When I first started shooting I was not a fan of the .22LR caliber. Especially when you start off and 9mm, .40 and .45 are so much bigger, more powerful and overall way more “big bada-boom” by comparison to the .22. I remember going to the range and dumping hundreds of rounds through my .40 just to watch them impact down and left over and over.

Well, since as a new shooter, I shoot perfect (sarcasm) I instantly believe that the sights must be off on my brand new finely tuned weapon. After going to the shop where I purchased this gun to request “fixing the sights”, the shop owners instant response was “all down and left, right?”

Make: Ruger
Model: MK III Hunter
Caliber: .22LR

Ha, I am more knowledgeable than I thought, must be a known defect, right? Wrong. “Well man, you are flinching, just like every other new or bad shooter”. F-off, really?

Yup.

So Superbowl picks up this MKIII from Ruger and runs HUNDREDS upon HUNDREDS of rounds through this Luger look alike without fail. Well now Monkey is interested… and when Monkey gets interested, I get interested. So off we go to get some MK III’s.

Every new shooter or anyone who wants to get better accuracy through practicing shooting mechanics, needs to own a .22 is my new opinion. Many models if not most come with the same or similar controls as any other semi-auto pistol, the .22LR caliber is cheap, readily available and give you LOTS of practice on a budget.

With all that said, the Ruger MKIII we tested is a great gun. Superbowl has a basic black model, Monkey got the Hunter model with the big ass barrel (over 6.5”) and I got the same model in the 5.5” bull barrel. You can shoot a whole box of the dirtiest 22LR you can find (usually 500+ rounds), hit it with some cleaner of your choice and a bore snake and be good to go for another 500+ with a little lubrication. The Ruger operates smoothly and efficiently and it is really eases to go through rounds fast. The recoil isn’t “full-power” by comparison to any larger caliber giving you a great opportunity to focus on mechanics. The only hangup I had is the actual bolt cocking, which is easily fixed with a nice add on from Volquartsen.com that drastically reduces any pinching and cocking difficulties. Good people over there too, but that’s for another article.

Now the bad news. I don’t give a damn what you hear or what videos you watched on YouTube, the only people who are proficient at dismantling a MKII or MKIII are the people who have done it at length and have the experience. Coming from weapons with easy field strips, slide removal and all that fun jazz, the Ruger MKIII is a pain in the balls. Even worse, have fun putting it back together. If we are feeling brave we will shoot a video soon to get you a little more comfortable dismantling the weapon. But be warned, your first time, even with all the YouTube videos and step by step documents in the world… you will curse the MKIII. But that is the worst of it. You shouldn’t need to do this too often since it is so great at minimal maintenance and hours upon hours of shooting enjoyment. All four guys recommend the Ruger MKIII, we all shoot it and have all begun customizing ours as well.

The Good:

  • Easy to use
  • Easy to Shoot
  • Great for honing skills
  • Lots of Bang for your $
  • Abundance of Parts available

The Bad:

  • General Disassembly and Reassembly of the gun.