What to expect from ruger mkiv

[John from MD]

They are boringly reliable with good ammo, I run CCI SV in pretty much everything, and almost always suppressed, my MK4 never jams even with an astounding amount of fouling in the action. Out of the box they are great, add a VQ trigger, get rid of the mag disconnect, and it's the best. They run well suppressed, nice and quiet, easier to strip and clean than earlier models. If you want to run a red dot, the pic rail is kinda tall, I did a madmacs base and R0 I had laying around, bottom 1/4 co-witness with a .470 FO Dawson front sight and stock rear. Run it on pin and steel matches, and it's fun as hell, really easy to shoot fast, great VQ trigger and lines the sites up fast and natural. View attachment 384249

I second the Madd Macs base as they are the lowest I have found.

 

[Bertfish]

Has anyone commenting here run the Mark 4 against the Mark 4 22/45? I have not shot a 22/45 and am only familiar with the grip angle and feel of the plain Mark series, in my case a Mark 2.

 

[alucard0822]

Has anyone commenting here run the Mark 4 against the Mark 4 22/45? I have not shot a 22/45 and am only familiar with the grip angle and feel of the plain Mark series, in my case a Mark 2.

Have shot both, and you should definitely handle both. The standard is an aluminum grip frame, the 22/45 is polymer, but has a larger trigger guard, and IMO a MUCH more comfortable angle with more comfortable grip panels. For me it's not even close, 22/45 definitely, I also have a Buckmark which has a similar grip angle and control layout to the 22/45. The standard Ruger MK series grip is stupid steep and the trigger guard is really small, while I have shot them well enough I wouldn't buy one.

 

[John from MD]

Have shot both, and you should definitely handle both. The standard is an aluminum grip frame, the 22/45 is polymer, but has a larger trigger guard, and IMO a MUCH more comfortable angle with more comfortable grip panels. For me it's not even close, 22/45 definitely, I also have a Buckmark which has a similar grip angle and control layout to the 22/45. The standard Ruger MK series grip is stupid steep and the trigger guard is really small, while I have shot them well enough I wouldn't buy one.

The 22/45 is very light and some people can't get used to it. I also have a Mk1 Heavy Barrel and that weighs a ton compared to the new generation guns.

 

[Bertfish]

I know. I like how heavy they are.

 

[SWO Daddy]

Has anyone commenting here run the Mark 4 against the Mark 4 22/45? I have not shot a 22/45 and am only familiar with the grip angle and feel of the plain Mark series, in my case a Mark 2.

The upper and guts are identical, it mostly comes down to grip angle.

I don't shoot 1911s, and I prefer metal over plastic in a non carry gun, so got the regular MK IV.

 

[Bertfish]

The upper and guts are identical, it mostly comes down to grip angle.

I don't shoot 1911s, and I prefer metal over plastic in a non carry gun, so got the regular MK IV.

I do shoot 1911s but I'm used to the crazy grip angle from shooting these growing up so much. Frankly I don't like how the 22/45 looks too.

 

[silver78]

"The wife bought a Ruger MkIV to practice more and get her fundamentals better. What unexpected, or unique, things should I expect to have to deal with?"

Expect to have to deal with a wife who can outshoot you.

 

[Kmic14]

Safe to dry fire. Stock triggers are crappy, Volquartsen can help. Magazines and mag release may be rough and require a break in period and may mags sometimes get stuck in the magwell. may require a couple thousand rounds to break in for optimal reliability. Barrels are surprisingly good and very accurate. Extractors have a habit of wearing out with high round counts. Powder and brass have a tendency to get behind the extractor and cause weak extraction or ejection, a good scrub can fix this.

