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Ruger’s line of Mark I, II and III .22 LR pistols have been known for two things; 1) they’re nicely made, supremely reliable, fun-to-shoot guns, and 2) they’re a royal PITA to take down and re-assemble. Well a little bird had sent us a couple of pics of the Ruger’s next generation, the Mark IV. We’d published these momentarily last month before realizing they’d been embargoed. Well, that’s over. Have at it.

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As you can tell from the tag on the Hunter model above, they’ve redesigned the Mark IV for ‘one button takedown,’ a blessing for everyone who’s avoided cleaning their Mark X to avoid the hassle. It also now sports ambidextrous safeties. The gun’s slated for early to mid-October release. We’re guessing a lot of good boys and girls are going to find one of these in their stockings this Christmas. That’s plenty of incentive to be very good from now until then.

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73 COMMENTS

  1. Does that have an upper and lower like an AR?

    I finally gave my walther p22 away. It was such a pita to put back together again.

    • There’s a trick to avoid the need for the plastic rod Walther gives you in order to reassemble the P22. The other trick to remember is that if the safety is on, the hammer and trigger will work normally, or seem to, but the hammer fall is blocked and cannot reach the firing pin. So it is real easy to try firing with the safety on and think that the rounds are duds, or that the firing pin has broken.
      Other than these two weirdnesses, its a great gun. I like mine. Won’t be giving it away(or even selling it), any time soon.

    • Give Ruger 6 months. As soon as we all buy one of these, they will come out with the threaded barrel version. Glock 42, then 43 anyone?

      • Now that Ruger markets their own brand of suppressors, I think it’s a safe bet that they will offer a threaded version of the MK-IV soon (maybe before the holiday shopping season?).

  5. I like the Hunter but an MSRP of $700+ is mighty steep. I have a month or two to convince myself otherwise.

  6. Love my MKIII.

    Got rid of the mag disconnect and LCI. No problem tearing it down to the last piece part for a good cleaning now.

    Not that I’m against making it easier in new models… just another reason to buy additional Rugers. Probably will never sell any of them (although I wish I did wait for the LC9S instead of the regular LC9).

  7. I have the Mk 3 Lite. Once I quite trying to get the bucket o’ bullets they offered me with it to cycle it’s been a great plincker. Cycles Federal Match and CCI Stingers with no problems and is more accurate than me at 20-25 yards.

    • From the number of people I saw who brought their disassembled MK-I/II/III back to the gunshop in a shoebox, I don’t think take-down was ever a problem. It was reassembly that caused much wailing and gnashing of teeth. We’d walk them through it a few times, and tell them to practice it quarterly (doing something once every year or two is no way to build skill/memory of same), and they were fine.

      • Yeah, I brought my KMK-678 to the gunsmith in a box once. A little fiddly, but easy enough.

        I miss that gun.

  9. Check out 22Plinkster’s review of it. This is going to be a big seller. The take down is so damn easy. I imagine aftermarket upper receiver/barrels for this. It will be too easy to swap out the upper with a threaded version, or even an integrally suppressed upper. I want one.

    • Remember, on this pistol series (Standard/MK-I through MK-IV) the barreled upper is the serial-numbered part, though, so you’ll have to do all the same paperwork as buying an entire new pistol, just to add a new barreled upper receiver.

      • Yeah, that is the one bad thing about these, it would be cool to have a grip and trigger, and to be able to swap in barrels to fit the task.

        These things must be out of patent protections, so get going!

  10. Now if only they can make it in something more than 22LR.

    If it looked like a 14 Nambu and had the power of one id buy it. Maybe a 380acp, etc.

  12. Any word on a 22/45 version? I’d trade in my MkIII 22/45 in a heartbeat if there was an easier to disassemble version of it.

