I've owned several Ruger Mark series pistols over the years, but this is certainly the nicest one yet. I bought it from a friend who did a few customizations that make it even better.
The stock gun is pretty impressive, with a fluted 6-7/8" barrel that provides stiffness and light weight, and attractive Cocobolo grip panels. It also has some annoying features, like a magazine safety, and a plastic "loaded chamber indicator" that was added to the III series. The first mod my friend did was to remove the magazine safety. This is installed in many guns as a safety device, but it's only a safety device for people who are not skilled at handling firearms- and even then, it's not much of a help. If you assume all guns are loaded- as you should- then it makes no difference whether or not a magazine is inserted. To a practiced, experienced shooter, a magazine safety just makes it much more difficult, and possibly less safe, to uncock a gun.
The next mod was the removal of the plastic loaded chamber indicator, which was replaced with a custom made stainless steel insert, courtesy of an amateur gunsmith who made up a run of parts for some readers of the RimfireCentral forum. This eliminated a part that could break and jam the gun. The absence of the indicator doesn't inconvenience a careful shooter.
The last and most important mod was the installation of a Clark hammer and Volquartsen sear and trigger. The result is a trigger that breaks cleanly, with minimal overtravel that could upset your aim. Pictured above you see an inexpensive red dot sight on it that appears to have no problem standing up to the gun's recoil, but I've since replaced it with an Ultradot, which Ruger bullseye shooters tell me is an excellent combination of quality, reliability, and price.
Update: After four years, various grips, and various scopes and dot sights, I've decided to sell it. I discovered that I shoot better with pistols have a 1911-anged grip, like my 22/45, my High Standard Supermatic, and my S&W 2206.
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