The Ruger Mark IV Target 10 inch barrel: the handrifle

For long, the 22LR handguns seemed to have been confined to introduction guns, field grade nuisance dispatcher kit guns, affordable plinkers, to high end competition pistols destined for Olympic greatness. This old trope has been changing of late, due to what I can attribute to the effects of cyclical ammunition shortages and gunflation.

In recent years, a plethora of new 22LR handguns have been released, adding to the tried-and-true classics. From convertible multi-chambering affordable revolvers, pistols mimicking their bigger sibling for cost effective practice to dedicated new platform for target practice, the gun enthusiast now has plenty of choice (or headaches!) when it comes to picking the next purchase in the rimfire department.

Among this sea of black polymer newbie guns, the Ruger Mark IV Target 10-inch barrel is likely to be noticed in a gun store glass case. Its uncannily long schnoz might be for something. The Ruger Mark IV comes from an old lineage of semi auto pistols that literally made the Ruger brand. It is the fourth series of this line, which gave us lucky customers innumerable variations to enjoy through seven and a half decades.

The key modification from the prior designs is a simple push button take down making disassembly effortless compared to the older guns which have the damning habit of enraging even the most skilled and patient person trying to put them back together.

The MK IV 10-inch Target is the modern re-edition of the MK II 10-inch Target, a gun that earned a reputation of legendary accuracy. The long sight radius and the meaty bull barrel that made these guns capable of gnat-sized groups at unreasonable distances are now available again, albeit in an easy to clean guise.

The modern version comes in two finishes: the blued version has a steel receiver and barrel and aluminum grip, and the stainless a fully made of, you guessed it, stainless steel. The latter is the subject of this review, and, spoiler alert, it did not disappoint in the accuracy department.

The Gun

The Ruger Mark IV 10-inch Target is a striking gun. Its long beefy bull barrel is likely its most noticeable feature, making it look like a fully suppressed gun like the notorious “Amphibious” built on older Mark versions. However, unlike these special purpose guns, the whole length of the tube is cold hammer forged and rifled (1:16 twist) and meant to extract every quantum of performance of the ammunition that is being shot with the longest sight radius possible. Unlike most handguns, it is the barrel and receiver assembly that is serialized and constitute as such the firearm in the legal sense.

The finish of this stainless version is, at least to my taste, beautiful. It seems like a bead blasted then partially polished surface treatment. It keeps the gray metallic sheen of the stainless steel, but in a duller, more matte surface that catches the light from all angles without concentrating its reflection in any particular spot.

This finish will excel at concealing dirt and grime, and the user will do well to keep in mind that the gun may need a cleaning before it starts showing it. Fortunately, this finish also makes cleaning easy, as nothing seems to really be able to cling to the surface of this gun.

Like all the guns in the Mark series, it has a distinct nambu-esque air, with its steeply angled grip. While such configuration harkens back to the days when people were expecting (and expected) to shoot handguns single-handed, this will prove an unusual, and in my opinion, challenging experience with this 10-inch piece. Tipping the scale at 53.5 ounces in its birthday suit, the Stainless version is not a lightweight gun. This is 5 ounces heavier than the classic Smith and Wesson model 29 in .44 Magnum of Hollywood fame, and if a scope were to grace the MK IV, you will get close to the 72 ounces of the Desert Eagle (Hollywood again).

Much of the weight sits far at the front of the grip much like a long barreled revolver, making the gun want to droop its nose to the ground like a sulking teenager. The grips are simple black checkered plastic with the iconic red Ruger medallion and work well for this gun. Should they not be to your taste, there are many options to choose from. Personally, I enjoyed the fact that they keep the grip rather thin, even though my hands are on the larger side.

The gun is hammer fired, and simple blowback operated. Upon ignition, the pressure pushes the casing back out of the chamber along with the bolt. The added mass of the bolt slows the process enough that the pressure decreases to safe levels by the time the case fully exits the chamber. After ejecting the spent casing and cocking the hammer on its way back, the bolt returns forward under the force of a spring and strips the next round from the lips of the magazine and chambers it.

The bolt will lock back upon an empty magazine, but like all the Mark series guns, it will not fire if or when the magazine is removed. The alleged safety value of a magazine disconnect is debatable and, to me, irksome. People may assume wrongly that a gun without its magazine is empty, whereas this one may have kept a round in the chamber, and will be ready to fire when the magazine is reinserted, even if the magazine is empty. As always, remember the first rule of gun safety: “Always assume a gun is loaded/Always treat a gun as loaded”.

Surprisingly, despite being hammer fired and built as a target gun, the trigger can disappoint. It is long and gritty, almost squishy. It is at least very consistent and breaks at the same point every time, making for predictable shots. An ambidextrous safety will please southpaws. It is easily actuated by the shooter’s thumb, pushing it up to prevent discharge and down to allow the gun to fire.