This explains a lot. I guess I'm watching volquartsen for when they restock their bolts

 

[Th33gunner]

if first time shooter, be careful with the metal opening at the mag top, it's sharp. After about 1k rounds, I noticed it's getting harder and harder to feed in. Initially I thought it's a mag or ammo problem, later find out it's the mag release button loosed that blocked mag insertion pathway. Once I tighten that mag button screw, mag insert and release goes smoothly. Each gun are different, so you may want to regularly check the tightness of screws. This happens to my other fellows in the range for his new ruger mark, and made people scratch their head after replacing new mags and trying different ammo, no vail. Finally it's my advice helped, kinda made my day in the range.

you need to put safety on, mag released , before you press the break-down button and get off the barrel. Don't try to fight it, it may damage the part.

Of course, read the manual. Ruger really put safety on top of everything, very detailed and instructional. Your wife may come back with some knowledge you don't even noticed before.

Be careful with changing the grips, because I almost permanently lost a mag insert assist at the bottom. It's a mechanism to help the mag stay in and put while in the grip. If you take the grip panel away, you will find a small assembly with a tiny spring in it. Cover it with a napkin or something, or it flies away like a grasshopper before you even notice it. It's a pain in the neck to find it on the carpet.

I think trigger is fine. The only real upgrade I got for my Mark IV Standard is a red dot on a picatinny rail. You can still keep the adjustable rear sight with a full pic rail on it, how amazing!

From what I tried, it eats any 22lr ammo, rarely any hiccups. The only one gave me trouble are those Norma 22lr for single action use, , so it FTF every time, not gun or ammo problem, but my own ignorance.

 

[hammer67]

Drywall anchors are cheap and work well.

That's what I use too.

 

[Boats]

This explains a lot. I guess I'm watching volquartsen for when they restock their bolts

If you're reasonably competent with tools and basic gunsmithing, you can buy just the extractor and use the stock bolt. Much cheaper.

Also, tandem cross, Pike arms, and tactical solutions all make excellent aftermarket mk4 parts

 

[j&ksmall]

My wife has a stainless MK IV and we can find no fault with it. Cycles fine, even with sub-sonic ammo, and is very accurate. Originally bought it so students couldn’t blame the gun but we don’t teach anymore. Very glad to have it, though, since we can’t blame the gun either. We also bought a stainless S&W 617 revolver for teaching as well. The double action trigger is horribly heavy but the single action is sublime. It is also the most accurate handgun I have ever fired.

 

[Gabagool]

Be careful with changing the grips, because I almost permanently lost a mag insert assist at the bottom. It's a mechanism to help the mag stay in and put while in the grip. If you take the grip panel away, you will find a small assembly with a tiny spring in it. Cover it with a napkin or something, or it flies away like a grasshopper before you even notice it. It's a pain in the neck to find it on the carpet.

Anyone have any experience with the Hogue wood grips on the standard (not 22/45) Mark IV? I've been eyeballing a set of checkered rosewood grips to replace the black plastic grip panels on my Mark IV Target.

Curious if anyone has handled the palm swell grips or has experience with smooth vs checkered.

 

[LRoberts]

The wife bought a Ruger MkIV to practice more and get her fundamentals better. What unexpected, or unique, things should I expect to have to deal with? Any quirks, known issues, that sort of thing.

This is a "joke", right?

 

[Joker]

Honestly, I would be surprised if she spends more time shooting it than I do. I wanted her to have something with little recoil due to medical issues that cause her pain in her hands. She bought the MKiv 22-45, of course it had to be purple. If she comes away from the range a better shot, then great. If she comes away from the range a better shot than me, well shit, I'm in danger...

 

[tmiller]

Google " ruger magazine tuneup "

 

[Ammo Jon]

They multiply, be cautious.

 

[Michigander08]

Yes. You can dry fire but use this to load the magazine. I buy them cheap at Lowe's.
4-6-8 X 7/8 " yellow plastic ribbed Wall anchors

 

[Michigander08]

One more thing...that rail thing on top of the gun comes loose eventually. You have to tighten its screws occasionally. Ruger's Wrangler and this pistol are definitely not "combat ready". Screws and things like cylinder holder pin flying out at the range for me!!!