Ruger 22/45

[RJ]

Finally picked up at my FFL today.



Fit and finish are good, I don't see any issues. Some gunk in the bore which I snaked out after field strip (which was, I have to say, as easy as it looks). I read the manual and did some basic manipulations with snap caps. Bolt was a little stiff, but after a wipe down and some additional lube if felt much better. It chambered my snap caps fine.

It weighs 31.9 oz empty, 33.6 with a mag. Trigger pull average (5, Lyman Digital) was 4.5 lbs. The grip does feel kinda like a 1911. The safety is a bit stiff, and awkward for me, being a lefty. I'll get used to it. I loaded up my four mags (came with two, I ordered two from Gunmagwarehouse) with my Minimags (man those bullets are tiny!). The little plastic mag loader thingy I'd ordered seemed to help; I'm not sure it strictly speaking was really necessary. The skin on my hands is pretty thin so I appreciated being able to push on the plastic and not the steel mag nub.

Headed to the range soon(tm). Ruger says it's a bullseye hold, but (of course!) they never tell you at what range or how big the bullseye is (I have a working theory on that, but am not 100% sure). I'll figure it out. The front is a fixed steel black, the rear adjustable in windage and elevation. I'm fine with black steel for indoors, where I'm shooting at the moment.

This really looks like a lot of fun.

[farscott]

It really is a lot of fun. .22 LR is a blast without much muzzle blast. The lack of recoil allows you to see exactly how your trigger squeeze impacts the bullet impact. You also can shoot a lot without breaking the bank.

[RJ]

First range session today, 87 rounds, no malfunctions. I did all shooting two handed unsupported.

I appear to be shooting it 4” left and 5” high at 7 yards. Went +7 clicks on windage CW, +6 elevation CW. Shot at 10, then 15, then 25. By the time I shot the seventh target (a T-10) at 15 yards, I was holding a bit low with a bullseye hold. But I think I am close, as I was able to bracket the bullseye, slow fire:



I will leave the sight alone and keep testing. No malfunctions shooting. Twice top round seemed to hang the bolt, remove mag and banged on table, reseat, reshot bolt, was ok. Weird. I guess I chalk this up to my ham-handed unfamiliarity with loading .22 LR cartridges. The grip feels good, very 1911 like (well, duh). Pistol might be a bit nose heavy? I compared it for feel with a 22/45 "Lite" they had in the display rack, and mine feels much heavier. Not as heavy as the Stainless Target they also had, somewhere in the middle. But to be honest I have nothing to compare mine to, so it felt ok to me.

I need at least one more mag, 5 would be great.

Not having any recoil really messed with my head at first. I think shooting the .22 was a bit startling because I was conscious of me moving the sights even though I didn't need to. (this is hard to explain). In other words, maybe all this time, I've been flinching at the shot, and today was the first time I was able to see and feel it? I dunno. It was definitely novel experience (just as a reminder, this is the first time I've shot a .22 in about 50 years, and that was a single-shot rifle, in Scouts.)

I had a blast though, it was lots of fun. I can't wait to go to the range again with this pistol.

[45dotACP]

Nothing helped my accuracy at distance quite like shooting a .22lr

[awp_101]

I had a blast though, it was lots of fun. I can't wait to go to the range again with this pistol.

And so it begins…

[RJ]

Got tired of getting my office-boy hands pinched by the bolt, so I ordered one of these halo rings from Tandemkross.



Hopefully this will help.

[flyrodr]

Nothing helped my accuracy at distance quite like shooting a .22lr

This, and just shooting at distance. A friend @JRV pretty much got me to shoot more at 25 yds, and while it was not altogether comfortable initially, I quickly improved. I did it mostly with a red-dotted .22. Just can't get a good front-sight picture with my eyes.

And that essentially non-recoiling .22 will show any twitch, jerk or other less-than-smooth trigger press. The lessons learned will carry over to a centerfire.

@RJ: Rich, plop a red dot on that Ruger MK IV, and I'll bet your younger (than mine) eyes will appreciate it. Enough so, you'll be wanting to whittle down that 1911 for a red dot!

Today, with my MK III at 25 (I'd like to say that 9-ring shot at 7:30-ish was a result of the AR in the adjacent lane. It might have been, but then it might not) Happy with the results:

[RJ]

I had noticed that the tiny hex screws along the top of the slide seemed to all be at different heights. I was thinking that didn't sound right, so tonight I got out an Allen wrench (1/16") to make sure they were snug. I was astonished to discover that all three of them were loose. Red circles show where they go in the slide, teeny hex screws are removed in this picture:



I peered down into the holes, and the forward two are blind, meaning that the screw would bottom out (ok) but the one closes to the bolt actually passes all the way through, and you can see the guide rod and spring of the bolt.

I was a little concerned about them just kinda flopping around in the slide, and while I appreciate they probably won't go anywhere, the OCD engineer in me could not accept them not being at least fastened down. What I ended up doing was to apply a very small amount of loctite blue and screwing them in so they were all three just beneath the slide. I gather this is for a rail you can buy to put an optic on, but as yet I haven't got any plans to do so, so I just want them out of the way and not affect operation of the gun.

I was a bit surprised is all. Is is normal for these to be left like this from the factory?

[farscott]

It is normal for the scope base screws to be loose and/or back out during initial range sessions. The fix is fine as long as the thread locker and/or the one screw does not contact the bolt.

[flyrodr]

It is normal for the scope base screws to be loose and/or back out during initial range sessions. The fix is fine as long as the thread locker and/or the one screw does not contact the bolt.

You described that much more succinctly than the tome I was composing. ;~)

@RJ, so just pull back on the bolt, and if it moves freely, you're fine. If not, you're in a sticky situation. (Where is @blues when I need a really good pun???)