Ruger Mark III 22/45 Bolt hard to Pull

[KentuckySteve]

I just bought a new Ruger 22/45 MK III, and the instructions shoe to pull the Bolt ears back to cock. Itn the videos online, it looks very easy to pull back. My gun is VERY hard to pull back the bolt.

Is this because it is new or is there some adjustment I need to make? Also, the video shows that to release the bolt, just push the bolt stop down. It looks easy. However, this is almost impossible on my gun unless I pull the bolt back to release the pressure.

Thanks in advance for any help!

Signed, Ol' sore thumbs!

 

[Matrix187]

It just takes some extra force. If you have alot of trouble try rubber gloves maybe..

 

[punkndisorderly]

I have a MK III Competition Target and it was fairly hard to pull when it was new and uncocked. It loosened up fairly quickly with use.

Another possibility may be that it was taken apart and put back together incorrectly at some point. Perhaps the Hammer Strut isn't seated right? Just guessing.

 

[XavierBreath]

Try shooting about 500 rounds through it and reassess things.

Through use, the inside of the mainspring housing will become polished, allowing easier motion of the strut.

Ruger MKII Dis/Re-assembly Instructions Detailed

Ruger MKII Internal Disassembly and Reassembly Instructions

The easiest way to release the bolt from the locked back position will always be pulling back on it. You have more leverage that way.

 

[The Wiry Irishman]

As long as the bolt moves forward on its own after you've pulled it back or hit the slide release, its fine. Our club has a few 22/45s with a few thousand through each, and the bolt release is still a bit stiff.

If the bolt isn't moving forward on its own but getting stuck, then someone reassembled it wrong. When I was learning how to take down and reassemble the 22/45 (a long and painful process, try not to sell your gun out of frustration) I had that issue several times. Sometimes the gun just likes to not go together right for no discernible reason, but I could usually attribute the bolt stickiness to a misplacement of what I can only describe as "the little dongly bit" behind the mainspring housing. If you hinge the mainspring housing out and look up inside the gun toward the barrel, you can see it swinging back and forth in there. There's a little cup in part of the mainspring housing that it should rest in. If its not positioned properly, a variety of problems can manifest themselves.