Stovepipe Jams Ruger mark 3

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Stormshotty

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After going to the range, I've noticed my Ruger Mark 3 has a tendency to stovepipe on rounds. After first I thought I was 'limp-wristing' but it happens even when my grip is firm. I'm using Federal copper-plated ammo under the recommendation of a friend who said it would run fine. The stovepipes seem random (not first or last or second) and sometimes happen consecutively. Has anyone had a similar problem and did they get any advice on how to fix it? Thanks.
 
My 1st thought is has the gun been cleaned AND lubed recently? More of a breakdown cleaning, not just extra oil in the action. The next is have you tried other ammo? I use some surplus mil-spec 'auto' gun oil, it is a rather thin viscosity. Gummy oil could also impede the action.
 
Tear it down, clean it and hit it with some Break Free. It has teflon in it and made a big diff. in mine when it was new.
 
Extractor, maybe?

I just bought a MkIII too, and it's stovepiped a few times. It could be ammo-related, and I haven't yet even tried different ammo. It may also need a break-in, though I've always been suspicious of the ol' "needs to be broken in" line.

It seems this is a relatively common problem and can often be traced to the factory extractor. Maybe not faulty per se, but not as engineered/made as well as it could/should be, and problematic in some guns. I was going to upgrade with a Volquarten trigger and sear, so I added their extractor to the order as well. It hasn't yet been delivered, so I can't tell you if it helped.

At any rate, here are some recent links. Cruise the guntalk forum, as there are other MkII/MkIII tidbits there.

http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=362863
http://www.guntalk-online.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1563
 
I clean it with solvent and oil after every trip. I'm not the best cleaner, but I try to pay special attention to the action. The bolt was a bit dirty though but I've fixed that now. I'll try getting the new extractor and using a different brand of ammo and tell you how it goes.
 
It may also need a break-in, though I've always been suspicious of the ol' "needs to be broken in" line.
Click to expand...

I've owned a number of MK's and for what ever reason everyone worked better the more it was used but the teflon spray really makes a difference when they're brand new.
 
I got the extractor and tried to install it. However, it seems to be even tighter than the original and wouldn't extract at all (missed the round). I tried to re-install it, but my extractor plunger and spring popped out and shot into the next room, so now I have a single-shot pistol. Do you know if Ruger will send me replacement parts?
 
StormShotty,

Ruger will sell you the parts, and they should only cost $2-$3 each.

Just call them at 928-778-6555 between 8am-5pm MST.

Extractor KA02200
Extractor Spring KA20300
Extractor Plunger KA20300
 
I called Ruger this morning and they are sending me the parts free of charge. They should arrive soon, since I live about 1.5 hours away. Any company that is willing to cover for my mistakes is automatically cool in my book.
 
As far as detail cleaning is concerned, I treat my mark II a little differently than my other pistols. The first time I completely detail stripped it(I did this because it was malfing because it was so dirty) I put lub on the sear where it contacts the hammer as well as some other places. Big mistake. I would do a fuction check and pull the trigger.....then click, after about two seconds. I initially thought I had put something in wrong, but nope. To make a long story short, I put some degreaser on the sear where the lube was, and guess what, it worked fine after that. Now the only places I lube is the bolt and the groove where the safety detent rides.

So...for you guys that are about to throw a lot of lube on the MkI, II, II pistol to make it work, use caution...
 
You said yours was a Mark III.

I helped a friend purchase a new Mark III. It was one of the first. And his pistol either stove pipe or flipped empties in the ejection port a couple of times per ten round magazine.

His Mark III had a loaded chamber indicator. This is something that is not in Mark 1's or 2's. When the round when in the chamber this spring loaded indicator rested on the rim of the cartridge. This device knocked the fired case off the bolt face and caused all sorts of failure to eject jams.

I took the pistol to a friend who had a milling machine. We milled off the metal part of the indicator that touched the rim.

The pistol functioned and ejected flawlessly after that.

We actually improved the safety of the pistol. The loaded chamber indicator rested on the rim of the cartridge and stuck out the side of the pistol. If the pistol was dropped on its side, a bang on that loaded chamber indicator would cause the pistol to fire.

My friend said Ruger later sent him an "improved" indicator, but he did not install the thing.

