I saw this nice Ruger Standard Auto at a local place, dithered around until I was sure it would be gone, then went and got it. Asking 250, got it for 220.



Circa 1972, very very clean. Screws unbuggered, grips still sharp.



Then the counter guy said the magic words: I'll go get the box. I love when that happens.



Serial number grease penciled on the box. Manual inside.



The guy noted there was a partial box of .22s, "from the 1930s". Kids these days.



I couldn't be happier. I love the pre-warning Rugers, and I doubt this one fired very many more rounds than the 20 missing from the box.



This will make a very nice shooter.

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“What you got, ain’t new.”

You need to pray for some forgiveness...stealing is a sin !
Nice score !
Gary

Very nice gun, that was the first handgun I purchased. It was 42.00. Couldn’t afford the 5” heavy bbl target at 55.00 which is the one I wanted. Enjoy your new prize, need a range report. Larry

The best value in a .22 semi EVER !!

Great pistol, great deal. That whole package is like a time capsule. I bought mine in the mid 70’s and have shot tens of thousands of WW super X through mine over the decades. I installed the Clarke trigger, this is one of the most accurate 22 pistols I own. I have shot this alongside shooters using all the “high dollar” auto pistols and it has always held it’s own. Hope you get as much enjoyment from your’s as I have mine. Have no idea why the photo posted upside down.

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That one looks to be in essentially brand new condition. Nice find for that price!
Jim

Beautiful Ruger and great ste..l; I mean purchase. How many forum members own or have owned one or more of these. I've owned and enjoyed numerous MK's I, II, and III over the years. This MKIII is ten years old and has provided MANY thousands of rounds of pure enjoyment

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John

Beautiful find. Love the taper barrel ones.

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Certified Curmudgeon

Has to be one of the best balanced handguns made

I'm always happy when a good fella finds a good gun at a good price. Use it in good health!

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Now go make God proud...

Nice! The first .22 auto I owned was one of those. Bought it in 1972, used it for a few years, then sold it cheap to my brother. He sold it a few years later when he moved to Alaska. Contrary to the Code of the West, he didn’t offer me first refusal when he did that. We both wish he hadn’t sold it. Picked up a 1970 5” Target model at a store in Cheyenne about a year ago under circumstances much like yours. Got it for $275 and have enjoyed it ever since. It’s hard to beat a good .22 pistol for sheer fun. I expect many a tin can will fall to yours.

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Everybody could shoot

Wow that is amazing. I am not one for buying guns that I don't shoot, but that one would make me think twice.

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Randy

A very neat find and a heck of a great buy! Sigp220.45 , you did good. All my best, Joe.

I've got my dad's which dates back to 1951. Has a good bit more wear on it but it will shoot as well as anything else out there. Love those little Rugers

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Forum consigliere

It shoots!

I tried it with some subsonic stuff I was using in a problematic little Model 63 and it choked once. When I switched to the cheap Wal Mart bulk pack high velocity stuff, it perked along without a hitch for 100 rounds.

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“What you got, ain’t new.”

I love my 50th Anniversary Model that I bought very slightly used back in October of 2016. At that point it was a 17 year old gun; but it looked like a brand new one and it sure does shoot great!

Ruger 50th Anniversary Standard Auto.

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Dave Brown
SWCA #3279

Both targets above are minute of snake head! Excellent shooting.

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Possum—The other white meat!

That was my first handgun too! Bought if used for $15, had to sell it a few years later, during the Carter era, couldn't figure out how to eat it. LOL! That one is a beauty! Congratulations!

That is a beautiful Ruger and it is now also a good shooter. I wonder if the magazine(s) hold nine rounds or 10?

I'm another guy whose first handgun is a Ruger Standard with 9 round mags. Mine was bought thoroughly used in late 1964. I was working at a steady job and had to scratch that handgun itch. Cost was $25.00 with one mag, no box etc. I'd get off work and shoot tin cans off fence posts. Then Uncle Sam invited me to join his Army so the Ruger got wrapped in an oily rag, placed in a 50cal ammo can and retrieved many years later. It's still used and useful.

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Bob.
SWCA 1821

One of those is my first hand gun purchase, had just turned 18.
Paid 41$ at the hometown hardware store, owner was a hunting buddy of Dad's, paid 20$ down and 5$ a month for the balance. Some years later I ask him was he ever worried about getting his 41$ for the gun. His response was "No, one word to your father and he would have dealt with you in short order", no truer words ever spoken..
Still have the gun, thousands of rounds run through it.

I have three. Mine is a bull barrel 5" that I picked up used in the mid 70s. I have Dad's Mk I long barrel target that I took him to a pawn shop to buy along about '60-61. It rode under the front seat of his farm truck until he passed away ten years ago. Then I recently traded my brother out of Mom's Mk 1 standard shorty a few months ago. The right grip panel looks like she bumped it against a hot iron or set a hot skillet on it and dulled a spot of the checkering. Blue remains 100%.

I taught my daughter's the basics of sight picture and trigger control with the bull gun. All three are proficient with handguns.

Jack

Very nice!

Nice find!
Just picked up a new MKIV Target, steel is real, with threaded barrel yesterday at Lous in Miami.
Let’s compare targets.
What’s the music theme to the show... Can Can

I got to thinking and worrying about rust so I got the old boy out and cleaned it today. It was a bear to reassemble even with the manual handy. The gun has been shot enough to raise burrs around the grip frame and receiver holes. The burrs kept interfering with the bolt stop pin. I got my teeny little files and cleaned up the burrs and BINGO she's back together.

That's maybe the last cleaning that gun ever gets. clean 'em too much and it ruins 'em.

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Bob.
SWCA 1821

Bought the target model in 1968, the first after I turned 21.

