I want a new plinker. Maybe a 22/45?

S

Spats McGee

Administrator
I have a Ruger Standard, from before they called them Mark-Anythings. It has a pretty low round count, likely in the 100s. I like it just fine, with the exception of the takedown process. Did that once, and it's unlikely I'll ever do it again.

Anyway, I guess that's beside the point. I want a new plinker. The only shooting I can get Mrs. McGee to join me for is target shooting, and she really likes that Standard. When we go to the range, I'd sure like to be able to shoot, in addition to being the Official Mag Loader. Anyway, I'm looking hard at the Ruger 22/45 Lite, especially if I can find it in Mk IV.

Anybody care to share your experiences with these?
 
My buddy has a long fluted barreled, stainless target version that shoots about as well as my 1953 Vintage 4" Colt Woodsman, but certainly not better.
 
The 22/45 Lite uses a screw to mount the front sight blade. So unless you loctite it, your front sight blade will shoot loose. Same with the included rail mount - basically loctite all sighting devices with screws. Once you get past that, fun plinker and affordable. Lots of aftermarket parts as well.
 
I have a Mark III 22/45 with bull barrel and a Mark III 22/45 Lite. Love them both. The bull barrel is my favorite because the trigger is lighter and more crisp than the Lite model (both triggers are stock). Also the bull barrel has a longer barrel and, therefore, a longer sight radius. True that they are a b*tch to take down, but it gets easier with practice. Plus, I actually find that there is no need to take them down very frequently. I do it maybe once a year for detailed cleaning. They do fine by mostly just snaking the barrel after each use.

Based on what you've said, I would be just as happy keeping the Standard for the wife. But if you decide to get something for yourself then, of course, you'd HAVE to get one of these...

https://shop.actiontarget.com/content/at-104-rimfire-dueling-tree.asp

There's not much more fun to be had than going head-to-head on a dueling tree. Good times!
 
I have a mark iI 22/45. It has had thousands of rounds thru it. The only thing that I do to clean it is to spray gun scrubber or some other type of cleaner into the interior. I use cotton swabs to finish, then lube the bolt. I have never felt the need to tear it down and probably never will.
 
I have shot about 3 full clips thru a Mk4 22/45 Lite with a matching Ruger suppressor, liked it well enough, and shot it well enough that I went back into the GS and bought one and the suppressor which is still in "time out" but that's life.

The setup I shot was another customer who happened to be in the GS when I was looking, and he offered to let me shoot his set up. After about 5 shots, I was hitting some steel gongs set up behind the GS on their range at 25-30 yds on a regular basis. Very easy to handle, I have small hands (usually a medium glove, sometimes a L) and it fit me just fine. The suppressor did not "add" any noticeable weight to me or throw the balance off.

The one button take down is a breeze, I have a MkII and the old school take down method is painful at best, but at least you don't have to do it very often.
 
The Mark IV breaks down easier than the previous ones which are a pain in the a.. The Smith Victory is another option. Try them both and don't be so sure about the 22/45 version of the Ruger as the Luger angle of grip of the std points better for some people.

Lots of aftermarket customization options for both of them and some people go straight to a full blown Volquartsen.
 
I've got the Mark IV 22/45 lite. Great gun. Have about 500+ rounds through it so far. Accurate and easy to clean.
 
I just want mine to be a plinker. Mrs. McGee doesn't do a lot of shooting, but she does enjoy target shooting. I'm thinking that the plan may have to be: (a) sell a couple of guns off; and (b) buy a Mk IV Target model for her; and (c) buy a Mk IV Lite for myself.
 
I have a Mark III 22/45 with threaded barrel and love to shoot it with my can on it. It is the closest thing to Hollywood quiet and it takes a long time to wipe the grin off my face. I installed a bushing from Tandenkross to get rid of the magazine disconnect, its the only work I have done on it and I love it, it lets the magazines fall free, allows them to seat properly and easily and does allow the gun to fire with the magazine installed.
 
One and all, thank you for your input. I finally made a decision and went on the hunt at the last gun show here. In a big ol' horse-trade at which I did pretty well (if I do say so myself), I came away with a NIB Mk IV 22/45 Lite. Because it's NIB, I also got a 20% discount coupon (up to $20) from Ruger for filing out their New Owner form for their shopruger.com store. Here's hoping that I can apply the discount to magazines.

I haven't been to the range with her yet, but I'm very excited at the prospect. Light weight, threaded barrel, built in the USA, Ruger, simple takedown and reassembly . . . what's not to love? :D
 
As I recall, Spats, you've got a pretty fair inventory of guns. Why not invest in a .22 upper for one of your centerfire pieces? All the good reasons apply: same trigger & grip for familiarity, plus, if the .22 uppers I have (Sig P226, Ciener & Marvel for 1911's) are any gauge, you'll get better accuracy than the bigger bore! Rod
 
rodfac said:
As I recall, Spats, you've got a pretty fair inventory of guns.
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I consider my inventory to be pretty modest, actually. I'm a pretty firm believer in the "beware the man with only one gun, for he probably shoots it very well" theory of guns.
rodfac said:
Why not invest in a .22 upper for one of your centerfire pieces? All the good reasons apply: same trigger & grip for familiarity, plus, if the .22 uppers I have (Sig P226, Ciener & Marvel for 1911's) are any gauge, you'll get better accuracy than the bigger bore! Rod
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Believe me, I have very seriously considered a .22 conversion for my Glock, or perhaps one of the ISSC .22 models, which look almost identical in dimensions. I think that would be an outstanding idea for training, IMHO. This pistol, however, is destined to be a plinker and (I hope) to have a suppressor on the end.
 
I had a 22/45 once. One of the earlier ones. Great shooter, but I hated the fact that you could not slingshot it to load the chamber. You had to use the slide release, which in itself was not a problem, but little [undersized] nub was very stiff and after a couple of hundred rounds, it made my thumb sore. Really annoying. Eventually sold it off and just stuck with my MKIIs.
 
Interestingly, the new manual seems to advocate slingshotting: " . . . . pull the bolt to the rear . . . . Release the bolt so that it will fly forward."
 
I suppose that means something has changed with the MkIV that allows the slingshot chambering method. There is a very simple mod that allows the older ones to be slingshot. Google/YouTube searching is your friend.
 
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