Todd River

Now I am really enjoying the markIII target model 10101. For some
reason after seeing the stainless version I also want that as well.

So I keep going back to the ruger site & I have looked at the different
stainless versions. As far as availability who knows. I figured since I have
the bull barrel perhaps I should look at the competition/hunter.

I know that some of yall own a few rimfire pistols. What would be your
choice if you had the model that I already own?

North country gal

I own an MKIII Hunter with the 4.5" barrel (that length barrel no longer available), as well as an MKIII Comp. Both wear red dots. I just helped one of my friends get setup with the MKIII Stainless Target (that seems to have your eye), now also wearing a red dot. After helping her sight her new MK in, I could barely get her to put it down and call it a day.

To be honest, you would be hard pressed to claim a big advantage for any of these three, other than my Hunter being a bit lighter and easier to carry. They really are the same great gun on the inside. Differences are more cosmetic than functional on models with adjustable sights. Go with another Mark because you want another Mark, but don't expect any huge differences on adjustable sight models.

Might be time to expand your Ruger arsenal with a something other than a Mark. Just a thought.

jimku

North Country Gal is right on.

I only need one MK pistol, so I chose mine very carefully, put a lot of thought into it, and ended up with the MKIII Competition mainly just because I like its looks the best. Then I installed the full complement of VQ parts using a VQ MKIII hammer & Sam's bushing, removed the LCI with a stainless filler from Bruce Platza, installed a Majestic Arms extended magazine release, replaced the thumbrest grips with ambidextrous checkered cocobolo grips from the Ruger site, and mounted a Bushnell TSR-25 red dot on it. I am in love!

If you want to look for something from Ruger other than a MK, just steer clear of their Vaquero revolvers ... I have two and neither of them will shoot a decent group ... more like a 5" pattern @ 15 yards. In other words they just plain suck. Mine are the original Vaqueros. The current crop are supposed to be better, but I will not be burned again so I'm not fixing to find out. I bought a pair of Uberti Cattleman SAAs in 45 Colt for my Cowboy Action shooting - they shoot just fine.

Redleg

I have the Mark III Target and the Mark III Hunter. Love 'em both. The Hunter is the coolest looking gun I own--I often get queries at the range as to "what is that cool-looking gun?"

MKIII4life

I own two hunters and am actually thinking of getting a bull or going with a 6 and 7/8 in. hunter in stainless (then I'd have two stainless and one blued, the other stainless being 5.5in). I would go for a hunter just because they look cool to me and would complement the bull really well.

Todd River

I finally bit the bullet. For whatever reason, I just felt like I had
to have a stainless MarkIII. I ended up purchasing the same pistol
that I already have in a stainless version, the MarkIII model 10103.
So now I have both models in the target. After I made the purchase
and shot it this am, I was asking myself why?

There was a little difference in this model vs the model 10101 as
far as the pistol shooting wise. From day one I never had a jam
or misfeed in the 10101. I noticed the stainless version had some
little quirks which I kind of figured out what to do. One of the
guys at the range who apparently is the go to guy if you have
problems putting them back together said it was just new.

Funny thing was the gun shop (Styx River Shooting Range) told
me not to take it apart. They said if you do, you will end up
talking to the fellow who I mentioned was the go to guy.

I did meet another guy who also had a markIII and he took his
apart & showed me. I asked if he thought we could take my older
markIII apart, and he said the 1st time its so tight you probably
need a soft mallet. I asked him if he could pull the mainspring housing
out. He figured it probably would be to tight without tapping the
pin. He was right.

North country gal

it can vary quite a bit on a new Mark as to how easy they come apart. Just a matter of luck of the draw. My new MKIII Hunter was easily the meanest and nastiest of the six Marks I have owned. My girlfriend just bout a MKIII Target and just pulled apart easy as anything, no mallet needed.

jimku

I just took my brand new Competition to the range and ran close to 500 rounds through it. Before I took it to the range, before it was ever fired, I had it apart 5 or 6 times installing different Volquartsen parts, and I had made a 5/16" bolt with a tapered end to use to drive through the receiver/frame pin holes to line them up ... because it was otherwise such a colossal PITA to get the mainspring housing started back in. After the range and the 500 rounds, I no longer need my special bolt ... the pin holes have loosened up enough that I can now fairly easily get the mainspring housing started back in. I guess 500 good whacks on the pin from the bolt slamming back against it loosened those holes up just a tad.

BEFORE that range session, since my Competition was extremely tight and required some serious mallet-whacking, I decided to fix that little problem. I got my dremel tool with a grinding wheel attached, and slowly ground just a wee bit of metal from the inside of the "U" shaped "cradles" that the receiver rests in at the front and rear of the frame. I kept doing that a wee bit at a time, and testing the fit, until I could assemble the frame to the receiver and disassemble it with only a light blow of the heel of my palm or edge of my fist. It is still snug, but not overly tight. Doing this did not affect the functioning of the gun or the accuracy one whit. I ran that 500 rounds through the gun without a single hiccup and that gun will put an entire magazine into one ragged 3/8" hole @ 15 yards.