I was into handguns fairly big twenty-odd years ago, I once had over a dozen in various makes and calibers, then circumstances and new locations got me out of shooting. This new election and anti-gun fears got me thinking about going into it again back in November.
So I naturally thought about my old favorites, along with the fact of .22 being practical for this economy. I was thankfully able to get another stainless Ruger Single-Six, with a 5.5 barrel. It's just like my old one, except the rear sight is better quality and the rosewood grips beat walnut I think. I've since changed to Hogue coco bolo grips anyway. Fortunately Ruger has so far only messed up the blued single actions with that idiot internal lock. I understand the shorter mainspring gives more misfires, plus they unnecessarily changed the grip shape, too. I'm sure they'll eventually ruin the stainless SA's too.
My second choice was a Mark III. I had a Mark I before, and stainless wasn't even available at the time, so I had mine hard black chromed. Too expensive now, with all the EPA related costs. Somebody, somewhere, still has that great looking gun.
The Mark III is great in that it still has the Mark II's bolt stop, and adds the really handy magazine release. But it sucks having that LCI and mag safety. The internal lock is, thankfully, easily ignored. The LCI and mag safety is what sent me on an internet search and this site, to find someone who had tried what I already saw as possible. If I didn't think it was doable, I would have bought a Mark II.
They will be my only mods to the Mark III. It's a stainless Bull Barrel. I like the grips, sights, trigger, etc. just fine. The Single-Six is box stock except for the coco grips.
I did smooth the front sight edges on both, with a little Permablue afterwards. Less wear on my Ruger (Triple K) holsters.
These are my only guns for now and I'm quite happy. I bought almost the entire available parts list for each one. And I have gradually somehow accumulated nearly 8000 rounds of ammo, mostly the Federal bricks from Wally World. Ammo is hell to find without real effort. As a side note on ammo, if you have a 22 WMR capable gun, try the 22 WRF. A little hard to find, but a nice round. Nearly equal ballistically to the magnum 22, for half the cost and a lot less recoil and loud.
Incidentally, my Mark III is my "house gun". What, a .22, you say? Sure. Like I tell people, big bullets are for bad shots. If you put it where you want it, a .22 is pretty lethal. Any hit will at least make someone quickly wish he was somewhere else. And do the math. Two twenty-twos equals one .44! And only cost seven cents! And if you empty the mag, that's only the cost of one .44 cartridge! Seriously, consider the blast and flash of a large caliber inside your dark house. You'd be blind and deaf for several seconds after one round. A full magazine of .22 makes more sense, to me.
