I have wanted one of these for a while. Does anyone have any opinion as which is better/worse MarkI, II, or III? I am leaning towards a I or II, but wanted some feedback from someone that has put some time in with them.
The MK II bull barrel is the best. No mag disconnect safety and or loaded chamber indicator and best of all - solid steel. But you should try to shoot each model before you decide. I have worked on these guns for over 30 years. You could not give me one of the new models. The steel MK II has the best balance. Disassembly and reassembly are not that difficult if you read the manual.
Nope. I'm keeping mine until I die. At that time, my brother will inherit it.
Pretty much anyone that knows anything about Ruger MK pistols would rather have a MKII than a MKIII. That's why you'll probably pay as much for a used MKII as you will for a brand new MKIII.
I do like all of them, The 22/45 seems to not want to drop mags well. The mkIII hunter has to be my favorite. Its kinda boring to shoot. Its so damn accurate.
Whether you want a 22/45 or a std. Mk II/III is personal preference.
I like the 45 style, but that's me. I have both a SS hunter and a LITE version of the Mk III, both are tricked out.
If you can find a used Mk II you like, then buy it. Otherwise, get a new one and modify it. Both the LCI and mag safety can be removed for a few bucks and you'll eseentially have the same mechanics as a Mk II.
I'm with the other guys here on the MK II being the way to go.
I own a early blue bull barrel MK II that I bought in 83-84. It was used a lot in its first ten years of life with me and it was used to teach a lot of people how to shoot with. Its just a safe queen now. I don't remember when the MK II came out in stainless but that's what I would look for, a MK II Bull in stainless.
Either way, I wouldn't recommend the LITES. The whole tensioned barrel with sketchy quality control = bad things and worse accuracy. Some have been lucky, but most have issues. People say rugers customer support is awesome, I had nothing but problems.
I had to send my 22/45 mkIII back 4 times to be replaced because of quality issues, threaded barrel with non concentric threads=baffle strike on suppressor. The last "acceptable" one came to me with a cracked mainspring housing and horrible pin tolerances which took me forever to get the trigger to tolerable levels.
If you decide to go the mkIII route, and want to replace the magazine disconnect, get the Clark customs bushing, it's the best of them all. You do not need the volquartsen drop in kit to get a decent trigger.