Mark 1,2,3 or 4. Whats the best of the bunch?

I never cared for the Mark II magazine release. I like my Mark IV.

II

A great question! The stainless Mark II! I have my Dad's blued 6-inch pencil barrel model, made in 1966, which he purchased new at the princely sum of $39. It was his constant companion and he logged thousands of rounds through it. It came with only one magazine and he never had any failures, though he rarely babied it. Top cleaning for him was hose it down about 2 times a year with WD-40. I started hunting very early and soon learned the real value of a rimfire (pistol or rifle) in calm hands. I have a couple of the 1 of 5000 Signature Series that are reserved for my grandson's. I have numerous stainless Mark II's and, like my compadres herein, they really are the finest of the breed. I have them in every available variant from the 4 inch HB to the 10 incher and all in between. My favorite is the Target, semi-bull with the 5 1/4 inch barrel and close behind the 6 inch pencil barrel. I am a rancher and one or more are my constant companions. They are all blooded and have proven themselves well in the field. My farthest game shot was 115 measured yards. If I told you all that have fallen to the Mark II, some would claim me a liar, others would say I am no sportsman but those who have my experience would simply nod in acceptance and approval. If I were restricted to only one handgun, it would be a stainless Mark II.

Swamper

I've had a Standard, more MKII's than I can remember, two friends with MKIII's and now I have a MKIV and The MKIV is the best of the bunch in my opinion.

45flattop said:

I have two MKIIs and one RST-4 Standard, one KMK512 and one KMK678GC and while
I harbor some real fondness for my RST-4, I have to go with the two MKIIs, the MKIII
is in my opinion at least a lawyer spawned abomination. I am withholding judgment on
the MKIV as I am suspicious of the again in my opinion unnecessary alteration to the
magazine release location and changes related to that. I can't find anything at all
wrong with the original heel release so if it isn't broken, why tinker with success?

Aside: I have had the RST-4 since the year it was made, 1968, got it at a local
Wally World like store for the princely sum of $37.50(yep, the same price it
went for until later that same year to $41.50). I remain amazed that Bill Ruger
managed to hold that price stable for 19 years, that has to be some sort of
record in the firearms industry.

Click to expand...

And that is what I paid for this in 1968 + $7.50 for the brake !!

https://imgur.com/5mMDNKO

I picked up a mk111 22/45 yesterday for $200 with a $250 red dot sight installed, so it's my current favorite.

I have a Mark III Competition. It is very accurate and I like it very much. I have two Mark IV's a Hunter and a 22/45 Tactical. I have in the past owned a Mark 2.5 as they say (Mark II upper Mark III Lower). Out of all them I have owned or own now I like the Mark IV's the best. Pick your model according to what you think you will be using it for.

The Mark II that everyone likes is probably because of the no LCI. The Mark III had the magazine release in the spot that everyone seems to like it. Like the 1911. But the Mark III has that stupid LCI (which I have removed and plugged in mine).

The Mark IV has the best of all worlds. Mark IV has no LCI so the upper is more like the Mark II. The Lower on the Mark IV has ambi Safeties ( right side can be removed) Better Bolt release button. The best thing about the Mark IV is it is just pleasant to take down and clean. Just easy. They are all accurate and can get most models in any generation you buy.

I Love my Mark III but I shoot it a whole bunch less than the Mark IV's. I have no problems in taking the Mark III apart but why mess with it when the mark IV's take 10 seconds to take apart. Then you can wipe them down, run a patch through the rifling and 10 seconds to put it back together.

I love my Mark ll bull barrel. It has been apart 3 times, I am mechanically challenged. I would rather take a beating than take it apart, cause putting it back together takes a long time.
I know I am stupid, but what is an LCI?
gramps

gramps said:

I love my Mark ll bull barrel. It has been apart 3 times, I am mechanically challenged. I would rather take a beating than take it apart, cause putting it back together takes a long time.
I know I am stupid, but what is an LCI?
gramps

Click to expand...

" Loaded chamber Indicator"

Gramps, you have no reason to be worried about the LCI, it didn't appear
until the MKIIIs came out, almost as quickly someone brought out a filler /
spacer to rid the world of that lawyer abomination. I have several MKIIs
in stainless of various models and never found them to be difficult to
take apart or reassemble. Having said that there is one caution that
you likely have run across, the cross pin in the grip frame just below
the hammer strut can and may get lodged below the cross pin and
then need to be pried out gently with a small punch or a scriber so
that the hinged main spring housing can properly seat the pin in
the lower housing in the grip frame and allow the reassembly to
fully seat in the pistol. There is a cheap and reliable fix for that
issue, I think that either Tandemkross or Volquartsen sells it
and the instructions are easy to understand, just be sure NOT
to slide the cross pin totally out of the grip frame, small other
parts will go flying if you're not careful but it doesn't need to
be removed 100% just far enough to allow you to slip the
"Hammer Strut Support" as its called under the hammer strut
itself then slide it back to the right and close the action, replace
the grips if you took them off and you're done. The part is sold
by both the original maker and can be found googling "Hammer Strut Support"
in Pensacola beach or at Volquartsen at this link:
https://volquartsen.com/inventory_configurations/1260
either way its an all steel component and a one time fix to install
and forget.

Mark II, IMO.

WAYNO has it righto. The only advantage any of the later editions have over the original is that a MKII tells you when it's empty. (And it tells everyone else, too; not an advantage in certain rare instances).

I prefer the Mark II.

45flattop
I agree that little piece makes it easier. Not necessary but a convenience that makes life with the Mark III even better.

You just can't beat the Mark IV for cleaning. It's the easiest of the group. I like the angle of the 22/45 frame and have 2 lites. Both shoot fine groups and I have well over 30,000 rounds through one of them with no problems. I did have a few jams that were caused by magazines in my second Mark IV but after tuning them the problems went away.

MKIV hands down, a lot of MKII owners need to bite the bullet and get the MKIV just for the ease of cleaning. I can take my MKII down and put together in 30-60 seconds sometimes, but not always. Some MKII 22/45 pistol barrels are stuck on and an a pain to break away from the frame. It takes 3 seconds for the MKIV. I Also really like the easy takedown on the Taurus TX22.

I've never shot any variants other than the (2) MkII I've owned since new; 1991 blued Target bull -and- 2004 stainless Comp Target ("slabside"). The older sports its original adjustable open sights whereas the latter sports those plus an UltraDot red dot on a picatinny rail. Both are great fun, yet don't get shot often these days...

Boomer, those two of yours sound a lot like my MKIIs other than that my bull
barrel KMK512 is stainless rather than blue but like yours wears the original
iron sights as well. My slab side also now wears an Ultradot on the original
Ruger base in Ruger low rings so I didn't need to replace the original Ruger
base with a picatinny. Before I found the Ultradot it wore a Burris 2X handgun
scope in those same rings but I had to change to the red dot due to having
72 year old eyes.

I've got a Mark II Target, a Mark III .22/45 Target and a Mark IV Target. The III and IV have Volquartzen kits. The II doesn't really need one. My favorite? I dunno - maybe the .22/45 Target because I like the grip angle, the wood grips and the push button mag release. (The IV is sure nice to clean though.) :mrgreen: