Bought a MkIII Target

[Pal Val]

Saturday. It was a totally impulse buy. It's the modernized stanless steel version of the pistol I bought in 1976 (later sold and regreted it). Took it home, disassembled, cleaned, lubed, assembled (Thanks for the video, Ruger folks!) and yesterday took it to the range. Brought back memories of the hassle it is to take this particular gun apart and back together again. With the MkIII, it's even worse.

I read in a magazine aticle that these pistols come laser-boresighted from the factory. Learned beter. Mine shot 5" high and 9" left at 15 yds. I realized that the rear sight was way to the left in its dovetail. Took it home, drove the rear sight to center. My wife heard the hammering and thought I was mad at the gun. I then returned to the range. Took me a few rounds to zero it, but then I liked what I got. I was shooting cloverleafs with cheap Remington ammo at 15 yds. Tried Federals and CCI, and it seems the pistol likes the cheapo Remingtons better! I was running a bore snake with CLP every 50 rounds. Sort of a break-in, I suppose. Out of more than 500 rounds, only one Remington failed to ignite. The action was rough at the beginning, but smoothed out after a couple hundred rounds. Works just fine.

One fly in the amber - the trigger. Very different from my old Ruger .22. It has more than 1/8" of takeup, and then breaks cleanly, but at 6.5 lbs. That's one very heavy trigger for a target gun!

I will appreciate suggestions on how to bring that trigger down to at least half that weight.

 

[TiteGroups]

Volquartsen trigger kit. Installed a couple, worth the money.

 

[Kevin]

I've got a couple Mark II's and they both have that take up slack you describe in the trigger. But the trigger isn't 6 1/2 pounds either, so after I get accustomed to the take up it sort of feels like a two stage trigger.

Clark custom guns is another option besides Volquartsen.

 

[mattsbox99]

You 'drove' the rear sight over? All you should have to do is loosen the set screw and it should easily move by hand.

 

[Pal Val]

You 'drove' the rear sight over? All you should have to do is loosen the set screw and it should easily move by hand.

No argument, other than the bolt stop pin should also have come out easily, as well as the barrel. I had to tap on them with the hammer to get them started too. I don't mind tight tolerances.

I found a replacement triger in the Brownell's catalogue and ordered it. The reviews for it are good. Seems like an easy job, but will see. Nothing ever is as easy as it looks.

 

[Pal Val]

The parts arrived today from Brownell's. I just got myself a weekend project. Will report.

 

[Pal Val]

Report. Installing the Volquartsen trigger hit only one snag. I couldn't pass the pin through. I had to open up the hole a bit on the left side and then everything fit OK. I polished the inside of the hole in the trigger, as well as the pin and the little plunger on top. I also polished the big bolt stop pin and now it goes in and out easily. Big help when reassembling the pistol. I went ahead and polished the bolt, which had its share of milling marks, and the inside of the receiver. Now it's like a mirror. Looks good and works really smoothly, just as I remember my old MkI. Instant break-in. After some fiddling with the screws, got the trigger weight down to 3lbs. It won't go down any lighter, but it has no takeup, no aftertravel and breaks like glass.
Out to the range. Took me a few shots to get used to the trigger, then settled down to some serious bullseye shooting. I anaged to keep the shots almost all in the 9 and 10 rings, someting I rarely do. The combination of the Bushnell red dot sight and the new trigger works for me.
I had also bought a little magazine loading gadget to avoid busting my thumb loading the magazines. This has been the only reason for me to quit when shooting a .22 pistol. No pain, no problem. Got done when I ran out of ammo. Must have fired more than 700 rounds. Lots of fun. The backer has a big hole where the centers of the targets had been. It got completely shot out.
Every new gun is a project for me. This one must have been the easiest to work on and one of the more satisfying. I just added a fun shooter to my collection, and one I can use to train new shooters. Fun is an important part of learning, and shooting this pistol is really a lot of fun.

(My apologies for the long message)

 

[wproct]

Congratulations on your new MKIII Ruger pistol. Also, I appaud your patience and efforts in refining your pistol and turning it into a good target pistol. I have not personally owned a MKIII, but have owned many MKII Rugers, and still own 2. With a little work and TLC they make an excellent target/plinking pistol. Hope you continue to enjoy your MKIII for many years to come!

 

[Pal Val]

Thanks! I get a feeling that this pistol just found a permanent slot in my range box. Besides the nostalgia factor (it reminds me of my first Ruger pistol of 36 years ago), it looks like it has the potential for being an excellent shooter.
Now, I need more ammo. I burned every .22 round I had in the box last weekend. :lol: