Evolution of a Ruger .22LR pistol

[bald1]

Seeing a few Ruger .22LR pistol threads recently got me reminiscing about mine. It is the longest owned pistol in my battery having been acquired back in 1983. It started life as a stock Mk678 II.

http://www.eastcountyguns.com/PHOTOS/PISTOLS/RUGER/mk678b.gif

In the 26 years this pistol has provided service, it has undergone quite a few changes in appearance. The stock adjustable rear sights received a King's oversize white outline sight blade and the stock grips replaced with a nice factory checkered walnut set. I experimented for a while with a B-Square monomount holding a Burris 2X LER scope. Eschewing the scope, I then installed a Polychoke vent rib covering the space between front sight blade and rear sights.

Then I got caught up in a NRA indoor bullseye 50' postal league which had me adding a red dot sight and refining the piece with Volquartsen parts. Specifially Volquartsen Volthane grips and a Volquartsen Accurizing Kit (trigger, sear, hammer, springs) were installed. To handle the red dot I installed a Weigand scope mount which in turn necessitated my cutting and removing a rear section of the vent rib. An early model Tasco Pro Point was replaced with the Pro Point Plus PDP5 currently mounted.

And here is what it looks like today:

http://rap.midco.net/bald1/Mk678%20II.jpg

[bald1]

As there is another thread asking for recommendations on a red dot for their Ruger Mk III, I thought I'd comment further about mine:

It is a model that is around a decade or more old. A 1x power with a huge 47mm diameter for an expanded field of view. The red dot is switch selectable for 4, 8, 12 & 16 MOA and also has brightness (intensity) controlled by an 11-position rheostat. It has held zero without issues and has functioned flawlessly for all the years I've owned it.

Were I in the market today I would undoubtedly look for similar features (e.g. large diameter, selectable dot sizes, and a rheostat) as they have served well in providing all the flexibility and more for my uses.

[Stugotz]

FWIW, I have this sight mounted on a S&W Model 41 22 cal. pistol.