My friend has an undergraduate in engineering from Stanford and a Phd from MIT, and I think myself pretty technical, and we both think the Ruger chamber indicator a kluge and unsafe at any speed. I have not seen the "improved" version, but my friend did not think highly of the device.

Examine your pistol and maybe you are experiencing malfunctions due to the loaded chamber indicator.
 
I bought a Mark III about 5 months ago - it runs like a sewing machine, no stovepipes, no issues with the indicator.

I clean mine after every use though and I love the Breakfree lube/cleaner.
 
Make sure to use HIGH VELOCITY ammo. This is the number one reason that the MKIII and any other 22 pistol jams.

Hyper velocity works well too.
 
The Volquartsen extractor should fix it. Also, Federal's bulk .22 QC has gone straight down the tubes recently, from what I hear. It's becoming so inconsistent that some manufacturers no longer test their guns with Federal Bulk Pack.

Aguila ammunition is supposed to be very good quality for the price. And CCI Mini-Mags seem to be the ammo that 99% of .22 autoloaders like.
 
Just got back from the gunsmith. Apparently my bolt wasn't made properly so the new extractor wouldn't fit in properly. There was a chunk of metal or something stopping the new one from sliding in properly. He had to cut a small relief hole in its crook to get it to slid it. I can cycle very well now, but it disappoints me a little that the reason I couldn't install it myself was because of a defect in my gun. If you look at the old extractor, you can see a dent where the defective area had been wearing down the old extractor.
 
Make sure to use HIGH VELOCITY ammo. This is the number one reason that the MKIII and any other 22 pistol jams.
Click to expand...

I know every gun is different but my MKIII will eat anything I feed it, even the Remington GB's. I've never found the use for the more expensive CCI's and have only put bulk ammo sold at WM through mine with no problems. Heck, I don't even clean it as much as I should, did a complete detail strip after 500 rounds and now with over 2000 rounds through it I just run a bore snake and spray a little Break Free through her once in a while :D
 
For the so called break in period it is crucial that you use the highest velocity ammo you can find. Then shoot it about 500 times not worrying about jams and cleaning as needed. Every gun is different but this process has worked for the majority of the people I know and the one gun I have owned.
 
My 22/45 jammed at least once every 4-5 mags. Did this through the first thousand or so rounds of Federal and Remington bulk pack. Installed a Volquartsen Exact Edge Extractor and over my next thousand rounds, zero malfunctions.
 
I'm using Federal copper-plated ammo under the recommendation of a friend who said it would run fine.
Click to expand...

If you continue to have problems try some different ammo. Though Federal may work perfectly great in your friends MK III it may be a different matter in yours. I think you will also find that in many brands this can vary by production lot in the same brand. CCI Mini Mags is a good go to ammo to try in most .22 auto's if you are having issues. Best of luck getting it running .......
 
Just got back from the gunsmith. Apparently my bolt wasn't made properly so the new extractor wouldn't fit in properly. There was a chunk of metal or something stopping the new one from sliding in properly. He had to cut a small relief hole in its crook to get it to slid it. I can cycle very well now, but it disappoints me a little that the reason I couldn't install it myself was because of a defect in my gun. If you look at the old extractor, you can see a dent where the defective area had been wearing down the old extractor.
Click to expand...

Hows it function, after the fix?

Give Ruger a call, maybe they will help you out, or send you a new bolt;)
 
I pulled my LCI while trying to diagnose the cause of stovepipes and other trainwreck jams where the spent casing would get trapped between the LCI and the recoil spring guide rod at the top of the chamber. It reduced the occurrences of FTE from about 4% to under 1%.

Now, I'm not about to tell you that removing an alleged safety feature is a good idea, but I can tell you that you can find instructions on how to do so for diagnosis purposes on this page.
 
None of my Rugers newer than the MKI were reliable until I put in the Volquartsen extractors. But I still get a failure every 300-400 rounds.

While they may look like stovepipes most aren't because the bolt has not been far enough back to pick up the next round from the magazine. This makes them easy to clear but these are fundamentally the fault of weak ammo which seems to be getting a lot more common recently despite the bulk pack ammo nearly doubling in price :(

IMHO any .22 that doesn't work with the cheap ammo is missing the point of owning one unless its purpose is 2700 bullseye matches. For Joe plinker, paper puncher, if it don't work with the bulk pack ammo its a bad buy.

--wally.
 
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