Mark 4 not feeding all the time.

[redfernclan]

Looking to see if others are having an issue. Recently retired and decided to get something I could find ammo for to go plinking once in a while. Looked around and really liked the Mark 4 stainless hunter. Called around and no body had one. A friend had just been to a local "coastal farm" that had just opened and said they had lots of ammo and full shelves of guns. Gave them a call and the nice lady said she was looking at one in the counter right now and it had been there for two days. I put it on hold and was there in minutes. Now its mine :] Have only put about 200 rounds through it but on four occasions, it failed to grab the next round. Thinking maybe sticky clips? I did buy two additional clips from Ruger and have not yet verified it is just specific clips or the gun. After playing with it more I also noticed some clips can not be just fed all the way in. They catch on the magazine release and you have to push it in slightly to insert the magazine all the way.
Have others seen this issue? Just a matter of break in or am I destined to sending it back to Ruger.

 

[redfernclan]

After posting I thought it kind of stupid to ask a question without verifying stuff first.
All four clips can not be fully inserted without pushing the release button a little. Bolt forward, bolt locked back, firing pin cocked or dry fired does not matter. My mark 1 std and my mark 2 government target model do not operate this way.
Just a side effect of the new mag release?

 

[hittman]

Welcome to the forum.

I don't know the answer to your questions. However, seems pretty rare anybody has a complaint about these guns. Hope all works out well for you.

 

[NikA]

I believe the Mark III and IV guns with the new style magazine require the magazines to be inserted with some force and enthusiasm. At least that's what I remember about the Mark III I have.

 

[contender]

"Welcome to the Forum!"

The little extra effort required to seat the magazines is normal from what I've seen.
Different design than the MKI or MKII.

As for the few times it's failed to pick up another round,, it could be one of a couple of things.
Ammo.
Sometimes ammo is an issue. Try a different brand. Especially during the break in period. Some brands have more wax or coatings that can cause gunk to build up quicker.
Magazines. It sounds like you have factory magazines,, so maybe just a simple cleaning of them may help. Sometimes,, shipping oil, combined with gunk from shooting can cause a "sticking" issue.

Anything built new,, having moving parts,, often requires a bit of a break-in period. Not just guns either.

 

[Retired Spook]

Good video for tuning Ruger Mark magazines:

 

[cavediver27]

Magazines rarely have any effect extraction. Call Ruger and ask them to send you a new extractor and spring. Check the easy and obvious things first.

 

[NikA]

Magazines rarely have any effect extraction. Call Ruger and ask them to send you a new extractor and spring. Check the easy and obvious things first.

"Failed to grab the next round" sounds like a failure to feed, not to extract/eject.

 

[Retired Spook]

Most Mark IV fail to eject / feed is, in fact, magazine related. Watch the video.

 

[Ka6otm]

I shoot my MK IV around 4 times a month and the only problem I have is when some rounds don't go bang the first time so they have to be rotated 180 degrees, then they go bang.

 

[redfernclan]

Thanks for all the tips and the video. Good stuff. Dug a little deeper and pulled the grips off to verify the screws were not interfering. The magazines were definitely hanging up on the magazine release button. Closer inspection proved to reveal the "magazine release button stop screw" was loose. snugged it up and all is working fine now as far as inserting the magazines. I'm bringing this up to let others know. Read a few threads about "slamming" the magazines home. Might want to check those screws too, they are under the grip. As far as not picking up the next round, just have to put more rounds through it and make sure I identify whether its the magazines or the gun and try different ammo.
Thanks for all the help, I have six Rugars and this one was starting to be a disappointment. Looks like my problem with the magazines was just a loose screw. I have heard others complain about this happening with other screws on the new pistols. Nothing a little blue locktite won't cure.

 

[jimd441]

Contender makes a good point about ammo. I have a few thousand rounds through my Mark IV stainless Target model and have learned that I can turn the problem on and off simply by the ammo that I use (all of which is HV). My gun likes mini-mags for whatever reason.

Jim

 

[redfernclan]

Thks, that is usually what I shoot but I was using the oldest ammo I had just to rotate. I'll try them next.

 

[redfernclan]

That was a really good video on the magazines. Had some down time a while ago and went through all four mags. Took it out this last weekend and put a few hundred rounds through. Ran like butter. Tried three different brands of ammo and all ran great. Feeling much happier with the pistol and ordered another red dot to try. The first one was an el cheapo and wasn't bright enough for day light. Hopefully this one will be better.