One of the most popular backwoods home firearms is the simple, sturdy Ruger .22 caliber semiautomatic pistol. Introduced in 1947, it was an instant commercial success, and became the core of what now appears to be America’s largest firearms manufacturing entity.
A few short years later, they introduced a target-sighted target model called the Mark I. Over the years there evolved the Mark II with separate slide lock lever, the Mark III with a loaded chamber indicator, and now comes the Mark IV, introduced today and which the Evil Princess and I were shooting a few days ago at FTW Ranch in Texas.
If you ever owned a Ruger .22 auto, whether the classic steel guns or the later polymer frame versions, you know that they aren’t very easy to take apart, and are a nightmare to put back together after complete takedown.
Ruger fans, rejoice! The new Mark IV comes with a hinged “upper and lower” which breaks open and can then be separated, rather like an AR15. Hopefully, the new push-button takedown system will “take the worry out of takedown.” I didn’t bench the gun, but it seems to show the same rock-solid accuracy and reliability we’ve come to expect from this handgun line for some 67 years. Available in lightweight aluminum frame, too, as well as all-steel with long heavy target barrels. More info at Ruger.com.
The new Mark IV Has a push button in the rear for easy disassembly, then the rear pivots up to take apart.
The Mark IV disassembled.
View of the rear showing the disassembly button.
Another view of the rear prior to disassembly showing the button and the rear sights.
The slide stop and ambidextrous safety levers look to be MUCH easier to use than the controls on my old Mark II!
I got unbelievably lucky with a Mark II gently used with Volquartsen upgrades. Paid less than half the regular price for a barely fired gun.
A real tackdriver, and not so bad to disassemble/reassemble once you get the hang of it.
I bought one of the Ruger .22s, with a Bull Barrel, and target sights, back when they first came out, so I guess it’s a MK-I?
I shot it is the .22 stage of the 2700 matches, and it could shoot out the “X” ring, any time that I could hold it steady enough to allow it to do so.
I noticed that my rear sight notch was the “U” shape, and the one on this MK-IV is more of a “Shallow Vee” configuration instead?
Had four of them, and introduced my future bride to shooting with them. Accurate enough, but the takedown bored me continually. Switched to the Browning equivalent, and found them so much more ergonomic, easy to clean and take down, and WAY more accurate. Still so to this day. Thanks Ruger for showing up 35 years too late!
Very COOL gun! However, it may sound weird but my 22 (I won’t name names) can be counted on to malfunction on a regular basis….and I love it.
For me it is a great way to train malfunctions.
Very nice .22 auto. I know Ruger to make reliable side arms.
I have a Ruger Single Six that I’ve owned for 35 years. It’s always been my favorite revolver.
It’s embarrassing but the first two models are so hard to assemble I tend to shoot other pistols to not have to clean them.
I love my 22/45. It is accurate and eats everything I feed it. I bought it in part because I could not believe it was so difficult to field strip; and I do love a challenge. I was singularly unimpressed by the supposed difficulty associated with stripping this gun, even down to the last spring and pin. However, it did help me understand how liberals can adopt and then perpetuate a false premise until the world accepts it as true. You may trust, at first, but perhaps not after you verify.
It has been reported by reliable sources that T-Ban internees who were issued disassembled Ruger MKI 22LR Pistols upon their arrival at the Gitmo Internment Camp in 2002 are still trying to assemble those pistols in Fall of 2016. I feel their endless pain. Really, I do. LOL.
It has been reported by reliable sources that T-Ban internees who were issued disassembled Ruger MKI 22LR Pistols upon their arrival at the Gitmo Internment Camp in 2002 are still trying to assemble those pistols in Fall of 2016. I feel their endless pain. LOL.
I’ve owned 2 of them, the MK 1 was stolen but recovered by police, it was rusty. Armory Officer at NAS Alameda got it back to like new while I was deployed. I gave it to him because I did not like the ‘feel’ of it. Several years later I was offered a bull barrel model at an impossible to resist price. Did not like the ‘feel’, traded it for a motorcycle.
Today I own a Magnum Research Mountain Eagle .22 which, unlike the Ruger, feels natural and comfortable. No more Ruger .22 autos for me.
Mr Ayoob, I enjoyed the article as always. Always a fountain of knowledge ??
Love my Mark II and have introduced many people to pistol shooting with it. Great gun! And yeah it’s a PIA to clean but youtube is your friend 🙂 I’ll be getting a Mark IV!!!
If it doesn’t have some sort of takedown ‘gotcha’, it’s not a real Ruger. :p
simplicity is always the best solution thank you godspeed
I can attest to the fact that the Ruger Mark series is difficult to takedown for thorough cleaning.
My uncle handed me a shoe box and asked if I could put this together. Inside was a Mark 1, in pieces. First, I went to the Internet and Ruger’s web site and downloaded a copy of the manual. After reassembling the Gat I handed the box back to him and he asked if it was ok to shoot. I took it out into the back yard and fired a few shots and then handed it back to him. He handed it back to me and said,”it’s yours”. It is in my safe now. Thank God for the Internet.
Leave it to ruger to come up with a awesome improvement yet still screw the pouch. Why not threaded barrel??? Seriously how incompetent are you’re design teams??? Smh
Great write up/demo. This Ruger appears fantastic!
Own and collect mark 1/11’s, made the mistake of purchasing a mark 4 hunter.
After 150 rounds it started to come apart. The ejector came loose and the pin/screw in the front of the receiver came loose. Returned to ruger and when I got it back they glued the pin in and left the loctite in the receiver and it had set up and made a real mess. If you think taking a mark 1/2 or even a 3 is hard try completely taking a mark 4 down for a cleaning. Be careful what you wish for the take down button and all the other parts that are needed to make it work are
a real pain in the rear. Plus with all the extra parts in there the trigger pull is really heavy
Just sent my new Mark IV Hunter back to Ruger for repair. Like Larry, I only shot about 150 rounds and the rear sight locked-up and was no more adjustable in the horizontal position. In addition, it jams about once out of every 30 rounds. Finally, the accuracy is terrible. I had a 4 1/2 inch spread at 50 feet while using a tripod to steady the barrel. Sure hope they can fix all this because I really want to hunt with this gun.
As a followup, I find this pistol is not accepted by CA or MA for salle.
I just puchased a Mark IV Target model. I’m impressed by all the positve additions to this pistol. I have the Mark I, II and III versions. I decided to clean the Mark III, so I could remember what a pain it is. My III is the worst of the four to take down. So tight I have to use a mallet and pound the barrel off/on. The key is to use a .311 drill bit (a 5/16 is .310) to align the barrel to the frame to reassemble. More tapping to do this. Just so I could appreciate the Mark IV. So I think the IV is great! The trigger is terrible however. I have 1/8 creep before it engages. Than, at least 4.5 pounds of pull, before another 1/8 of overtravel. This doesn’t deserve to be called Target. I have placed and order for a Volquartsen trigger kit and slide release. Another $145 with shipping. The factory trigger on my Mark III is perfect. I installed Volquartsen kits on the Mark I and II’s, so these are improved also. I paid $519 for the Mark IV. Add the $145 improvement. Ruger scores big on the Mark IV. If you intend to get the most out of it’s accuracy, you will need to do something with the trigger.
Hello,
I’m from Germany and my interest is to buy one of the Ruger Mark IV from my Ruger Reseller. He did not answer my request due to my question.
Now my question: is there a difference between the Mark IV Competition und the Matk IV Hunter regarding the trigger release weight?
And what are the trigger release weigths at the guns?
Sven
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