The sights are functional with a black serrated front blade and a black notched fully adjustable rear sight. I did find this setup perhaps a bit simple when compared to the accuracy potential of this gun. It certainly works, but anybody wanting to maximize the potential of the gun while shooting iron sight will likely want to replace the original part with finer and/or more visible options. Four holes are drilled and tapped in front of the rear sight to allow the installation of a rail for optics, which this gun beckons.

The gun ships in a nice large plastic molded case with all the documents and locks required by law and good practice, along with two 10-round magazines. The magazines are all metal save the bottom plate. They have a good-sized button that allows pulling the follower down while inserting the cartridges through the lips of the magazine. This definitely helps as the spring is rather strong. I have also noticed that pulling the follower down a bit for each round prevents any loading snafu, as opposed to fully pulling it down and dumping ten rounds down from the top. The magazine is released by a button on the left side of the grip and will drop freely, even if the gun is fully gunked up by a long shooting session.

Disassembly (finally) made easy

Taking the gun apart for cleaning and maintenance is easy. The operator will need to make sure the gun is empty (remember the pesky magazine disconnect?), cock the gun, put it on safe and depress the button with the Ruger Eagle Logo at the rear of the receiver. Tilt the receiver, pull it forward, and voila! The gun is separated into two halves. Removing the bolt assembly can now be done by pulling it rearward out of the receiver.

Reassembly is equally simple. Reinsert the bolt assembly into the back of the receiver, place the receiver front notch on the front pin of the grip and rotate it so that the receiver engages the catch. The gun is now reassembled and ready to be used. No cussin’ or hatin’ anymore: with the take down button, Ruger has propelled the Mark series into the 21st century, and saved many owners from hair pulling.

At the range

The first thing a shooter will notice is the somewhat unwieldy character of the gun compared to shorter barreled, more balanced handguns. Shooting this large and front heavy handgun offhand is more akin to shooting a large frame, long barreled revolver with a thin grip. It is perfectly doable but will require adjustments in the shooter’s grip and technique. The long heavy barrel helps stabilize any wobble but can fatigue the shooter in a short order. Shooting the Mark IV from a rest, though perhaps not the intended purpose of a handgun, is a totally different experience, where this gun absolutely shines.

I will be surprised if a wide smile does not appear on the shooter’s face when they start printing single hole groups that can be covered with a penny at unexpected distances. The accuracy of this gun is stellar.

The following groups were shot at 25 yards, standing with the gun simply resting on a 4×4 and equipped with a UTG Leapers True Hunter 2-7×32 Scope. The worst center-to-center average is 0.795’’ and the best average is a minuscule 0.510’’. The general expectation for competition grade accuracy in handguns is 1’’ group at 25 yards. The Ruger Mark IV 10-inch will best that even, with bulk affordable plinking-quality ammunition.

Velocities measured from this 10 inch tube are close to their advertised test velocities, except for the ultra-fast CCI Stinger which left the barrel about 190 fps slower than what the box says (13% velocity difference). The other rounds were within a single digit percentage of the advertised velocity, and, interestingly, the CCI Standard velocity shot 9% faster than the 1070 fps test velocity. While this barrel is indeed uncommonly long for a handgun, it does not yield much ground compared to much longer rifle barrels of 16 inches and above. The Mark IV is a handheld rifle in that regard.

Curiously, other than feeling like it could be better, the trigger worked very well at the range and was not noticeably hampering the accuracy of the gun. Maybe the heft of the gun makes it easier to keep it aligned with the target, but the long and squishy trigger pull was quickly forgotten. Every pull was predictable and repeatable. Apparently, Ruger knows something I don’t.

The potential Jam-O-matic

The fun at the range was somewhat hampered by this gun’s propensity for jamming. In its original configuration, this gun experienced an inordinate number of stovepipes, especially with high velocity rounds. Disassembling the gun to inspect the ejector revealed that this part, made of stamped steel, had dull edges, especially where it is expected to grab on the rim of the casing.

Installing a Tandemkross machined steel ejector reduced drastically the number of stovepipes (see section at the end of this post). Standard velocity ammunition ran without a hitch, and the high velocity rounds only stovepiped a handful of times in over 300 rounds. I believe that the higher pressure of these rounds deforms the casing enough to form a ballooning rim that is too rounded for the extractor to grip it well 100% of the time. Combined with the higher speed of the bolt moving backwards, it is possible these rounds pulled off the extractor and bounced around in the receiver instead of finding the exit.

Shots afield

A gun as accurate as the Ruger Mark IV 10 inch Target will excel at small game hunting, providing one can shoot it accurately. One could use shooting sticks or support the gun on any willing tree or branch, or shoot it off hand. The latter is not easy and will require practice and getting used to heft of the gun (at least for me!). For shooting offhand, I will recommend iron sights or a small red dot rather than a scope which will add to the weight of the gun and require efforts to deal with the eye box.

