Ruger .22 accuracy expectations - Update

matt

matt

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While at the range today (WHAT A GREAT DAY FOR THE RANGE!!![grin] ) I was exercising my new-to-me Ruger MK-II (paid $195). I was shooting at 25 yds, which my eyes don't really like (for some reason I have a hard time maintaining my sight picture that far out).

I ran out of targets, so I was shooting at 8-1/2 x 11 sheets of paper and grouping ~6" diameter. In an effort to check the sights I shot from bench rest and brought this down to ~3" diameter.

This is a 6" bull barrel model MK-II. I know that different .22's like different ammo (I was shooting CCI Blazer), but assuming I get the "right ammo", what is a reasonable expectation for this pistol?

Thanks,
Matt
 
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Do the exact same thing with CCI Green Tag. You will see an improvement. I don't know what the gun will hold, but I know the ammo will hold its end of the bargin.
 
You don't need green tag its too expensive, CCI standard velocity will
do just fine.... and most of us shoot bullseye at 50 ft.....

Some guys shoot the cheapest ammo and get the greatest results..

JimB
 
I shot mine at 50 yards with old boxes of Federal Lightning and could consistently hit well. These are very accurate pistols. My father who shoots 22 pistols for competition on tuesday and thursday nights says a lot of folks start out with these for inexpensive target guns and some still use em with good results.
As far as ammo goes, I've seen that diferent rifles/pistols perform better with certain ammo types and one doesn't suit them all. It depends on the shooter and the gun in my opinion. Try as many diferent types as possible and see what works best for you. Back when Natches would ship to Mass, I ordered all kinds of diferent types of 22 ammo to determine what would work best in my 22s. I settled on Wolf for my Ruger 10/22 with Butler Creek barrel and left over old stock of Federal Lightning that I still have for my Mk2 pistol. When the Lightning runs out, i'll hit the range again but with about 10 diferent types of ammo and start over. [grin]
 
Ruger barrels are very good. If the barrel has been properly maintained and shoots fairly good ammo, groups of one inch at 50 yards(ten shots) are not unrealistic. 1.5 inches at worst. Greg
 
Greg Derr said:
Ruger barrels are very good. If the barrel has been properly maintained and shoots fairly good ammo, groups of one inch at 50 yards(ten shots) are not unrealistic. 1.5 inches at worst. Greg
Click to expand...

This pistol was quite a mess when I got it. Though I suppose it could be me that causes the spread...

1.5" at 50 YARDS, as in 150 feet?
 
I don't shoot my MkII much, although I've had it for a good part of 20 years. That being said mine IS VERY senstive to some ammo. I bought a box (500?) of CCI aluminun stuff and I've already had a handful of jams. If I recall it didn't like any high velocity stuff. Federal Std velocity works fine.

Accuracy at 50 feet is great... but damn that thing is heavy for bullseye- not used to one handed shooting. :)
 
matt said:
This pistol was quite a mess when I got it. Though I suppose it could be me that causes the spread...

1.5" at 50 YARDS, as in 150 feet?
Click to expand...

Greg is not only a gunsmith extraordinaire, but also a former olympic shooter IIRC.
 
Update and further questions

OK, so it seems that my group sizes with this pistol are quite inconsistent. A large part is me, I'm sure.

I've been trying to get it to run better, trying a few different ammo's. Depending how much coffee I've had, I can see a difference in ammo. At 50ft I can get groups (from bench rest) 1-1.5" diameter depending on ammo. Better ammo, better group.

So now that I can get somewhat reasonable groups, I adjusted the sights today, and found what I think is a problem. I was occasionally getting a flier when I was sure I had good sight alignment on target.

1st, I looked closer at the sights and noticed some play in the rear adjustable sight. They seem spring loaded back into position, but I'm not sure that is normal. Any comments?

2nd, I was adjusting the trigger over travel tonight with the set screw in the trigger (it was ~3/16", now it is ~1/32"). Normally when I dry fire the pistol, I'm looking length wise at it, down the sights. Since I was looking at the trigger travel carefully, I was looking at the side view tonight. I noticed that when the firing pin fell, the barrel moved forward about 1/32-1/16"!! (it returned to its rearmost position after cycling the slide back) Is this normal?

