At just over $600, the Ruger Mark IV threaded barrel isn’t the cheapest handgun on the market, but it is one of the funnest. How do I know this? Well, because I’ve owned on for the last 2 years and I’ve really put its paces. What’s more – despite a distinct lack of cleaning on my part – it’s still just as smooth as it was the day I bought it.
I get down the range a couple of times a month and each time I go, I fire off around 500 rounds. That means that in any given month I’ve fired 1,000 rounds through this beauty – for a total of around 24,000 rounds over the lifetime of the gun so far.
To date, I’ve had no issues – save for a snapped firing pin that was replaced quickly and without charge by the company. That said, it likely happened because of the continuous abuse I put it through.
Even Caked In Carbon, It Fires
Before owning the Ruger Mark IV threaded barrel, I’d had a succession of handguns that needed no invitation to malfunction. I won’t name names, but it meant that cleaning my pistol after every burst was the only way to stop it from happening. I hate cleaning of all descriptions, so it’s something that I found extremely frustrating.
That’s how I used my Ruger. I know I should be better, but what can you do, right? The thing is, even when it was super-caked in carbon, it would still fire with no stoppages. When I did finally get around to cleaning it properly, I found myself lifting huge clumps of carbon out. To this day, I can’t quite believe that it still fired like that.
What I Love About the Ruger & What I Don’t
What I love most about this great Ruger handgun is that it’s highly resilient and very easy to shoot. It’s nice and light too, so it sits comfortably in the hand. Also easy to manipulate, the Ruger Mark IV threaded barrel has rubberized grips that make it even nicer to hold.
I also love the ambidextrous safety levers and the overall aesthetic of the weapon. You can really see the care, attention and engineering in every square inch. It just looks nice and when fired, it has virtually no recoil with a suppressor fitted.
In the interest of balance, I should mention something. It’s hard, but if I had to nitpick, it would be the slightly oversized front sight, but it didn’t stop me from buying it and wouldn’t again.
Who Doesn’t Love the Ruger Mark IV Threaded Barrel?
All in all, this is an uber-cool-looking pistol that’s light, easy to manipulate and super-fun to shoot. Sure, it’s at the higher end of the scale and costs around double what you’d pay for other options like the Sig Sauer P365, but boy will you see where that extra money has gone when you unbox it.
So, if you’re a fan of quality engineering and you want to treat yourself to a handgun that you’ll also want to tell everyone about, try this one. I’m sure that like most everyone, you’ll adore it.
Just one word of warning – don’t get too into it or you might never want to put it down again. That’s a warning from personal experience.