I did find an effective way to shoot this gun standing in an accurate and quick way that works wonderfully in the field. I did not invent this but rather adapted it from the lore of the Wild West, its bar brawls and tumbleweeds.

James Butler, also known as Wild Bill Hickock shot Davis Tutt in a duel for nabbing his watch, put up as a collateral during a contested card game, rather than winning is fair and square. As unacceptable this seems today, shooting somebody for honor was not only a common practice at the time, but expected. What Wild Bill did as he stepped out to confront the malfeasant was unusual.

While Tutt shot offhand, Hickock cradled his revolver in the crook of his support elbow to stabilize the gun before taking the shot. You see, the scoundrel knew of Hickock’s skills with a gun. Tutt stood at what he thought was a safe distance of about 75 yards between him and the scorned gunman before they shot at each other. That was not enough, and Wild Bill’s .36 ball found the ruffian’s boiler room at that distance.

This approach, while successful, is not the safest. Hickock was probably clad with a duster or coat that prevented injury from the side blast and burn from the cylinder gap of his revolver, and the barrel surely protruded past his joint. This can be done with the Mark IV: there is no cylinder gap, the schnoz of the gun will reach far past any elbow, and, bonus, the bolt will move back short enough to avoid booping the shooter the nose upon cycling. Just make sure you wear protective glasses, as always.

With the gun resting on the support arm, one can even mount a rifle scope on the gun, as it will be positioned the right distance from the shooter’s eye. I recommend a rimfire scope since most centerfire rifle scopes have a parallax adjustment set to 75 yards or more. I use the Vortex Crossfire II 2-7x32mm Rimfire with great effect. In this configuration, the Mark IV turns into a quick handling, tackdriving shooter that can handle any target or small game at distances comparable to rimfire rifles, albeit in a somewhat lighter and shorter package.

My take

So, how does this long, heavier than usual, heck of an accurate handgun fit in an inventory? First and foremost, one does not need reasons to buy a gun they like, and this unique gun is a looker.

In terms of practicality, though, this gun may not be for everyone. For the Mark IV fans, the price tag of the 10 inch Target is significantly above the standard model that is lighter and much easier to shoot offhand (57% higher MSRP, to be exact). Granted, these basic models will not be as accurate as the 10 inch barrel Target, nor will they provide its superior ammunition performance, and these are the best attributes of this gun.

When rigged with an optic and shot from a rest or any other stable position, this pistol is king. This gun does not need match grade ammunition to achieve incredible accuracy. It will reward the shooter trying to challenge him or herself at distances well beyond reach of lesser handguns. On a walk in the woods, it will fill the pot with small game all the while being carried easier than even the shortest foldable rifle, without compromising accuracy or power.  

Improving a great gun

My time with the Ruger Mark IV showed me where this gun and my preferences did not fully meet in the middle. As good as the gun is out of the box in the accuracy department, there are a couple of things I would like done differently.

There is a plethora of replacement parts and upgrades for the Mark IV series. The buyer can tweak these great little and not-so-little guns into what they want them to be all the way into gutting them whole and swapping most of their innards for some incredible custom rigs.

One modification I did not feel like implementing was improving the trigger, despite my original impression. I was able to work well with the stock part, but I can easily understand if people would want a lighter and crisper trigger.

The magazine disconnect is not something I like in a gun, and the extraction issues were too numerous to be looked over. The presence of the magazine disconnect does not affect the reliability of the gun. Should the owner want to get rid of it, I will recommend the Blast Shield Magazine Disconnect Kit from Tandemkross (https://tandemkross.com/blast-shield-magazine-disconnect-for-ruger-mark-iv-22-45/). For an affordable $20, the pesky disconnect can be replaced in a matter of minutes. I solved (most of) the extraction issues by installing the Tandemkross Eagle’s Talon extractor ($13 https://tandemkross.com/eagles-talon-extractor-for-ruger-mark-series/) instead of the surprisingly dull OEM extractor, and to be sure, the Tandemkross extractor plunger and spring kit ($10 https://tandemkross.com/extractor_spring_and_plunger-ruger-mk_series).

These parts all made for a much better shooting experience, and I’d like to write a shout out to the Tandemkross Team for the great and easy to follow installation videos on their website. These fine folks made sure to help people like me who like to do things myself without being particularly experienced or good at it…

Finally, I cannot end this article without recommending outfitting a good optic on the Mark IV Target. Anybody wanting to stretch the reach of this gun will require a scope to reap the full benefits of this gun’s exceptional accuracy.

Sadly, there is slim pickins in the handgun scope department, and the few choices are pricey. I am happy with the UTG Leapers True Hunter 2-7×32 (https://www.leapers.com/products-utg-scp-27prgw.html) but one will be well served by any decent (here: more expensive) offering. One can use a rifle scope if wanting to try the elbow cradle, with the caveat of using a scope with adjustable parallax, or one set for the distances expected to be reached.