Another rimfire rarity

[macolesby]

I'm digging deep into the safe here for this one, Ahh, hell who am I kidding, nothing I own is a safe queen. Anyway, Another bucket list gun that I got early on in my collecting was this one right here. A 10 inch Ruger Mark II with the heavy barrel. When I was probably 14 or 15 I remember my father and I would take a weekly trip to Cabelas in Hammond to browse the gun library and add to the collection, And they had one of these tucked away in the back. He debated for weeks on it but each time would end up buying something else. The week he decided he was going to go in and buy it we get there and much to our surprise it was gone. A few months later we found another one which currently sits in his safe. When I first moved to Indiana I stopped in a shop just down the road from me and after I had built a relationship with the I managed to walk out with this one at what was more than a reasonable price. When I purchased it there was an Aimpoint 2000 on top of it that I ended up being able to sell a few days later and nearly pay for the entire gun. This one now sits in my "Doesn't go anywhere but the range" pile. Thanks for looking everyong.

 

[92FSTech]

Sight radius for days!

That's really cool, and the father-son aspect of the story just makes it cooler. My son and I have a pair of MkIIs, but I've never gotten to shoot the long-barreled version. Judging from my experience with MKIIs, I'm sure it's reliable and accurate. How's it handle with that big tube sticking out the front?

My son's is the 6" at the top, mine is the stainless 5". We found them both used in different shops for very cheap...probably because people don't like taking them apart. IMO it's pretty easy once you learn how to do it. The bolt ears broke off of my stainless at one point, but a buddy tig welded them back on for me and it's now stronger than it was new (the stainless MkIIs had a 2-piece bolt design that was prone to cracking...the blued bolts were one solid piece). A current production MkIV bolt will also work in the MkII, so there are several options available should one break. Ruger will not replace it under warranty, though.

That's my MkIV at the bottom, and it typically wears a supressor. I like it, but have had to put a lot more money (thanks Volquartsen!) and time into it to get it reliable. The MkII is a better gun, IMO.

 

[TJ Kackowski]

Nice pistol and great story. But the real winner is the Weller 12 ... that is some outstanding bourbon!

 

[MrSmitty]

Sadly I didn't see the bourbon when I first saw the picture, had to go back and look, nice on both counts...BPS in Clarksville has a 10' bbl Ruger, blued, never coonfingered it though...Might have to now....

 

[model1994]

cool story, thanks for sharing. how’s it feel in the hands? shoot well? I’ve never seen one

 

[daddyusmaximus]

My Ruger MKIII seems like it has a long barrel...

 

[macolesby]

Sight radius for days!

That's really cool, and the father-son aspect of the story just makes it cooler. My son and I have a pair of MkIIs, but I've never gotten to shoot the long-barreled version. Judging from my experience with MKIIs, I'm sure it's reliable and accurate. How's it handle with that big tube sticking out the front?

My son's is the 6" at the top, mine is the stainless 5". We found them both used in different shops for very cheap...probably because people don't like taking them apart. IMO it's pretty easy once you learn how to do it. The bolt ears broke off of my stainless at one point, but a buddy tig welded them back on for me and it's now stronger than it was new (the stainless MkIIs had a 2-piece bolt design that was prone to cracking...the blued bolts were one solid piece). A current production MkIV bolt will also work in the MkII, so there are several options available should one break. Ruger will not replace it under warranty, though.

That's my MkIV at the bottom, and it typically wears a supressor. I like it, but have had to put a lot more money (thanks Volquartsen!) and time into it to get it reliable. The MkII is a better gun, IMO.

As much as one would think the gun would be super top heavy it is actually very well balanced. This also mitigates a ton or recoil leaving you to feel more of the slide actuating than anything else.

 

[macolesby]

cool story, thanks for sharing. how’s it feel in the hands? shoot well? I’ve never seen one

Shoots beautifully, While one might think that in the hands it would be front heavy it's actually extremely well balanced.

 

[700 LTR 223]

Love the MKII stainless gun! I picked up this blued 10" at the Indy Gun Show 20 years ago , was $289 NIB . I thought the long sight radius would make a great open sight gun but several years later is when I started noticing eyesight issues.

Started shooting it with a red dot but found the shorter barrel MKIIs shot just as well with red dots so I don't really shoot it much these days. Now when I had 20/20 vision and shot open sights the long sight radius was definitely a plus.

 

[STFU]

Nice pistol and great story. But the real winner is the Weller 12 ... that is some outstanding bourbon!

Wait, there's something other than a pistol in that picture? I need to go back and look again.