Were Early Standard Rugers Marked MKI?

[Teejay9]

Were the Standard Ruger Automatic Pistols, i.e. the ones with the fixed sights, ever marked MK1? I know that MK II and MKIII Standards are marked as such, but were the original 1949-82 ones? TJ

[Road America]

Nope, just says Ruger 22 cal. long rifle
automatic pistol
I suppose it's sort of like they didn't call the first world war WW1 until there was a second one. They didn't know they would be making a second model at the time.

[Alpo]

Well, you're part right. They were just called the "Standard Auto", never a Mark I. That's true. The target version, however, with the adjustable sights, was called the Mark I. So, they had a Mark I long before they thought about making a Mark II. But your fixed sight 4" barreled gun ain't, and never was a Mark I.

[Teejay9]

Thanks guys, that was my thought, also. I was always under the impression that the MKI came after the first Standards because of their sights, i.e. adjustable target. I have never seen a Standard marked MKI. Appreciate your input, as always Alpo. You're one of my "go to" guys TJ

[wingspar]

Here is a photo of mine. Manufactured in 1950, the word Mark does not appear anywhere on the gun.

I’m going from memory here, but they started making the Standard in 1949, and the Mark I in 1951 or ‘52. Both were made till 1982.

[Teejay9]

Wingspar, I've seen your other posts on the subject and really like your '50 issue. The "Standard," that is, fixed sights are made in all the MKs. They are marked "MKII and MKIII." the first ones weren't marked MK anything until they started making target models with adjustable sights. Those models were the MKIs. TJ

[*LIKTOSHOOT*]

This is not hard and why it continues is beyond me.
They have books for those that don`t own them.

FIRST MODEL
Entry: left side of receiver
thin barrel, 4&6 inch/fixed sights
RUGER 22CAL LONG RIFLE
AUTOMATIC PISTOL......1949-51


Second model MkI
left side of receiver:

RUGER .22 CAL. LONG RIFLE
AUTOMATIC PISTOL.....MARK I
Fixed sights/4&6 inch thin barrel or 5.25-6/78 inch HEAVY BARREL ADJUSTABLE SIGHTS
1951-81

Third model. MkII
Right side of the receiver:
RUGER MK.II .22 CAL. LONG RIFLE
4&6 inch thin barrel. Fixed sights


Third Model. MkII TARGET
Left side of receiver.
RUGER .22 cal. LONG RIFLE MARKII TARGET
5.25-6 7/8 heavy taper and bull no taper and the 10 inch.
There is a sub series here marked on the right side GOVERMENT TARGET MODEL

[Alpo]

See the Ruger ad. Read the Ruger ad.


The first line in the copy says, "Eight years ago the Ruger Standard Model semi-automatic pistol was designed and put into manufacture".

Since they started making them in 1949, and this ad is "eight years" later, this ad is from 1957. Six years after you claim they started calling all of them Mark I.

See bottom gun. Mark I Target. See second from bottom gun. Standard Model.

[*LIKTOSHOOT*]

The word STANDARD is nomenclature and it appears on no .22Ruger automatic.
Like base model.....base model cars or luxury model, same car.

The MkI came in both fixed sight and target/adjustable.
Just like the MkII the MkIII.

If you owned each model, you would know this.


The Ruger Standard Model .22 auto was an instant success. By the day the operation had to spend the last dime of the original $50,000 investment with which the two partners began, there were 100 guns ready to leave the factory to fill prepaid orders (Ruger refused to cash any customers' checks until the pistols were made). The first production pistols shipped in the fall of 1949. From that moment onward, Sturm, Ruger & Co. has been sustained with profit from sales, never borrowing a cent. Sturm died in November of 1951 from viral hepatitis, and Bill Ruger ordered the color of the company's logo forever changed from red to black.

No sooner than the Standard Model .22 auto was on the market, new versions, variations, and small design modifications and refinements also began to be produced. The first major addition was the Mark I Target pistol, which was announced in December of 1950. It was mechanically the same as the Standard Model gun but had a tapered 6 7/8-inch barrel, a Patridge front sight blade undercut to reduce glare, a "Micro-adjustable" rear sight, and an improved trigger with stops to reduce slack and overtravel. In September of 1952, Ruger also introduced a Mark I Target Model with a 5 1/4-inch tapered barrel. It was manufactured only in limited quantities until 1957. Today it's a collector's item.

