Yet another new pistol: a Ruger Mark IV 22/45

I teach a beginning firearms class. After an hour in the classroom, our students shoot steel targets using 22 LR Savage bolt action rifles and Ruger Mark III 22/45 target pistols.

I was shooting my elderly Ruger Single-Six recently when it occurred to me that as much as I like this revolver–which spends most of its time in the 22 WMR configuration–it would be fun to own an accurate, semi-automatic 22 pistol like the ones we use in class.

Enter my latest purchase: a Ruger Mark IV 22/45 Tactical. I know, I know: I keep saying “I don’t need more guns”–but here we are.

Initial upgrades

The pistol came with an ambidextrous thumb safety. I found that the “lefty” switch dug into my hand so I immediately removed it and installed the spacer that Ruger thoughtfully supplied.

Unfortunately for southpaws, the opposite modification isn’t an option: you have to leave the left side switch installed.

Before my Mark IV even arrived I ordered a Volquartsen Competition Kit, which includes their Accurizing and bolt tune-up kits. These components reduce trigger pull weight and eliminate the failures to feed/extract that certain types of 22 ammunition can cause.

(having put together a couple of accurized Ruger 10/22s, I was familiar with the aftermarket landscape for Ruger’s rimfire offerings)

If (like me) you’re not an experienced gunsmith, check out Volquartsen’s helpful videos to learn how to install these aftermarket parts.

Even with the videos, I was confused twice.

I started with the bolt: removing the firing pin was simple, but getting the extractor out was a challenge.

You have to rock the extractor up toward you, then wedge something between the extractor and the extractor plunger.

I ended up using a dental pick to pry the plunger back enough to insert a tiny screwdriver blade between it and the extractor. After several attempts I was finally able to pull the plunger back far enough to free the extractor.

The new extractor and firing pin went in easily. I put the bolt back into the receiver and set it aside.

Work on the fire control components was fiddly, but straightforward. The only thing that stumped me was how to install the new sear spring–it wasn’t clear from the video.

Surely the long end of the spring wasn’t supposed to just dangle randomly into the magazine well, was it?

After puzzling for a few minutes, I realized that’s what the giant cutout in the frame is for (I could’ve just referred to an earlier picture, but that’s not how I roll).

I reassembled the pistol, checked for leftover pieces, and made minor adjustments to the trigger pre- and overtravel screws.

I finished up with a function check. Everything worked!

With the modified hammer installed the trigger no longer needs a magazine to fire, and with the new sear the factory’s 4 lb pull weight dropped to a crisp 2.5 lbs.

While I was at it I decided to swap the factory pistol grips for aftermarket G10 variants. There’s nothing wrong with the factory grips–I just think these feel better (and look cool).

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I also painted the front sight bright green, which helps it stand out against the target.

I was ready for the range.

Does it shoot?

I shot seated, off of a rest, to minimize the effect of shooter error. The targets were at 10 yards.

The first five rounds down the barrel grouped inside an inch and a quarter. Granted, that was Lapua target ammunition, but Winchester hollow points did nearly as well.

I quickly realized that this pistol shoots better than I do (not a particularly high bar).

I tried some CCI hollow points next, and resolved to shoot the kind of group this pistol is capable of. I reviewed all of my fundamentals, took a deep breath, then fired the first three rounds into 3/4 of an inch.

Nice!

Unfortunately, I choked under pressure and pulled the next two comically high and left.

I shot a bunch more from a standing, two-handed grip (no rest). The pistol consistently delivered 2-3″ 10-shot clusters as long as I kept my wits about me and didn’t rush or jerk the trigger too badly.

It cheerfully shot everything I fed it with no failures to feed/fire/eject, including a baggie full of loose Federal Thunderbolt that’s been rattling around in my range bag since the first Obama administration.

(that stuff tends to absolutely coat my barrels with lead, but accuracy was good).

I eventually adjusted the rear sight a few clicks to the right to center the groups on the bull and called it a day.

I enjoyed shooting this pistol and hope to eventually improve my skills to the point where I can take full advantage of its capabilities. They do make aftermarket competition uppers for the Mk IV, but for us mere mortals Ruger’s factory offering–along with the Volquartsen upgrades mentioned above–is hard to beat.

Further modifications

I decided I wouldn’t use the factory scope rail, and since it occluded the bottom of the front sight post I removed it and ordered a pack of hex-head filler screws.

The front replacement screw wouldn’t thread all the way in and I managed to strip the hex head in the process. It protruded about 1/32″ from the barrel, upsetting me and violating the firearm’s esthetics.

I could’ve ignored it (as if!), but instead I ordered a tiny screw extractor and a 6-48 tap to chase the threads once the jammed screw was out.

