Majestic Makeover

The Ruger Mk III Target Pistol In .22 LR Is Easily Upgraded.

By Holt Bodinson

Several years ago at the SHOT Show, I was speaking with Tom Peterson, inventor of the Stoney Point gauging tools for handloaders (now part of Hornady), and the subject of the comparative and inherent accuracy of custom vs. factory firearms came up in conversation.

Peterson made an interesting comment. In his pursuit for accuracy and having invented the tools to achieve it, Peterson declared what really was intriguing, interesting and challenging to him was making plain-Jane over-the-counter factory firearms perform to custom standards. He observed by making a tweak here and tweak there, maybe upgrading a part or two or maybe just by adjusting or applying a better finish to an existing part, most factory firearms were inherently accurate and just needed to be encouraged a bit.

If there ever were a factory brand of rimfire firearms tweaked here and tweaked there resulting in a level of performance far above their price points, it would have to be the Rugers, particularly the model 10/22 semi-auto rifle and the Mark I, II and III autoloading pistols.

Following up along the lines of Tom Peterson’s thinking, we recently approached Dino and Joanne Longueira of Majestic Arms with the challenge of taking a stock Ruger Mark III Target model and upgrading it with the complete line of their unique Majestic Arms accessories and aftermarket parts. Receiving the end product, we would then evaluate it, test it, report to you our findings and finally offer it to our readers as one of our monthly “GUNS Magazine’s Gun Giveaway.”

Here’s our report. First, the factory package. The Mark III Target model with its 5-inch bull barrel is, in my opinion, the best balanced of the all the Ruger autoloaders. The weight distribution is simply ideal. The Ruger 5-inch Target just likes to settle down there in your hand and go to sleep. You don’t have to horse it. You don’t have to fight it. All you need to do is point it at your target, focus on sight alignment and press the trigger. It’s inherently accurate, inherently stable and it will get the job done if you take care of the basics. It even has a nicer aesthetic since Ruger has now moved all of its warning text to the bottom of the barrel and out-of-sight. In short, the Mark III Target is an ideal factory platform to tweak a bit to bring out the very best it has to offer.

The picture in the text illustrating a stock, factory Mark III Target model surrounded by the complete array of Majestic Arms after-market upgrades is a good jumping off point.

All those after-market parts may look a little daunting, but they are designed to be retrofitted by the owner and come with instructions supported by a video or two at Majestic Arms’ website plus Dino Longueira is usually available by telephone to talk you through the process if you hit a snag. The alternative is to mail your lower grip frame with its mainspring housing, hammer and one magazine to Majestic Arms. For a flat fee of $49 plus the cost of the parts, they will install any and all parts wanted, test fire the pistol using one of their uppers and return it to you for $13.95 via USPS Priority mail.

The Ultra Dot sight is tough, accurate, light,
compact and very affordable.

The Hi-Viz express sight upgrade is really ideal for hunting and plinking.
The V-Notch rear (above) is quick to pick up and the red fiber optic front
is very bright. A competition-grade, 11 percent barrel crown is one of the
gunsmithing services offered by Majestic (below), and added to this pistol.

Upgrades

From the simple to the slightly more complex, here’s how the majestic Majestic Mk III Target was put together. Cocking or cycling the Ruger action is made a whole lot easier with Majestic’s “Bolt Racker.” This lightweight, anodized aluminum, cocking assist is available for all three versions of the Ruger bolt and can be positioned for right or left-handed shooters. It merely slips over the back of the bolt and is secured with two setscrews. If you carry your Ruger in a holster, you’ll have to mount the racker facing out. This is a great upgrade — one-minute installation for $29.95.

The top optics rail of the Ruger is a bit puny and skimps on the number of slots for properly positioning optical sights fore-and-aft. Majestic’s full-sized Picatinny rail offers 10 slots for maximum versatility, uses the existing factory screw holes and is designed not to interfere with the factory iron sight picture. It requires a four-minute installation at $34.95.

The stock Ruger is supplied with a excellent set of adjustable target sights; however, if you wanted a iron sighting system geared more toward hunting and plinking and the acquisition of a faster sight picture, Majestic offers a Hi-Viz Express Sight system replacing the front sight ramp with a light tube and the existing rear sight leaf with a shallow “V” express leaf. Ten-minute installation for $49.95.

Majestic’s 2-piece bolt-stop pin is an ingenious solution to an old and vexing problem.

Majestic’s robust Picatinny rib adds versatility for optics
mounting and doesn’t obstruct factory iron sights.

Majestic engraved base pads point to the correct orientation of
the magazine as it’s inserted.

