Lubricating Ruger Mk III to prevent misfeeds?

[Deleted member 66305]

I recently bought a Ruger mk III Hunter.

Took it to the range already, twice, and fed about 550 rounds through it each time.

Both times, field stripped it per the manual and reassembled.

Both times, it fed the ammo very well -- perhaps one jam per box of 550.

Today, took it again to the range.

Had a devil of a time with it. Often, it would not strip the top round from the magazine on the first try -- sometimes had to eject and retry numerous times. Many times, it damaged the round attempting to feed it.

This is very much not the character it displayed the first two times I took it to the range. I am wondering if there is a part I should pay special attention to while cleaning, or perhaps if it needs lubrication.

The manual did not state where it needs lubrication.

Any suggestions?

 

[RickW]

What kind of ammo were you using this last time? The orientation of the first round makes a big difference also.

http://www.guntalk-online.com/images/magfeeding.jpg

 

[wingman]

You may have a problem other then lube however FP-10 on small parts
and gun butter on slide of my MK2 speeds up the process big time.

 

[RickW]

On the Ruger site you will find a video on cleaning the Ruger MK3. It will show you where to lube the pistol.

 

[tlen]

Take some time and read the Guntalk-Online.com posts that cover all aspects of the Ruger .22 pistols.
Routine disassembly and cleaning the MKIII each trip to the range is not really necessary unless you have problems.
If you like to shoot a lot get several spare magazines and a UCL. The UCL is well worth the money.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAN_v8pDr4w&feature=related
http://www.mcfaden.com/Clip_Loader.htm

 

[Deleted member 66305]

What kind of ammo were you using this last time? The orientation of the first round makes a big difference also.

1st time: Federal copper plated -- no problems

2nd time: Remington Golden -- No problems

3rd time: Remington Golden -- several problems

 

[tlen]

Remington ammo is noted for FTE and leading problems and is not recommended on the GunTalk-Online.com site. I've had good results with [cheap] Federal 550 round value packs from WMT in my MKIII678.

 

[JDGray]

Had a devil of a time with it. Often, it would not strip the top round from the magazine on the first try -- sometimes had to eject and retry numerous times. Many times, it damaged the round attempting to feed it.

Be sure your mags are firmly seated, sometimes they seat hard. I've solved all my extraction issues with a Volquartsen Exact Edge, extractor.(When you get them)

 

[wally]

3rd time: Remington Golden -- several problems

I have had several boxes of these where instead of climbing the feed ramp, the bullet "folds" at the case mouth causing a feed jam. That and the relatively high dud/misfire rate caused me to quit buying these, although they give very vew problems in my Neos which has a straighter feed path and a heavier firing pin hit.

--wally.

 

[RickW]

I used Remington Golden the very first time out with my MK3 Target. I had a devil of a time with failure to feed and duds. I did nothing different other than change my ammo to Federal Champion (510) and the problems went away. I would try the Federal ammo again and see what happens.

Guntalk is a wealth of information for owners of the MK type Rugers.

 

[PO2Hammer]

Cleaning the magazines is a critical part of Mark II/III maintenance. That might not be your problem, but the bullet lube builds up on the front inside edge of the mags where the bullet noses rub. Then they don't come to the top of the mag smoothly.

I even lightly oil the inside of the magazines. Since I don't keep them loaded, I don't worry about oil ruining the ammo.

My new Mark III hunter has had a few failures to fire with Rem. bulk ammo, and a couple time they didn't extract, otherwise it's been pretty darn good.

Anything other than Rem. bulk ammo and it runs fine. Now that I have about 1K rounds through it, it will even cycle subsonics.

I like to use plenty of FP-10 oil.

 

[KBintheSLC]

It sounds like you may have reattached the lower grip frame to the upper receiver a little crooked. I have done this once before. The tolerances can vary a tiny bit, allowing the slightest bit of "canting" between the upper and the lower. It can be off by the tiniest amount and may be unnoticeable to the naked eye, but it will throw off your feed angle and create a chain reaction of failures.

I doubt it is an ammo issue since you had no problems with the same kind of ammo once before. I would strip it down again, and make sure it is perfectly straight. BTW, the MKIII Target that I own is not ammo sensitive at all... yours should chew up most every type of cheap stuff.

Besides that, I generally lube the bolt and the inside of the receiver with an oily patch, then wipe off the excess with a dry patch (it does not need lots of oil). The rest only needs a wipe with a silicone cloth.

Best of luck. This is a great gun which I am sure you will enjoy.

 

[3KillerBs]

My Mark III hates bulk pack Remington. I get a misfeed every other magazine or so. Which is particularly annoying because the bullet tends to get hung up partway in the chamber and partway in the magazine so it takes a bit of doing to get the magazine to drop so that the jammed bullet can fall free.

Same with the the .22/.45's DH and I borrowed for our concealed carry class.

Even the bolt action rifles don't like that stuff and won't extract it reliably.

Try the Federal or the Winchester white box instead.

 

[glockman19]

I have had NO problems with CCI Blazer, CCI mini-mag, high velocity & standard velocity 40 grain.

 

[Comanche180]

mis feeds

I shoot a Buckmark and MkII quite a lot. I have had bad results with Remington bulk ammo, duds. I have had excellent results with Federal bulk ammo. I also clean my magazines regularly, 22 ammo seems to be generally dirtier than an centerfire I shoot. I usually clean each gun after 200 rounds, especially the MKII which will fail to extract when dirty. I haven't had trouble with misfeeds in either gun which I attribute to cleaning the magazines.