Ruger Pistols

I was into bullseye shooting back in the 60's and 70's and want to start up again. I live in MA and recently got my LTC but when I started looking for pistols I was very disappointed. Because of the MA state compliance laws the only guns I find that qualify are the Ruger 22/45 model 10107 or a Mark III model 10101. They do fit my budget and look OK but I am looking for some opinion on them or other suggestions that may work for me. When I was active I shot a S&W 41 and a High Standard, I don't remember which one an Olympic or Trophy. I had a 290 average at the end. I don't expect that at my age
(74) but to just get out there and have some fun.
Any help is much appreciated.

Joe B

in my personal case, i hate Ruger MK .22 pistols for a bad experience,but i love my high standard supermatic and 41's. i think the old pistols are the best!

I would shy away from the 10107. The grips do not remove and what you see is what you get. The 10101 is a nice pistol with a lot of after market products to enhance it. My personal favorite would be the 10140. You can put your favorite set of 1911 grips on it usually with very little work. There are a lot of after market enhancements available for it also. I have no idea why they would allow the 10107 and not the 10140. I have had no bad experiences with my Rugers (cleaning excepted). They shoot great YMMV

Len

10140 with Volquartsen trigger and muzzle brake and Herrett 1911 Nationals.

If I'm not mistaken, bullseyegear.com sells a set of Herrett Nationals specifically for the 22/45 model. No real need to modify a set of 1911 grips to fit the 22/45. Love my 41. I have a MKIII target model. It's what I started on. Love it too but I out shoot it with the 41. An older MKII Government model would be a better choice than any MKIII in my opinion. A friend of mine has one and it's just as good as my 41. 

What laws are you bound by in MA that limit your choices?

Tim:H11, Your right about the grips being sold by BullseyeGear. When Phil was still alive I sent him pictures of what I had done to his 1911 grips on my Ruger. He forwarded the pictures to Herretts and they started making them that way for him. It really does only take 2 minutes with a sharp knife to make your 1911 grips fit if you have a pair laying around.

Len

I have a Ruger MKIII target model with a 5-1/2" bull barrel which I use for Bullseye. I am just getting into Bullseye but had previously installed a Volquartsen trigger in the MKIII and find it shoots very accurately. I must admit I have been looking for a good used High Standard or Ruger MKII Government model. Almost no chance of finding one at a local gun shop in my area.

Tim:H11 wrote:If I'm not mistaken, bullseyegear.com sells a set of Herrett Nationals specifically for the 22/45 model. No real need to modify a set of 1911 grips to fit the 22/45. Love my 41. I have a MKIII target model. It's what I started on. Love it too but I out shoot it with the 41. An older MKII Government model would be a better choice than any MKIII in my opinion. A friend of mine has one and it's just as good as my 41. 

What laws are you bound by in MA that limit your choices?

First of all thank you all for your replies, very helpful. Just a quick rundown of the MA compliant BS. First of all the manufacturer must submit five guns to the MA approved testing lab and bear the cost of 5 to ten thousand dollars. It must have an external safety and magazine disconnect amongst other requirements. It is then subjected to such torture tests as being fully loaded and dropped from various heights to a concrete slab without discharging. The killer is a minimum of 10 lb trigger pull. Once you buy one you can do what you want to the trigger and also sell it if you choose with the trigger altered.
Once the lab is through it goes to the attorney general for her approval, a woman who has probably never handled or fired a gun and is known politically as a gun hater, so if she is having a bad hair day the answer could still be no.

The "Target Shooting Firearms Roster" and "Olympic Firearms Roster" for MA list Pardini, High Standard, Benelli, Browning Buckmark, S&W (including Model 41), and several others (AWB, Hammerli, Morini, etc.) as  as exempt from testing and available for sale.

I started a few years ago with a 22/45 (10140 - the one with removable grips). It's incredibly versatile; shot it with all different types of dot configurations and it can clean targets at 25. It's capable. What's your budget? Nothing wrong a Ruger, though there may be better options.

OldMaster66 wrote:I would shy away from the 10107. The grips do not remove and what you see is what you get. 

If you get a great deal on a 10107 or any 22/45 with fixed grips, I'd buy it, because you can modify it to accept 1911 grips.  Kingshousecustom will mill the frame of the 10107 and install the inserts to accept 1911 grips (around $50).  Plenty of YouTube videos on how to do it yourself too.

- Dave

http://kingshousecustom.webs.com/

Well, I have to change my game plan. I just got back from my local gunshop and neither Ruger I was considering is MA compliant, they didn't make it past the Attorney General because Ruger made a mistake on the application and they will not re-submit. The shop owner told me the new Smith & Wesson Victory 22 is close to being approved. S & W is based in MA so he thinks they get special treatment. Any opinion on that S & W?. I'd like to keep the budget around $500 if possible. My other option is buying used which is easier and do not have to be on the list. Thanks again for all the help.

If you can buy one that's not allowed new but it's allowed if bought used (makes no sense to me) then do that. Get a pistol that's well reviewed and commonlnly used in this sport and be confident in your choice and enjoy. It sounds like to me that MA limits you to entry level stuff only and you could really benifit from better. A used government model should set you back too far. My 41 only cost me $700 two years ago but it's missing a fair amount of bluing too. I don't care how they look I care how they shoot.

Tim:H11 wrote:If you can buy one that's not allowed new but it's allowed if bought used (makes no sense to me) then do that. Get a pistol that's well reviewed and commonlnly used in this sport and be confident in your choice and enjoy. It sounds like to me that MA limits you to entry level stuff only and you could really benifit from better. A used government model should set you back too far. My 41 only cost me $700 two years ago but it's missing a fair amount of bluing too. I don't care how they look I care how they shoot.

Thanks for your input Tim. The MA laws make sense only to the anti-gun crowd. I have two shops close to me (In RI) that have some used competition guns so I'm looking into that possibility. I had a S&W 41 when I used to shoot and loved it. Anyone feel free to kick my butt for selling it.

My rule is when you think it's it's time to sell a gun because you are running out of room, just buy another safe.

- Dave