History and Variations
The original Ruger pistol, now called the Standard, had no model number, as it was the first, and for a time, only gun made by Sturm, Ruger. Prior to Bill Ruger's partnership with Sturm, he had successfully duplicated two Baby Nambu pistols while working in his garage, from a U.S. Marine's captured Nambu, shortly after World War II. Although deciding against marketing the Baby Nambu Pistols, Ruger did incorporate the Nambu style rear cocking device and modified the Nambu's silhouette, plus he added a 4.75 in (12.1 cm) lightweight barrel with fixed sights.
The MK I added a Target model, which had a 5.5 in (14 cm) bull barrel, or a 6.875 in (17.46 cm) heavy taper barrel and adjustable sights. The MK II added a slide stop that held the slide open on the last round, and also was available in stainless steel. The MK II has been available in a number of barrel lengths; 4.75 in (12.1 cm) and 6 in (15 cm) lightweight barrels; 4 in (10 cm), 5.5 in (14 cm), 6.875 in (17.46 cm) and 10 in (25 cm) bull barrels, and 5.25 in (13.3 cm) and 6.875 in (17.46 cm) heavy tapered barrels. All guns with bull or heavy tapered barrels are Target models, and are equipped with target sights consisting of an adjustable rear sight and a taller, wider front sight, with an aggressive undercut to reduce glare.
Some special variants that command higher prices are the Government Model, a model that was used for pistol training and competition by the United States Army, and the Red Eagle models, which were made from 1949 to the year of company co-founder Alexander Sturm's death, in 1952. The Red Eagle models had the Ruger logo in red on a silver background. Since then, the Ruger logo on the grip panels has been either black on silver or silver on black, with the exception of a special 50th Anniversary model that had a silver eagle on a red background. The top of the line Government Competition Model comes with a 6.875 in (17.46 cm) "slab side" barrel (a bull barrel with the sides milled flat to save weight), laminated wood thumbrest grips, a low profile scope base, and scope rings; with the addition of a pistol scope, it makes an ideal entry level bullseye pistol.
Together with the MK I, the MK II was the suggested handgun in Paladin Press's controversial how-to book, Hit Man: A Technical Manual for Independent Contractors, due to low cost and reliability.
Read more about this topic: Ruger MK II
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