I bought a Mark III "Hunter" a few months ago basically because the dealer had one and I could. Really nice. Stainless with 7" fluted barrel, target crown, tapped for a scope, fiber-optic sights and cocobol checkered grips. I'm the limiting factor for accuracy and I suspect that will always be true. From 30 feet I usually shoot at 2" wide targets and usually hit them. I also bought the factory leather holster with the eagle logo on it. The Mark III aftermarket grips or Ruger plastic grips don't seem to be available yet. Cocobolo looks nice, but I am afraid they will get damaged during cleaning. Got a good price too. The dealer had sold it to someone who shot 50 rounds at the on-site range then decided he wanted a SW 41 instead.
My only complaint is that after 200 rounds it gets pretty dirty. It is hard to clean it because of the odd tubular construction and because of that thing that goes in the back of the handle. If I don't reassemble it just right, the bolt won't move. I wish there was a quicker way to clean them, but I do not see how there could be.
It just takes a bit of practice to manipulate the "thing"
If your not entirely comfortable, get a couple cans of gun scrubber, take the grips off and flush the gun out followed by a toothbrush and rag wipe down. You will be cleaning the bore from the front end this way. It's a .22 so you don't need to over do it. Just use a good coated rod and watch the crown.
Someone makes a quick takedown lever for the gun. I'll have to try to find it. I'm on dial up in a hotel tonight so I'll need some luck
The really good thing about Ruger's best little pistol is that you don't have to tear them down to clean them but once a year with lots of shooting between times. Just clean the bbl. and wipe down what you can reach (Q-tips help a lot). I've never had an ammo problem and would NEVER pay $20 bucks for ANY .22 lr ammo for any reason, not even a brick. There is such a thing as trying TOO hard.
I never disassemble any handgun to clean it anymore. I have found that clean Kerosene cuts through any and all dirt and powder fouling. I keep a coffee can full with a 1/2" wide paint brush handy and give the gun a good wet cleaning. Kerosene is basicly a light oil and it won't harm wood, plastic, or the finish on either. Afterward I give the entire gun a good blow dry with compressed air. If you don't have access to an air compressor, you can use that "canned air" they sell for cleaning computers and cameras. After the gun is washed clean and blown dry I then give it a good oiling thruout. It saves a great deal of time and aggravation over disassembling the whole gun. Kerosene and any type of brush you want is avaliable at any Home Depot or Lowes. Bill T.
Yeah, I have a 22/45 and to be honest I don't shoot it that often because it is such a pain in the arse to put back together. Definitely a design flaw in my eyes.
