Ruger Mark III or Wait It Out?

[0x80884]

Hi forum!
Long time lurker, finally joined a few days ago to keep track of previously visted threads. Finally posting.

Hit the range again today. I'm a first time gun buyer in the market for a 9mm but I always end up going over 100 rounds of .22 through a Ruger Mark III before I dive into the 9mms.

I did some searching, lots of talk about the 10/22 rifles. Not so much about the Mark III's.

For $350, am I spinning my wheels? I love warning up with one, and by themselves they are very fun to shoot.

The survey of the board seems to be "shoot rentals until it feels right", and that's what I've been doing. I could've easily bought the handgun I wanted with the money spent on rentals, ammo, and classes, I just want the right one!

So do I buy the Mark III or hold out for the 9mm? Any advice as to which Mark III to buy?

[Geo]

Yeah, a used Mark II.

[Falstaff]

let me put it this way: I own several handguns, my mkIII hunter with a red dot on it shooting stingers is the most fun of all of them.

[robcoe]

Any MKIII is a good gun, dont listen to the people who claim its to hard to reassemble, only took me about 10 minutes to figure it out the first time(after I finaly read the manual) never had a problem since.

If your not interested in a defensive gun right now, get the .22, you will shoot it a lot. I have maybe 200 rounds through my .357, 100 through my 9mm, and about 2000 through my MKIII simply because of the cost difference for ammo.

[Günter]

[tiko]

MkIII Hunter with long barrel and rail top ( for red dot ).
Second option, if you buy a Sig 226 or 1911, you can buy 22LR conversion slide ($250-$290), so 2 guns in 1 frame.
I have Mk III Hunter and 22 LR conversions for my Sig 220 and my 1911s.
They are all great.

[Falstaff]

Of course the MkIII Hunter costs more than some 9mm's...

[vta]

Depends if you are going to own more than 1 pistol. If you know you will want a 22LR and a 9mm (at that point, probably many more), get the 22LR so you can still shoot cheaply while saving up for a 9mm.

[TKM]

MK II.

No reason to not save some money and get a better pistol.

[asme]

Yeah, what others have said, the best MK III is a used MK II or MK I. Whichever you get, get the 5" bull barrel or the 6" taper barrel model.

I have a MK I, and it's pretty great. The MK III just has too many bits and "lawyer features," and with Ruger, older is better ironically.

[BOFH]

Re: Ruger Mark III or Wait It Out?

let me put it this way: I own several handguns, my mkIII hunter with a red dot on it shooting stingers is the most fun of all of them.

We have a MKIII Hunter with a full VQ trigger and it always goes to the range. Always. The Hunter is not cheap and I have put some money into mine on top of that but its worth every dime. Don't hesitate to buy a MKII or MKIII (or a Buckmark).

[Legasat]

I have a Mk I and love it. I think they are a must for any collection.

[bombadillo]

I have a MKIII Govt Slab Side and its Awesome!!! I hate to take it apart and reassemble it, but its great either way. I got some VQ grips and a VQ brake and its a solid shooter.



Here it is without the VQ grips, but had the brake on at that time. They are the "volthane" grips for reference.

[G-forceJunkie]

If your in So Cal, Turners is having some good deals on Mark 3's right now. A few good deals on mark 2 and 3's have been in the classified here the last month as well. Everyone should own one: cheap, fun, last forever.

[ZirconJohn]

Buy the MarkIII, ammo is cheap and the gun is lots of fun.

Buy this one.

I have this one... my FAV...!

Any MKIII is a good gun, dont listen to the people who claim its to hard to reassemble, only took me about 10 minutes to figure it out the first time(after I finaly read the manual) never had a problem since.

If your not interested in a defensive gun right now, get the .22, you will shoot it a lot. I have maybe 200 rounds through my .357, 100 through my 9mm, and about 2000 through my MKIII simply because of the cost difference for ammo.

This one of the best Ruger MK III disassembly VID's on YT. And just one thing,
please don't freak out because he does say 'clip'... OMG-NO...!

He does correct himself later in the VID, so if it important to you... listen for
Moe's correction... otherwise, a GREAT vid!

I have a Mk I and love it. I think they are a must for any collection.

Yes, exactly...!

And +1 to bombadillo ^^^ / I have that model in MK II, I have the MK
III Talo, and I have the MK III Hunter... 26,000 rounds of ammo yes I do!