Ruger Mark III Reliability

[Bisley Man]

A friend had a similiar problem with a Buckmark .22. I told him about an article I read in gunmag in the 1970's. Clean barrel and chamber with Hoppe's#9 and toothpaste. Put toothpaste (not gel) on a bronze bore brush,dip in Hoppe's and scrub.Worked for me with badly leaded bores, and were easier to clean the next time. Today J-B compound and Kroil works better.

 

[U.S. Patriot]

From my experience with any semi-auto. Bulk ammo does not cycle reliably. I only buy CCI for semi-autos. Shoot the bulk through my bolt action.

 

[starbury33]

I am having the same issues described here. I have a Ruger Mark 3 SS target. Like somebody said, the round seems to get spiked down on the ramp as oppose to sliding up. I'll try to clean it up and give it plenty of lube. I am using Federal Spitfires. A guy who worked at the range said that the gun needed to be broken in. It certainly got better at the end than in the beginning but boy, it is very frustrating.

 

[JByer323]

Ok, this is a fairly common problem, and all the fixes are pretty easy. Before you start messing around with the feed ramp and screw things up for no reason, work on the mags.

There are a couple of fixes that you can try out, and I'd say there's about a 95% chance it'll fix your feed problems. The first is adjusting the lips on the mags. There are threads on rimfirecentral.com, and Bullseye's site, which I linked in my previous post, that will give you a nice, pictorial walkthrough. What I did was even easier. Take the mags apart, and get a stone, wet paper, or a fine file that fits into the sides of the mags, there the follower slides. Take your time, and make that sucker shine like a mirror. Then polish up the follower button too.

Clear as mud? Just take your time, and you should be fine. If the polishing doesn't do it, work on the feed lips. There are about 98698709 threads on both of those sites about the problems you are having, and the consensus is unless you can prove that the feed ramp is causing the problems, leave it the hell alone so you don't bugger it up.

 

[JByer323]

I am having the same issues described here. I have a Ruger Mark 3 SS target. Like somebody said, the round seems to get spiked down on the ramp as oppose to sliding up. I'll try to clean it up and give it plenty of lube. I am using Federal Spitfires. A guy who worked at the range said that the gun needed to be broken in. It certainly got better at the end than in the beginning but boy, it is very frustrating.

This is certainly true as well, all Ruger 22s are pretty much the same. Before you start fiddling, run a couple bricks of ammo through the thing.

Another recommendation is to number your mags, that way you can see if it is consistently one mag or all of them.

 

[starbury33]

This is certainly true as well, all Ruger 22s are pretty much the same. Before you start fiddling, run a couple bricks of ammo through the thing.

Another recommendation is to number your mags, that way you can see if it is consistently one mag or all of them.

Thanks for the tips. I'll continue to break it in before messing with it. I did give it a good cleaning tonight.

This is a fun gun though. A true point and shoot, where you aim is where you get. My buddy had a .45 at the range and that thing is a canon compared to the .22. The funny thing is that the .45 were all over the target while the .22 were in a tight grouping on the target.

 

[RackEvo]

Rugers rock!

 

[HK45Lefty]

I had a Mark III Hunter that jammed more than it should have. I determined that part of the problem was the loaded chamber indicated since the round contacts it and shoves it out of the way as the round enters the chamber.

I got rid of it and found a NIB Mark II Competition slab barrel that works better. I miss the "normal" mag release (Mark II has a heel clip) but I don't miss the loaded chamber indicator or the mag disconnect.

Rugers seem to like high velocity ammo - CCI Minimags are about the best for the money, and the Federal bulk stuff is OK too, along with Winchester Super X. The Remington bulk is trash.

The only jams I get on the Mark II are with slow target grade rounds - like S&K Plus or Wolf Match Target.

Now, my S&W Model 41 likes standard velocity target stuff - CCI Standard and Green Tag work best.

In either case, a different recoil spring can make your pistol reliable with any velocity of ammo. You can buy recoil "calibration packs" from Wolff springs and find the spring that works best.

 

[starbury33]

I went to the range today and used Win Dynapoint GT ammo and I didn't get as many jams. I was using Spitfires last week and I guess that the hyper velocity stuff is no good with my Mark 3. There were still about 5 jams over about 100 rounds but things are definitely better.

 

[smg10383]

never

 

[TheLoneRaider]

 

[paperboy]

I removed the stupid LCI metal tab. Some guys will remove the little spring that puts tension on the tab, that way the LCI still works as it should but there is less tension on it. My MKIII 22/45 has run perfect.

 

[paperboy]

Should have added that I mostly shoot the Federal Bulk and have not had a single problem. I also "tip up" the first round out of the magazine.

 

[uniquejohn]

i had that problem and found that the feed ramp had a burr on it, polished it off and it has worked great ever since

 

[ThePope]

My M-III hasn't owned an extractor in over a year...ever since blowing it to smithereenies with Winchester .22lr ammo....I have exactly the very same ratio of ammo F/E problems as before....sometimes , most times, it will not fail...sometimes once a magazine, rarely two.

It is good practice for failures , so I know how to deal with them quicker....

Eh.works for me.

I am OuT.........

 

[RBrianHarless]

Answered my questions. Thanks. I know this thread is ancient but great to see the information still applies.

 

[paperboy]

It very well could be the LCI. The MKIII's are great pistols but I believe the LCI can pose a problem. All I have ever done is remove the metal tab and have never had a problem since. I had one MKIII that had some fte's and removed the tab. I have done this on 4 different models and they have ran perfect. I have also read where some guys will remove one spring and leave the metal tab in place. OOPS, I GUESS I SHOULDVE LOOKED TO SEE IF I RESPONDED TO THIS. IT WAS A WHILE AGO.....

 

[dross]

Wow, zombie thread walks the Earth!

I tried some of the above and reduced the malfunctions some, but not completely. I also despised the difficulty of assembly and disassembly.

I ended up buying a 22 conversion slide for my CZ P01. Guess what? No malfunctions to speak of with any kind of ammo and it's noticably more accurate than the ruger. It's scary accurate, in fact. I've never looked back.

 

[SSGSAD]

I bought a Ruger Mk III, 22/45 USED, and have at LEAST 4400 rounds of Fed. bulk pack, from Wally World, and since I have been counting, 2 FTE, 1 of those was a "stovepipe" ..... This is MY experience ..... I LOVE MY RUGER .....

 

[scottka]

Wow, zombie thread walks the Earth!

I tried some of the above and reduced the malfunctions some, but not completely. I also despised the difficulty of assembly and disassembly.

I ended up buying a 22 conversion slide for my CZ P01. Guess what? No malfunctions to speak of with any kind of ammo and it's noticably more accurate than the ruger. It's scary accurate, in fact. I've never looked back.

A conversion slide, considerably more accurate than the MK series Ruger... Meh... Maybe the P01 just fit you that much better than the Ruger, unless something was wrong with it.