While stubby, suppressor-ready Ruger Mark IV barrels have been popular lately, I went the opposite route with the 10″ stainless steel match barrel from Volquartsen. This 10″ long by 1″ diameter barrel is built on a genuine Ruger OEM receiver. It’s a beast of a barrel, but also a unique and gratifying shooting experience.
One of my Mark IV pistols has a 6″ aftermarket barrel as well as a custom, 2.5″ barrel for suppressor use. Thinking it would be great to round out the set with a 10″ barrel, I reached out to Volquartsen. I had a vague recollection of seeing some longer barrels on their clearance page a while back. Those barrels are long gone, but they offered to send me the 10″ steel one to review, Turns out it’s a lot more fun than I had imagined it would be.
Volquartsen 10″ Mark IV Barrel specs
Volquartsen builds these on a Ruger OEM receiver. It’s a full 10″ in length and 1″ in diameter, with no taper. Yes, that puts it at around two pounds. But in a good way. It’s got a matte black Cerakote finish and a laser-hardened breech. While it ships with a set of adjustable sights, it’s also tapped for a rail. Personally, the 12″ sight radius is the main appeal, so I resisted mounting a reflex sight,
Options include threaded, non-threaded, and threaded with the forward blow compensator. My review copy was the latter. None of them include a bolt. The good news is that they swap as easily as any other Mark IV upper. The bad news is that it needs to be shipped to your FFL, because the upper is the serialized part of the Mark IV.
Installation
This Volquartsen 10″ barrel installs just like any other Mark IV upper. Rack the slide, pop up the safety, and press the button to remove the current upper, if you have one. Swap the bolt over, unless you have a dedicated on for the Volquartsen already. And then drop your new Volquartsen in its place and you’re set.
The full setup
My lower is a factory Ruger Mark IV 22/45 unit with some modifications. These include aftermarket grips, an oversized safety, and a gas pedal (forward thumb rest). Inside, there’s a mix of aftermarket parts, with the new Steve Foster-designed 19.22 trigger paired with a Volquartsen hammer and sear. It’s light, with very little travel, and a short reset. Combined, these parts make for a very fast and flat-shooting pistol. The new barrel is exceptionally well-matched to this setup.
Range time with the Volquartsen 10″ Mark IV Upper
Despite the weight of the barrel, it doesn’t feel as front-heavy as expected. And it negates any recoil a .22 pistol might have. Shot after shot, it just stays on target. That huge sight radius is about the same as a CZ Scout rifle’s. The result is a pistol that shoots more like a rifle. At 25 yards, I can just hammer away at a 4″ swinging steel target over and over. Having a light trigger helps, but it’s a bit uncanny the way the pistol doesn’t seem to move at all.
With a 10″ barrel, there is a gain in velocity, making for flatter shots over longer distances, along with more terminal energy. Combined with how steady it is, and that long sight radius, distant hits were easy to make. Miss the first shot? Adjust accordingly and try again. I was able to hit a 6″ diameter fire extinguisher (empty) at 100 yards. And after a bit of compensating for the drop, landed a shot on an 8×10″ steel plate at 205 yards. I’ve got some decent skills, but this setup just makes me look much better than I am.
No optic?
I considered mounting a compact reflex sight, but feel that would detract from the main benefit of such a long barrel – the sight radius. While a green or red dot might improve target acquisition speed, it’s more fun having nice irons (well, fiber optics) and hitting things I wouldn’t normally even attempt with a pistol.
Reliability of the Volquartsen 10″ Mark IV Upper
After shooting with this barrel/upper nearly every weekend for about three months, I have not had a single issue with chambering or extraction. There were a few failures to fire with bulk ammo, but no more than would be expected from Federal Auto Match. The rest of the time, it was fed a steady diet of CCi SV, which it cycled perfectly while suppressed, and it also ate a few boxes of Aguila Super Extra for some longer shots. Overall, it was as reliable, or perhaps more so, than any other .22 LR pistol I’ve owned.
The Verdict
At $400 for unthreaded or threaded, and $481 for threaded with the forward blow comp, the Volquartsen 10″ Mark IV barrel is more expensive than my first complete Mark IV pistol was. Yet we all know that many times, the initial purchase is just the base for building something awesome. Of my four custom Mark IV pistols, two Buck Marks, and a pair of SW22 Victory pistols, this is easily my new favorite.
If you want to turn your Ruger Mark IV or Volquartsen Mamba into a hammer (a “tack driver” sounds too delicate), this is the way. It’s heavy, but perfectly manageable. And everything about it – the weight, sight radius, and increased velocity makes it ideal for several applications. If you’re trying to make tiny groups on paper, ringing steel, or hunting small game, it’s not going to disappoint. Check it out at Volquartsen.com.
As always, I’d like to thank Volquartsen for sending me their 10″ stainless steel Match Barrel on a Ruger MK IV Receiver for my testing and evaluation.