Even the Ruger magazines get an upgrade at Majestic. The improved Majestic magazines are designed to fit both the Mk II and the Mk III models and feature stronger follower springs and engraved aluminum base pads that properly orient the magazines for insertion for $28.95.

Now for the slightly more complex, performance upgrades. The most interesting part of the Ruger pistol is the mainspring housing with its attached bolt-stop pin. Visible along the backstrap of the Ruger grip are three metal strips with a latch in the middle. That’s the mainspring housing. Protruding at the top of the receiver, just aft of the rear sight, is a dome-shaped steel pin. That’s the bolt-stop pin. If you want to clean you pistol from the breech or remove the bolt to thoroughly clean and lubricate it, you have to remove the complete mainspring housing along with the attached bolt-stop pin. Believe me, it’s a real hassle, particularly the reassembly process.

Majestic Arms came up with a brilliant solution. Why not design a 2-piece bolt stop pin that unscrews from the top of the receiver so the bolt can be readily withdrawn out the rear without having to remove the complete mainspring assembly? This “3.2 Speed Strip Conversion Kit” will fit all Ruger .22 auto pistols. It consists of two assemblies: a 2-part, stainless steel, bolt-stop pin with Allen wrench and a new stainless steel hammer and hammer pivot bushing. Unscrewing the top half of the upgraded bolt-stop pin allows you to remove the bolt without touching the mainspring housing. The new hammer and bushing reduce the take-up of the 2-stage trigger by 65 percent and permit the owner to eliminate the magazine disconnect feature of the Mk III for just $61.95.

With the easy removal of the bolt, you might as well replace the factory firing pin with Majestic’s “Quick Strike” pin to reduce lock time ($16.95).

The Ruger Mk III Target is nigh onto perfect as it is,
and you can make iteven better and more ergonomic with
any or all of these aftermarket parts from Majestic Arms.

Majestic Arms’ upgraded Ruger Mk III Target
model really performs on the range.

With the Mk III Ruger pretty much stripped down at this stage, it’s easy to replace Ruger’s skimpy bolt and magazine releases with Majestic’s precision machined, extended upgrades. Bolt release: $23.95, magazine release: $29.95.

Finally, there’s Majestic’s competition trigger upgrade. Their replacement trigger features a longer, more ergonomic shaped face finished smooth plus an overtravel stop adjustment screw. Tested with a Lyman electronic measure, the measured weight-of-pull of the upgraded Ruger averaged a crisp 3 pounds, 2 ounces, for $38.95.

The only custom touches added to this particular Majestic Mk III makeover generally beyond the capabilities of an average owner are an 11-degree barrel crown ($49), a dehorned bolt knob and rear receiver ($49) and a 400-grit Satin buff finish on the receiver and barrel and a matte bead blast finish on the grip frame ($99).

How did the Majestic Ruger shoot? We had had nothing but a full month of red flag days so I tightened up my target distance to 15 yards. Mounted with a little, light, compact Ultra Dot sight, the upgraded Mk III produced some very impressive 5-shot groups. The group leader was Wolf Match Extra at 1/4 inch, which wasn’t a surprise, but look at that 3/8-inch grouping with big-box store brand Winchester 555 that matched Eley Target for accuracy. Whoever wins this Majestic Arms upgraded Mk III Ruger Target is going to be the owner of one hot pistol!

The nice thing about Majestic Arms parts is you can pick and choose what upgrades you want to add and add over time. Majestic also offers a number of upgrades for the Ruger 10/22 and Charger pistol models as well as a full range of gunsmithing services.
Don’t forget to get in on the free drawing for the Majestic Arms Ruger. You may very well end up the winner. Stay tuned! It will occur in an upcoming issue.

Mk III
Maker: Sturm, Ruger & Co.
200 Ruger Road
Prescott, AZ 86301
(928) 778-6555
https://gunsmagazine.com/company/sturm-ruger-co/

Customizer: Majestic Arms, Ltd.
101A Ellis St.
Staten Island, NY 10307
(718) 356-6765
https://gunsmagazine.com/company/majestic-arms-ltd/

Action type: Blowback, semi-auto
Caliber: .22 LR
Capacity: 10
Barrel length: 5.5 inches
Overall length: 9.75 inches
Weight: 42 ounces
Finish: Stainless steel
Sights: Hi-Viz, optic rail
Grips: Black plastic
Price: $569 (base gun), $1,107.45 (as shown)

Read More Rimfires Articles

Download A PDF Of The GUNS Magazine November 2014 Issue Now!