[Bull Barrel]

If you own a Mark III you probably have noticed there are fewer accesories and doodads to screw on the beast. The Mark II gets all the attention...
I have a 5.5 bull barrel (naturally) target model with the factory mounted weaver rail. I wanted a better grip on the gun and a better iron sight to complement the Bushnell Holo and Weaver 2X I alternately run on the top rail.
Ideally tritum inserts and a stouter rear sight mechanism would help these aging eyes to target in on those bumps in the night. But I only found a front sight replacement by Hi Viz, or a pretty much stock blade on the Volquartsen compensator
I searched and searched for rubbery grips like the Volthane or Hogue offerings for the Mark II but in the end settled for the Cocobolo grips from Ruger. Unable to decided between the thumbrest and the ambi styles I took advantage of their 20% off on accessories for newly registered owners and got both.
At the same time I sprung for the Hi Viz sight. A rip off at 39.99, but certainly cheaper than the Volquartsen compensator (after 20% off), and less bulbous. I got a free mesh cap for buying so much useless crap.
The goods arrived yesterday and I just had a chance to put the grips and sight on the Ruger tonight.
First off I have to say the grips are very factory (meaning perfect fit, excellent finish)--the checkering is acceptable but nothing to get out the loupe over--red and selver medallions embellish the tops of ambi grips but only the right side of the thumbrest grip.The grip panels do not position any loose parts on the frame, so removal was no big deal. The wood panels are properly milled to receive the grip frame and perfectly accomodate the mag release button and the slide release.
Aesthetically the thumbrest grip is a little fugly--but function precedes form. The ergonomics of the thumbrest and fully checkered right side are exactly right for thumb-forward shooting in a modified Weaver stance. The gun is more of an extension of the triangle than before as the thumbs have a natural location on which to perch further solidfying the wrists. Point of aim was unchanged.
The Ambi panels are checkered on the lower half of each side and I have mixed feelings about that, but after some extended shooting this week I will have more to say.
The Hi Viz sight comes with a number of different inserts, a storage/dispenser doodad and a "key for removing the insert. The insert must be removed initially to install the sight. You simply unscrew the (slotted) screw holding the front sight to the barrel and screw the Hi Viz on. An allen screw is provided that happened to match my tac light and modified Leupold quick-release scope rings so I swapped it in place of the factory slotted screw.
I was a little underwhelmed by the rear sight included with the Hi Viz--a stamped steel v-notch with an indented white vertical line highlighting the V.
No instructions on R & R with the Sight Kit and nothing about disassembling the rear sight in the Ruger Manual either. I decided to leave well enough alone and wait until I could pick the local gunsmith's brain about that detail.
Although it was well after dark I holstered up, scope off so I could check out the new sight. I usually have a mini maglight clamped to the barrel for these evening forays, but I really wanted to see how the Hi Viz worked without any helpers.
As any of you shooters probably know, the Hi Viz is basically useless in total darkness, but as I walked around the house practicing some dryfire exercises, the ambient light from the windows did light up the front sight in a useful manner. With the light to my back the effect was very much diminished. And once the sight was targetted into the woods away from the house the glow was gone. Certainly not tritium.
Further trials await as I need to strap on the light and see how that works compared to the iron sights at night. and vice versa without the maglight during full daylight. So far it seems like a worthy alteration of the stock blade and does not drag or hang up in the cordura holster I use when working around the yard.
I have a bid on a Volquartsen Compensator on ebay--but that's another story.
More after I send some rounds down range...

[troylaplante]

Have you tried any of Randall Fung's grips? If so, what do you think? I have seen a Mark II with the Volquartsen compensator slightly used with the anatomical grips for close to $500 in a local store. I don't know anyone that actually uses a 2X sight, but plenty that do use the 1X red dots. How is the 2X working for you? I have considered the 2X, but was advised against the idea. The Hi-Viz does work well in low light, I found out, but as you said, it is not tritium.

[Bull Barrel]

Thank you for the lead--I will search those grips. I just won the Compensator on Ebay-- $41.50 including shipping and insurance. Kinda silly really for a .22 but until I try it I won't know--the last gun I shot with a compensator was a Taurus Raging Bull .454. Anyway--

a few minutes ago sighting in the scope I over-tightened the quick-release on the leupold rings and snapped the bolt. So for now I don't have a scope mount. Before that I did get a squirrel this weekend about 60-70 yards away at twilight--not a clean kill I might add--another 5 rounds followed the first, apparently lucky, shot to finish the little bugger off. I figured on sighting in this Sunday, but chores got in the way. I did blast off about a hundred rounds toward the end of the day Sunday and could tell I was not Zeroed--very consistent--but off target.

