Ruger Mark Pistols

[ron]

There's only one extractor that I now work with, because they work with me.

What brand of aftermarket extractor do you recommend? Good post. Thanks

 

[SGW Gunsmith]

@SGW Gunsmith , Thank you for the information! This is exactly the kind of stuff I'm enjoying learning, and a lot of it applies to other guns, as well.

Now I'm curious to pull some extractors on my other pistols, and see if they have those burrs. Any advice on who sells good quality punches and roll pin punches? I have some from Walker, but they seem like the metal bends a little too easily.

Smooth Operation: It costs extra dollars for any firearms manufacturer to deburr machined and stamped parts. If you've ever handle an older Colt Python, you know what smooth operation is.
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Oh, man! Those Pythons are a sweet example of smooth. I got to shoot one a friend had way back when, and pulling through the double action was the slickest I've ever felt.
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I get ALL of my bench, hand tooling from Brownells. I wouldn't recommend getting a punch set, as there are some big punches that most of us don't really need unless we want to fix the bridge down the road.
For the Ruger Mark pistols, two punches, 3/32 and 1/8 will do you fine. For the Rear sight pivot pin, a 1/16 short punch will do. The longer ones are so dang skinny, they will bend and turn your vocabulary sour.

 

[SGW Gunsmith]

What brand of aftermarket extractor do you recommend? Good post. Thanks

I'm very reluctant to mention brand names in open forums. There is an outfit on the east coast that has a way of finding me wherever I go and then take my advice as theirs. Now, if you were to send me a private message, I can tell you where you might be able to get a Ruger Mark extractor, per my design, that will pull a spent case from even a pretty dang dirty chamber, and throw that sucker into the next county, for less $$ than you'd have thunk.
I shoot at a local indoor range in Rice Lake during the winter, and nobody wants the stanchion next to me on my right side. When I shoot my Ruger Mark pistols, they claim they get spent cases in their left ear canal, but I deny every accusation they inflict on me.

 

[SGW Gunsmith]

Started with a Ruger standard at 4 years old. Still have her and she still runs flawlessly (until dirty like all of them).

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Now I also have a MK3 hunter that I did all of the accurizing stuff too. Just need a red dot and I'll be done. It'll shoot the balls off a fly as is though

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[Member 5605]

I know mine shoots a reasonable single hole at 15 yards. I have a 3 MOA dot so it gets a little larger at 25y.

Does well with CCI Standards at subsonic velocities.

 

[SGW Gunsmith]

I started with a Ruger RST4 many moons ago, but I had to have my Dad sign for it as I was a few years under the required age. Old enough to get drafted and have my own M14, but not old enough to get a .22 pistol:



I still have that pistol, but now it has an adjustable rear sight and an adjustable trigger for pre and over-travel and a better set of wood panels that are checkered. Still a BLAST to shoot and I carry it around on our empire, just in case of any attacks by rogue chipmunks.

 

[SGW Gunsmith]

I know mine shoots a reasonable single hole at 15 yards. I have a 3 MOA dot so it gets a little larger at 25y.

Does well with CCI Standards at subsonic velocities.

Yes Sir! Also one of my favorite brands of ammunition for my Ruger Mark pistols. Been testing some of the CCI CLEAN .22 rounds in the 1070 FPS style and Red bullets, and they do in fact leave the bore and receiver quite a bit debris free.:

 

[SGW Gunsmith]

Very interesting Ruger Mark pistol smith. Welcome aboard. Who doesn't own a Mark Pistol?
I like to spend money to make my pistols better shooters.
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I read about a couple of guys living in Rolla, North Dakota, who don't even know how to spell R-U-G-E-R

 

[SGW Gunsmith]

I have always been impressed with the MK series, and especially the new MK-IV, stock outta the box, it ran flawlessly and there was no need to make improvements, BUT, with such aftermarket options, it was impossible to resist customizing it to make it "Mine" and so, I have and it really rocks! I have a MK-2 Stainless target that was always my go to for plinkin or other fun, the new MK-IV has usurped it and is now my fav to play with! Did I say it was accurate, Scary would be the best term, I wish the rest of my pistols were this good!

Hey man, I read you loud and "for sure". The Ruger Mark II run was one of the BEST Ruger ever did. Seems they got everything right, and I have more Mark II's than anything else.
When Ruger hired a new CEO, who was also an attorney, he figured all of us Ruger pistol owners were not smart enough to know that "SAFETY" was somewhere in between our ears rather than built into a mechanical device. The Ruger Mark III had several "nanny" devices added like the magazine disconnect, that wouldn't allow the pistol to fire unless a magazine, even an empty one, was installed. Then, Ruger cut a slot into the left side of the Mark III receiver so that a Loaded Chamber Indicator ( LCI ) could let all of us dummies that we had a round chambered. Don't know about everyone else, but I was taught how to "press check" an automatic pistol before I got my first bike.
Myself and another fella came up with an improved version involving a hammer bushing that would eliminate the magazine disconnect malarkey:

These bushings have been copied by an east coast outfit, but was done without considering any tolerances involved with the hammer bushing bore. The bushings work best when the fit tightly into said hammer bushing bore. When done correctly, even trigger pull will improve.

 

[SGW Gunsmith]

I've owned the Mark III stainless bull barrel, for 15 years, great gun, but I am ashamed to say, I still don't know how to take it apart. LOL

With a very minor upgrade, at very low expense, even complete disassembly is much better.

 

[PDXbiker]

On my lawyered up MKIII Hunter, As like SGW I installed the hammer bushing to eliminate the mag disconnect. Also removed the LCI and put in a blank filler. This essentially returns a MKIII back into a MKII. Only difference being the magazine release. Side grip button on the III, bottom mag latch on the II. Note that Ruger ditched the LCI on the MKIV.

 

[SGW Gunsmith]

Yes, and that's an advanced feature I neglected to mention. I also like that aspect on the Mark III and the Mark IV. Thanks for the reminder.