graycrait

byrnemm, I had one MKII that I had breaking crisp at 1.75lbs but an older former member of the Army Marksmanship team talked me out of that one. I primarily wanted to try working on a 22/45 and this one was available at the right price. The newer VQ hammers with external pre and over travel adjustments work, but I love the Marvel trigger. The Marvel takes more work to set up right. I suspect that if one would handfit hammer, sear and trigger pins along with sear and hammer work a person could get nearly a wow factor out of a Ruger. Frankly I get more fun out of trying to turn a sow's ear into a slightly better sow's ear than buying a Pardini, Walther GSP or other Euro pistol. The Euro pistols have their place, as does a S&W 41, but the Ruger design is pretty good for about 98% of anything a person wants to do with a .22LR pistol. Ruger MK guns are pretty neat and I think iconic to American gun design. My biggest beef with the MKIII 22/45 is that I don't like the grip and it is hard to do much do it other than add 1911-like slabs, which I am not interested in. I like the old style of 22/45 grip much better.

I shot at 3.25lbs with a Voquartsen pre and overtravel trigger and it was alright, but not anything to write home about. Next weekend I am going to see if a couple of retired 50m bullseye shooters will give it a try. Just trying to take the MKIII 22/45 to its potential. Craig

Folks, Here is another harebrained project of mine. Folks, It ain't pretty but it is a pretty decent .22LR pistol. 1. Handfitted LOP and cant adjustable Bob Marvel Custom trigger with no pre or overtravel breaks at 2.3lbs like a glass rod. 2. Frame radiused to accomadate the famous Marvel trigger in a MKIII 22/45 when the trigger was orginally made for a MKII steel gun. 4. All friction internal parts polished. 5. Volquartsent sear installed. 6. MKIII trigger disconnect apparatus removed. 7. MKII hammer installed. 8. bolt and interior ofreceiver lightly polished with 2000 grit sandpaper 9. Weigand scope mount installed. 10. Matchdot 2-8 MOA by Ultradot installed. 11. Hogue Handall secured by double sided carpet tape with rear section cutout to accommodate MK series takedown lever. 12. Frame's trigger access areas around trigger guard further radiused to remove edges and to improve smooth trigger finger operation both left and right.

One of my shooting buddies thinks I need a lightweight 1911 because he says with my mechanical abilities I can keep the 1911 running right. I've never had an alloy 1911. I've never owned a G36 either, but have shot them a little. This guy is the one who suggested an EMP or a Springfield Bi-tone alloy .45 1911. I have only owned 5" steel framed 1911s but have none now. I've had two 9mm 1911s, a .38 Super and 4 .45ACP 1911s including handbuilt, SA Operator, SA Loaded and SA Mil Spec. I like making them work but for me they are too big and heavy to make me want to use them as daily carry. I know a LEO down southeast of me who carries a G36 daily off-duty and shoots it about every day with no ill words. I've shot with this fella and he is both accurate and likes to shoot fast. If I can I will try and get his input because I suspect he has more than a few 1911s himself. Is there anyone on the forum who has extensive experience shooting both a G36s and alloy framed 1911s who can give some practical observations. I would suspect follow-ups on individual targets to be a tad slower, but moving to multiple targets should provide recoil recovery time. Then there is reliability and durability issues I don't know about. Craig in Clarksville

Title says it all but I am interested in finding one to buy. If you see one in the Clarksville "region" let me know please. Craig in Clarksville

I used the word "dinking" around because I know guy who is a very serious reloader and distance shooter. Among his extensive rifle collection he has what he calls "shooters" and dinkers. He calls what I do with a long gun "dinking." My critieria for this AR was to have one that would shoot "cheap" 55 grain ammo well enough for someone like me. Max range fo 250-300, mostly 100 yard paper shots. I have a flip-up rear sight I can put on the rail too. The builder called it "minute of felon for home defense" or "minute of varmint at 300 yards." Hopefully I can get it to the range in the next week or so. When shooting long guns I am not a fan of getting bruised up or spending a dollar a shot. When a friend mentioned that I should look again at .223 ammo prices vs .22WMR ammo I was shooting I decided to to get rid of the last of my .22WMR's and get a .223. This is my last .223 project, a Remington 700 with a 16" barrel and Scout scope mount. That was a handy rifle and surely a curiosity.