I replaced it with my last official Ruger filler screw and ordered some generic slotted gun screws for future use.

Another upgrade idea occurred to me after the first range trip: turns out the charging handle on this pistol can be awkward to grab, and if you fumble it you might pinch a finger.

Ask me how I know.

I hadn’t noticed that in class: probably because the recoil spring on this new Mk IV is stiffer than the ones on the students’ Mk IIIs.

While I wasn’t a fan of exotic aftermarket charging handles, eventually function–and pain avoidance–won out over form.

Tandemkross makes popular Mk IV charging rings, including a version sold by Ruger. I bought that one because my pistol came with a 20% off coupon for Ruger merchandise (and because I liked the Ruger logo on the side).

Red dot

I’m late to the party when it comes to red dot sights.

To be fair, I tried both red dots and lasers when they broke onto the shooting scene but wasn’t really a convert.

The laser was a (badly) refurbished model that had trouble holding zero, for one.

It also hung so far below my pistol barrel that unless I zeroed it at extremely short range I tended to hit high on–or miss over the top of–small, close-in targets. That was fine on the range; less so when dealing with zombie gnomes.

More practice would’ve overcome this tendency, but since the damned thing wouldn’t hold zero anyway, I couldn’t be bothered.

My first red dot, on the other hand, was mounted on top of a 10/22 carbine. Since I used it at longer ranges, sight height/mechanical offset was less of an issue: by zeroing it at 50 yards, I could (theoretically) hold dead on and hit a tennis ball from 10 yards out to 70.

And since this optic DID hold zero, I kept it a while–at least long enough to remember to aim high at small, close-in targets.

My only problem with this thing was lack of magnification: since I couldn’t zoom in on distant targets, I had to squint.

I replaced that first red dot with an inexpensive Tasco scope (and eventually upgraded to a 6-24×50 Vortex Diamondback–the better to see small bullet holes in distant paper targets). But since I’m unlikely to shoot this pistol past 50 yards, lack of magnification won’t be an issue.

So while the factory iron sights are fine, I thought I could wring more accuracy out of a dot, especially with aging eyes.

I decided on a 2 MOA Holosun green dot* on a Lobos Industries mount. The Lobos mount is lower-profile than the factory picatinny rail.

*like a red dot, only green, see? They’re supposed to be easier to see.

The sight height on the installed optic ended up being about 1 1/8″ above the bore.

I zeroed the sight at 15 yards and shot over a chronograph to get an average muzzle velocity. I ended up with a trajectory that looks like this:

The bullet stays within an inch of the dot from just about point-blank range to almost 60 yards; within half an inch from 6 yards out to 50.

The green dot made my “wobble” extremely obvious–honestly, after seeing that thing move I’m surprised I ever hit anything with a pistol!

Accuracy was much better with the dot than with iron sights. I shot a group of five, seated, off of a rest at 10 yards:

I adjusted the dot a couple of clicks left then shot standing: I had fun blasting away but realized I was concentrating more on speed than accuracy.

I picked out a smaller target and focused on shooting as precisely as possible. I put five shots into an inch: a dismal performance for an Olympic competitor, sure, but the best I’ve done so far with a pistol.

I moved the dot another two clicks up and declared victory. I was happy with the way the CCI ammunition was shooting, and decided to save the target ammunition for my 22 rifle–at least for now.

The green dot is definitely staying on the pistol. Zombie gnomes, beware!

Suppressor?

OK, now I’m just talking crazy.

Or am I?

22 LR is not an especially noisy round–especially when compared to more robust calibers–but there are times when you’d rather not upset the neighbors.

Besides, shooting suppressed is fun, and with subsonic ammunition, a suppressed 22 is the closest you can get to “Hollywood quiet.”

I’ll have to check with my range to find out if it’s bad form to cosplay as a mob hitman.**

**probably so: we don’t allow targets with human features, etc.

But seriously: I’ve noticed that new shooters tend to flinch at the report of our unsuppressed 22 Mk IIIs. Shooting suppressed is much more relaxing for all concerned.

22 suppressors don’t get as hot as centerfire suppressors–because rimfire pressures are lower–so they don’t slow down your shooting as much.

The only downside I can think of–besides the expense–is that rimfire suppressors get dirty and need more frequent cleaning than their centerfire counterparts.

So now that approval times are way down, I’m thinking about adding one of these to my collection: possibly in the new year when the $200 tax stamp is no longer required.

In a desperate attempt to justify such a self-indulgent purchase, I tell myself it could do double duty on my rimfire rifles, as well.

(not that those need a suppressor, either)