Ruger mk iii 22/45 not firing

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JohnnyOrygun

JohnnyOrygun

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Southern Oregon
Hi All,

I have a Ruger mk3 22/45, I have had it for several years and haven't shot it nearly enough. Recently took it out to do some plinking and it's not firing. I think the problem is the hammer isn't releasing, I hear a click when I pull the trigger, but no shot is fired. I have looked at the round that was in the chamber and there is no sign of a firing pin hit. I have cleaned the gun, but because of the extra work involved in stripping a mk iii 22/45, I hadn't stripped it down.

I decided to strip the gun down and give it a thorough cleaning, thinking perhaps there was some dried gunk preventing the firing pin from moving. Looked up some videos on stripping it and reassembly and it wasn't as difficult as I had feared. Cleaned it really good, degunked a little dried gunk and everything seemed nice and clean. Oiled it carefully and reassembled it. Still won't fire :banghead: took it apart again and made sure it was reassembled properly. I still hear a click, but no bang. Any suggestions. Just to make sure everyone understands, this started before I disassembled the gun.

If anyone has some suggestions or has had this problem before, please let me know.

Thanks
JohnnyOrygun
 
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The click is likely the hammer releasing. The first thing I would do is take the firing pin out of the bolt and make sure it or the rebound spring us not broken.
 
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Check the tiny rebound spring in the bolt. Remove the long spring and plunger from the top of the bolt and you'll see it. Bet it's broken.
 
Rebound is what my previous post should have said instead of recount. ...dang smart phone. ...One of my MKII was misfiring. That spring was broken in several places.
 
Thanks,

Took the gun apart and took the large spring off of the bolt. Removed the pin holding the firing pin in place and removed the firing pin. The firing pin is fine, the rebound spring that's under the firing pin looks fine, no little pieces fell out and everything looked good. Reassembled it, no change in the sound when pulling the trigger. Will have to take it out and try it properly. Very frustrating.

Thanks for the input.

John
 
Likely what is happening is your disconnector lever isn't engaging the sear properly allowing the pistol to release the hammer. The plunger on top of the trigger is what provides the tension for the disconnector lever, long silver bar along the right side of the frame, to lift upward when the bolt is fully closed. If this bar doesn't lift up then the trigger will not operate the sear. When you pull back the bolt the first time does it have a lot of tension? How about the second time, does the bolt still have a lot of tension or is that tension much less?

Do you have any aftermarket parts installed in your 22/45? (i.e. VQ hammer, VQ sear, VQ adjustable trigger)

R,
Bullseye
 
Sometimes the Mark 3 guns have a problem with the magazine disconnect safety. Try pushing up on the magazine while pulling the trigger (with an unloaded gun). If it goes then you have a problem with the disconnect safety.

Another issue I have found on the 22/45's is that the hammer can drag in the polymer frame if everything isn't lined up properly. If one doesn't fully tap the frame back into the barrel assembly the hammer can rub. Also I would inspect the "window" that the hammer operates within on the frame to make sure there is no extra polymer rubbing on the sides of the hammer. You can use a permanent marker to mark the sides of the hammer and work it a few times. This will tell you if you have any side drag. If this doesn't fix it I would get in contact with Ruger.
 
If your getting the full click sound of the hammer falling, I would wonder if the end of the firing pin , that the hammer hits, could be mushroomed keeping it from traveling. With the bolt out you should be able to move it and see it protrude from the bolt face.
Is the bolt fully closed? Sometimes gunk can get in in the extractor relief keeping the bolt from fully closing.
 
Hi,

The end of the firing pin looks normal. When I had it stripped down, I looked at the magazine safety and it appears to be working fine. Also the silver bar from the trigger to the hammer appears to move properly when I work the trigger.

What I'm hearing is a click, but no hammer fall. I think it may have to go back to Ruger. The only thing I can think to try is spray it down liberally with breakfree, maybe there is some gunk stuck in there I can't see. I can move the hammer freely by hand... very frustrating!

Thanks for your ideas and input, keep them coming, I really appreciate your experience.
Johnny
 
Hearing a click can be normal, that could be just the trigger resetting on the sear, the big question is what does the trigger feel like when you squeeze it? Does it feel like it isn't connected to anything? Or, after you hear the click the trigger stops like it is hitting something solid? You also didn't mention the condition of your pistol - does it have any aftermarket parts installed, or is it completely stock?

BTW - those Ruger pages linked above are my web help pages.

R,
Bullseye
 
Bullseye57 said:
BTW - those Ruger pages linked above are my web help pages.
Click to expand...

