Buying a 22 pistol, specifically considering a Ruger Mark IV 22/45. I'm looking for some feedback from folks - good or bad - that have owned this model and/or the 22/45 Tactical. I don't currently own a suppressor but may some day, and only the Tactical is threaded for one out-of-the-box. Standard issue 22/45 has a longer barrel (by 1") at 5.5" and the price is more attractive - about $125 cheaper - but it doesn't come with rails necessary for a red dot, so adding an optic brings the price up roughly $50. Am I going to miss that extra 1" of barrel on the Tactical model? What else am I not considering with this purchase that I should be? I know I can get the standard issue threaded at a later date if I want, just more money.
Ruger Mark IV 22/45 vs 22/45 Tactical
- Thread starter Matlock
- Start date
crittr gittr
Well-known member
I have the mark 4 22/45 and it is a fun and accurate pistol for sure, but I went and bought the 22/45 lite and that little gun with my dead air suppressor weighs less than the mark 4 and is a hoot to shoot and it doesn't care what ammo I throw through it ( not including subs ) has shot flawlessly through it.I put a sig red dot sight on it and made it even funner!
crittr gittr
Well-known member
I have never shot it without the suppressor. As far as accuracy goes I have shot jackrabbits at 70 yards. You need a can man! Screw that sucker on there and have a flipping riot shooting ground squirrels at short range too.
I have a Mk III 22/45 Lite and a Mk III SS Target Bull Barrel. For me the SS Bull Barrel one just feels better in my hands and is more accurate but I have to be honest, it hasn't seen the light of day in a couple years because shooting the 22/45 Lite and my M&P Compact 22LR are sooooo much more fun to shoot because I shoot them suppressed. I actually think the 22/45 is a little on the fugly side but like crittr gittr said, these things are a flipping riot to shoot suppressed, even with the high velocity stuff they are crazy quiet and the CCI quiet ammo, forget about it, that stuff is quieter than a pellet gun.
Also, I'm not sure what the new Mk IV triggers are like but I put VQ trigger kits in both my Rugers and it turns them into a very nice trigger.
Also, I'm not sure what the new Mk IV triggers are like but I put VQ trigger kits in both my Rugers and it turns them into a very nice trigger.
RePete
New member
Originally Posted By: GCThis Friday I intend picking up a MKIV 22/45 LITE in Diamond Gray. It's threaded and has a rail. Hopefully over the weekend I can get out to the range, sight it in and give it a work out.
Go ahead and get a Voulquertson trigger kit headed your way GC. Thank me later.
Go ahead and get a Voulquertson trigger kit headed your way GC. Thank me later.
RePete
New member
Originally Posted By: RustydustOriginally Posted By: RePete
Go ahead and get a Voulquertson trigger kit headed your way GC. Thank me later.
I will second that. Makes your trigger break like snapping off the end of an icicle. Wont be sorry you got one I assure you.
Yep....the factory trigger on my plain Jane 22/45 was horrible.
Other than that I love the thing....matter of fact I like it so much I treated it to a set of Cocobolo stocks.
Go ahead and get a Voulquertson trigger kit headed your way GC. Thank me later.
I will second that. Makes your trigger break like snapping off the end of an icicle. Wont be sorry you got one I assure you.
Yep....the factory trigger on my plain Jane 22/45 was horrible.
Other than that I love the thing....matter of fact I like it so much I treated it to a set of Cocobolo stocks.
willy1947
Active member
Yesterday, I had just got off the phone with Ruger about this pistol.
I wanted to know about the pistol's frame. The one I liked was plastic.
The other one (40150) is made out of aluminum.
I guess I will have to keep shooting my Mark II Target, Government Target Model.
I will have to suffer with 3 1/2 pound trigger pull and all steel frame.
Has Ruger got worst or better?
GC
Well-known member
Picked mine up today. Trigger is fairly heavy and has quite a bit of creep in it. My worn slick old blued MKI and newer MKIII stainless Hunter have very nice triggers. I'll shoot a couple bricks of high velocity through it before I make any changes but it's pretty sure that some trigger work will be in its future.
crittr gittr
Well-known member
GC, how did your pistol shoot?
GC
Well-known member
I picked it up Friday, gave it a quick cleaning and some light lubrication. Saturday afternoon I hit the range with a brick of Mini Mag hollow points. Stapled up a five spot target at 25 yards, settled in at the bench and squeezed off five rounds. Squeezed off might not be the right term... the trigger feels as if you were pulling a brick over a gravel road by a string tied to one end. Gritty, creepy and heavy describes the trigger. The group was 4" low and 2" right. Here is where I rediscovered just how dumb a gun designer can be. I glanced at the windage screw, slotted screw. I expected that, normal. The elevation screw is a 1/16" Allen head. I didn't expect that. Of course I didn't have a 1/16" Allen in my range bag or the tool kit in my truck. Packed everything up and drove to the nearest store, a rural feed & hardware store and found a set of Allen wrenches that included the one I needed but didn't have. I never would have guessed Ruger would put two completely different type adjustment screws in the rear sight. What's the sense of that? Making sight adjustments requires two completely different tools... dumb.
