2 New Rimfires

[billt]

Yesterday my dealer called to tell me the 2 new .22 rimfire pistols I had ordered had come in. A new Beretta Model 87 Cheetah in .22 L.R., and a Ruger Mark IV Hunter. This is my second Ruger Mark IV. A couple of months back I purchased a new Ruger Mark IV Competition 100 Year Anniversary Model with the matching knife. I was very pleased with the gun, but because it was a limited production commemorative, I decided not to run up a high round count with it. So I went with this new Hunter. This is a post recall gun with the "improved" safety. The funny thing is I can't tell one bit of difference between the safety on this gun, or the pre recall model.

Both safeties feel and operate the same. Both can be positioned halfway if you try to position them that way. So I'm not sure what, if anything they actually "improved". Anyway, I'm very pleased with it. I didn't think I would be too excited with the shallow V-Notch rear sight. But after playing with it, it's not bad at all. Especially with the fiber optic front. It really stands out. I still however prefer the square notched rear target sight on the Competition Model.

The Beretta I was more concerned about because I purchased it sight unseen. These Beretta .22 Cheetah's are very hard to come by, and few dealers stock them. They are crazy expensive, with a MSRP $50.00 higher than the full size Model 92 Stainless 9 MM Inox Model. But after conversations with several people who owned them, I went ahead with the purchase. I wasn't disappointed. This gun just oozes quality. The slide to frame fit is like it's on ball bearings. The fit and finish couldn't be any better in my opinion. The bluing is deep and rich.

I felt somewhat comfortable with buying it because I already have the Model 87 Target, and it's a high quality piece. The Cheetah was no different. Another nice thing is the Cheetah will accept the 10 round magazines with the bumper pad from the 87 Target. The magazine doesn't look out of place when installed in the gun, and it gives it a 10+1 capacity, over the 7+1 of the 2 standard magazines the gun comes with. I hate shooting at indoor ranges, (too many idiots), but with the high Summertime temperatures we have out here this time of year, I don't have much choice. And I'm not about to wait until it cools off to fire both of them up. Here are a couple of quick and dirty phone camera pics of both guns.

[GreggieBoy]

The Beretta looks nice. Interesting grips on the Ruger.

[brownfeathermedic]

Congrats, on your new toys. I got my hopes up when i saw your Hunter, but then I looked at where you reside.I"m in the process of hunting down a nice Ruger like yours in this here Commie State.

[golfish]

Very nice op, thanks for sharing.

[billt]

.......Interesting grips on the Ruger.

I'm not sure about this, so anyone else who is chime in. I heard that the original Ruger emblem was the bird set in a red colored enameled background. Then after Sturm died, Bill Ruger changed the background on the emblem from red to black, to honor his passing. The background remained black until recently, when Ruger corporate decided to change it back to a red background once again.

[Garv]

Darn freestaters!

Nice pickups OP.

Mark IV is probably first on my list if/when I escape.

[Malthusian]

The sear was also changed on the post recall models and the upgraded models. Your model should begin with a "5" on the serial number

Upgraded models have an "S" in the middle of the white dot

I have yet to get my Hunter back from the upgrade process. I was assuming the safe and fire position would be more of a "click" detent.

The feel of the safety before I sent it in was either on or off, with no tactile feedback

Congratulations on your purchase, The Mark IV is a marvelous piece of workmanship.

[Chaos47]

I'm not sure about this, so anyone else who is chime in. I heard that the original Ruger emblem was the bird set in a red colored enameled background. Then after Sturm died, Bill Ruger changed the background on the emblem from red to black, to honor his passing. The background remained black until recently, when Ruger corporate decided to change it back to a red background once again.

True. When they started making them red again they added S and R to them. Now I think they only have R on them.

Beautiful guns!

[billt]

Yesterday I got both the Cheetah, and the new Ruger Mark IV out to the range with plenty of ammo. It was hot, but I got there early and it wasn't too bad. I first got started with the Cheetah, because I was the most anxious to fire it. I lubed up both pistols well before I left. I set the targets at 50 feet, and rested the guns on the frames.

The Cheetah's sights were right on the money with a shallow 6 o'clock hold. I went through about 40 rounds this way, and the gun was printing perfectly. After that I just shot using a conventional 2 handed hold. The gun ran flawlessly all day. Both magazines ran perfectly, as did 2, 10 round magazines I brought from my Model 87 Target. All locked the slide back on the last round, and fed with zero FTF's or FTE's.

The trigger on the Beretta 87's takes a bit of getting used to. It's a bit different than most triggers. It has a lot of travel. But once you get used to it, you know exactly when let off is going to occur, and accurate shooting is easily accomplished. All total I ran about 300 rounds through it, without a single malfunction. This was with both high speed bulk ammo, as well as standard velocity in both CCI and Aguila brands. After about 100 rounds I shot mostly standard velocity because it ran the gun just fine.

The Ruger was up next. It was such a different gun compared to the Cheetah, it took some getting used to. Much heavier and far more muzzle heavy. Like you would expect from a long barreled target pistol. The sights were a bit off, with the gun printing about 4 inches low, and about 3 inches to the right. But they were easily adjusted, and after that I had no trouble chewing the hell out of the bull at 50 feet. Naturally with it's longer barrel and sight radius, the Ruger grouped tighter than the Cheetah.

I had the same flawless reliability from the Ruger. I had a total of 4 magazines with me, and all of them fed well, and locked the slide back on the last round. It also fed both high speed, and standard velocity without a hiccup. I would say I ran around 250 rounds through it total. After that it was getting hot, so I packed it in for the day. As you could imagine both guns were filthy when I got them home. I really loved the way the Ruger Mark IV came apart, and went together in seconds. You can get at everything for cleaning. After a good wet Kerosene wash, and a blow dry with compressed air, both guns were as clean as when they came from the box. A little oil, and both were good to go.

The Beretta was a little tricky to get the guide rod and recoil spring back into battery. But after a couple of tries, it slipped back together nicely. By the time I finished cleaning both guns it was about 105F outside, and I was pretty sweaty. So I took a shower and went for a swim to cool off. Overall I couldn't be much happier with either gun. A good day at the range for sure. Albeit a hot one! But when you live in the desert in August, you can't complain.

[wbunning]

Nice. A couple of years ago I was fortunate enough to find a local guy selling a Ruger MK II Competion slab-side. I don't think that gun had 100 rounds through it. They are really fun to shoot! I know you'll enjoy your Mk IV !

[MyOdessa]

I want to live in a free state.

[iano1]

If anyone is interested I'm selling my mark 3....

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=1365157&highlight=Mark+hunter

[SonofWWIIDI]

Score!