FarrowTech, as we talked about a few weeks ago here when we reviewed their FT-M body kit for the KelTec P-17, is in the business of making all sorts of accessories, kits, and conversions for some very affordable firearms. After our article featuring the P-17 kit, FarrowTech was kind enough to send out one of their 22R Brace PDW Kits for the Ruger Mark IV pistol, which is awesome because my personal Mark IV has been sitting dormant in my safe for well over a year at this point. So today we’ll slap ole’ Mark IV 22/45 Lite in this new FarrowTech kit and see if we can knock the rust off the 22/45. More Rimfire Report @ TFB: The Rimfire Report: Does Remington’s 22 Viper 36gr Have the Fangs? The Rimfire Report: Is CCI’s Uppercut A Knockout 22LR Cartridge? The Rimfire Report: ELEY’s Penultimate 40 gr Match Flat Nose FarrowTech 22R Stock/Brace PDW Kit for Ruger MK3 and Mark IV Product Link: https://farrow.tech/22r-stock-brace-pdw-kit-for-ruger-mk3-and-Mark IV/This is an PDW style conversion kit for the Ruger MK3/4.Available in as a Stock or Brace.All configurations include 2 optional side picatinny rails and charging handle. All necessary tools and hardware are included. No permanent modifications to your Ruger are required to install this kit.6-32 screws require application of VC3 Threadmate and a final torque spec of 7.5 in/lb. FAQ:Q: Is this item in stock?A: These are in stock! RAL8000/ODG Cerakote colors can add up to 1 week lead time.Q: Will this work with my Ruger?A: This will work with any MK3/4 with a straight barrel (no taper) and a rear dovetail cutout.Q: What suppressors can be used with this?A: Any suppressor will work. No part of this kit protrudes beyond the thread shoulder.Q: Can I convert my brace to a stock in the future?A: Yes, a conversion kit will be available at nominal cost. Q: Can I put pic rails on the sides?A: Yes, these optional rails are included along with hardware if you wish to install themQ: When will my order ship?A: Most orders ship the same or next day. You will be emailed a tracking number when your shipping label is created. FarrowTech’s PDW Kit for the Ruger Mark III/Mark IV works very similarly to the FT17 PDW Kit for the P-17. Both kits are extremely easy to install, only requiring that the rear sight be replaced with the included dovetail mount. The main housing/frame is available in one of four colors: black, tan, green, white. The kit also includes your choice of any one stock or brace, which can be polymer and aluminum, and some include mounting points for slings. In my case, FarrowTech included a Steadybrace with a polymer (A3) brace. You can also choose between a 7.5-degree Carbon Foregrip, a regular angled foregrip, or a Picatinny front rail. Mine came equipped with the carbon grip, which both looks nice and feels great in the hand for the overall size of the kit. The checkered panels can be replaced with small 3D-printed Picatinny rail sections. AssemblyAs I said above, assembly is quite easy; simply remove your rear and front sights and any muzzle accessories you may have on your MKIV (the factory one is fine to leave on), replace the rear dovetail sight with the dovetail adapter, then shove your MKIV into the chassis and screw it in place. Done! No permanent modifications are always a bonus, if not an outright requirement, when it comes to conversion kits for me. FarrowTech also includes two optional side Picatinny rails and a charging handle with all styles of kit, and all of the necessary tools and hardware are included with the kit as well, so there’s never any question that you’ll be able to assemble everything. One minor problem I did run into during assembly was with the nut and bolt used to bolt on one of the side rails; the nut is quite hard to get perfectly aligned within the super tiny space. My only suggestion here would be to have the hardware printed inside of the side pieces, so that there is no way for them to fall out or become misaligned. In any case, I was able to get both of my side Pic rails on eventually, and I went ahead and added a SureFire X300U, as well as a Unity Axon SL switch to work with my aging DBAL I2, which was topped with the FarrowTech RMR mount, and then an SRO for a practical daytime aiming solution. I’ve been using the Fletcher Rifle Works Taquito 22LR suppressor for a long time, and its design was a perfect match for a flush-mount suppressor that goes perfectly with the kit and sounds great with subsonic ammo. To round it out, I put a single-point sling in the QD slot at the rear of the PDW frame, which has turned out to