Ruger Mark II Government Model

[BigAl52]

Im pretty sure NCG will chime in on this one but I have a chance to buy one from a friend of mine. He hasnt said what he wants for it yet but I know how accurate these are. Im in the thought mode so far. Anyone here have one.

[North Country Gal]

Buy it if you can.

First, it's a Mark II. Most Mark fans (myself included), regard the MK II as the best Mark in terms of features you need and none that you don't. As used Marks go, the MK II is the most sought after. The upgrade over the MK I is that the MK II has the last shot hold open not present on the MK I. When Ruger went to the MK III they added the mag disconnect safety and the loaded chamber indicator in order to make it legal to sell in states that required those features. The MK IV was Rugers answer to all those who complained about taking down the previous Marks for cleaning. The IV, however, is not the same gun as previous Marks as far as action parts. It's the biggest departure from the original Mark design.

Second, it is a Gov't model. There was actually a U.S. Gov't model and a civilian model, but they are the same gun, just different stamps. Both have full bull barrels 6 7/8" in length. The Gov't has a well deserved rep for accuracy. Not a woods carry gun with that weight, but a great target gun.

Only late MK IIs (mid 90s) came drilled and tapped for a scope mount, but Weigand offers a no drill/tap mount that works great.

And, yeah, I still have a Ruger Mark. Here's my stainless 5 1/2" bull MK II (KMK-512) made in 1990. It now wears a Weighed scope mount and I've modded it with the VQ sear and trigger.


I have taken these apart since my first Mark I bought back in the early 70s, using just the instructions in the manual (there was no internet or home computers in those days). I've also done the popular mods on the trigger for my own Marks and friend's guns on all Marks top through the MK III. Please don't hesitate to ask any questions. I know these old Ruger Marks like I know Ruger Single Sixes.

[daytime dave]

Great information NCG. I knew you would know these pistols!

[BrokenolMarine]

I "inherited" a Mark I from a friend who's father passed and she didn't want it in the house. I had done many favors for them over the years and they passed the gun on to me as they knew I would treat it right, never sell it, and shoot it as he had over all the years he had owned it. He loved the gun and shot it, a LOT. The serial number shows this one was manufactured in 1980... and confirms it's a number 1... also per NCG, it fails to lock open on the empty mag.

I cleaned the gun and took it out and shot it. I found it wasn't very accurate. He may have shot out the barrel, but Miss T uses it around the farm to put down the varmints in the traps, so it's still in "Service." I might be able to replace the barrel if need be, but no need. I have other target guns.

This one is doing exactly what my friends wanted, still serving...

ruger mk 1.jpg

[Travlin]

Nice pistol and a great story. I did not know that one could "shoot the barrel out" of a ..22 rimfire pistol.

[BrokenolMarine]

Maybe it was never really accurate...

As I said, I thought about replacing the barrel, but I have other accurate 22s, and if I wanted an accurate Ruger Semi, I'd buy a Mk IV target...

[DsGrouse]

Im pretty sure NCG will chime in on this one but I have a chance to buy one from a friend of mine. He hasnt said what he wants for it yet but I know how accurate these are. Im in the thought mode so far. Anyone here have one.

Crack's knuckles.

I've owned, going on 12 or 13 versions of ruger's MK pistols. I've assembled five VQ versions of the ruger MK. I swapped over to the smith and wesson victory a few years ago, before Ruger came out with the MKIV.

The MKII, is the best out of the box. IIRC, there are several MKII governments. One is a 6" and one is a 10" contract overrun. I"'ve jonesed for a 10-inch for years.

Some of the issues I've had, Take down and reassembly. I've done it hundreds of times across MK I, II, III, and 22/45 platforms. It's not difficult to learn and do until it is. Then it's a capital B.

When shooting quite a bit, the trigger area is prone to massive amounts of smegma. Use an air compressor to blow that area clean.

Chambers can be hit or miss. I found my best bet was to try 40grn lead round nose ammo then work from there. A lot of the zippier, weird truncated cones or newer hollow point bullets didn't feed as well. You can clean that chamber up with a chamber reamer, which is good to have. On the MKIII's i had two chambers/barrels develop burrs, (not from dry firing) at the edges. The chamber reamer helped clear that up. I only had to touch each up once.

Magazines, IMHO aside from Smith and Wesson's victory, ruger MKII magazines are the best out there. the caveat to that is, i don't have any experience with a MKIV.

Now, onto the last bit. My MK Is and MK IIs had issues with barrel leading at first. If this hasn't been shot, I'd run a few patches of bore bright down it. If it has, modify a Lewis lead remover and scrub it clean. Then use a patch or two of bore bright.

[North Country Gal]

Marine, be sure to give that bore and chamber a thorough check for leading. The good and the bad news is that Ruger Marks can run a long, long time and thousands of rounds without cleaning. This means that so many used Marks I've bought have been badly leaded up. I've never had a Ruger Mark, though, that hasn't been at least reasonably accurate, even the little RST4s with the 4" barrel.

[bandit1250]

It takes a lot of shooting to shoot out a 22 LR. Most of the time it is a bad leading issue or a bad crown. I bought a 5 1/2" bull barrel MkII a couple years back that was unfired after it left the factory. It was bought from a local shop with bad lighting and after I shot it with quite a few different brands of ammo it would not shoot better than 2" groups at 17 yards with a quality red dot scope. With good lighting I could see the crown was poorly done from the factory. I used the variable speed drill and a brass screw with lapping compound to true up the crown and it shot dime to nickel size groups at 17 yards. Most 22's don't get shot out but suffer from neglect or bad cleaning procedures. Clean the barrel real good and touch up the crown.

[rickhem]

Shot Bullseye for decades, and the Rugers are a common sight on the line. Seems like most of the top guys all have something other than a Ruger, but when the conversations go to talking about the Ruger pistols, they're all well respected. There are a ton of extras and options available for them too.
As for cleaning, I've shot my .22 pistol for years without cleaning it. I shoot a Smith 41, and I'll brush off the breech and feedramp, and brush off the bolt, but that's about it. My muzzle is a white/gray color from the accumulated residue, and it still shoots knots.
I think just about any .22 will shoot an inch or less at 25 yards with most ammo. I say most because I once tried Stingers in a couple of my .22s and they shot horribly in every one. High velocity ammo is hit-and-miss, but standard velocity ammo will almost always give good results.
I hope by now you have made that purchase, those are nice pistols.