Here is another of my Glock experiments, trying to make a Glock that would shoot like a Sig P210. This one had a stainless steel CCF frame 17L upper and Bomar sights. I tried it with a Doctor red dot too. Right now I can't exactly remember how much it weighed, but something around 52 oz's I think. I tried out another attempt to make a "bullseye" gun out of a Glock by buying an aftermarket G34 slide, aftermarket barrel, aftermarket trigger bar, etc.

I have nothing against other models of handguns, I've had a bunch. As a base gun to learn a lot of things from the Glock is hard to beat. I wish it had a 1911 trigger but then it would be a 1911. However, for self-defense the trigger on a Glock is fine and can be easily adjusted to suit many peoples' tastes by the user with some care. You can have triggers with Light or heavy pull, with serrated or smooth face trigger shoe face. The trigger has a decent short reset. The Glock has a low bore axis. It is so simple to work on that it is in this area that I think it rises above the rest for the everyman's pistol. If you want to shoot lead bullets you can as one poster mentioned, just keep the barrel clean or simply buy an aftermarket barrel for around 100.00 that can be changed out with the stock one in about 30 seconds. This book: Amazon.com: How To Customize Your Glock: Step-by-Step Modifications You Can Do at Little Cost (9781581604825): Robert H. Boatman, Morgan W. Boatman: Books is 15.00 well spent to understand how you the Glock user can do nearly anything within safe reason that you might want to do to a Glock. I've tried out a lot of Glock aftermarket parts and simply recommend saving your money and stick with stock parts, except sights.

My latest project: Delton upper and lower with 20" 1:9 twist, J&P trigger upgrade, Leupold AR 1.5-4. I haven't had an AR in a while ant the folks at TN Gun Country put one together for me to to meet my specific needs and wants.

Glocks are very good pistols. They will eat anything you feed them with enough accuracy for any 15 yard and in drills you can think of. They can be very very fast from draw to empty magazine. If you don't like the grip angle or the feel you can dramatically change both the feel and equal the angle of the 1911. There is enough plastic on the frame to do it. I've done several dozen myself. I've put together 1911s from kits or purchased completely disassembled ones plus had others. They are OK, and high end ones are more than OK, and at distance I shoot them better than Glocks. However, the Glock is "relatively" inexpensive, parts are everywhere (in the rare case you need a spare), parts are comparitively cheap and available in just about any country. It is simple and fast to completely disassemble or reassemble. You do not have to be a Glock certified Armorer to do it well and fast regardless of what anyone tells you.

I've been doing simple armorer work on KTs for a few years and have seen this with the plastic mag catch. Get the metal one or just remove the one you have and clean up the hole the catch moves through and the catch itself. I would do this to any KT: http://goldenloki.com/gunsmith/keltec/fullrp.htm The hardchrome ones need less prep than the all "black" ones.

Can someone who has shoot many 100's of rounds, better would be several 1000's of rounds through an EMP 9mm, tell me about the pistol? Having shot many types of 9mms and owning 5 right now, I can't figure out why I would need an EMP. But a federal pistolero friend of mine thinks I should check them out. I've had two 9mm full-size 1911s before and none now. But I am sort of intrigued by the EMP. Craig in Clarksville

I had a Ruger Speed Six in 9mm. It was a dream to shoot. The moonclips for the ruger and the tools to "declip" casings worked well. The moonclips for the 905s I had were flimsy and if carried in the pocket even jacket pockets got bent and the rounds fell out. Heck the rounds would fall out without much effort from the carried moonclip. Otherwise the 905 shoots just fine and like one poster said the 9mm is efficient out of a short barrelled gun. However, they make .38s for short barrelled guns too, as well as a wide variety of loads. A few cylinders full of 9mm out of the 905 usually worked well, however at some point extraction would bind up in both guns. Never had that issue with the Ruger Speed Six in 9mm. Just my experiences owning 2 905s and the Ruger. If you want a pocket carry cannon the Keltec PF9 would be better than the 905 IMHO. I've had two of those also.

