Upgrades to my MK III?

[Huskerguy72]

I have a beautiful, Ruger MK III Hunter, Target model, fluted barrel with a True Glow red dot. Funny story on it, I was looking at guns at a local shop many years ago and saw this while my wife was with me as he usually is. I said, I can't justify this and she said, just make it my Mother's Day present. So that has been the joke for many years, it is her gun, a mothers day gift. Unlike the house that she cleans, I clean the MK II.

Anyway, getting into a men's league and 22 is on the schedule. I want to enhance the performance while balancing the appearance and costs. The Red Dot is awesome for the old eyes and I took my magazines apart, sanded and polished them, lubed them up and that helped. I have a lot of Federal Auto Match and other 22 ammo and my goal is to add modifications one at a time until I get the smooth action and complete reliability I am looking for. I guess I will know it when I feel it!

So the question is, what changes, both to the original firearm and additional parts do you recommend, what order, what was accomplished with the changes, etc. I am retired and I see some videos and it appears some people just make changes for the sake of making changes. I am seeking concrete results, knowing they are all different, but I want my remaining years of shooting 22 to be fun and carefree. Thanks in advance!

 

[rugerguy]

try it shoot, practice, practice ,practice, the gun probably shoots better than many of us do,,,I cannot see or justify putting MORE money into ANY Mark III....shoot it.....
use the money for ammo........GOOD ammo..........

 

[jimbo1096]

I agree, I wouldn't change it unless you find a more comfortable grp. I think shooting it will smooth it out and shoot better than you can!

 

[1gunsnotenough]

Put a VQ trigger in it and let it ride. Some Rugers have fair triggers. But if you want to seriously compete you'll need a new trigger. Every gun I use has an after market trigger. Go to a range and I am sure you'll find someone there that will let you try theirs.

 

[Mobuck]

"I have a lot of Federal Auto Match"
IMHO, that's an excellent place to start. This ammo shoots extremely well in several of my Rugers (long and short).

 

[1gunsnotenough]

You asked about changes. Depends on what you need to accomplish your shooting goals. This started out as just a KMK678G. I did a lot of shooting at a local range at a plate rack with small animal silhouettes at 50 yards. The smallest one was about 2 or 3 inches. I added a VQ lightweight lower. Had a friend of mine who owns a gun shop cut and thread the barrel. There's usually a comp on it. Added a scope rail for when I finally can't see my irons well. Luckily at 65 with my contacts I still shoot irons. Will a two hand hold I could hit the smaller target 7 or 8 times out of a mag. The VQ lower took weight off of the gun and the light trigger allowes less movement of the barrel when shooting. None of it was cheap. Probably have $1000 to $1200 in the gun. But it does everything I need a pistol to do. Off a bag at 35 yds it'll put 10 shots you can cover with a nickel. I have VQ and Clark guns but this is my go to gun. Luckily I live in the woods. Pic is range in my back yard. So I practice a lot. My go to ammo is Blazer .22lr.

 

[AzShooter1]

Depends on what you are using your wife's gun for. If you are just shooting for fun don't do anything to it. They are fine pieces of art. If you want to compete with it get a Volquartsen sear and bushing. That's all you need. It will get ride of you having to have a magazine in the gun to fire that last shot. You also don't need the magazine when you want to clean your gun.

Your trigger pull will smooth out to about 2.5 pounds using the VQ parts. That's a great improvement if you decide to go target shooting.

Get rid of your Federal AutoMatch. You will find lots of duds in it and accuracy is good but it's not worth the troubles.

Uears ago it was my and my friend's go-to ammo but it changed when they came out with the new boxes. If you want inexpensive ammo that will out shoot it got to CCI and buy Blazers. They group better in my Mark III Hunter than even the expensive brands.

The red dot is a good investment. Carry extra batteries.

 

[Highstandardguy]

Just because it annoys and can hang up the magazine on release, remove the magazine safety. This will require replacing the trigger bushing with a MKII version. To increase reliability, remove the loaded chamber indicator. You can get a filler blank if the hole in the receiver bothers you. Install a VQ sear if you want to reduce the trigger pull. Install a VQ trigger if you want more precise trigger control. A Clarke trigger bushing and pin if there's as bit (or a lot) of slop in the trigger. These are all things you can do yourself at a reasonable cost. A good gunsmith is always an option as well. Decide which might be desirable to you.

A myriad of other options are out there from different grips to different frames. The only limit is your imagination and the depth of your pocket book.