Back at the range for a redo. Now I can bear down and get through the trigger for another group and manage a surprising 1.25" group. Four shots within .75" with a flyer slightly out. The LITE will shoot but you really have to focus hard on trigger control to realize its potential. I made adjustments on the sights to center the group, however the group doesn't move. More adjustment but no movement of the groups. The sight isn't responding to the clicks turned. I finger the sight blade pushing it around and mashing the thing up/down and now the sight moves - a lot. Shooting more groups and more adjusting and guiding the blade with finger pressure I finally got dialed dead nuts on at 25 yards. That rear sight doesn't fill me with confidence. Hopefully it will hold its adjustments.
As for accuracy, I shot around fifteen of those five shot groups on paper and can tell you this particular pistol never fired a group over 2". Obviously I don't need to look for a load it likes! Once I settled in with the trigger if I do my part I'll manage four shots around 1" and usually have a called flyer that widens things a bit. That flyer is a direct result of the poor trigger pull. However, the accuracy of the LITE was a very pleasant surprise. It makes you work to get it, but accuracy is in there.
I had one stovepipe malfunction in the first 50 rounds. Other than this one stovepipe early on there were no other malfunctions. After I got sighted in I started running some drills with a shot timer and plinking out to 100 yards on an 8" steel plate. After about 350 rounds I noticed the front sight was loose. That caused me to also look over that balky rear sight and I noticed the little set screw that helps anchor it in the dovetail was backed out. I tightened both ends of the sights up and they shot loose again before I finished my 500 rounds. A minor irritation is the sharp edged slide stop/release that hangs out just a bit too far from the frame. Maybe it's just me, but my left thumb lays over the top of that with my grip style and gets rubbed pretty good by the sharp edge. I also prevent the slide from holding after the last shot fired with my grip. That might not happen if the slide stop didn't protrude so far from the frame.
Sunday I cleaned the gun up and noticed it's quite a bit slicker and smoother. The trigger still has creep and weight but the gritty feel is gone. Lock Tite will fix the screws that want to back out in the sights. The gun feels good, looks sharp with the black frame and Diamond Gray upper (which looks light blue to my eye), it is surprisingly accurate and seems to run the Mini Mags just fine. That rear sight might get swapped out and some trigger work is most likely going to happen. Ruger should have included filler screws in case someone wants to take the rail off. Might get a set of Stoner G10 thin grips with a little blue/black color in them. Need to find a good holster. And stock up on Mini Mag hollow points.
Back at the range for a redo. Now I can bear down and get through the trigger for another group and manage a surprising 1.25" group. Four shots within .75" with a flyer slightly out. The LITE will shoot but you really have to focus hard on trigger control to realize its potential. I made adjustments on the sights to center the group, however the group doesn't move. More adjustment but no movement of the groups. The sight isn't responding to the clicks turned. I finger the sight blade pushing it around and mashing the thing up/down and now the sight moves - a lot. Shooting more groups and more adjusting and guiding the blade with finger pressure I finally got dialed dead nuts on at 25 yards. That rear sight doesn't fill me with confidence. Hopefully it will hold its adjustments.
As for accuracy, I shot around fifteen of those five shot groups on paper and can tell you this particular pistol never fired a group over 2". Obviously I don't need to look for a load it likes! Once I settled in with the trigger if I do my part I'll manage four shots around 1" and usually have a called flyer that widens things a bit. That flyer is a direct result of the poor trigger pull. However, the accuracy of the LITE was a very pleasant surprise. It makes you work to get it, but accuracy is in there.
I had one stovepipe malfunction in the first 50 rounds. Other than this one stovepipe early on there were no other malfunctions. After I got sighted in I started running some drills with a shot timer and plinking out to 100 yards on an 8" steel plate. After about 350 rounds I noticed the front sight was loose. That caused me to also look over that balky rear sight and I noticed the little set screw that helps anchor it in the dovetail was backed out. I tightened both ends of the sights up and they shot loose again before I finished my 500 rounds. A minor irritation is the sharp edged slide stop/release that hangs out just a bit too far from the frame. Maybe it's just me, but my left thumb lays over the top of that with my grip style and gets rubbed pretty good by the sharp edge. I also prevent the slide from holding after the last shot fired with my grip. That might not happen if the slide stop didn't protrude so far from the frame.
Sunday I cleaned the gun up and noticed it's quite a bit slicker and smoother. The trigger still has creep and weight but the gritty feel is gone. Lock Tite will fix the screws that want to back out in the sights. The gun feels good, looks sharp with the black frame and Diamond Gray upper (which looks light blue to my eye), it is surprisingly accurate and seems to run the Mini Mags just fine. That rear sight might get swapped out and some trigger work is most likely going to happen. Ruger should have included filler screws in case someone wants to take the rail off. Might get a set of Stoner G10 thin grips with a little blue/black color in them. Need to find a good holster. And stock up on Mini Mag hollow points.