Thanks,
Matt
 
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I've seen many ruger's that the sights need to be secured
1 front sight loc tited and 2 the roll pin that hold the rear sight needs to be taken out and given a little bit of a bend to keep it in place
To push the pin out use a small nail or paper clip of the right diameter hold the roll pin with 2 pliers and give a very slight bend to it might need a nylon or brass hammer to get it back in but if you did it correctly only a small amount of force is needed Oh BTW LEAVE THE NAIL OR PAPER CLIP IN TO HOLD THE SIGHT INPLACE
 
Sorry just another thought if the sight doesn't seem right send it back to ruger even though you may not be the original owner ruger will fix it there cusromer service is 2nd to none IMHO
 
OK, I fixed it!

The barrel would not lock onto the lug in the frame because the "vee" in the frame had opened up a little. I found if I put a scrap of paper between the barrel and frame it was nice and tight.

So.... I put the frame in a vice and VERY gently squeezed the vee of the frame that the barrel sits in so that the barrel locks in nice and tight now.

I'll check it at the range next weekend. I think it should be much, much better.

Matt
 
JimB said:
You don't need green tag its too expensive, CCI standard velocity will
do just fine.... and most of us shoot bullseye at 50 ft.....

Some guys shoot the cheapest ammo and get the greatest results..

JimB
Click to expand...

That didn't work well for me in my MkII. The CCI Velocitor (more for hunting) I recently tried was a lot more accurate, but was also more expensive. I forget if it was Winchester or Federal for the bulk stuff which was more accurate for me. The Remington didn't do so well either.

I use those dessert paper plates with a magic marker dot center target. If I can get 10 within a couple inches, I'm happy.
 
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Good thread. I just picked up a Ruger Mark3, (I bought it today). Looking forward to getting accurate, teaching the muscles what to do.
 
JRyan said:
Good thread. I just picked up a Ruger Mark3, (I bought it today). Looking forward to getting accurate, teaching the muscles what to do.
Click to expand...
I love my Mk III. It's quite accurate at 25 yds. It gives me a chance to see how inaccurate I am and just work on the basics without thinking about recoil or ammo costs. Win-win if you ask me. Hope you love yours, too!

And we want pics!
 
SiameseRat said:
I love my Mk III. It's quite accurate at 25 yds. It gives me a chance to see how inaccurate I am and just work on the basics without thinking about recoil or ammo costs. Win-win if you ask me. Hope you love yours, too!

And we want pics!
Click to expand...

Of course! I can't wait to spend serious time at the range with it.
 
matt said:
Put it to work: .22 Postal Match
Click to expand...


Step 1) figure out what a postal match is.... [smile]
Step 2) get good enough to compete.

I would like to enter some matches of whatever sort, but I'm still pretty new to shooting so I think I need a lot more practice first.
 
JRyan said:
Step 1) figure out what a postal match is.... [smile]
Step 2) get good enough to compete.

I would like to enter some matches of whatever sort, but I'm still pretty new to shooting so I think I need a lot more practice first.
Click to expand...

1) A Postal Match is just that. You shoot using the guidelines laid forth. 1 target per scenario. 1 chance. No cheating by running the same scenario until you get a target you like. Then you mail your target to the host of the match and whoever has the best score wins.

2) No better way to get good than by shooting more. Join up!

I'd join in but I still can't shoot yet after hand surgery.
 
SiameseRat said:
1) A Postal Match is just that. You shoot using the guidelines laid forth. 1 target per scenario. 1 chance. No cheating by running the same scenario until you get a target you like. Then you mail your target to the host of the match and whoever has the best score wins.

2) No better way to get good than by shooting more. Join up!

I'd join in but I still can't shoot yet after hand surgery.
Click to expand...

Interesting.
 
JRyan said:
I would like to enter some matches of whatever sort, but I'm still pretty new to shooting so I think I need a lot more practice first.
Click to expand...

You've got almost (2) months to practice! I've been shooting less than a year too. Believe me: you've got a better than a fighting chance against me, at least!

I've been wanting to compete a little to give me some motivation to do better than hit the paper.
 
matt said:
You've got almost (2) months to practice! I've been shooting less than a year too. Believe me: you've got a better than a fighting chance against me, at least!

I've been wanting to compete a little to give me some motivation to do better than hit the paper.
Click to expand...


Ok, I'll do it.
 

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