Anyone bought a Ruger Mark IV Hunter yet?

David2U · Oct 6, 2016

I was wondering if any of you had bought one of the new Ruger Mark IV Hunter models yet? If so, what do you think of it?

I watched a YouTube video made by .22Plinkster and the pistol sure looks nice, is very accurate and it is extremely easy to take down & clean. A tad pricey right now compared to the Mark III model... but it is going to be a long term investment and I intend to put countless 1,000s of rounds through it over the years.

They are selling out all over the country and many dealers are having trouble getting them at all. One major east coast law enforcement wholesaler quoted me a price of $550 + $20 shipping through the Ruger LE 20% discount program.. but it would be well over 90 days [if then] before they could get one in stock.

I put a order in with a dealer on the east coast that had gotten 20 in... and in the 1st 72 hours had sold 17 of them. Hopefully [if there aren't any snafus] I will have my Hunter model sometime late next week. $599.95 + $25 shipping. Note: I had to track one down on the east coast from a major dealer because the mid-western dealers weren't getting big orders in and were selling out almost immediately with no idea of when they would be able to get more.

Will post back in a week or so with a range report and photos.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqbiyPMA7CE

Matt1911 · Oct 6, 2016

I may get one when the threaded barrel version comes out.

ShaneP · Oct 6, 2016

I stopped by H&H (LGS) last week and the guy said that they didn't have any and don't have an ETA on them.

I find it's typically a safe bet to wait a year or two after a new model of anything is released to see what flaws other people find. I'll let someone else be the guinea pig.

jtischauser · Oct 6, 2016

Shane P said:
I find it's typically a safe bet to wait a year or two after a new model of anything is released to see what flaws other people find. I'll let someone else be the guinea pig.

This. Especially with a .22 pistol.

dennishoddy · Oct 6, 2016

Seems like anymore they rush things to the market for instant$$ and rely on the shooters to do the long term quality control.
Then you end up with Gen 1, Gen 2, etc.

David2U · Oct 7, 2016

With CNC milling these days having such close tolerances, the Mark IVs upper and lower being made from solid pieces of either stainless steel or aluminum, and using basically a tried and well functioning 70 year old pattern of the Mark 1, 2 & 3 models... these Mark IVs are probably gonna be good right from the get go. Every person doing videos on YouTube have reported excellent functioning and accuracy. Given the fact that they have limited life time warranties... I'm willing to take my chance on the stainless model. The looks of the bolt in the Mark IV reminds me a lot of the bolt in my S&W 15-22 rifle. I've put countless 1,000s of .22 LR through that rifle without a hiccup. With the upper and lower being made from solid blocks of steel and the bolt as the 3 major components of the pistol.. there is not much to go wrong. Trigger mechanisms are pretty much bug free these days. It is just a matter of the poundage on the trigger pull and crispness. Every person on YouTube describes about a 4.9 pound crisp trigger pull with a quick reset... which would put it on par with my Glocks. I can live with that as I'm not gonna be shooting any competition matches.

.22Plinkster reported that he had put over 2 thousand rounds through both the Hunter and the Target models and was very happy with the functioning. Sure functioned well in the video. I'll see how my pistol functions and let you all know.