmark though.
 
I run the 22/45 lite in steel challenge RFPO class.
Works great
You will enjoy, your kids will have a ton of fun.

With that being said, buckmark, MkIV, Victory, they are all great pistols and you cant go wrong with any of them.

I personally would stick with the 22/45 grip angle as it is more universal.
The reg Ruger has a more aggressive grip angle which is more comparable to Glocks.
 
If your kids are too small to handle the weight of a handgun, consider teaching them to shoot off a bench rest until they can manage free hand. Having the gun on a rest also reduces the number of directions they can swing the gun in, which isn’t a bad thing with some kids...
 
Thank you everyone for your quick replies. I went with a Ruger Mark IV 22/45 Tactical from Dante's. Their price was right with free shipping to boot.

I had my oldest hold my CZ SP-01 Phantom at 26 oz. He held it up with arms extended for 10 seconds straight no problem. By the time he's fully ready 33oz for the Tactical should be just fine.

I like the idea of the bottom rail to mount an Atlas bipod. Should help with form and trigger control without having to worry too much about the weight of the pistol.

I also took a closer look at the Lite and saw close ups of the barrel. I didn't like how thin it looked, the actual main reason I went with the Tactical.

Now to wait patiently while Canada Post seemingly walks it out across the Country.
 
Hogue makes a great rubber pistol grip with finger grooves for the Mark IV Tactical. That makes it much more comfortable to hold.

You will notice that the safety lever is very easily accidentally engaged while shooting. Even if you are consciously trying not to touch it. Remove the safety lever and stretch out the detent spring a bit so that it keeps the lever more firmly in place.

Then start looking at Tandemkross triggers. A decent trigger makes it much more enjoyable to shoot.

Man, now I miss my Mark IV Tactical that I sold.
 
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