One thing about the scope at medium range is you are definitely narrowing your focus to a 2-3" area even shooting fast and loose. Misses of 1" seem huge through the scope. The closer you get the worse the scope shoots (if you are zeroed in at 100 yards) and if you zero in at close range it is really useless beyond the closest range you choose to sight in at.

Just before I overzealously torqued the scope mount I fired about twenty rounds at 30 yards aiming at a knot on a 2 by 4 I planted in front of the bank. Same result as before even though I had the scope on and off repeatedly--which probably shows how nice the rail system is for keeping the scope aligned.

Normally I don't use a scope much, but I thought since the Weaver came with the trade I'd give it a shot. After about 1500 rounds of day and night shooting at various kinds of targets I think the scope works better than I had originally thought--It is a huge advantage for slow steady distance shooting--medium range tactical requires a fair amount of relearning of the stance to keep the scope and eye in alignment while moving. Multiple shots on a single target are a piece of cake--acquiring the next target rapidly is the trick.

Eye relief is usually a big issue--but mounted as far forward on the gun as possible the 2X Weaver Pistol Scope gives a good field of view, even with both eyes open.

The mini mag really makes the scope work well at night--maybe even better than daytime shooting. I just received the tape switch from TacStar and velcored it to the thumbrest--it's a natural. The coily cord tucks under the scope but is still a little too much wire on a pistol.Having a momentary push switch on the maglite allows me to dial the beam in to its tightest focus before turning it on. It has the added advantage of not making me a target and giving me a general idea where the rounds are going if shooting from the hip.

It requires a certain training of your shooting stance, just raising the pistol bullseye style will almost gaurantee the scope/eye relationship is wrong--the surest way to bring eye/target/pistol/together each time the weapon is engaged is to use a two-hand grip while adopting a slight crouch. I find I must cock my head to the side almost against my shoulder to get a perfect alignment.

Going from seeing the target to clasping the weapon, raising it and re-engaging the target visually through the scope is a learned manuever that doesn't exactly come together at first. I do a lot of sighting exercises as well as target practice so I'm starting to take some time off the routine, but it is no where near as natural or fast as using the holo sight.

Your eye needs to be not only at the right x and y but also the z (distance to the optic). The Bushnell holo sight eliminates the z entirely and opens up the x and y tenfold. But the Weaver's magnification does allow precise shot placement (such as taking a squirrrel at 80 yards)--even follow up shots are not the problem--getting the sight picture in the first place is what is so slow.

For what it's worth, iron sights seem to be the most failsafe, lightest option--becoming proficient at hitting what you're looking without using sights at all is the best, but for distant targets it's hard to beat being able to actually see what you're about to hit.

[Bull Barrel]

Got some View-Through mounts from Leupold--nice to be able to use the sights or optics without unlatching anything. The new mounts lock into the weaver rail lugs so slippage won't be a problem anymore. Did some sighting in with CB Caps a few minutes ago and was pleased to find I was not far off from the last alignment. still plenty of work to do to get it right...the avatar might show some of the changes--Hi Viz front sight, Leupold Sight-Through rings, Weaver 2X pistol scope, Mini MagLite, tape switch, Cocobolo target grips--a full dress rimfire...

[Bull Barrel]

Well I have to say I wouldn't go back to the stock plastic grips at this point--the cocobolo panels and especially the thumbrest fit me just right. I find that ledge helps me grip the pistol the same way each time. With the light mounted I have the switch under my thumb ready to pick out a noise from the night in a split second--I lit up a deer (green-gold eyes at 50 yards) and scoped him out for a while last night while out for a stroll--curious critter kept poking his head out from around a tree to get a better look.

I have changed out the Hi Viz sight in order to fit the Volquartsen compensator. At firtst I thought it might be a trick-looking piece of useless BS but it actually performs as described, reduced muzzle whip and recoil.
I only wish I had a decent way of modifying and mounting the Hi Viz sight onto the V Comp.

After about three days of shooting with the V Comp I decided to keep it on the Ruger--it looks a little too FlashGordon for me, but it has helped me shoot a little quicker and more accurately.

The scope I am still ambivalent toward--I have dialed it in and shoot both eyes open fairly quickly--but I like the holo sight better and will probably end up using that as the primary optic--it is as fast or faster than open sights at close range and nearly as useful as the 2X at medium range.

All in all except for a trigger job (coming up next) and maybe an extractor upgrade I am happy with the Ruger as a general purpose fun gun/ tactical trainer/ varminter.

[troylaplante]

The trigger job should be an easy deal. Also, I don't know about the Mark III, but the Mark II had a modification that was easily performed by adding a blast shield. The shields were only a couple of dollars and would be a good idea for the Mark III if they are needed. The Mark II had a bad habit of getting a lot of residue in the trigger mechanism. One guy sold a lot of blast shields on ebay for a few bucks a pop. A good trigger job should only cost about $75 or less from a good smith.