Question about Government MKII

I saw a "government" MKII for sale in the "classified" section and saw nothing on it that indicated it was "government". Looks like any other MKII Target. Why "government "? All MKIIs I saw when on the military pistol team had a "US" stamped on them. I would assume that made them "government".

On the right side of the receiver it will say government target model.

You really have to expand that picture to see it. Look on the right rear in line with the serial number.

OK. I 'blew it up' a gazillion times and now can barely see it. What makes a 'government' model different from a normal 'target' model?

supposedly they were more hand fitted? select barrels, and they were "laser" sighted in...and a target came along with each gun back then, yes they were more accurate, we tried a few of them back then compared to our High Standards, were a good job........yes, as I noted above the first ones came in the yellow/black one piece box and had only ONE mag with them.and there was a target in the box. :wink:

rumor was they were trying to get a contract for the military for them to be used for training??? so maybe at first an "over run"????? :roll:

I have heard the chamber is tighter like almost a target chamber. Also the chamber is finished after the barrel is on the reciever.

It also has a 6.88" bull barrel.

Just for fun. 1st year guns MK678US, MK678G and KMK678G

Nice!

The MKII ,initially ,was the result of a US contract. Yes there were some overruns. The pieces do have the US property stamp on the receiver. Apparently the pieces were a hit and commercial production was the result. The civilian production was a clone of the the US contract model, hence the Goverment Target Model roll marking. There were stainless and blue versions of the US contract model. Everything I have written may not be in correct order, but will be close.

The lower left pistol in the picture below is a "Government" Mark II model :



Along with every government contract, at least all those I've dealt with in the past, are provide with specific attributes that must be included with the finished product. Certifications are also require and presented when the contract parts are completed.
From all the Ruger reference material I have, there's nothing that mentions "special barrels", but I sure am open to reading where that information came from. What one, main specification involved, was that the chamber be "roller-burnished" to a specific diameter, roundness and hardness. the sights had to be targeted and set specifically also. Tom Ruger and another engineer designed equipment to do just that, thus the provided target accompanying all Ruger Mark II Government pistols when sold new.
Those models involved with the government contract were indeed marked U.S. on the receiver ring.

To add a bit further to the last post regarding accuracy. The letter I have from Ruger refers to enhanced accuracy as a requirement for the contract model, but no mention of how that was achieved.

The laser sighting technique/device was patented by Tom Ruger and engineering staff. There were appx 17,000 pistols delivered on the US contract.

So that being said I can then assume that ALL "US" marked were "Government", but, all "Government' marked were NOT "US".

That would be a correct assumption. The US denotes government property. Non US marked is the civilian model made not unlike the US piece.

Do the slabsides have the same roller burnished chamber as the government target?
Are they as accurate?

chilidog said:

Do the slabsides have the same roller burnished chamber as the government target?
Are they as accurate?

Click to expand...

Not that I'm aware of. As far as accuracy testing and comparison, from one Ruger to another. I use this device exclusively when testing ammunition for accuracy in any of the Ruger Mark pistols that I have tested and compared to one another for accuracy:



The Mark II Ruger Competition Target versions come extremely close, and they're pretty much indifferent, when shooting the same ammunition in the Ruger Mark II Government Model. Even the Ruger Mark III Competition Target prints very well and be compared to the previous two pistols. Ruger does, for the most part, make some excellent barrels, and those are the "heart" of good accuracy expectations with quality .22 rimfire ammunition.
In my experience, using the Ransom Rest is the only way I can eliminate any operator influence and get a true accuracy report. After that, it's up to the owner to try and match the accuracy found.

Are the slabsides more accurate than the target models?

The first MK678G, some 19,000+ units were shipped to the U.S. Government. They were not marked "GOVERNMENT TARGET MODEL", but they were marked U.S.
When the contract with the U.S. was done, Ruger continued the model with a good sales advertising ploy by saying the civilian offering would be called the "GOVERNMENT TARGET MODEL" and they were so marked on the receiver, and were without U.S. markings.
The U.S. marked guns and the first tens of thousands of civilian MK-678G's were test targeted with a patented laser sight system. Tens of thousands of the civilian issue were also packaged with their test target, but this did not continue for the rest of the MK678G or KMK678G lifespan.
The last of the 678G blue bull barrels are believed to have been used up with possibly no more than 200 Mark III series pistols in two different serial number blocks.
Chet15

Were the Mark III's marked government target model also?