I've had two 905s and a Ruger Speed Six in 9mm. The Taurus revolvers were not that good long term. The moonclips are flimsy and the extraction can quickly become difficult. Stick with 38+P and you will be a happier shooter. The Ruger Speed Six is another story but if you want hard hitting revolvers just stay with .357 or the 38+P. I have a friend who has several .327 magnums and they are very interesting

If you need help working on your own Ruger MK series this will help: www.1bad69.com or RimfireCentral.com - Rimfire Community! or if it is up: guntalk-online.com

Yes transmission fluid, the red stuff. I've tried all sorts of lubricants and read quite a bit about them. I used to do quite a bit of work on hydraulic systems too, and got to talk to lube folks in that game. I wanted something that spreads easily, is thin, but also gives good lubrication. One of my older friends who was in the Army Marksmanship Unit back in the 60s suggested the CLP/Tranny fluid mix. I use a fine needle oiler to apply it. This mix does everything I want it to do, including working well in S&W revolvers, as well as anythe else. The tranny fluid has some metal protection properties and adheres well but keeps the mix thin. Working on other folks' guns has caused me to be cautious about over lubing. Either extreme does little to promote good working actions.

byrnemm & others, I have always thought the Paclite on a 22/45 frame would be fun to try. I was lucky in mine that I had a MKII hammer to replace the MKIII hammer that is cut to accomodate the mag disconnect mechanism, otherwise I would also have had to get a Clark bushing. I have a couple of 20oz .22LR pistols I love already though, a pair of 6" S&W 422s. It is a crying shame that S&W quit making them. It is good though that there are a couple of folks making aftermarket pins and other goodies for them though. If there was only "1" .22lr pistol that I could have the S&W 422 would be it: http://i862.photobucket.com/albums/ab181/graycrait/422s-1.jpg

I went to the range today. I am still waiting for my Marvel adjustable trigger to hand fit to this pistol but I have to say the Ruger MKIII 22/45 pictured is the easiest to shoot accurately, pistol, I have ever shot. Again, mods were: 1. Matchdot Ultradot reddot 2-8 MOA variable dot with infinite variable light intensity. 2. Weigand scope mount. 3. Volquartsen pre & post travel adjustable trigger. 4. Volquartsen sear. 5. Hogue Handall grip sleeve 6. Harrington friction reduction job 7. CCI SV ammo 8. 5 Magazines 9. Lubed with 1:1 mix of red transmission fluid & CLP Rig weighs 41oz unloaded w/o mag Lessons learned: 1) use decent ammo. 2) 4MOA is good enough for up to 25 meters. Which means to say you can save 50 bucks by buying a standard Ultradot at 4MOA fixed for $149.00, rather than the $199.00 2-8MOA Matchdot by Ultradot. I suspect for a 50M shooter the 2MOA is necessary, but I have too much wobble for 50M unsupported handgun shooting. I set this Matchdot at 4MOA and can shoot just as well as using the 2MOA dot. 3) I have to find rings or modify the existing ones so that I can shoot this thing through the rings using the stock iron sights or find rings that are low enough to co-witness without ring mods - but I think that is impossible. Therefore I think I need to get the dreaded dremel out and "hack" out a hole in these rings! Then the only thing would be to do is thread this "thing." I would love to "lay the optic on the rail" and may try just that with JB Weld. I have shot Pardini, Walther GSP, S&W 41 and some crazy Russian pistol that a friend used to have so I have minimal experience shooting some better than Ruger pistols. I am no bullseye pistol shooter. This is my 5 or 6th Ruger MK series pistol. I am just a hack that mainly shoots Glock and Beretta 9mms, with experience building 1911s and working on other pistols & revolvers. There is a point of diminishing returns for most of us.

