I like the new MkIV but like others I am all set with my Mk III...
Same here. I already have two good Mk III models, both stainless, a 5.5” bull barrel and a 6 7/8” slabside target model. I’m a southpaw so the safety is kind of a pain but I’ve lived with right hand only safeties all my life. The LCI is somewhat ugly but in the grand scheme of things a non-issue. Both pistols are accurate and reliable so there is no reason to fix what ain’t broke there. I may have fully taken each one apart at some point in time but forget when, probably when I first bought them some years ago to get any factory preservative off. For any routine cleaning – I also forget when that was last done
- a toothbrush cleans the crud from around the chamber and off the bolt face, the bore never gets cleaned and a little gun oil on the slide keeps everything else operating properly.
But were I in the market for a new Ruger .22 pistol I’d pass over all of the Mk III’s and get that 5.5” Target Mk IV in a heartbeat. I don’t know what Ruger’s plans are but would imagine they just started the Mk IV with the two most popular models and suspect they will eventually offer it in the standard and other configurations, perhaps/probably even the 22/45.