Ruger Pistol Forums banner

Ruger 22/45 MKIII build

14K views 23 replies 15 participants last post by  bigdogdaddy 
#1 ·
I currently have a Ruger 22/45 MKIII that I bought from my brother a year ago. Its the polymer frame version with the 4" bull barrel. Nice sights and all kinds of fun to shoot. My only complaint is I can't change out the grips to something a little more beefy. After lurking on RFC for a while, I joined that forum the other night and promptly found a complete Talo Ruger 22/45 MKIII sans the barrel for sale. I traded emails with the owner and I'm now the proud owner of everything from the Talo except the barrel.

Isn't it pretty!


This is my original 22/45 MKIII -


My plan is to transfer the barrel from my original MKIII on to the Talo frame and then add a Pac Lite 4.5" black or OD green fluted barrel with compensator to the original frame. I will probably remove the Weaver rail from the current barrel. Or maybe not. Time will tell.

Other plans for both guns:

1. Add Majestic Arms speed strip kit and bushing to delete the magazine disconnect safety (to allow the magazines to fall out correctly rather pulling them out)
2. Volquartsen accurizing kit to the Pac Lite. I may or may not add the VQ hammer. Still up in the air.
3. Burris Fast Fire 2 red dot to the Pac Lite. I was really leaning towards the Ultra Dot Pan A-V but they are pricey and hard to come by right now.
4. I may add all of the same parts to the Talo (except the barrel). Depends on how I like the first one.
5. Lots of .22 ammo and range time. Possibly a prairie dog or 2.

This will take some time to organize. I have ordered a CD from AGI on the MK I/II/II & 22/45 to learn more about the gun before I do anything. I will update this thread as things progress. I'm also building out my shop right now. I need work benches and a cleaning station. And tools. I hope to have my shop done by mid May.

Hope you enjoy watching this come together.
 
See less See more
2
#3 ·
Possibly so Rich. I know that Ruger is now making a replaceable panel version. I will take off the panels and let you know.
 
#5 ·
This is interesting, I saw the same post on the RFC and viewed it several times before deciding not to PM the owner. Several months ago I sold my 22/45 with the intention of buying one of the new RP models. I opted to buy a 10/22 before buying the 22/45. I just finished upgrading the 10/22 with Power Custom parts.

One of the items I will mount on my future 22/45 will be a Burris FastFireII reflex sight. I will be watching your future posts on this subject with interest. Should be a very nice target pistol when completed.
 
#6 ·
RICHGCOOP said:
I mite be wrong, But it looks like all thy did on the Talo was to mill off the grip panel then put on wood grips. Drill 4 holes and tap them.

RICHGCOOP
Just for you Rich! I believe the mold for the frame has changed since it is smooth. No milling at all. The panels or grips are pretty thin. The 1911 style bushing is thin as well.

 
#7 ·
Mailman brought me a new DVD to watch. 90 minutes of viewing pleasure (no, not that pleasure you pervert!) learning everything you wanted to know but was afraid to ask about Ruger Mark series. I'm all aquiver! Sadly no popcorn. :'( Should be interesting and informative. All kinds of propaganda came with it telling me I could be a gunsmith in 3 months and make all kinds of money! And I have some great swamp land in Arizona to sell you!

 
#9 ·
I am impatient to say the least. I'm still waiting on parts that I ordered 2 weeks ago. I will probably be making some calls this week to see what is going on.

While I wait, I did get my work desk/cleaning station completed. I found an old science lab desk and chair from our local university that I picked up for $100. It's metal with a laminated top. And the best part is it is height adjustable. There is a crank that you can turn underneath the top to raise and lower the top vertically. I had an old 2 drawer filing cabinet in storage. Rescued it and cleaned it up as best I could to hold all of my gun cleaning supplies in the drawers. Put everything in my shop that I built last year. Still working on my workbench design. Not sure when I will get those built. Need to build 2 5' long benches. Found some cheap slab doors that I will use for the tops.

Here's a picture of my cleaning station.

 
#10 ·
For anyone still interested, I did finally finish this gun this week. The project stopped completely while I became a grandmother and spent the summer and fall just watching the little guy grow. I did spend a considerable amount of time looking for an upper receiver. I was leaning towards the Pac-Lite barrels but they were just too expensive for me. I found a Ruger 5.5" Target bull barrel in Stainless Steel on Gunbroker just before Thanksgiving. The price was less than $100 and received it about 2 weeks before Christmas. I ordered a stainless bolt from Ruger and Hi-Viz sight from Amazon. I already had the Majestic Arms Speed Strip Kit that I had bought in the spring. The Majestic Arms part came with a new hammer and bushing so I could delete the mag safety disconnect.

I attempted to put all of this together myself but I just couldn't get the Majestic Arms Speed Strip kit in myself and the hammer looked impossible to me. I discovered I had a friend that was a gunsmith (I had no idea) and he put everything together for me yesterday. He also put the same parts on my other 22/45.

So now the big reveal! It shoots great and looks even better in person. The only thing I'm missing is the filler screws on top of the barrel where the previous owner had mounted a rail and lost the screws. I have ordered those from Ruger.

Enjoy!


Ruger 22/45 Mark III 5.5 Stainless Steel by hestersu, on Flickr
 
#11 ·
Now, THAT is one fine looking Ruger. Wish i still had my Bull Barrel... Hmmm... No reason to not push it to the top of my want (translate: need) list. Thanks for the posts, and congratulations on the new person in your family. We are still waiting...


Mayo
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
#19 ·
As everyone now is completely aware, that the year of 2012, is the year of the 22.cal. I have bought 3 in the past year, but ready to make a jump into the best every made. I am really leaning to the Ruger. What can I say?? For me, it is just pulling the trigger on the right one. I look at it as a investment. Mostly likely will go top of the line and get the Mark lll Hunter Talo. Really like the Mdl- Model Number: 10116

By the way, thanks for posting. You did a great job!!!!!!

Regards
Dave@vabch
 
#22 ·
Thank you everyone! I really had no idea it would turn out this nice. I looked at a ton of pictures trying to envision what the end result would be but just didn't know. When I finally had the lower and upper in the same room, I began to realize this could be something beautiful. When the gunsmith finished, he had it under a cloth so he could surprise me. It is just so beautiful. And it shoots great and feels great in the hand. This is one of those guns that I will keep forever. And for anyone that is curious, Ruger will not sell the upper receiver to anyone. I was really disappointed. If you happen to find a lower you will be searching for a long time for the complete upper that isn't messed up. I searched for just about 7 months before finding the SS bull barrel that was in decent condition. A little Flitz and buffing and it is beautiful. Your other choice is the Pac-Lite barrel which is expensive. I may take my original 22/45 and put a Pac-Lite on it but time will tell. I need to save my pennies. And a FastFire II would be nice too.

Oh - and being a grandparent is great! May need to figure out how to build up a 10/22 for the little guy.
 
#24 ·
I can't quit looking at it. It makes me very sorry that I recently sold my Ruger Mark II with 5 1/2" bull barrel. I kept a Browning Buck Mark because it belonged to my dad, but selling that Ruger was a mistake. This build just drives it home a little more. :'(
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top