...pistols amount to a lot of fun to shoot, but one heck of a pain in the butt to disassemble and reassemble for cleaning. Still though, this is one of the most fun pistols I have ever owned. Mine is a MKII Target model with 5 1/2" heavy target barrel, adjustable rear sights, and fixed front sight. The magazine holds 10 rounds. I probably have had this one since about the mid 1980's, and if it could talk, it could tell you it has eaten and spit out an awful lot of .22LR ammunition, and killed lots of cans at that.
One of the better things about this pistol is that it likes to eat just about any type of ammo I feed to it. That is always a plus with any pistol that shoots .22LR ammo. Of course being chambered in .22LR it is not expensive to shoot. Another good thing is that it is, or at least was, a relatively inexpensive pistol to purchase. Although I have not looked recently, my guess is that you could get a new one like mine with the 5 1/2" heavy barrel, for about $250 or less, but that is a guess. Used ones are readily available and should much less expensive than a new one. I would not be surprised to find a decent used one for $150.
Curiosity has already gotten the better of me, and I left the blog for a moment or two to do some checking on prices. My guesstimate, at least on the new ones in my area where guns are more expensive than in many other parts of the country, was very close to on the money. A new one, just like the one pictured, goes for $260 cash at The Long Island Shooting Center; and that price is supposedly current as of today. As for the asking price of used ones, I went to GunBroker.com where I was shocked to see the starting price/bid for one at $295.00, and while that was with a slightly longer barrel at 6 7/8", it was not shown with the heavy target barrel. I wonder, who is kidding whom here? The same pistol new, is listed at Long Island Shooting Center for $260, same as the 5 1/2" model. If you can get it new for $260, why in the world would you buy it used through the Internet for at least $295.00, and then have to add on an FFL transfer fee! Oh well, someone will probably buy it; but not me.
Back to the pistol itself. I already pointed out the good things about it above, now let me harp on the bad. This pistol has got to be one of the most difficult pistols to reassemble correctly after having disassembled it for cleaning. It is just a royal pain in the butt with the lever in the backstrap that has to engage just so before it will fold back into place. I have assembled mine a few times where it did not work properly, and then had to be taken apart and reassembled again, and sometimes again before i got it right. As a matter of fact, pulling the disassembly lever out of the backstrap can also be kind of a pain in the posterior too, but this bit is not as bad as when putting it back together.
Despite the disassembly/reassembly thing, I find the Ruger MKII to be a really good to excellent pistol for amateurish target shooting, for plinking, and for small game hunting. If it was the only pistol I had, I would also use it for home defense, but then again, there are much better choices out there than a pistol shooting .22LR rounds. In short, it is well worth the cost, and one heck of a fun gun to shoot. It will last a long time without problems if cared for properly, and if you buy one and care for it, chances are you will pass it on to your children or grandchildren in years to come.
All the best,
Glenn B
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