New Ruger MK III 22/45 Lite

[wyntrout]

I went to the gun show here today and got a few things. I scored a good deal on a new black New Ruger MK III 22/45 Lite... listed for $450... for $400 cash out the door! That included the NICS call! Locally Shooters had them for $499.99 plus tax and wouldn't budge off the price. This saved me $134.99... plus the NICS call $5!

I have plenty of ammo so now all I need is one of those little screw-on thingies that makes it quieter.

I thought about buying a case of PMC .40 brass-cased FMJ for $375 out the door, but that's still about $4-$5 more a box than what I have and the range fodder is a little cheaper, but limited to one box per customer for range use. I may regret not getting that. The table price for it was $20 a box.

It appears that the included rail will fit between the sights and not be in the way... super... unlike the 10/22's.

Some PIX:

Wynn

[JFootin]

That's nice, Wynn. I have thought about getting one of those. I'll bet the balance is great. I find the heavy bull barrel ones cumbersome.

[DeaconKC]

Sweet looking shooter! Enjoy!

[wyntrout]

I saw the all steel "flat top" no-sights model with threaded barrel for $369, but it's HEAVY. I've held the steel equivalent and the Lite at the same time and the steel ones are like lead... seemingly twice the weight of the Lite models. Now I need to work on a holster and some more magazines. I couldn't find any extra ones at the show. MKII's but not the MKIII's. I have several projects to try with my Kydex now... mag holders and at least a holster for the 22/45 Lite.

My wife liked the Lite. She thinks that's what she should have... but I got her a P380, a P9 with ported barrel, and a new Glock 19. After I get the Big Dots on my P40, maybe we can figure out what color front sight would work for her eyesight. I have the Trijicon HD NS with Yellow FS on my XD45, the HD NS with orange FS on my G23C, and soon will have the Big Dots on the P40 for her to compare.

When she leaves the house I'll probably shoot the 22/45 in the house tomorrow. I have some Calibri no-powder rounds and several Sub-Sonic loads to try, though the latter will be noisier than in the 10/22. I'll video that but it's not the same and I don't have an audio meter.

Wynn

[wyntrout]

Well, Wifey decided against going out into the thunderstorms and rain here. She still got up early and had her coffee and I dragged myself out of bed at the usual almost 10:00 am, give or take an hour. I read late a lot. Anyhow she ate lunch and was taking a nap.

So, I decided to try the new pistol with the Colibri powderless ammo. I got three magazines and taped them together for a backstop to a target. I did put a 5/8" thick 6" wide board behind that on the hearth... brick fireplace. I loaded 5 rounds in the magazine and fired from about 12 feet... from the edge of the kitchen into the TV family/room... didn't want to back up another possible 20 feet... safety conscious!

The noise was louder coming out of the short barrel when compared with almost no sound from the 10/22. It's a wonder Wifey didn't get up and come make me stop. I'm sure she'll critique me later! Anyhow, as usual in semi-autos, the rounds don't cycle worth a damn. I pulled the bolt back and it looked like 3 rounds in the chamber area... one at the top of the mag, one loose, and the spent one was partially ejected. The rounds are too short and I found the best way was to load one at a time forward as possible in the magazine. Then allowing the bolt to go forward chambers the round.

I shot offhand and added who knows what twitch, jerk, or push to each shot. All shots were low and without a rest, I wouldn't try moving the sights... would have to read more of the manual. The "group" was low and elongated from left to right, measuring about 1 1/2" wide.

I just couldn't wait! I still need to use my LASER bore-sighter and see how the sights compare with that before going to the range. I should have bought a rest, too, to use at the range... along with my folding chair... no rests or seats at the range.

I guess I'll wait until Wifey's at work to try the Sub-Sonic rounds.

Wynn

[Popeye]

Congrats Wyn

That sounds like a great deal on a great pistol. I have the MKIII 22/45 bull Barrel target models. Those pistols give new meaning to the word accurate.

[wyntrout]

Thanks. This is maybe the last of my "prepper" guns. I got the 10/22 January last year and then bought 9,200 rounds of ammo for it, so I can shoot this one! I wouldn't mind getting a suppressor for this one and maybe getting the 10/22 barrel threaded, or a replacement barrel that is. I'm not sure what our Sheriff thinks of suppressors or what the "Trust" ownership would cost me, though. What do you give as a reason for a suppressor when you live in a suburban area? My closest neighbor is a cop that lives in the park behind my house... maybe 25 yards or so away, so even my spring-powered, barrel-break pellet rifle is too NOISY!

Wynn

[Popeye]

What do you give as a reason for a suppressor when you live in a suburban area?
Wynn

That My friend is a good question. I think in my township, just the mention of suppresor would put me on a special watch the old guy list. That's why I never even considered buying a pistol with a threaded barrel. However if you can get the Ok to have a suppressor without them considering you some sort of mass murder in waiting it would be cool to have.

[jocko]

IK, I am a sumb sh!t but I gotta ask, wyn on that Ruger pistol, is that a threaded barrel insert jor just the end of the barrel is dressed up to look different. I have never seen one like that so just askin.

[RRP]

It's a knurled thread protector, Jocko.

[jocko]

yup, I wentto the Ruger site and seen all of that stuff. I should have looked there first.

[wyntrout]

A few gun shows ago I almost bought one for $420 but I didn't want to wait over an hour to get processed... busy day and I had an appointment. I'm kind of glad that I waited, but I didn't ask for a cash deal that day.

Here's some more pictures, Jocko.

Wynn

[wyntrout]

Well, I went to the range with the new pistol and it shot well. It's sure a different trigger than I "used to". I shot a little low and left offhand and made one set of corrections on the adjustable sight which seemed to work pretty well. I shot a few mags full before moving the sights, and I made sure that I had a few screwdriver bits that fit with me for adjustments. The elevation and windage screws are different sizes, so I had to look through several sets of bits to find two that worked.

I shot about two hundred rounds... an estimate, because I was grabbing handfuls out of the Federal VP525 box and putting them into the McFadden Ultimate Clip Loader. It took me a while to figure that loader out. If you bumped the magazine up and down you tended to get one or two vertical rounds and would have to dump them out... reading the instructions helps.

After maybe a few hundred rounds I raised the pistol to shoot and the ramped front sight was rotated 90° counterclockwise. I re-aligned that and tightened the screw. I'll have to take that off, clean the screw and threads, then use some thread locker.

I really need to buy a pistol rest for shooting sight adjustment groups. I know this pistol is capable of tiny groups, as the 10/22 is, but standing there offhand and wavering around with a light pistol doesn't give me a concise group for really adjusting the sights. I tried leaning down and resting my hands, forearms, and different grips, but nothing was steady enough.

I was ordering a bunch of half-priced bore brushes from Midland... got an email notice... 5 for $5, so ordered a set for .380/9mm, .40, and .45. Then saw they added $3 for small order... under $20, so I went back and ordered some more stuff... a Butler Creek Steel-lips 10/22 magazine and a $5.99 flash suppressor... just to have something to try on the threads. I rounded up almost $5 for the NRA and my order was $50 even, including $4.99 postage, handling, and insurance.

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It's cheaper and less trouble to get than a suppressor!

Next time I go to the range, I'll have to see how much "flash suppression" there is!
Wynn

[jocko]

I gotta say Ihave never seen one . neat . It should be ultra lite also.

[jeepster09]

How do you like the plastic in the lower end of the gun? I looked at one and noticed the magazine kinda bound up installing? I was looking at one......but that feature turned me off. I also looked at the Browning's and they appear all metal.