NIB Ruger Mk III jams

[ACP]

Interesting.

Bought a NIB Ruger Mk III Target this morning (SS), lubed it, cleaned the barrel with a Boresnake, took it to the indoor range to sight it in at 25 yards with an UltraDot.

Accurate with Remington and Winchester target ammunition (40-gr. RN lead).

Used some of my CZ's pet load -- American Eagle 40-gr. RN lead. It choked on 5 of the first 15 rounds -- wouldn't eject the spent casing, got it jammed with the next round trying to enter the chamber.

Okay, time to move outside to the 100 yard range and shoot some steel.

Loaded some more AE 40-gr. loads -- choked on every third round. Too bad, because I have 500 of them.

Went to the Federal bulk "Champion" load -- 36-gr. RN copper-plated with a pinhole "hollowpoint." It choked on about 33% of these, too. Really too bad, because I have about 1,000 of these.

Went to CCI "subsonic" 40-gr. LRN; the Ruger handle 10 of these just fine.

Went to the Winchester Bushmaster 36-gr. HV (about 1260 fps). The Ruger really liked these; ejection was brisk.

(BTW, the Ruger would hit steel at 100 yards with boring regularity from a Rock Jr. rest, and about half the time with me offhand, using the 30mm Ultradot.)

I know I've probably just put a grand total of 100 rounds though the gun, but.... What's up? I've heard Rugers have weak extractors -- is that what's going on here?

In the weeks leading up to a possible purchase I had been thinking of sending the pistol to Volquartsen for a trigger kit and a new extractor/firing pin kit. Is this the cure?

Or maybe a trip back to the factory if I shot another 100-200 rounds with different ammo and keep getting failures to eject?

 

[HighExpert]

You have entered the world of rimfires. Pistols are picky little beasts who have preferences they will make known in all kind of ways. Find what it likes (mine loves cheap Remington) and stick with it. My 41likes CCI blue, hates the cheap Remington. My Woodsman Match Target will shoot anything.

 

[ACP]

One of the reasons I bought the Ruger was all the "mine eats anything!" comments I have seen online, over the course of many years.

I'd love to find a load it loves and stick with it, but in this market I am reduced to shooting what I can find.

To me, that means the Ruger needs to shoot anything I feed it and not complain.

 

[MICHAEL T]

To me, that means the Ruger needs to shoot anything I feed it and not complain.

Good luck with that Buy a revolver or a bolt action rifle or lever gun . I got a pump rifle that sometimes jams .
It the way of a 22.

 

[ACP]

I just mic'd several rounds for OAL; that doesn't seem to be the problem


Trouble rounds:
AE .975-.982
Fed Champion .973-.977


Good rounds:
Winch. Bushmaster .975-.978
CCI subsonic .987-.989

 

[ACP]

Michael, I looked and looked for a S&W 617 6-shot with no lock that was drilled and tapped for an optic mount. I found two online, both going for about a thousand dollars. That's a non-starter.

 

[Upstater]

The problem more than likely is the mk3 disconnector that makes the gun unable to fire without the magazine in place. Mine had the same problem had to send it ruger they replaced the disconnector and all has been well since then, it hasn't had a single problem in close to 3000 rounds of everything from blazer to eley. Just call ruger and they will even pick up the tab for shipping.

 

[tuj]

This is pretty typical with Ruger's from the factory. Get some CCI Stingers or other HV ammo and use that to break it in. Usually a good 200-500 rounds of HV ammo will smooth out the functioning of the gun.

Also, the VQ exact edge extractor is a part I put in all my Rugers.

 

[ACP]

Thanks guys. I just looked at a YouTube video installing an Edge extractor -- looks pretty simple. Of course the gunsmith who did the video took apart his Ruger, installed the part, and had it back together in about 4 minutes, so...

should take me about 4 hours!

 

[tuj]

the trick with the extractor; use a curved dental pick.

 

[HighExpert]

You can also sometimes help by polishing the chamber with JB bore cleaner. I have seen Rugers that were a little rough.

 

[WoodchuckAssassin]

I've been around Mark 1's, 2's, and 3's my whole life. All my dad buys is the cheapo Remington 555 box, and I've never had a problem. Sorry to hear about yours. Would you consider sending it back to the factory? Turnaround would probably be less than 2 weeks.

 

[ACP]

Yeah, a trip to the factory may be in the works first. My outdoor steel shooting was done at 38 degrees, windy, with a light rain. I can wait a month until it's 72 degrees, sunny and dry!!