    • This is a little embarrassing but the last time I tried to clean mine, it ended up at the gun smith. That was also the last time I cleaned it. But I LOVE shooting it…

      • Man do I hear that. Took my 29 year old daughter to the range a couple of weeks ago. She loves that Mark III 22/45 and is very accurate with it. I would guess that she put between 350 to 400 hundred round through it that day.
        I did try to show her how to clean it one time, but she never could get the hang of it. It’s strange thou. Sometimes it will go back together easy as can be, but other times you feel like you are beating your head against the wall trying to put it back together. Of course that’s often then not.

      • Same…got the “shark gill” 22/45 Lite. Took it home, tried to disassemble it to clean and lube it. Watched the Youtube video on how to do it several times over…still screwed it up. Had to go to the gunsmith before a single round even went downrange.

        22Plinkster’s review on the Mark 4 was awesome, and has convinced me that I need to sell my 22/45 Lite and buy one of these.

    • I’ve never understood the love affair with Rugers. They suck to take down and reassemble. My cousin is a gun nut, decided to clean it before going to the range, and got it wrong. Sadly, we had to shoot his Glocks instead. 😉

      I’ve got a S&W 2206 that is a brick. It puts the pistol in “pistol whip”.

      • I agree. The 10/22 in particular. No LRBHO, a finicky bolt release, and they are always jamming. I can’t figure out the appeal.

        • I don’t usually feel like I need a Ruger 10/22 in my life (I have a Marlin 795 already)…

          Until I go to the Sportsman and see inexpensive 2 packs of BX-25 mags.

        • I know it is “gun guy blasphemy” but I also prefer the Marlin 22s (60 and 795) to the 10/22.

          I do like Ruger though. My Security Six, SR22, and AR-556 are all great guns. The LCR is also a very cool revolver (though I don’t own one). My brother in law has one of the Mark series 22’s (Mark II I think). I’ve always loved shooting it. It is very reliable, and very accurate. I shoot it far better than I shoot my SR22, and .22 revolvers. It is almost as easy to shoot as a rifle. Of course I never have to clean the BIL’s pistol. Maybe that is one of the reasons I like shooting it. The Redhawk and SP101 are also great revolvers. Mini 14 meh.

      • The love affair with Rugers is that they’re well-built firearms at a reasonable price. Some of their handguns are built hell for stout, so much so that there have been loads developed for some Ruger single-action revolvers that are far in excess of what other revolvers can handle.

        They’re easier to take down and re-assemble than many firearms costing much more. The MkI and MkII’s are pud-easy to take down and re-assemble… once you know a couple of little tricks.

        Then again, most people who don’t do detail strips on guns don’t understand that there are a variety of tips, tricks and ad-hoc tools that really assist in gun re-assembly.

        • Can we dare hope for a DG post on the MKI, MKII, and MKIII takedown and reassembly, with ad hoc tools, tips and tricks, photos, and acerbic wit?

  14. Since my dad reads this blog and the comments, I have to be very careful how I phrase this…But…Let’s just say that a mint-condition Ruger Standard is in my (hopefully) very-distant future. A beautiful gun. I can wait, but I do look forward to tackling the legendary difficult take down.

    • It’s really not as difficult as some folks make it seem. Learn to do it, and just as importantly, learn how NOT to do it (what goes wrong, and why), practice doing it right a few times, and you’ll never have a problem with it again. The MK-IIIs are a bit more trouble with the mag disconnect (mag in, mag out, etc.), but still, REALLY not that hard. Really.

  15. I’ve had two Ruger MkII’s. They’re more than good enough .22 blowback pistols, with triggers that can be cleaned up. They won’t be the equal of a High Standard or Model 41, but they’re better than many of the cheaper alternatives out there.

    For those who have had problems disassembling them & reassembling them: If I could show you how & what to do in person, with an hour of practice you could have it detail stripped and back together in literally five minutes. There’s a couple of tricks in how you tilt the gun when reassembling it that makes the job go much faster than you’d think.

  16. I’d be ok with the pressed barrel still if they actually serialized the frame and not the barrel assembly. You’d think they’d address this, and the mag disconnect.