Charlie

I’ve got 3. A MkII Gov. a MkII512 and a MkIII Comp Target but would love to find a Standard. Nice looking gun and a nice catch.

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I told you not to use Lifebuoy

I still miss my old Mk I Ruger. I traded it and a Ruger Single-six Stainless with Magnum Cylinder for a T514 heavy barrel target model.
Geoff
Who notes the newer gun is more accurate, but not as much fun.

sigp220.45, in rereading this thread, I am reminded of how much fun it is to shoot a fine pistol or for that matter a revolver that doesn't cost an arm and a leg. A Ruger Standard Auto with a 6in. barrel was the very first pistol that I ever shot back in 1962. My mother gave one to my father and I was allowed to use it while I was in High School. Between that pistol, a Ruger 10/22 and a Montgomery Wards{Mossberg} Hawthorne Warrior Bolt Action 22 Rifle I shot a couple of 100 thousand rds. in the following years. All three of those guns are still owned, and have been used by my adult children and still are as accurate today as they were when new. I am sure you and I both can agree that with all the various guns that we have shot thru the years, and that is a heck of a large number, we both still have a ball and a lot of fun shooting these simple well designed and quality built Standard Autos. As I said earlier, you got a great buy. Thanks again for posting and reminding me of a lot of great times and very good memories. All my very best my friend, Joe.

I've opened this thread about 20 times now. This is what happens to me,

Now I need one.

Security Six, Blackhawk .45 convertible, '59 Flattop .44mag, Old Army and Mini-14.

I need a .22 pistol

I have a revolver already, K-22 but were not talking S&W and I wouldn't trade it for two Ruger .22 revolvers.

Nice score OP!

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Dum vivo cano

You paid too much. Back in the late 1960's that gun cost me $37.50

sigp220.45:

What a find!

The Ruger 22 Auto is my favorite "plinker" and it resides permanently in my range bag.

Disassembly is a problem. Take heart. Mine has never been disassembled in about 30 years of heavy use.

Mine is cleaned once a year, if that, and I simply use a Solvent soaked patch run in the barrel the "wrong direction," and Q-tips work nicely on the feed ramp and in the chamber and on the breech face. You have to bend the Q-tips to give the chamber a good scrubbing! No malfunctions, ever. Original mags, original springs.

I have never used lead bullets though. I always use Remington 1522s, the plated ones - high velocity. In a previous 22 pistol, I found that lead bullet 22s that are not plated are messy. And, I don't like to clean my plinkers.

I have a 10/22 that is treated and cleaned the same way. Blasphemy? Probably. But, it is not a safe queen, and I find it more enjoyable to shoot than to clean. Lube, yes. Clean, no.

I love Erich's post - use it in good health. After your retirement, you deserve it! Thanks for your service.

Did you stay long enough to get the 19M or 17M, or were you gone with your grandfathered P220 by then?

Best,

Shawn

Thanks for the kind words, Shawn.

I use your method, too. I had to bring the shoebox-of-shame to my gunsmith the one time I tried a full takedown. No mas.

My 220 and I made to the finish line together, just barely. I retired 6/2016, and word had already come down that there would be no more .45s authorized or grandfathered past 10/2016. A few guys with POW Glock 21s rumbled, but the loudest wailing came from SWAT boys who laid out big money for POW Springfield 1911s. The issued 1911s had been recalled just before I left, replaced with FDE Glock 17s. I never even saw one of the 19Ms.

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“What you got, ain’t new.”

Nice score OP! Love those Ruger automatics. I have a pile of mkII's. My favorite is a 4in bull barrel. The aniversary edition is a fine shooter too. Love them all.

Great Buy! I bought our Ruger Standard in in 1974. Mrs. swsig wanted a .22 to replace the High Standard her ex had kept. Our LGS had one High Standard in stock, but when the owner test fired it, it jammed every time. So we bought the Ruger, which not only worked, but cost less. Unfortunately, both the box and the original owner's manual have long since disappeared.

I wish I'd read shawn mccarver's advice about not disassembling the Standard years ago. It would have saved me a lot of fussin' and cussin'. On the other hand, I've gotten pretty proficient at disassembling and reassembling the Standard. Here are some handy hints: You will need some additional tools. A hammer and a non-marring drift for getting the bolt stop out. A large rubber mallet is best for removing and reinstalling the barrel-receiver assembly. Strong illumination, a dental pick, and a lot of patience are needed to position the hammer strut properly in order to reinstall the mainspring-bolt stop assembly. It sounds complicated, but when you get it all back together successfully, you will have a feeling of achievement and satisfaction that you cannot get from reassembling any other gun.

As to ammo, mine works best with higher velocity rounds, and is the most accurate with CCI Stingers. At 15 yards, it is as accurate as any of my S&Ws or SIGs, and it easily has the best trigger of any gun I own.

If you don't have one, get one!

Here's mine:

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What, me worry?

I have one just like it, circa 1982. I was debating whether to buy it or not, when I read in the American Rifleman that it had been discontinued and replaced with the Mark 11. The dealer had it priced at $120, but when I got there it was $150. I guess he read the article too.

I bought it anyway.

Now I have that Standard, Plus a Mark 1, 11, 111 and 1V. I just love those Rugers.

Hey, I have one of those from about '71 or '72. It was dad's retirement gift and it came to me along with his K-22 from about '55.

Mine is not nearly as nice as yours and the box is gone, but I still love it.

Congratulations on a great find.

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Just Say No - To Social Media

My wife of 64 years, bought me a Standard Model for my 21st birthday in 1956. I take it to the range at least once a month and it continues to shoot beautifully. I've thought about selling it, but can't decide on the number of zeroes to put on the price--at least six.