 

[Upstater]

Mine was out for 8 days all totaled, from my hands back to my hands. IMO it was worth the wait to have it fixed right the first time.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

Sorry for your troubles. Not to rub salt in, but I have 5 MKs that truly will eat anything. I am sure once your minor hiccup is solved you will be pleased. The first thing I would do is polish the chamber with a little JB, Mother's, Flitz, or plain old auto polishing compound.

 

[ACP]

Thanks ColtPythonElite.

I have to say, everytime I see your handle, I get jealous. From the time I was a kid reading "The Shooter's Bible" on my front steps, I've wanted a Colt Python. Never got one!

 

[ColtPythonElite]

If we were neighbors, I would fix your MKIII for you. It can't be much wrong. They really are simple guns. I have done trigger jobs on half a dozen in the past year.

 

[ACP]

Well I will have to trust the god folks at Ruger. Thank you!

 

[BenFoo]

While the Mark3 22/45 i recently picked up was not new, it did have a few FTF issues. I replaced the following parts. Haven't had an issue since. I guess i should have done each one at a time to figure out which fixed the problem but it was just easier to do them all with the gun a part. Im pretty sure the sear didn't fix it, but that made the teigger nice and light.



https://www.volquartsen.com/products/293-target-sear-for-mkii-and-mkiii

https://www.volquartsen.com/products/1067-bolt-tune-up-kit-for-mki-mkii-and-mkiii

http://www.tandemkross.com/Mark-III-2245-LCI-Replacement-Insert--Stainless-Steel_p_62.html

http://www.tandemkross.com/Steel-Ruger-Mark-III-2245-Magazine-Disconnect-Bushing_p_9.html

 

[ColtPythonElite]

The OP shouldn't have to replace a fist full of parts to get his new gun to function.

 

[BenFoo]

The OP shouldn't have to replace a fist full of parts to get his new gun to function.

Sure. You're right. He could send it back.

But you're at $75 to get rid of the mag disconnect, LCI, and put higher quality extractor and firing pin in. Add another $30 for a sear that makes the trigger pull ~2.5lbs.

 

[wally]

I hear how reliable Ruger .22s are and except for my old MK I "standard model" it just ain't so.

We've half a dozen Ruger .22lr pistols and three 10/22 rifles spanning 20+ years of production and all have needed the Volquartsen "exact edge" extractor to be anywhere close to reliable.

https://www.volquartsen.com/products/163-exact-edge-extractor-for-10-22-and-10-22-magnum There is a version for the MK II and related pistols, it may be the same as for the rifles except for the replacement spring length, but I can't find the link, Midway and/or Brownell's should have them.



Also many of the mags have needed work as shown here:
http://xavierthoughts.blogspot.com/2008/10/mkii-magazine-tweak.html

The business end of MK II, MK III, and 22/45 mags are the same.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

Sure. You're right. He could send it back.

But you're at $75 to get rid of the mag disconnect, LCI, and put higher quality extractor and firing pin in. Add another $30 for a sear that makes the trigger pull ~2.5lbs.

- No need to spend $75 dollars on those parts. A $10 bushing will get rid of the mag disconnect or you can just cut the disconnect tail off the factory piece or you can put in a 10 cent washer and take out the spring for no money spent Just leave the LCI in. It will harm nothing. The stock extractor and firing pin work just fine.

- No need for a sear unless you just want to drop in a part with no work. I polish/stone the factory sear for under a 2.5 lb trigger.

After all that jazz, you can put a couple of set screws in the factory trigger to eliminate nearly all the slack and post travel.

There are many ways to skin a cat. I just go for the most budget friendly. I have done a pile of Ruger MK guns with no complaints.

 

[ACP]

ColtPythonElite is right -- I shouldn't have to buy a boatload of parts to make a brand new gun reliable. This is a 'fun gun' and it's not life or death, so I can take my time fiddling around with a solution. I think my first option will be the factory, which should cost me nothing. After that... I wish CPE were my neighbor, I'm sure he'd have this fixed up in a jiffy. I may try the extractor and disconnector route myself, although I'd really like to have someone tweak the trigger. I was getting 1.5"x1" groups at 25 yards with the red dot, I'm sure I could shrink that with a lighter and more consistent trigger. Of course I got this for plinking steel swinger targets at 25-100 yards, so bullseye accuracy is not required.

 

[Quercusalba]

Mine did the same when new. After about 200 rounds or so, no failures at all.
I kinda worried at first, but just kept shooting it.