Opinions on ruger MK 2,3,4

C

Cat-black

New member
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Location
North Durham region
Looking at getting a ruger mk3 hunter, love the long barrel. Open to suggestions on the 2 vs 3 vs the new 4.
I'd be tempted to go with the 4, but price is a factor.
Also I dont mind the weight, I wonder if the 4 is part polymer??
Thx
 
Horrible to clean. Very accurate, cycle really nicely with hyper velocity ammo like yellow jackets. Horrible to field strip and clean, horrible to field strip and clean.
 
GREAT ALL AROUND. Don't let the neigh sayers scare you away, because of how "difficult" they are to strip down, it's not that hard, really it's not. Do it a couple times and it's easier than my 1911, less parts to fumble with too.
 
MKI and MKII are easier to reassemble (no safety pattern) than MKIII. In fact, it takes me less than 30 seconds to reassemble my MKII... No difficult at all !
 
I've had my MkII for 25 years and it's been awesome. Super reliable and accurate. Only had to replace a $3 spring after many thousands of rounds. Once you know how to field strip it properly it's really not that big of a deal to clean it up. If you get a chance to buy a used one don't hesitate.
 
Have no experience with the IV. Had a II and a III. Liked the II more than the III.

The III had a mag disconnect that I eliminated as well as a useless chamber indicator. Also the mag release button on the III tends to snag mags and you have to hold them just right to seat them. The III was a step backwards IMHO.

They aren't all that hard to take down and reassemble once you know what to watch out for.

M
 
Last edited:
Only one person mentioned the Mk.1

The only "drawback" is the magazine heel release. Unless you're doing quick mag changes, this isn't an issue.

These guns get overlooked, and they really shouldn't be.
 
Mark 2 and 3 are a PITA to field strip. Allegedly, mark 4 are less complicated.

I hate the mag release at the bottom of the grip. It's nut. There's no reason why a gun that came to market so recently doesn't have a normal mag release button at the thumb. They fixed that on the mark 4.

Overall, you get a better gun for less money going for a browning buckmark imho. If price is a factor, you can get a contour 7.25'' with bull barrel (which is basically a ruger hunter, but less annoying to field strip and a normal mag release) for the price of a normal ruger mark 3. Magazines are also a bit less expensive.
 
stevebc said:
Only one person mentioned the Mk.1

The only "drawback" is the magazine heel release. Unless you're doing quick mag changes, this isn't an issue.

These guns get overlooked, and they really shouldn't be.
Click to expand...

MK I and II have the mag heel release. MK III introduced the traditional button mag release.

MK I has no bolt release, the safety doubles as the bolt release. Or maybe it's the other way around. In any event it sounded to awkward for my wife to master.

M
 
Last edited:
MKII Built with arguably the best attention to detail and accuracy. Cleaning? Let me put it this way.... I have taken one of my MKII's and shot a case (5000) rounds through it without cleaning. It failed to fire 5 rounds, and failed to eject 3.

Very reliable, they can be cleaned to a 90% level without field stripping. If you have to clean the whole gun, they can be challenging to re-assemble, but anyone with a brain stem and youtube can become proficient in short order.
 
I find my MKII easy to strip and clean. Took me about 15 min the first time, easy as pie after that. I don't know why people have problems with these, but many people have problems driving in the rain, so it's not for everyone.
 
I just received my new Mk IV 22/45 lite from Irunguns yesterday.
The take down/field stripping for cleaning is all of 5 seconds.

Going to give it a work out and try it in a club steel challenge shoot tomorrow.
 
Had a 2 and now a 22/45 with a Poly frame.

Found the 22/45 a pain to clean until watched some Youtube videos, no big deal now.

Didn't know how much I would like the poly frame, but being fimilar with a .45s, I love the grip angle and being able to take .45 ACP grip panels.

It is light, eats everything, shoots better than me.

Kids love shooting it as well. Did the mag release mod and the auto bolt release, works so much better now.

Rugers are just tanks, you cannot go wrong, support, parts, all easily available.

Mine is not pretty, it's just a work horse.

 
I liked my Mark II a lot. Stripping and reassembly could be a bear until you got the trick of it. I always found it easy enough to clean out the breech area _without_ having to strip the gun; run a patch down the barrel and you'd be done.
 
Cat-black said:
Looking at getting a ruger mk3 hunter, love the long barrel. Open to suggestions on the 2 vs 3 vs the new 4.
I'd be tempted to go with the 4, but price is a factor.
Also I dont mind the weight, I wonder if the 4 is part polymer??
Thx
Click to expand...

I have owned a Mk.II and currently have a Mk.III 22/45. They are all excellent guns, buy whichever one tickles your fancy and enjoy. Don't worry about stripping it for cleaning, it is a minor nuisance at most and not the ordeal that many like to pretend it is. The only problem you will have with a Ruger is they all shoot like lasers, so when you miss everyone will know it was you and not the gun...


Mark
 
mt666tm said:
I find my MKII easy to strip and clean. Took me about 15 min the first time, easy as pie after that. I don't know why people have problems with these, but many people have problems driving in the rain, so it's not for everyone.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that about covers it.

Some folks seem to think they were done learning one new simple thing, once they left grade school. Stripping to clean is pretty basic. Reassembly requires that you do a couple things in order, and be willing to pay attention while you do so, but it's nothing a kid couldn't learn to do in a couple seconds.

Cheers
Trev
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom