I GOT TO SHOOT A NEW RUGER MARK IV LAST FRIDAY

[chief38]

One of my friends just bought a brand new Ruger Mark IV and we rode out to the Range last Friday to shoot it - among other stuff.

I will commend Ruger for their newly redesigned pistol that takes down very easily. Push one button and it comes apart. The older design was a p.i.t.a. to say the least! The fit and finish was OK and accuracy was acceptable - although not terrific (might improve with a descent trigger though).

The only real objection that I have with the $450.00 Pistol was the absolutely horrendous Trigger. The pull weight was upwards of 7+ pounds and had much creep! He said he was going to order a Volquartsen Trigger for it ($100 bucks) which should remedy that to about 2.5 pounds according to their advertising.

I know all about liability and price points of this Pistol, I just don't get how Ruger has the guts to label this a "Target" model with such a bad trigger!

Anyway, even with the cost of the Volquartsen trigger replacement the total cost will be about $550 which if it does what they say it will, is still within reason. So unless he just got a "bad one" Ruger has still not really addressed their horrible triggers. I do think they did a great job on the take down though!

SEE POST #7 FOR UPDATE

 

[pharmer]

I'd like to have one but the $700+ price of the model I want is more than I paid for the 3 MKII's I have. I can wait + I can take MK I, II's apart and put it together in 2 minutes. The "dangle angle" of the hammer stirrup is the usual cause of suicidal/homicidal ideation. Joe

 

[gonerydin]

One of my friends just bought a brand new Ruger Mark IV and we rode out to the Range last Friday to shoot it - among other stuff.



I will commend Ruger for their newly redesigned pistol that takes down very easily. Push one button and it comes apart. The older design was a p.i.t.a. to say the least! The fit and finish was OK and accuracy was acceptable - although not terrific (might improve with a descent trigger though).



The only real objection that I have with the $450.00 Pistol was the absolutely horrendous Trigger. The pull weight was upwards of 7+ pounds and had much creep! He said he was going to order a Volquartsen Trigger for it ($100 bucks) which should remedy that to about 2.5 pounds according to their advertising.



I know all about liability and price points of this Pistol, I just don't get how Ruger has the guts to label this a "Target" model with such a bad trigger!



Anyway, even with the cost of the Volquartsen trigger replacement the total cost will be about $550 which if it does what they say it will, is still within reason. So unless he just got a "bad one" Ruger has still not really addressed their horrible triggers. I do think they did a great job on the take down though!

If it pulls 7 lbs I would send it back. I think they are typically around 4 lbs. My brother has a MK IV Hunter and I thought the trigger was decent on it.


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[RichCapeCod]

I have a Ruger MKIV 22/45. Wonderful pistol. Desperately needed the Volq trigger. Made all the difference in the world!

Now, my favorite.22, and I’ve got plenty!

Rich

 

[Sevens]

I have shot -MANY- Ruger pistols from the Standard and through all Mark I, II and III. I have not dealt with a Mark IV.

I can say with all the confidence I can muster, backed with decades of hands-on, the design is fantastic but there is a pinnacle and that pinnacle is easily and very clearly the Mark II.

The Mark II is better than all of the others. I can only find one small blip about the Mark II that some would take issue with and that is the heel magazine release (although the 22/45 Mk II does use a button)

If you choose any pistols from the 1949 original through a Mark IV made last week, you aren't getting the best if you didn't get a Mark II.

If you are a tortured soul that can't handle the take-down and reassembly then a $60 Majestic Arms "easy take down" kit is money much, MUCH better spent than is chasing down the new Mark IV unless you want an inferior pistol.

Heh, any of the Ruger Mark pistols are better than the S&W Victory though. And if it were me or someone I cared about, a clean USED Mark II is a better buy for the same money than any Standard, Mark I, Mark III or Mark IV in any condition, including new.

 

[Bro. Dave]

My MK IV just came home from Majestic Arms with "the works" and it is amazing. Although I had already had the barrel threaded, Dino was still able to put the 11degree re-crown treatment on it and the trigger defies description. I had not had any issues with my MK IV Target, but visiting with Dino at the NRAAM led to my pistol making a round trip to Staten Island.

 

[chief38]

UPDATE:

Today my buddy brought his Ruger Mk IV pistol to my house after installing the drop in Volquartsen parts (received them in 2 days) and I measured the pull with my RCBS trigger scale. It is now a light, crisp 1 3/4 pounds. What a HUGE difference. Can't wait to see how it shoots now.

 

[chief38]

If it pulls 7 lbs I would send it back. I think they are typically around 4 lbs. My brother has a MK IV Hunter and I thought the trigger was decent on it.


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Didn't really matter since he was intending on installing a Volquartsen kit anyway. Weather it came at 7 pounds or 5 pounds - still lousy for a target Pistol! IMHO a .22 "Target Pistol" should be 1 3/4 - 2 1/4 pounds. That's just my personal opinion and YMMV.

 

[Farmer17]

My Browning Buck mark has a nice crisp 4 lb trigger and the Ruger 22/45 I bought a few years ago had a nice 5lb trigger but 3-1/2 to 4 pounds should be the max for a .22 target pistol or it takes the utility and the fun away.

