help! can't reassmble Mk III Hunter

I'm an idiot. I am attempting to reassemble my Mk III Hunter for the first time, and it's not working. (I expect that you guys have seen dozens of these queries, but I can't find the right answer in the archives.)

The bolt stop pin will not go through the holes in the receiver and bolt, and it doesn't matter how much I tap the mainspring housing - it just won't go in. Actually, I think that this is because the receiver is not attached to the frame properly, because I cannot put the bolt stop pin through those holes in the receiver even without the bolt in place. Another clue that this might be happening is that when I put the bolt in the receiver, it does not seem to go fully forward.

I've followed Ruger's directions for attaching the receiver to the frame (engage the square lug with the square recess in the underside of the receiver; tap with a rubber mallet). But I don't think that it's working. I'm really wary of applying too much force when things aren't fitting together properly.

Can anyone suggest how I can get the receiver attached to the frame properly? Do you think that I am correct in believing that this is what is stopping me from putting the bolt stop pin through the holes in the receiver and bolt?

It's late at night here in Perth, and this is going to stop me getting a good sleep. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

AussieShooter":2mzizuhy said:

I'm an idiot.

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THen so are most of the population. That damn gun is the ONLY gun I own that I very rearely take down completely. I spray the crap out of it with gun scrubber, let it run and drip out, and then lube the crap out of it. I do this about two times a year, whether it needs it or not. Believe it or not, for a while about 15 years ago I could assemble and disassemble the MKII in my sleep.

Watch some youtube videos ... there;s a bunch of them.

Good luck and I feel your pain. You need to take it back apart and start over ... it's the only way.

By the way, I don't think it's your receiver to barrel mating, it's one of those little things inside that can flip flop both ways. That's why they tell you to hold the gun upright at a certain point when reassembling. CHeck out the youtube stuff, and when in doubt re-read the manual ... you'll get it, but probably not without some swearing. Don't force anything at any time, although some pressure will be required. If it's right it will go together.

REV

What will help is go to the Ruger web site. Look on the right side of the screen look for View online Videos, click on of course and then look for Tech Tips about 3/4 way down the page. Your problem is is there..

Stop immediately! Drink 1 good beer, look at video, curse, then proceed. Worked for me!

I think the cursing is the most important part LOL.

REV

Over the past thirty years I have had three Ruger semi-auto .22's. Removing the grips just to be sure and applying a liberal drenching of Synthetic Safe Gunscrubber really works much better than even cursing, videos and beer. :mrgreen:

Tom

I had that same thing happen to me when I went and tried to disassemble and reassemble by buddies brand new mark 3 after having done mine quite easily at home the day before. It took almost an hour to get but we had the same exact problem as you are having. Answer? The receiver and frame were ever so slightly out of line with each other when fully to the rear. We had to put the upper and lower together and slightly tap the upper until they were lined up exactly. What a pain. It is not the bolt causing the issue. On my pistol the receiver is fully tapped to the rear. On my friends pistol it is not fully tapped to the rear. Go figure. Hope this helps.

fishhawk357":xiymmvzb said:

Answer? The receiver and frame were ever so slightly out of line with each other when fully to the rear. We had to put the upper and lower together and slightly tap the upper until they were lined up exactly. What a pain.

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Are you saying that the receiver on this pistol was actually pushed too far to the rear and you had to bring it forward until the holes for the bolt stop pin lined up?

I think that it must be a problem with the way that the receiver is attached to the frame. It doesn't seem like the bolt is going all the way forward (even ignoring for the moment my problem with the stop pin) and I'm blaming that on the receiver-frame issue at this point.

The problem might be that I'm trying to do it late at night, so I can't curse loudly enough without waking the neighbors.

check out rimfire central.com

Check this out too. Get your Mark III back together and then use Gunscrubber next time. http://www.guntalk-online.com/fsprocedures.htm

Tom

AussieShooter":bawu1rrq said:

The bolt stop pin will not go through the holes in the receiver and bolt, and it doesn't matter how much I tap the mainspring housing - it just won't go in. Actually, I think that this is because the receiver is not attached to the frame properly, because I cannot put the bolt stop pin through those holes in the receiver even without the bolt in place.

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Aussie ... Based on your description, I would suspect that your problem is one of the following:

1. Either the receiver is slightly rotated on the grip frame which will not allow for proper hole alignment (or proper seating of the grip frame) .... OR

2. The receiver is straight but the grip frame is just not seated far enough forward.

To check for these issues:

1. Check for improper rotation by looking directly at the junction between the bolt opening and grip frame (rotation is pretty easy to see ... see picture below).

2. If the receiver is straight (with the muzzel on a firm surface) strike the top edge of the grip frame (with a plastic mallet) until the rear lip of the receiver extends past the grip frame as shown in the picture below.

3. You can now check for proper hole alignment by inserting your bolt stop pin through the top hole (If it will go in from the top side, you will be able to insert it from the bottom without further issue)

The good news is that after you field strip your MKIII a few times, the process becomes quite easy. Contrary to some earlier comments (with all due respect), I would recommend learning to do this the correct way as opposed to the school of "I spray the crap out of it with gun scrubber, let it run and drip out, and then lube the crap out of it". I personally wouldn't own a gun that I wouldn't take the time to maintain properly (JMHO)

I got it together, finally. Booyah!!

Thanks very much BuckJM53 and others. I suspect that rotation of the receiver on the frame might have been the problem, though the hammer also might not have been fully decocked (you do need to push it forward with the trigger squeezed). If anyone else has this problem, I fully endorse the suggestion of poking the bolt stop pin through the top hole to check that everything is in alignment - that's what I had to do, with taps on the receiver with a rubber mallet and lots of cussing.

All of the YouTube videos had something useful to say, though probably the best of them was Moes Videos http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYHJm2P4kP0 - the guy who talks about the "cheese" and the "dingleberry".

This seems to be such a major issue for newbies that it might be worthwhile for someone to place a sticky post on the forum.

Aussie,

Bulls Eye, the moderator for http://www.guntalk-online.com/forum/index.php , is an "expert" on the Mark Series. He shares a good bit of technical information in a clear concise manner and is quick with a response to questions. Oh, I know how to fieldstrip my Mark II and have done so several times. Gunscrubber is just a heck of a lot easier and "gits-r-done".:mrgreen:

Tom 8)

AussieShooter":j0pxdz42 said:

I got it together, finally. Booyah!!

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Glad that we could help

I was all ready to suggest the fix and then saw it had been suggested and done. Really good description and pics, BuckMJ53.

greener":3kccdxhu said:

I was all ready to suggest the fix and then saw it had been suggested and done. Really good description and pics, BuckMJ53.

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Thanks greener ... I learned that lesson (the hard way :lol the very first time that I field striped my MKIII512 long ago.

So, how many Foster's did it take?

BuckJM53":1y508cpz said:

greener":1y508cpz said:

I was all ready to suggest the fix and then saw it had been suggested and done. Really good description and pics, BuckMJ53.

Click to expand...

Thanks greener ... I learned that lesson (the hard way :lol the very first time that I field striped my MKIII512 long ago.

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The first time I did a Ruger (MKIII Hunter) the language was so bad the dog left the room. :lol: 3 repetitions and I had it down.