I seem to have gotten into the habit of buying Miss D. knives with Damascus steel blades at or near LibertyCon each year, and a gun on or near Valentines Day each year. Don't ask me how - some things just happen.
Late last year Ruger announced their new Mark IV .22 pistols, with a much simpler, easier takedown mechanism than the notoriously finicky one in the earlier Marks II and III. I immediately went into a local gun shop and asked them to get me one of the Mark IV 22/45 Lite models, with a bronze-anodized lightweight upper, for Miss D. Due to previous shoulder injuries, she can't handle heavy handguns very well, or tolerate heavy recoil, so the lightweight 22/45 looked to be perfect for her.
It arrived yesterday, so we drove into town this morning to pick it up. It fits Miss D.'s hand very well, and is as light and handy as I hoped it would be. We'll make time for a range trip soon to wring it out.
I was amused by the dealer's comments about the new Mark IV. He fears he may find it difficult to sell a few Mark III's he still has on his shelves, because they have the old-style, much more difficult takedown mechanism. I have to sympathize with him. The new models are so easy to field-strip and reassemble, it's like night and day compared to the old ones. He may have to discount them significantly. (On the other hand, if you've figured out the Mark II or Mark III mechanism and don't mind it, there should be some bargains available as people upgrade. I can see myself replacing my old Mark II 22/45's.)
Peter
12 comments:
Wow! Is that a firearm or a ray-gun? Because I could totally see a little paint on the grips and open carrying it as a "space-lazer-shooter" with some costumes.
Not that I would encourage concealing a properly licensed firearm that is legal for the location and jurisdiction in such a way, of course.
LittleRed1
That obviously came straight from the Weapon Shops of Isher. Is that the model with the gigawatt sub-space oscillator option? People get in a lot of trouble with those. Vandalism mostly, it was only last week when a young man was arrested for writing his name on the moon with one. And of course there are the chalk carvings in England..
That lady is one lucky woman.
I heard about the Mark IV when Ruger made the announcement via an email they sent to me but had no idea they offered one like this. Very nice pistol and nice of you to have done what you did.
I am hoping to get a blued steel target model later this year; I have to sell a few other guns first.
All the best,
Glenn B
That's an interesting design. It looks like a productionized version of the Bill Holmes "Home Workshop Gun" in the Paladin Press book.
Yeah, that's definitely got a sci-fi style to it. Neat though. How much did it cost?
All the reviews have been positive so far, so I have been considering the one that comes with the threaded barrel. Keep us posted with the range report please.
That looks like a fantastic plinker, I hope your wife (and you) enjoy shooting it alot.
Got a good source for Damascus steel "cutlery"? Please share!!!
@davidhuntpe: Try this one:
http://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/2016/10/my-wife-has-new-toy.html
Also, talk to Michael Z. Williamson:
http://www.sharppointythings.com/index.html
A friend asked me to do some work on his Mark III, eliminate the magazine disconnect and reduce the trigger pull.
Took me ten minutes to disassemble the gun, about an hour to change out the disconnect washer and do a fluff and buff on all the bearing surfaces, and three days to get the blasted thing back together and functioning properly. I did reduce the trigger pull from almost six pounds down to an honest 3.5.
Now, once they remove suppressors from the NFA Dot has a great platform for a whisper quiet yard varmint elimination tool.
In my NRA classes, when a student arrives with a Mark III Ruger I instruct them that during the "clean and maintain" portion of the class they should not, under any circumstances, disassemble their gun because of the time required for me to reassemble it for them. Instead, I offer them one of my Mark IIs to use during that portion of the class and suggest that should they want to learn disassembly/reassembly of their Mark III I offer that experience as a separate class.
I am convinced that one of Dante's Circles of Hell consists of being handed a completely disassembled Ruger Mark III and a timer. The only positive i've discovered is that after Working The Magic a dozen or so times it becomes slightly easier.
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