# Mark III shooting accessories



## onewyr

I just bought a new Ruger Mark III target and I would like to trick it out but there are limited accessories that I have found. does anyone have any links to some good sites for shooting accessories(for the mark and other guns). By the way this thing is awesome I had about a 2 inch group right out of the box free handed. that might not be great for some but I was impressed.


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## Dave_w

Okay, the problem with the MkIII is that it's only been out for a year. As such, not too many companies have decent aftermarket stuff out for it. At least not anything worth the money. I know because I've got a MkIII Hunter, and it's a pain to try and get anything so complex as GRIPS for it.

That said...Volquartsen (www.volquartsen.com) makes some very nice stuff, including a complete drop-in trigger kit and drop-in upper. They also make a set of grips which I've heard nothing but mixed reviews on, and which happen to be rather pricey. If you want to do grips, Lett's (www.lettsgrips.com) makes some VERY beautiful wood grips, including thumb-rest ones. I ordered up a pair for mine, and they were great.

But here's where I get a little itchy...can you personally shoot any better than a two-inch group? If not, why bother upgrading the gun any? A set of grips will go a long way, as will a red-dot. I've found the trigger to be just fine, but that might be worth looking into. Consider taking some of the money you'd spend on aftermarket goodies and investing in some good ammunition, whatever your gun happens to like (it'll vary between guns). I've found that with CCI Standards, my Hunter will shoot less than an inch at 25 yards, with the gun clamped in a vise. That's FAR better than I can shoot consistently (and about as well as my Smith and Wesson Model 41), so I pretty much left mine alone.

The guys at rimfirecentral.com are really the ones to ask. They're OBSESSED with this stuff, and quite knowledgeable. They've also got lots of pictures.


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## onewyr

I just recently bought my first handgun which wa s a ruger P85 9mm from my dad I have en't realy shot a lot of handguns in the past just on the rare occasion that I would go off with my dad. I wanted something that was cheap and my son/ daughter could shoot so I bought the mIII I am very pleased with the performance. I found out the hard way that u can't shoot the junk that wal-mart sells (550 rounds for 9 dollars) I am in the process of testing rounds I t does not like shooting the winchester high velocity but it shoots the federal well. I bought some cci last night to try on the range today.


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## onewyr

when I said 2 inch pattern I wasn't talking about a gun being clamped in a vise it was freehanded pretty quick shots to clear the magazine. I didn't take time to shoot individual shots.
what are the benifits of a red dot i was looking at 1 last night but wasn't realy sure about adding all that extra weight. I'm thinking about just buying the ruger bright sights that come on the mIII with the fluted barrel


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## Dave_w

I'd stay away from the Hi-Viz sights that came on my Ruger MkIII (the stainless with the fluted barrel and cocobolo grips). They're terriffic if you need to pick off a squirrel at close range, but I found them to be next to useless at the target range. All they are are fast-acquisition sights. They're actually so big they obscure the target. I kinda wish the Hunter came with the Target's sights. Shame to have such an accurate gun married to a set of piss-poor sights.

The red-dots convey a number of advantages. For one, if you have problems focusing on the sights, they'll completely eliminate that problem. Second, I find it much easier to actually aim precisely where I want the shot to go...there's no lining up, no letting the target rest on the notch, none of that stuff. Just point and squeeze. Lastly, they'll show you just how much you flinch, twitch, and shake when you're aiming. I used to think I was rock-steady...until I tried the red-dots. My groups pulled in an inch or two right away. Right now, I'm using a simple 30mm red-dot that cost $20 and works fine. Shop it around and you should be able to get one for the same price, maybe $5 more. Be advised, the 30mm red-dots which you see being sold by BSA, Tasco, Bushnell, Barska, and others, which all look exactly the same *ARE* all the same. They're made by the same factory and just given different brand stickers and boxes. The only difference is price.

Although I've never found a red-dot that was particularly heavy, if you're concerned about weight, you can always give holo-sights a try. They're very small, sometimes actually replacing your rear sight aperture. And they only weigh an ounce or two, most of which is made up for by the sight you just took off. I've never personally used them, but I'm sure you can find enough people who've tried them to get a consensus. However, they do tend to be more expensive than red-dots. The standard price starts at $150-$250, although there are some floating around for $50. The only reason I haven't tried them is because I'm happy with the red-dots and I can't find one that has a simple, small dot reticule...they all have silly circles and crosses unless you step up to the triple-digit ones.

My Hunter will fire the Wally World $9 Box o' Fun ammo, but it doesn't like to. Federal 117B Gold Cup functions reasonably well, but those CCI Standards are the only thing it absolutely WON'T misfire or jam on (and which also happen to produce the tightest groups). I also tried Wolf Match, which works great in my 10/22-TAL, but that was another strike-out. What I really oughta do is compile some chrono data and more specific measurements on the rounds so I can see why it likes certain ammo...


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## onewyr

I just ordered a set of hogue wraparound grips for both my ruger markIII and my ruger p85 9mm I also ordered the extended bolt release for the mark III. I can't wait to get them and install them on my guns. From what I understand I may have to modify the grip to fit around the mag release on the mark II, have any of u done this with a hogue grip for the markIII if so how hard was it


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## Dave_w

I've talked to guys that used the MkII overmolded grips on MkIIIs, and from what I understand, it's just a matter of carefully hitting it with a Dremel. You will have to do it, however. Volquartsen's wraparound Volthane grips come with an extended mag release that relocates the switch. Kind've a cheap and quick way to re-engineer their grips.


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## onewyr

Well I just got done installing mynew hogue grips on both of my guns. And for any one interested the mark II grips are already notched out for the markIII so it was an easy install. the extended slide release was another easy install as I removed the pin that holds it in i pushed a screwdriver of the same diameter as the pin in so nothing got out of wack and took the oldone off and then did the same steps backwards for the new one. I haven't shot it yet but i think these additions will be awsome for improving my shot.


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