You know those mornings after deer when you didn't get a shot, and maybe not even a peek at one? But there's a jillion squirrels on the way back to camp, just begging to be put in that gravy for the mid-afternoon meal! I conjured up the perfect "carry along" sidearm for potting small game; it seems a Ruger 10" barreled Mark II Target auto, with the best pistol scope one could afford, would fill the need nicely. I would go for the 10" barrel for added velocity over the 4 3/4 one. I realize the Mark II adjustable target sights would not be needed, but I am assuming that the target model may have some accuracy advantage over the standard Ruger; I don't know. Anyone have experience on this? Which Ruger? Which scope? Which mount? etc. TIA :target:
About 10-15 years ago, I had such a set-up for the same purpose. It was the stainless 10" and had a Leupold M8 2X scope and Volquartson target grips. It was accurate enough for squirrels but it was just to dang big and heavy for an extra gun. I eventually went back to my S&W M35: 6" J-frame .22. - Nitro
I guess you haven't carried or tried to shoot a 10" handgun with a bullbarrel offhand lately. I have numerous 22 autos including a S&W41, 2 Browning Buckmarks, High Standard Trophy and a TC contender which has a 10 barrel but it's used mostely for creedmore style shooting. The rest all have a barrel under 6" in length. I shoot them in metallic silhouette and our last target is 100 yards away. They are plenty accurate enough to hit the bottom of a pop can at that distance and that is not much bigger than a squirels head. I bought a factory High Standard 10" bullbarrel for another High Standard years ago and that thing was so heavy even shooting it creedmore was a pain. It didn't shoot any better than the shorter barrel. Sold it to a High Standard collector and have been very happy with the shorter barrels ever since. The extra barrel length really doens't give you that much extra velocity. If you're going to put an optic on it for squirrels and use a rest most of the time then a 4 power leupold fits the bill nicely, one of my Buckmarks has a reddot on it and the other has a 2 power B/L and both shoot great. There is a bit of parallex to contend with in the dot but after shooting it a bit you learn to keep the dot centered and it'll shoot super out to 100+ yards, the scope is easier to pick out a squirrel or small rodent in cover though. Good luck, just kinda kidding about you not shooting a 10" handgun offhand, but for some reason the design of most autos that have such a long barrel on them leans towards the awkward side and most people trade them for a shorter barrel after a short time.
Ruger for hunting In the 50's when the Ruger 22 was invented mine was #55255 I still remember the number. I no longer have the pistol but still have the holster. I tromped the boonies around Pumpkin Center Calif looking for things to shoot at and got ground squirrels and Cotton Tail Rabbits for the pot plus Doves too. It is a very reliable design and with it's practice and my high school rifle club I became the youngest NRA Junior DX in the State at the time. I later became the Fitz Pistol Grip company and made a point to have our target grip design patented in 1924 available for Rugers. If you want to use that fine Ruger in target competition contact me for excellent target grip for it. Paul Jones fitz_grips@hotmail.com
I gotta get me one, I have lots of handguns and don't know why I haven't bought one yet. I have other Rugers but no .22's.
I think that you will find the 6 7/8" or the 5 1/2" barrels to be better balanced. Since you are going to scope the pistol then the extra barrel length will be of no consequence as far as sight plane is concerned. Try to handle as many as you can before you buy. Also, if you use Ruger mounts then you'll need to buy Ruger rings which are expensive. I went with a cut down Weaver style mount that will work with almost anything and for under thirty bucks total (cut down and installed by my gunsmith). Good luck!
I have a Ruger MKII Stainless Target Model with a Leupold 2X mounted on it. This combination is a great squirrel gun and extremely accurate. I also think that you really do not need the added barrel length besides with a 10" barrel the balance is all screwed up. :nod:
