Ruger Mark III elevation adjustment issue- HELP!

[TonyM]

:banghead:
I hope someone can help me out. I have a Ruger Mark III Hunter- it has the windage/elevation adjustable rear sight. I just bought the gun last spring and have been using it with a red dot sight. I since removed the red dot sight and attempted to zero it with the factory sights. Here is my issue: I got the windage adjusted just fine, however I have "run out" of elevation adjustment and I am still shooting 4-5 inches high (25 yards) depending on type of ammo. The easy answer is to put the red dot back on, but I want to use open sights... What are my options? Is this a gun/sight defect?

 

[nathan]

An inch high at 25 yds should be desirable. I have mine zeroed at 1 inch high at 15 yds using the factory sights. For a rimfire handgun, 15 yds is the most range you will shoot.

 

[Big Nugget]

It shouldn't be hitting 4-5 inches high with the rear sight bottomed out assuming that your sight picture is correct. At first I was going to suggest using standard vel instead of high vel ammo, but there again I would be assuming what type of rounds you're shooting and then it still wouldn't drop your POI 5 inches... Was the gun purchased new? If not, does it have the correct front sight?

I do not shoot pistols any closer than 25yards so I know I would want my gun to hit closer to POA than your gun is doing now.

Also, are you resting the gun or shooting off hand?

 

[jungle]

That is a known problem with that particular model, call Ruger and they will send you the appropriate front sight.

 

[TonyM]

I was shooting from a rest.....I tried a gamut of ammunition from standard to high velocity...the gun was purchased new in the box....I'll call Ruger and see if they'll send another sight.. In the meantime I pulled the front sight and threw some plastic under it to shim it a bit....we'll see how it works tomorrow....

 

[243winxb]

however I have "run out" of elevation adjustment and I am still shooting 4-5 inches high (25 yards)

Hope your turning the rear sight down.

 

[TonyM]

243winxb, I wish that was the problem! It's tightened down so far that if I go any further I think I'll strip the adjustment screw!

 

[wtxj]

Tony, mine does the same as yours

 

[TonyM]

Well, I called Ruger and they essentially told me to send the gun in-- likely cost of 30 bucks for shipping and 30 bucks + to fix it.....not too happy with Ruger right now....

 

[Remllez]

Tony,

I think if you called back and explained the situation calmly to a supervisor at the service center they will likely e-mail you a prepaid shipping label, sometimes they even pick it up at your house. Like Jungle said it's a known problem, it's pretty tough for them to deny you full service warranty repair.

 

[TonyM]

Well, Ruger e-mailed me back after I talked to the customer service hotline, said to contact parts department as they carry a lower v-notch for the rear sight. Plan on doing so tomorrow, hopefully free and I'll be back on target again!

 

[TonyM]

Thought I'd give the resolution in case others have the same problem. I e-mailed Ruger via the link provided on the website and thoroughly detailed the problem. I didn't get a response after a few days so I called them. The customer service guy said to ship the gun back, if it was a factory problem (i.e. not my bad shooting), they would pay for shipping, fix it and send it back. This annoyed me as I've heard of this problem before-- both via web searches and some kind replies to my post.
Well, as I stewed about it for a day or two, I got an e-mail reply from my request-- It explained need for lower rear sight blade and said to just call parts department. I called them, referenced e-mail, and voila-- a lower rear sight blade was at my house within a week at no charge. Took 15 minutes to install-- 10 to get frustrated, 2 to google rear sight blade installation on ruger mark III and read instructions, and about 3 minutes to execute. Hope this may help others with the same problem...

 

[tuj]

Ruger customer service really is pretty good. So are the MK-series pistols. Glad to hear your issue got resolved.