Ruger Mark III 22/45 Lite

[remauto1187]

Ok I finally got a chance to do a little more breaking in on my brand new Ruger Mark III 22/45 Lite. My results are that it is your stereotypical Ruger handgun. It isnt finicky when it comes to what you feed it. I used Remington Golden Bullets, Winchester hollow points, some NOS CCI hollow points and it gobbled them all up. Had a few dud rounds that were indented well by the firing pin but obviously had internal primer problems. So not the guns fault. Stereotypical Ruger 2.5 mile takeup on the trigger. I dont know why Ruger will not get their head out of their arses when it comes to their triggers. The sights were adjustable but that did not do me much good considering they were dark and I just did not find them comfortable at all. Front was metal ramp and rear was square cutout. Not exactly for precision considering they covered POI completely up. Back to the trigger...yup you guessed it...stereotypical Ruger gritty...just like a factory 10/22. Both magazines would NOT drop free from the pistol and were a pain to get out of the gun. Ive had a Mark II 22/45(bought new) and I dont remember it ever having that problem. The pistol needs a little bit of work and $$ for some replacement custom parts. Ill be starting with the trigger and sights.

On the up side.. When they say LITE....they mean it! Never had any failure to fire (gun fault) nor any failure to extract or load.

Ill update post with some pics of groups AFTER I rework the trigger and sight "problems".

Dont get me wrong, the pistol is worth having if you are in the market for a .22 semi auto pistol. Just expect to spend a little bit more money to make the owner happy.

 

[flightsimmer]

Gun manufactures cannot produce anything but Lawyer triggers because of liability concerns. When you install a custom trigger the liability falls on you.

The stock sights are perfect for a 6:00 bulls eye hold, there not meant to cover the POI.

I noticed today that Ruger is making several different models of the 22/45 Lite. They discontinued the Champagne colored model and started making an all black model but today I saw one with multiple rows of holes drilled in the barrel shroud to lighten it even further.

I added a Volquartsen 2-1/4 lb.trigger kit to mine and disabled the magazine safety feature so that the magazine falls free from the gun. I also added a Weaver red dot sight and it shoots sub 1" groups at 25 yards with either of the sights.

 

[t-squared]

Amazon.com: Mark III (22/45) Hammer Bushing for Magazine Disconnect - Steel: Sports & Outdoors

One of these should cure your mag dropping woes...or you can use a regular Mark II bushing....

 

[remauto1187]

Gun manufactures cannot produce anything but Lawyer triggers because of liability concerns. When you install a custom trigger the liability falls on you.

The stock sights are perfect for a 6:00 bulls eye hold, there not meant to cover the POI.

I noticed today that Ruger is making several different models of the 22/45 Lite. They discontinued the Champagne colored model and started making an all black model but today I saw one with multiple rows of holes drilled in the barrel shroud to lighten it even further.

I added a Volquartsen 2-1/4 lb.trigger kit to mine and disabled the magazine safety feature so that the magazine falls free from the gun. I also added a Weaver red dot sight and it shoots sub 1" groups at 25 yards with either of the sights.

My Sig 220SS came from the factory with a smooth as butter trigger. You ever shot a Sig? Nice lookin Lite. Mine does NOT have the lightened barrel but it does have the threaded barrel. Gives me an excuse to get a supressor. Was not aware of the "magazine safety feature", unless you are talking about the fact that it wont fire with a magazine removed. All Rugers' are like that arent they? My old P89 that I had many years ago was like that.

 

[throttletony]

Gun manufactures cannot produce anything but Lawyer triggers because of liability concerns. When you install a custom trigger the liability falls on you.

The stock sights are perfect for a 6:00 bulls eye hold, there not meant to cover the POI.

I noticed today that Ruger is making several different models of the 22/45 Lite. They discontinued the Champagne colored model and started making an all black model but today I saw one with multiple rows of holes drilled in the barrel shroud to lighten it even further.

I added a Volquartsen 2-1/4 lb.trigger kit to mine and disabled the magazine safety feature so that the magazine falls free from the gun. I also added a Weaver red dot sight and it shoots sub 1" groups at 25 yards with either of the sights.

Man, that looks like a fun setup

 

[Robjps]

I have one and love it. The factory trigger was pleasantly surprising, i already ordered a Volquartsen setup or i would not have bothered. Magazine safety removal is a massive upgrade. I still have trouble seating the magazine sometimes thinking about changing out the base plates to one that protrudes out but the decent ones i have found are overly expensive $25.

 

[ru44mag]

I have a similar pistol. After trigger job and 1911 grips. I really like it. Oh yeah, I painted the front sight white.

 

[NHT3]

After a little work similar to what flighsimmer did and a fiber optic front sight I couldn't ask for a better 22..
The mag disconnect makes the trigger gritty and doesn't allow mags to fall free (mkIIIs), but it makes the lawyers happy.



[FONT=&amp]NRA Life Member[/FONT][FONT=&amp]-- [/FONT][FONT=&amp]GSSF member[/FONT][FONT=&amp]
[/FONT]Ruger MK III, M&P & 1911mechanic
NRA Basic pistol instructor[FONT=&amp] –[/FONT] Certified Glock armorer

 

[ryknoll3]

My Sig 220SS came from the factory with a smooth as butter trigger. You ever shot a Sig? Nice lookin Lite. Mine does NOT have the lightened barrel but it does have the threaded barrel. Gives me an excuse to get a supressor. Was not aware of the "magazine safety feature", unless you are talking about the fact that it wont fire with a magazine removed. All Rugers' are like that arent they? My old P89 that I had many years ago was like that.

