Mark Magazine Questions

[Highstandardguy]

I didn't get really interested in Ruger Mark pistols until well into the 80s so there are some things I've wondered about the MKs prior to that. In this case the magazines. For example, ignoring the "1 of 5,000" magazine, did any of the MKI series pistols (A-54 or A-100 frame) ship with anything other than a silver plated metal non-removable base magazine? Did any of the MKIIs ship with this magazine? In other words was there a clear cutoff between MKI and MKII style magazines at series change? I'm not asking about any variations in the early production years and I've already mentioned the frame change.

These might be a little more obscure. When did Ruger start producing the gray plastic base MKI magazine? I have some with the red background and the plain gray logo bases, but I've never seen one with a black background. Did Ruger make any of the gray bases with a black background logo or did they start producing them after the switch to the red background logo? These questions kind of assume that they were only offered as accessories.

Bonus question. What's up with the 1 of 5,000 magazine? When I first saw a picture of one I thought it was aftermarket. Then I saw that all of them seemed to have it as the one I have does.

I'm sure someone knows the answers these questions, just not me.

 

[rugerguy]

yes, the main reason being the larger button for the MK IIs was needed to actuate the bolt hold open lever , this larger button could and would hang up, drag, in the slot groove of the MK I grip frames, I have never seen or heard of any "solid/fixed" bottom mags getting shipped with the MK IIs....they were engineered and designed this way, so to be each their own..it is we/us later on, moving things around, swapping uppers and lowers as needed..... as for the grey bottom ones designed off the MKII but ,made to look like a type for the MK I, they came along pretty early on in the mid 1980s, and the black bottomed ones were simply other makers ,like Megar, making them for Rugers, and the red background was done at the time of the 1999 anniversary guns, in leiu of a "red eagle" ( bird). One never knows what some shops did when they put out guns for sale, and the store workers not knowing one model from another and put whatever, with something else....seen that all too often over the years...heck .look at the cylinders for the single actions that shipped as convertibles ,OR NOT????

 

[Highstandardguy]

Thanks for the response rugerguy! It helps a lot. I have some follow up questions/comments.

I purchased a new MKII in 1986. It was manufactured in 1983; been on the shelf a while I guess. The magazine included was a MKII magazine with a small button and I have several of those. It always worked fine as do the large button magazines. I understand the potential issue switching a large button magazine to use in an A-54 frame. Does that apply to the MKI A-100 frame as well?

So presumably Ruger sold the leftover stock of original MKI magazines as accessories until the gray plastic bottom MKII style magazines were released.

The current MKI magazines have a solid gray plastic base and the red background logo magazines came out in 1999. How was the base configured prior to 1999?

I have only seen the silver MKI magazines with the black solid base associated with the 1 of 5000 pistols. Was it issued with any other pistol or was it unique to them?

Here are all the MKII magazines I've found, issued or accessories. I have some still in the original packaging. Collecting all the MKI magazines has so far been for me a task too dauting if not virtually impossible since they span over 30 years.





Thanks again,

HSG