Before I send my Mk III back to Ruger ...

[HayMike]

My Mk III is now a not very good paper weight. It is all back together with the bolt stop pin in place, and a magazine inserted, but the hammer refuses to go forward to the fired position where it must be to complete the assembly. If I reassemble the gun without the bolt the hammer easily goes forward into the fired position.

I thought maybe that the barrel/receiver wasn't fully seated in the grip but my rubber hammer says that's not the case, and the holes in the receiver and frame are aligned so the bolt stop pin easily clicks into place.

Has anyone run into this before and if so what was the fix? Unless I hear from someone I will send it back to Ruger when they get back from the July 4th shutdown.

I appreciate the replies, but this is a totally stock Mk III and has never been disassembled other than field stripped for cleaning with the barrel/receiver removed from the grip frame.

 

[hittman]

Welcome to the forum.
Sorry for your troubles.

 

[Mobuck]

There's a part in there that has to be correctly positioned to allow proper re-assembly. I don't take Ruger 22 pistols apart often but someone who does can help you.
If it was working prior to dis-assembly, no reason it won't work after re-assembly.

 

[Xrayist]

FWIW, I bought a Mk II in pieces and had the task of reassmebly. My saving grace was that I sat down and watched Youtube videos, until I found one that was very easy to follow, clear video, great explaination of what to do. I watched that video about a dozen times, then a dozen more. I had it playing on my tablet on my bench while I worked on the gun. It was very easy after that. There are a few things you have to be careful with, but when I really paid attention to the video and thought about it, it was easy. I don't have the name of the video as it was about 10 or so years ago that I did this. Just search Youtube and take your time. You will probably have to watch several different videos until you find one that works for you.

 

[TestEngineer]

Question: why do you have the bolt stop pin in before you have the hammer forward?

Remove the pin and point the muzzle down with the trigger pulled. If the hammer doesn't fall forward, just reach in and push it forward thru the MSH slot. After the hammer is forward, insert the pin again and complete the assembly.

 

[Dan in MI]

Something is rolling around in my head that the MK III is slightly different than the rest, but I'm not sure.

That said, try this. Assemble without the upper in place. This will allow you to see how to align the hammer strut to get the mainspring in place. If done correctly you can cock the hammer and even "fire" it with your thumb in place to catch the hammer

 

[HayMike]

Question: why do you have the bolt stop pin in before you have the hammer forward?

Remove the pin and point the muzzle down with the trigger pulled. If the hammer doesn't fall forward, just reach in and push it forward thru the MSH slot. After the hammer is forward, insert the pin again and complete the assembly.

Bolt stop pin in or out doesn't seem to make any difference.

 

[jules]

Pictures?

 

[Johnnu2]

This re-assembly becomes ESPECIALLY DIFFICULT when you are OLD and have OLD person's eyesight..... You can also get dizzy trying to position yourself to see what they are talking about.... Go slow, re-view the video over and over, it WILL go back together eventually. I just put mine in the back of the safe and bought a MK IV to shoot.
J.

 

[Dave Schwaab]

Pictures?

That's a good one. Here's the one I swear by

 

[Dan in MI]

Ok, let's start from the beginning. With the upper off does the hammer flop freely? Yes? Then without the upper or bolt in place try to install the mainspring housing. This will do two things. Allow you to get the feel of what to do and give you a look at the internals to see how they fit.

Once you have done that, push the hammer back until it is cocked. Now put your thumb in front of the hammer and pull the trigger. Does it work? Yes?

Take the mainspring out, install the upper and bolt, then reinstall the MSH and test again.

 

[Fox Mike]

Go to page 22 and read. https://ruger-docs.s3.amazonaws.com/_manuals/markIII.pdf

 

[HayMike]

Thanks, but I have a copy of the Mk III manual.

 

[wproct]

Hope you get your issue resolved. Will make one comment. I don't have a MKIII but own a couple of MKII pistols. I will remove the bolt stop and mainspring housing and the bolt fairly often for cleaning and lubrication, but I seldom remove the barrel/receiver assembly from the grip frame. That is where you more often get into issues like you are describing.

 

[Dave Schwaab]

Hope you get your issue resolved. Will make one comment. I don't have a MKIII but own a couple of MKII pistols. I will remove the bolt stop and mainspring housing and the bolt fairly often for cleaning and lubrication, but I seldom remove the barrel/receiver assembly from the grip frame. That is where you more often get into issues like you are describing.

At least you are removing the main spring housing and bolt when you clean it. That goes a long way, just not ALL the way, to keeping it clean.

I bought a 32 year old Mark II Target a few years back. The previous owner probably just locked the bolt back to clean it! When I got it, it was impossible to even open the main spring housing, let alone remove it. I eventually had to send it back to Ruger to have it disassembled. Now I take down completely when I clean it.

I also have a Mark II vintage 22/45 that has a fairly loose receiver to frame connection that lets me use a shortcut for disassembly/reassembly. After I remove the main spring housing, I just push forward on the back of the bolt and lift the receiver/bolt off as an assembly. To reassemble, the hammer has to be in the fired position as I slip the receiver/bolt assembly on top and push back, then reinstall the main spring housing to complete reassembly. This trick would probably work on a regular frame, IF you don't need to use a hammer with your gun.

 

[HayMike]

That last is definitely thinking outside the box and worth a try. Thanks.

 

[Baxter6551]

I bought and installed these in my Standard and Govt Target. Worth every penny. Make sure you follow installation instructions.

Ruger MK Reassembly |the One-Time Fix |Hammer Strut Support

New, patented, Hammer Strut Support (HSS) makes reassembly of mainspring assembly into Ruger MK quick, easy, ALWAYS CORRECT. HSS installs in minutes with no experiece or special tools needed, and remains in the Ruger MK.

www.hammerstrutsupport.com

 

[06dilly]

HayMike, here a simple field strip video I did a few years ago. If you start at the 5 min mark you may see how yours looked when you had it apart. The key is getting the hammer and strut in the right place at the right time. See if this helps. It's a Mark II but should still be relevant unless you took your pistol down even further.



TomD