Ruger Mark III 22/45 Red Dot Sight

[Joe S]

Hey folks,
So I am still fairly new to firearms as a whole. I recently bought a Ruger Mark III 22/45, as my first purchased firearm and I have to say I really enjoy it. However, iron sights on pistols make my eyes go crazy. I am right handed and usually aim with my left eye closed due to having a dominant right eye. Because of that I have been thinking about looking into a red dot or similar type sight for the 22/45. I have been to a range with it once, and out in the field with it once. When taking my time I can usually group my shots around the 4-5 inch mark at 15 or so yards. Both my fiance and I shoot this gun, and we have not adjusted the sights.

Maybe I am jumping the gun here and not giving myself enough practice time with the iron sights of the gun, my fiance enjoys the iron sights just fine. The gun came with a rail, not really sure what type it is however. I see some sights saying Weaver style mount matte. What does this exactly mean? I can get photos of my rail if necessary. If I were to pick up a red dot or similar type sight, how would I go about sighting it in? Also would we need to then resight it for my fiance to use?

Sorry for the long winded post, I am just curious about some opinions on what I should do. Being that I am new, would it just be better to train myself to use the iron sights rather than jumping into a simple point and shoot?

I appreciate your time in reading this, Thanks.
--Joe

[smokintone]

Hey Joe,

Welcome to the forum!

If you are right eye dominate, them closing your left eye is normal. Some people train themselves to shoot with both eyes open as well. Everything will come into play when shooting a handgun. Stance, grip, trigger control, even breathing. I wouldn't worry about a red dot just yet, but if down the road you would like to try one, I would be happy to help point you in the right direction.

I am in Faribault, and would be more then happy to meet you say in Morristown at Ahlmans sometime, and give you some basic pistol shooting tips. Let me know if that is something that interests you.

Take care,
Tony.

[XDM45]

Hey, I own that exact same gun (but mine is the standard one with the tapered barrel, not the more commonly found bull nosed one. Mine looks like a German P08 Luger.) .. Anyway, great gun. If you haven't ever taken it apart, it can be a bear the first few times. I can show you some tricks to getting it back together again.

The red dot is interesting, I may have to look into that myself as well.

I'm in Shakopee and shoot in Burnsville. Let me know if you ever want to go sometime.

[adoptedson]

I have the same MKIII. I love it too. If you are new to shooting, I'd recommend sticking with the iron sights. It's good training for future firearm use. Do you ever try to use both eyes? I had to really train myself to get decent at it. I try to train myself at home using both eyes when I'm just sitting around. I find it to help a lot. At longer distances, I'll squint with my left eye here and there, just to check that I'm holding in the right spot.

I do see guys with MK series guns with red dots mounted. I wouldn't mind doing it myself if I can get another MK someday. I'd keep one with just iron sights though for sure. I personally find it more gratifying picking off targets with just the iron sights. I guess it's all personal preference.

As far as rails go, there two main styles, weaver and picatinny. Google will give you a lot of info on the slight differences between the two. Not sure which type comes with a MKIII. I bought mine used and didn't get a rail with mine.

Enjoy your Ruger! I'd like to hear how it goes for you should you decide to mount a red dot. And they can be a PITA to disassemble. There are some good videos on the web to assist with that though.

Cheers

[CashFan]

When I was new to pistol shooting, I had a hard time hitting anything and always thought my sights were off, after a couple thousand rounds with no changes other than more practice, things were MUCH better. So perhaps some more trigger time would help.

Couple months ago I picked up a Mark 3 Hunter model. It had adjustable rear sight and a fluorescent front sight. Wasn't getting good groups(4-6in at 15-20 yrds) and didn't like the sight picture so I picked up a Tru Glo red/green dot scope from Fleet Farm on clearance just to give it a try. The more I shoot it with the scope the more I like it. My groups tightened up instantly(1-2in at 15 yrds) and are getting better each time out. I had to buy a rail to mount the scope, I just did some research on it and orded one online. Had it sighted in after a couple of mags. Took it to the range and shot off of sandbags.

Its a ton of fun to shoot now.

[smokintone]

I look forward to meeting you and your wife Joe, and doing some shooting with you guys.

[Joe S]

Thanks everyone for the advice and information. Tony we look forward to meeting you as well.