 

[Wee Hooker]

UPDATE:

Today my buddy brought his Ruger Mk IV pistol to my house after installing the drop in Volquartsen parts (received them in 2 days) and I measured the pull with my RCBS trigger scale. It is now a light, crisp 1 3/4 pounds. What a HUGE difference. Can't wait to see how it shoots now.

Wow, that's very good. In the "old days" I could get 2.3-2.5# out of any MK I/II/III pistol with just a $25 sear (and $10 bushing change if MK III). Even after the full boat $120 Volquartsen kit, both my mark IV's are currently stalled at about 3.2#. I suspect tolerance issues in these early production MK IV's is the cause. In any case,
Volquartzen is a great operation to deal with!

p.s. These was likely something up with that gun if it had a 7# factory trigger. I handle new ones in the shop every week. Most run around 4.5-5# ( with some moderate creep) out of the box.

 

[Wee Hooker]

My Browning Buck mark has a nice crisp 4 lb trigger and the Ruger 22/45 I bought a few years ago had a nice 5lb trigger but 3-1/2 to 4 pounds should be the max for a .22 target pistol or it takes the utility and the fun away.

Buckmarks have always been known for "best in class" out of the box triggers. Mine have them for certain.

 

[nachogrande]

MARK ll GOVERNMENT MODEL, NUFF SAID!

Triggers on all of them seem to be the weak spot. The word for them I use is GRITTY. PITA to take down??? NOT once you learn how! YES it could be better (Sigs they aint), but there is the easy/inexpensive aftermarket fix mentioned above. That said my current one is a MKll 4" target, wish I kept the gubmint model. Life's too short for "adequate" & "acceptable".

 

[Fredagart]

I’m also looking on adding ruger to my collection
Haven’t made up my mind which one in particular

 

[Sevens]

KMK-512 for me. Mine is 1994 vintage.

 

[Wee Hooker]

Triggers on all of them seem to be the weak spot. The word for them I use is GRITTY. PITA to take down??? NOT once you learn how! YES it could be better (Sigs they aint), but there is the easy/inexpensive aftermarket fix mentioned above. That said my current one is a MKll 4" target, wish I kept the gubmint model. Life's too short for "adequate" & "acceptable".

Take down on the pre MKIV's isn't all that bad once you learn that you need to understand where the hammer and strut are during all aspects of reassembly. Once you can envision this, the rest of it falls into place.
THe MK IV system does make it a mindless venture though.

Since we keep talking pre-MKIV pistols.... I'll confess that while I like the improvements made in the oversized controls , mag ejection and field stripping of the MK IV, ( as well as the loss of that hideous LCI in the MK III) the MK II will always be my favorite.
Here is one of my favorite MK II's wearing a (somewhat rare) Tru-Glo rib. It's a sweetheart!

 

[Flash_80]

If you want to keep it stock, best out of the box in the price range is the Buckmark. If you want to put a bunch of time and money in and troubleshoot it into running reliable, MK series Ruger. I like both.

 

[AzShooter]

My Mark IV came with a 5 3/4 pound trigger and always felt like I was pulling through the safety to fire the gun.

I upgraded it with the Volquartsen Trigger Kit and added a Tandemkross Victory Triggger.

My trigger pull is now 1 3/4 pounds. I love shooting this gun.

It's been modified more since them including a VQ LLV 6 barrel and compensator. My favorite .22.

 

[swsig]

Reading all the complaints about the Ruger Mark triggers amazes me. I own seven semi-autos, and my 1974 Ruger Standard has by far the best trigger. I estimate it's about 3 to 3.5 lbs., it has a very short pull, and it's smooth as silk. I have to wonder what Ruger did to degrade the triggers in the subsequent Mark series. They had a good thing going, so why the backwards step?

 

[chief38]

Wow, that's very good. In the "old days" I could get 2.3-2.5# out of any MK I/II/III pistol with just a $25 sear (and $10 bushing change if MK III). Even after the full boat $120 Volquartsen kit, both my mark IV's are currently stalled at about 3.2#. I suspect tolerance issues in these early production MK IV's is the cause. In any case,
Volquartzen is a great operation to deal with!

p.s. These was likely something up with that gun if it had a 7# factory trigger. I handle new ones in the shop every week. Most run around 4.5-5# ( with some moderate creep) out of the box.

Could just be the luck of the draw! I did take note that the new Volquartsen spring was straight, not slightly bent like the original, therefore producing less force on the Sear. That is more than likely the reason for such a light pull - but it passed the smack test while cocked and all functions correctly.

 

[chief38]

ONE INTERESTING NOTE:

I could NEVER own one of these Mark IV's for the simply reason that the Ambi. (right side) Safety keeps being pushed on Safe by my hand when griping the pistol. I am a Righty. My Buddy is a Lefty and so he seems not to have the same problem with the main Safety on the left side. This happened almost every time I operated the Pistol and was quite annoying to me - thankfully he has no problem with it.