Henry Rifle Forums

I made the decision a few weeks back if I ever saw the new Mark IV at the LGS I would try to buy it. Well, last week I stopped to browse and there is was - the Ruger Mark IV stainless steel target model #40103. It has been very cold and I only shot 20 rounds at a steel gong the day I brought it home. I am a diehard revolver guy but I think I am going to really like this pistol.

Had some time today and the temps were better. I have not adjusted the sights - so these targets are from the pistol out of the box.

RUGER MARK IV TARGET


Out of the Box - Sights were not adjusted

the Ruger Mark series is outstanding .... something over 20 years ago we gave them to each of our sons .... they shoot flawlessly and accurately .... like you I'm a revolver fan but when it comes to a 22 LR, I really like these Rugers

Great shooting and a beautiful gun. Congratulations.

Congrats from a long time Ruger Mark shooter. Nice shooting, too. Would love to hear more about how it shoots for you, but I do get it about the cold thing.

That's a beautiful pistol, Steve. Congratulations for giving it a good home!

Congratulations, beautiful pistol and good shooting!

That's a good looking pistol. I like their stainless variety. Nice choice!

I've been a Mark I target owner since 1976. In all that time all I have ever done to it is clean it and shoot it. Not in that order. It is a tack driver. I have the stock walnut thumb rest grips. It feels perfect in the hand. My daughter fell in love with it right off the bat. Despite an ongoing love affair with the Henry .357, she still spends a lot of quality time at the range with the Mark. She shoots it slightly better than I do.

I looked at a Mark IV the other day at a LGS. I was impressed. I don't think the Mark I is that tough to fieldstrip, but the Mark IV is a piece of cake. Safety on, push the button on the rear and rotate the barrel off the frame. Easy Peasy. I wouldn't mind having one, but I have history with this Mark I, and it meets all my needs.

I'm sure you will get lots of great shooting out of yours.

My son has had a Mark III for several years and he is a very good shot with it. He does hate to take it apart though. He shot my Mark IV today and looked it over pretty good. He liked several things he felt were improved from the Mark III. I hate to admit it but he shoots every firearm more accurately than I do - but - I am glad that he can. I treasure those times we shoot together, even if he is better at it.

I'm pretty sure I "need" a new Mark IV.

Congrats - that is one nice looking pistol. Definitely on my "gotta get list"...

Congrats and you have a beautiful gun!

I am interested in how it continues to perform for you too.

Cate

That's a great looking gun. It is tops in the accuracy dept it looks like too.

I wonder how it will compare in popularity with the Smith and Wesson?

I've not shot a Ruger Mark series pistol, but have shot the Ruger 22/45 Lite. It's an accurate handgun, too. (Used it for the handgun portion of the 3-Gun Competition training I went through a few years ago....much fun to shoot!).

Your targets are great, Steve. Best part of your range report is that you shot these critters with the pistol straight out-of-the-box. That's a good indicator of Ruger putting the gun together well. BTW, perfect choice in picking out a "good-looker," too -- stainless looks really cool!

Congrats, and enjoy it!

My local gun club has both the stainless and standard blue model. I looked them over pretty hard. I have a Mark III hunter model I like real well. Its ok to take apart gives me something to do for about an hour trying to figure out how to get it back together. But I ususally always get it. Nice job Steve and congrats on the new Ruger. Need to shoot mine more also. Al

Those are very cool pistols.....I hope you know what GAS is....you are causing it big time!

I like the targets also, nice shooting!! I got a live GH this summer about where your hits are. In one arm pit and out the other. The only one that didn't run at all.
If my dog saw that ground hog target, I'd never get to shoot it. He'd shred it.

And, kill the wabbit!!

ditto1958 wrote:I'm pretty sure I "need" a new Mark IV.

I agree. I need one too.

daytime dave wrote:That's a great looking gun. It is tops in the accuracy dept it looks like too.

I wonder how it will compare in popularity with the Smith and Wesson?

When the subject of an accurate .22lr semi auto pistol comes up, there are normally only two real contenders. The Buckmark and the Mark series. I think I can say that the Mark series is the most popular by far. I know lots of folks that have one or more. I don't know anyone that has a Buckmark. I rarely see a used one for sale in the pawns.

I've never had the chance to shoot a Buckmark, but I have shot one of the Smith target .22 pistols. I was not impressed. I believe they have a newer model out that is similar in construction to the Mark. Smith really excels with their revolver line, Ruger has a solid reputation with the Mark series.

The only consistent complaint with the Marks is tear down. The Mark IV addresses that issue.

About ten years ago I was at the range with my 22/45. I had just setup but not shoot yet when Dave Workman showed up. Dave is a local firearms writer. We have seen each other at the range enough times and although he might not know my name we have shot side by side numerous times. I wasn't in a hurry to shoot so waited for him to setup. While I was waiting I asked him what he was writing on. He said he was writing an article about accuracy, not the firearm or shooter accuracy but rather perceived accuracy. One man might like a one inch group at 50 yards but another wouldn't like a half inch at the same distance.

I had thrown a tennis ball out to about 15 yards and was going to shoot at it. I did so and in rather quick succession fired all ten rounds. Each round hit the ball and pushed it further out to 25 yards where there is a berm to prevent it from going further out. But the berm also made a ramp and the tennis ball would go flying up the berm and into the air. Several times out of the ten shots I hit the ball while it was still moving. I'm not the greatest shot in the world but every dog has his day. This was my day as I must admit it was quite impressive. After shooting I just said "all I want to do is hit a ball". Since I knew I could never repeat that in a million years I packed everything up and left.