The Mark II's didn't have the magazine safety. They added it in the Mark III. The magazine safety also keeps the magazine from dropping free and affects the trigger pull in a bad way. I upgraded mine to the Volquartsen trigger and deleted the mag safety while I was in there. I don't like guns that don't have drop-free magazines. Also, it makes it simpler and safer to disassemble as you don't have to insert a magazine several times to be able to dry fire and get it apart and back together.

I don't know if all Rugers are like that, but they shouldn't be....

 

[remauto1187]

The Mark II's didn't have the magazine safety. They added it in the Mark III. The magazine safety also keeps the magazine from dropping free and affects the trigger pull in a bad way. I upgraded mine to the Volquartsen trigger and deleted the mag safety while I was in there. I don't like guns that don't have drop-free magazines. Also, it makes it simpler and safer to disassemble as you don't have to insert a magazine several times to be able to dry fire and get it apart and back together.

I don't know if all Rugers are like that, but they shouldn't be....

The P series pistols are. They will NOT fire without a magazine inserted.

 

[TheUziButton]

Removing the magazine safety was one of the first things I did to this one. A Volquartsen trigger followed afterwards.

 

[45 x 11]

I have the same version Mark III as ru44mag. As others have said, the magazine disconnect is very problematic on these. Not only did it affect the trigger on mine, but it was contributing greatly to issues with the magazine not locking into place. That resulted in all kinds of feeding issues as the magazine would drop after a shot or two. I literally could not fire it three times in a row without issue with either of the supplied magazines.

in short, while it felt good in the hand, it wasn't worth the $320 I paid for it. However, it is worth the $405 or so I have into it. After replacing the trigger and sear with Volquartsen parts, changing the bushing and removing the magazine disconnect, and installing a new fiber optic front sight, it is like a completely different gun. Shoots great and accurately with no feeding issues, and it is quite simply one of the most fun pistols I have ever shot. I love it and wouldn't dream of parting with it. ..Hopefully with a little patience and work yours will turn into just as much of a keeper.

 

[cce1302]

The 22/45 lite looks like a great gun to suppress.

The P series pistols are. They will NOT fire without a magazine inserted.

My P95 does.

 

[JettaKnight]

I noticed today that Ruger is making several different models of the 22/45 Lite. They discontinued the Champagne colored model and started making an all black model but today I saw one with multiple rows of holes drilled in the barrel shroud to lighten it even further.

They don't seem to want to settle on a finish. First they had that gold color with the notches, then the fluted black, and at the NRA AM I held one that was a bluish color with vent holes all around. And somewhere in that mix was that color you have.

 

[87gsxr711]

I have the gold version and love it. Did the BAM Bushing mod to fix the mag drop problem. Added a VQ sear. Did my own trigger mods by adding a take up screw and overtravel screw. Also did a version of the slingshot mod. All of these mods and TONS of info can be found at rimfirecentral.com

 

[remauto1187]

The 22/45 lite looks like a great gun to suppress.



My P95 does.

LOL The P95 is a "3rd gen" and was introduced in 1996, which was 11years AFTER the the P85 and 5years after the P89 were. The P85,89,90 and maybe the 91-94 did not either (not sure on these models)....but the "TRUE" P series 1st/2nd Gens did not fire with the magazine removed.

Maybe I should have said the 1st/2nd gen P Series.

 

[remauto1187]

I installed the bushing tonight and the difference is night and day. The magazine drops free now. The trigger is still . Now to decide which trigger/hammer/sear package I will be ordering up and installing. The pretravel and overtravel is absolutely hideous! Its driving me nuts! The BS sights arent gonna cut it either.

 

[cce1302]

LOL The P95 is a "3rd gen" and was introduced in 1996, which was 11years AFTER the the P85 and 5years after the P89 were. The P85,89,90 and maybe the 91-94 did not either (not sure on these models)....but the "TRUE" P series 1st/2nd Gens did fire with the magazine removed.

I didn't realize there was "TRUE" P series snobbery until now. Interesting.

Maybe I should have said the 1st/2nd gen P Series.

Yes, that would have made your post accurate.

 

[cce1302]

I installed the bushing tonight and the difference is night and day. The magazine drops free now. The trigger is still . Now to decide which trigger/hammer/sear package I will be ordering up and installing. The pretravel and overtravel is absolutely hideous! Its driving me nuts! The BS sights arent gonna cut it either.

I really like the volquartsen accurizing kit, but it runs about a hundred dollars.

 

[Robjps]

I installed the bushing tonight and the difference is night and day. The magazine drops free now. The trigger is still . Now to decide which trigger/hammer/sear package I will be ordering up and installing. The pretravel and overtravel is absolutely hideous! Its driving me nuts! The BS sights arent gonna cut it either.

It's not cheap but its the best.

https://www.volquartsen.com/products/295-tl-rear-sight-for-mkii-and-mkiii