Next to appear (in late 1954) was a six-inch version of the fixed-sight Standard Model, otherwise exactly the same as the 4 3/4-inch gun (these two configurations are still offered as the "Standard" format today). The 5 1/2-inch Bull Barrel Mark I Target Model was introduced in 1963, and the bull-barrel style has since become the most popular of the target-sighted guns.

[wingspar]

Liketoshoot... Interesting on the word “Standard”. You are correct. The word “Standard” does not appear anywhere on my gun. I’ve always wondered why not, when everyone seems to refer to it as the “Standard” model. It was manufactured in 1950, and purchased brand new by my father.

The info I have been able to come up with was that the Standard was made from 1949 to 1982, and the Mark I from 1951 to 1982. I was thinking that was strange. Your explanation of the dates clears that up, and clears up a lot of other confusion for me, and makes complete sense.

The ad that Alpo posted shows the model as the “Standard Model”. Could be, as you suggested, that the fixed site gun was referred to as the Standard, and the adjustable sites as the Mark, maybe done for advertising reasons to help distinguish the two guns?? Just guessing.

Alpo... I like those prices. $37.50 new. I’ve had people they say would offer me $200 in a heart beat, but it really isn’t for sale. Not even for $1k.

[Bindernut]

I think both LIKTOSHOOT and Alpo have good info posted.

As LIKTOSHOOT posted, the MkI action improvements were also used in the "standard" models made starting in '51, so technically they are a MkI action with either of the two fixed sight barrel variations.

The word standard doesn't appear on any of the standard models. BUT...that's how Ruger advertised them (ref. the ad that Alpo posted) so I think the standard name just stuck around as marketing terminology for the fixed-sight versions and MkI was used to denote the adjustable-sight version.

I have owned three "standard" models. At the time I owned the first two, I really didn't do any research on what year they were made, but I did look up the numbers on Ruger's website a while back and they were '72 and '77 models. My third one is a '75. All of them are 6" tapered and none of those three have the MkI marking on em.
They just carry the regular markings:
"RUGER .22 CAL. LONG RIFLE AUTOMATIC PISTOL"
The '77 one also had the owner's manual markings on it (the 72 and 75 didn't as that started in 1977)

[Teejay9]

I agree that the word "Standard" does NOT appear on any of Ruger's Automatic Pistols. However, I contend that NO 4/34", Fixed sighted model was ever marked MKI. Now, with the MKII, that's a different story. Their fixed sighted models DO say MKII, as do the MKIII fixed sighted models. I have owned 4 different Rugers, the original, a MKII 4 3/4 (1984) and 6" (1987), both fixed sights, and a MKIII Target with adjustable sights. Please feel free to correct me if I have it wrong. TJ

[*LIKTOSHOOT*]

A small sample.

1) Automatic Pistol
2)MkI LW Barrel &Target Barrel
1)MkII 6-7/8"Government Target
1)MkII 10" Bull Target
1)MkII 6-7/8" Heavy Taper Target
1)MkII 6" LW High Polish Employee gun
2)MkII 6" LW 6"
1)22/45 5.5" HB
1)22/45 6-7/8" HB Slabside
1)22/45 "GREAT EIGHT" Slabside

[Teejay9]

Originally Posted by *LIKTOSHOOT*

A small sample.

1) Automatic Pistol
2)MkI LW Barrel &Target Barrel
1)MkII 6-7/8"Government Target
1)MkII 10" Bull Target
1)MkII 6-7/8" Heavy Taper Target
1)MkII 6" LW High Polish Employee gun
2)MkII 6" LW 6"
1)22/45 5.5" HB
1)22/45 6-7/8" HB Slabside
1)22/45 "GREAT EIGHT" Slabside

I guess I stand corrected. That is a fixed sighted pistol marked MKI. That is the very first I have ever seen. I must be mistaken in my belief that only adjustable sighted early Rugers were marked MKI. Thanks for the picture. TJ

[Bindernut]

Me too.

What year is that fixed-sight MkI LIKTOSHOOT?

I will have to finagle my '75 from mom's mitts the next time I visit and take a look at it again. I was darn sure that it didn't have any MkI stamping on it!

[Teejay9]

After more research and discussion with very knowledgeable people, I must return to my original statement, i.e., that only target sighted, or adjustable sighted models of the early Rugers were marked "MKI." If LIKTOSHOOT or TOOHSOTKIL, whoever, shows a full shot of the complete gun, I'll pass it on, but for now no dice. No one save LIKTOSHOOT states otherwise. I do admit, he's had me going Sometimes you can have some fun here. TJ