I just want to take a moment to thank you. Thanks!! More than once friends and I have used your pages. I hope you don't mind that I linked them, plus I freely admit that I did not associate you as the poster here and the site.....too many bullseyes. :D
 
I have no problem with you linking to those help pages - that is why I created them. I don't have a high post count here because I only post when I have something to say that would contribute toward helping others. I am that guy, and I don't expect people to recognize me. I'm not trying to be well known, just known for helping folks out when they have problems with their Ruger .22 Marks. Hopefully I can assist this OP with his problem but the description is too generic to cite a specific cause which is why I am trying to glean more information to narrow down the cause and recommend a remedy.

R,
Bullseye
 
Hi,

The gun is totally stock. The trigger does feel strange. I pull it and it feels light, like there is no load, also feels gritty. I have looked at a bunch of websites, will have to check my iPad and see if I have looked at those.

Thanks all!

Johnny
 
This tells me some more of the situation. If the hammer is cocked and won't release via the trigger, try pushing the back of the trigger forward as far as it can go. If you hear a small click sound and then you can release the trigger normally by squeezing it, then your plunger in the top of the trigger is either gummed up or sticking. If you cannot feel any difference after pushing the trigger forward, try flipping the pistol upside down and wiggle the trigger some more, then try squeezing it while the pistol is still inverted. If the hammer drops the disconnector lever is not being pushed upward by the same plunger or perhaps the plunger is not installed in the top of the trigger. I have also seen some of these lately that have the disconnector lever broken right at the joint where the disconnector lever connects to the trigger. The little pin comes out of the lever and squeezing the trigger has no effect. In that case, I drift out the pivot pin that holds the sear in place, the small diameter pin just under the hammer pivot pin which has a larger diameter. Caution, drifting this pin out with the hammer cocked will mangle the sear spring, but the spring can be straightened back to normal shape without any loss of spring tension, as the leg that gets mangled is the long one and that spring leg's purpose is just to lock in both the hammer and sear pivot pins in place in the frame. Reassemble the pistol normally following the procedures on the 22/45 detailed stripping reassembly steps on the maintenance help page. If the disconnector lever is broken I'd recommend an aftermarket version by Volquartzen which is CNC made from a solid billet and will not break at that weak point near the trigger.

Hope this helps.

R,
Bullseye
 
It's working!

I have tried everything everyone recommended and I really appreciate your help! I'm still not entirely sure how it become messed up. I disassembled the gun again, took the barrel off and then installed the take down lever back in the grip assembly. I inserted the mag and everything seemed aligned properly. I pulled the trigger and the same click, but no hammer release. So I looked closer and noticed the strut that's attached to the hammer wasn't engaging the detente in the main spring. So I took the main spring housing out again and reinstalled it making sure to align the strut properly. Inserted the mag and pulled the trigger! Voila! It worked. I don't know how the strut got out of position as I had never taken the gun apart. I reassembled the gun and checked it and it's working right! I honestly don't know how it got messed up in the first place.

Any idea how it could have gotten out of alignment in the first place, very frustrating!

Thank You for your input and help.
Johnny
 
If the MS latch opens, even if the mainspring housing itself doesn't get swung all the way out of the frame, it can allow the hammer strut to slip off of the MS cap. As you just experienced, and so have many other Ruger .22 Autopistol owners, that is a very critical step in final assembly for proper operation. I like to flip the pistol upside down when closing the MS housing. That way I can watch the strut ride on the edge of the MS housing all the way closed. With a 22/45 you have to remove the magazine to close the latch lever all the way, it could have been in this final step that the strut came off of the cap. Either way, now that you have experienced this type of problem you will now know what to do in the event it ever happens again. I'm glad it is working again for you and now it is time to go out and enjoy that pistol once again.

R,
Bullseye
 
Thanks Bullseye,

I'm not a neophyte to guns, have done a lot of work on my 1911, but. I have to say this was one of the most frustrating problems i have run in to. Thanks for your help and insight!

Johnny
 
Even tho this isn't necessarily linked to the fact that it's a Mark III pistol, it's a bit disconcerting that a problem like this could occur. Years ago, just before the U.S. leveled sanctions against South Africa, Ruger .22LR autos and all calibers of Ruger revolvers were flying of the shelves. The reason is that South Africans knew the sanctions would most likely last a long time (and they did) and they wanted guns that would go years without parts replacements. Rugers fit the bill and many used their handguns heavily for well over ten years with no problems.

I fear sometimes that with internal gun locks, magazine safeties and the like that we may be introducing too many things that could go wrong. Anyway, glad to hear this got cleared up. Jeff Cooper used to always say in his columns that people cleaned their .22LR autos way too often. He said modern .22LR ammo had protective ingredients that would prevent corrosion and recommended that shooters only break down their pistols once or twice a year, not every time they shot it.

WHAT do you guys do?
 
EDIT: re-read and noticed it got fixed precisely the way I typed out. :p Leaving the rest...

I just had mind apart and had a vaguely similar issue...
Then cursing some more at Ruger's engineers because, really guys. I've had easier times with blacksmith puzzles.
 
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