be a handy addition. Range TimeFor such a small kit, the R22 is quite ergonomic in this specific configuration. The brace, while quite thin, is sturdy enough to stabilize the gun and also doesn’t interfere with its operation when collapsed. FarrowTech has theirs configured with a Scalarworks LEAP/04 RMR mount on the website, and while I don’t have that exact mount, the DBAL red dot mount they included was a perfect solution for an SRO I had sitting around. The limited amount of travel in both the SRO and the DBAL meant I had to settle for a zero that was much further out than I’d prefer for a rimfire PDW, but it does have the benefit of making this particular rig more of a long-range plinker. I tried shooting the configuration with a bunch of bulk and partial ammo boxes I had sitting around in the house, and of those boxes, it may come as no surprise that CCI Quiet-22 Semi-Auto and CCI Suppressor Max 45 grain are two of the best candidates if you want the best suppression while maintaining the ability to cycle properly. My economical choice here for plinking has been some clearance Aguila Super Extra I picked up ages ago, but the smell does get to you after a while, and CCI Standard Velocity works just as well, if not better. So basic, cheap (subsonic if possible) ammo is what I’d recommend for something like this if you’re going the quiet route. I even tried to use Aguila 60gr Sniper Subsonic out of morbid curiosity, because the concept of slinging 60-grain projectiles out of a 22LR PDW amused me, but the combo turned out to be much louder than either of the two best CCI options, even though it did cycle reliably and gave the gun a nice deep tone when shooting. I took the kit to a recent night-vision shoot with some friends, and the layout proved pretty helpful for use with NVGs or for shooting under white light. The X300 might be a bit difficult for people with short fingers to use, but since no one should be relying on this thing for anything serious, I think for the sake of looks and function it's a good compromise for me, especially given the compact nature of the Unity Axon SL, making it usable with such a small package. The inclusion of the unique underslung polymer charging handle is both intuitive and comfortable to use, and it works. If nothing else, even after only a handful of range trips, we quickly learned that 22LR tracer ammunition is a good way to get some neat photography effects under NVGs while having some cheap fun plinking with a unique platform. Final ThoughtsOnce again, I want to thank FarrowTech for sending out this kit completely unprompted. Not only did it turn into a cool build, but this has probably been the most I have shot my Ruger Mark IV 22/45 in a very long time, which is saying something. The only really disappointing thing about this particular kit is the inherent magazine capacity of the Ruger Mark series of pistols. Ever since their introduction in 1949, the Mark I, Mark II, Mark III, and Mark IV, the magazine capacity has been at most 11 rounds with extensions. There are rumors of a Mark V series pistol coming out that may have a larger magazine capacity, but for now we’re capped at 10-rounds in most cases. Other kits from FarrowTech that work with other pistols are similar in nature and have magazine capacities that are sometimes double that of what you can squeeze out of a Mark series pistol. The hard part here is whether or not I’d recommend this particular kit. As configured (without any of my optics or other accessories), the kit from FarrowTech with its carbon fiber grip and Steadybrace will set you back nearly $300. That’s a pretty penny for a Mark IV skinsuit, but it's one that comes with some real ergonomic and functional upgrades that I don’t think should be overlooked if you happen to have a Mark III or Mark IV sitting around that has nothing better to do than sit in its safe. If you’ve got that and a few odds and ends from your gear collection, kitting one of these up might make sense if you’re a frequent plinker and don’t mind the scant 10-round capacity. In any case, this is something more “fun” than it is anything else, and it's also one I’m happy to have with me at the range as yet another “lunch break gun,” to cleanse the palate between some of the more obnoxious guns I typically bring to the range with me on camping trips and the like. I’d be interested to hear your thoughts on the FarrowTech Mark IV PDW Kit. Is this a kit you’d get any use out of? As always, thanks for stopping by to read The Rimfire Report, and we’ll catch you again next week!