    Oh well, it’s not like I would swap out barrels, but it’s nice to have the option.

    • An SR-22 that isn’t a total piece of crap would be a better response to the new Victory. I’m sure this will cost twice what a Victory does, even for base models. If/when they come out with a plastic-framed 22/45 version of the Mk4 it will still probably be at least $150-$200 more than a Victory.

      • The SR22 is in a totally different category of .22 pistols than the new Smith (or Ruger Mark series).

        The SR22 is much smaller, lighter, and “newer” looking. It is like a little .22 version of a modern defensive carry pistol. I pocket carry mine sometimes. It is a plinker, but not really a “target” or “hunting” type pistol.

        Personally, I love .22s, and I love pistols. I’ve got a place in my heart (and gun safe) for both types as well as a few .22 revolvers.

    • Think about it; a redesign this elaborate takes years to do & get into production, not in a few weeks. I have sworn off Scrap & Worthless products anyhow.

    • The other week I got a reply back from Ruger CEO “ask the ceo” on their website. He specifically said if all goes as planned, LCRx 3″, 8-shot, 22lr will be out “more than 1 month away, but much less than 1 year”.

      So, if I personally would hazard a guess I’d say that means at SHOT SHOW in January……or before.

  19. I’ll buy a 10/22 takedown. Not sure why people hate 10/22’s, they work just as well if not better than anything else. Pretty simple machines too. These MK4’s look super sweet.

    • Who hates 10/22s? I hate when people load them up with all kinds of tacticool crap and goofy chassis and make them weigh 10 lbs, but they are a great little ubiquitous gun. The Carbines and Takedown models are great for everything from cans to large pests.

  20. Dammit Ruger I want my rotary-mag bolt-action PCCs and varmint rifles back! Also shotguns! They’ve been pushing the SR22 so hard their Mk3 and 22/45 sales were probably slipping, but this thing does not impress me at all, except with the easier takedown.

  23. So… The Ruger Mark IV Hunter is $300 more than a Browning Buck Mark Hunter. Is the price difference justified?

    • I’ve owned both, and as long as the Browning’s grip and balance feel good for you, I’d say no.

      I stuck with the Rugers as I feel more comfortable getting inside them (including detailed disassembly of the frame parts), but I never missed a shot or felt poorly armed with a BuckMark. For a person who wants easily-swappable barrels and doesn’t mind having fewer aftermarket parts options, the Browning is probably a better choice.

  24. My father has raved over the accuracy of the Ruger MK pistols for years – since he owned one as a young man. Welp, I’m finally sold. Now to gather the funds and the courage to take the plunge.

  25. Speaking of the S&W Victory, when will TTAG have a full review? Surprised how few reviews there are for such a major product that’s been out for so long.

    • According to the Ruger website and the Gunblast review, the MK-IV still has the magazine disconnect feature; the items Ruger dropped were the loaded chamber indicator and the internal key-lock option.

  27. I found a 5.5″ bull barrel MK II at the LGS, at a price I couldn’t pass up.
    Superbly accurate, nice trigger, and reliable with Ruger and RamLine magazines. Best $200.00 I ever spent.
    Since it was a used pistol I decided to completely disassemble to inspect, clean and lube. This was long before the internet and there was no owner’s manual. They said it shouldn’t be attempted. But would I listen?
    Well it was still clean and well lubed from the factory, so I put it back together again. (I will admit to some head-scratching.)
    That was many years and thousands of rounds ago. I doubt I will need to do it again for quite a while. These days I just clean the boltface areas, chamber and bore, and lube the bolt. Takes about 10 minutes.
    So I agree, Ruger might have spent their R&D elsewhere.

    Haven’t been shooting the .22s much lately- 9mm goes downrange for about the same price.

  28. I got a Smith 42 because of the take down issue with the MkIII. Twice the cost, but I haven’t shot it yet, so maybe it’ll be worth it.

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