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I finally had an opportunity to get my new Mark IV Target on the range yesterday. I have been comparing it to my older Standard Model, and so I took both along for a run. It was not the best day for shooting at our range because it was quite windy (15-25 and gusts to 30+) and they were cross winds out of the south while shooting East. When the wind is erratic I find it a bit difficult to hold anything still with freehand shooting, and the bench was better, but still buffeting the body enough to be a pain. But, it was 63 degrees in NW Iowa in the first week of March, so you go outside and play! Last year at this time it was minus 5. :yikes1:
Comparing the guns, I found the easy takedown, mag release, and bolt hold open to be great improvements on the Mark IV! The Mark IV will not fire with the mag removed, and I do not find that an improvement. The safety lever is much better on the Mark IV, easily operated by shooting hand thumb, however, the ambi safety would pinch my hand on the right side every time I took the safety off until I removed the right side lever. Thankfully Ruger provides the small donut to replace the lever and eliminate it. I really like the old Standard Model trigger better than the new one, though it will likely improve with age. The older guns trigger is much more of a clean crisp release with 2.75 lb trigger. The Mark IV trigger was right at 4.0 lb., not nearly as crisp and more take up. They are both good, but the old girl is better. Sights on the Mark IV are target adjustable, so better in my opinion. Both sights are good function black target sights. As much as I do like the Mark IV, I have to admit the Standard Model feels a little better in my hand too; the Mark IV feels a little blocky in the grip compared to the older gun.
Shooting yesterday was nothing to brag about as I was being blown about, but I was able to get the sights adjusted on the Mark IV and run about 150 rounds through each gun. They both run good on just about any high vel ammo except Winchester white box which tended to be too weak and failed to move the bolt back far enough to pick up the next round occasionally, and a couple stovepipes too. Good results with Federal range pack, CCI, Browning and even some Remington. Accuracy was better with the old Standard Model, though the wind made groups pretty poor anyway. But the older gun showed tighter grouping overall.
I like both guns, and I have some nice wood grips on the way for both of them, but I can shoot golf balls at 15 yards with the Standard Model, and at this point I am not sure I could do it as effectively with the Mark IV. But, another 500 or so rounds...who knows!
![545ABA86-64B2-4562-8D0C-48DECAFA4863.jpeg]()
Comparing the guns, I found the easy takedown, mag release, and bolt hold open to be great improvements on the Mark IV! The Mark IV will not fire with the mag removed, and I do not find that an improvement. The safety lever is much better on the Mark IV, easily operated by shooting hand thumb, however, the ambi safety would pinch my hand on the right side every time I took the safety off until I removed the right side lever. Thankfully Ruger provides the small donut to replace the lever and eliminate it. I really like the old Standard Model trigger better than the new one, though it will likely improve with age. The older guns trigger is much more of a clean crisp release with 2.75 lb trigger. The Mark IV trigger was right at 4.0 lb., not nearly as crisp and more take up. They are both good, but the old girl is better. Sights on the Mark IV are target adjustable, so better in my opinion. Both sights are good function black target sights. As much as I do like the Mark IV, I have to admit the Standard Model feels a little better in my hand too; the Mark IV feels a little blocky in the grip compared to the older gun.
Shooting yesterday was nothing to brag about as I was being blown about, but I was able to get the sights adjusted on the Mark IV and run about 150 rounds through each gun. They both run good on just about any high vel ammo except Winchester white box which tended to be too weak and failed to move the bolt back far enough to pick up the next round occasionally, and a couple stovepipes too. Good results with Federal range pack, CCI, Browning and even some Remington. Accuracy was better with the old Standard Model, though the wind made groups pretty poor anyway. But the older gun showed tighter grouping overall.
I like both guns, and I have some nice wood grips on the way for both of them, but I can shoot golf balls at 15 yards with the Standard Model, and at this point I am not sure I could do it as effectively with the Mark IV. But, another 500 or so rounds...who knows!