I do quite a bit of work on .22s and have had 5 or 6 10/22s and only have one 795 derivative, the Papoose. According to a guy who builds aftermarket 10/22 barrels he told me that the 795 barrel is the more accurate rifle than a stock 10/22 barrel. However, he said the 795 (mag fed) is easier to keep running well than the tube fed model 60 Marlin. I dunno. I've fixed a couple of older Mdl 60s and they seem to run well. Either of the two is minute of squirrel head at 35 yards. Although at this moment I have several mag fed .22s, including Marlin, Ruger and CZ, I like tube fed guns that have the tube protected. Here is my favorite, a Mossberg 151M semi auto. It is tube fed through the stock and was made approx 1947. It is near mint. I picked it up a few weeks ago for 220.00. That is a Weaver B4 with RA Litchert 2x magnifier - cool factor is off the charts and shoots into a dime at 50 yards with bulk ammo.

At 41oz this MKIII 22/45 isn't too heavy, and not much more than a 5" steel 1911. I figure it to be a good long range training pistol. One of my friends runs a MKII like this now that he has retired from active bullseye shooting, having sold his Euro air and rimfire pistols, as well as his match 1911. I am fiddling with this to reaffirm some things I learned on previous MKII projects and wanted to fiddle with a 22/45 to see what weight and balance were like. Craig

No, I didn't use the slingshot mod, but should look into it. I have had 4 or 5 MKIIs that I have fooled with and this is my first MKIII. I glossed over the slingshot mod as it didn't seem to interest me with regards to the MK series. I just shoot them at the range for fun, so a button push here or there is no big deal. However, on a couple of my 10/22s I have installed auto bolt releases.

I got the 22/45 used in trade with some rough blemishes due to "enthusiastic" reassembly by a previous owner. Here is what I did: 1. Fix a few of the blemishes - still noticeable but don't impact function 2. completely disassemble and polish all friction points. 3. Dispose of magazine disconnect. 4. Install Volquartsen sear, sear spring, trigger plunger and plunger spring. 5. Install Volquartsen trigger that has pre and post travel adjustments. 6. Install MKII hammer. 7. Install Weigand Scope mount. 8. Attach Matchdot by Ultradot. 2-11 MOA with variable click intensity. Result: 3.5lb crisp no pre or over travel trigger break. I could go lower in trigger weight but for my purposes lower doesn't work for me. Fortunately I have found a source for NIB Marvel Precision adjustable triggers and I will be handfitting one of those upon receipt. They allow LOP adustment as well as "cant." They also need to be handfitted to eliminate pre and over travel. Trades may be considered? Why? I do this for fun and the satisfaction of turning out a truly nice pistol. But at the range I shoot Glock 9mm, Beretta 92 9mm, S&W 422 .22LR and Keltec .32s. I might be interested in G19, S&W 442, S&W 2206 6", S&W 422 6" or CZ 75SA.

I've had two PF9s, getting a second one thinking I may have made a mistake in getting rid of the first one. I never had a problem with the PF9 in function. I had to put a trigger shoe on both mine and do a little carving to get the plastic trigger and shoe to work well. However, when I carry a save your b... pocket pistol I simply must be able to draw point and shoot mulitiple rounds quickly with some instintice point shooting accuracy. I just couldn't do it reliable with the PF9. I can with the Glock 26 but it is fat. I carry and shoot a Keltec P32 off-hand, a G19 strong hand or off-hand, whatever the case.

Sometimes i go to unholster it at the end of the day and find it ready to fire...Not a real problem tho unless it happened and I was carrying cocked and locked, which I don't. Hmmm.... that is a problem of sorts. I'm still inclined to like the pistol but will have to play with one to see if I can live with the controls. Craig

My hardchromed Keltec .32 and my personally customized Glock 19. I have sold or traded all the rest. It is crazy how many guns I have had pass through my hands and still have my KT 32 and GT19.