Mark III Hunter hammer will not rise fully.

Help Support Ruger Forum:

WWC

Bearcat
Joined
Mar 21, 2022
Messages
4
Location
Alice, Tx
Howdy, newbie here, with a problem with a Mark iii Hunter with Volquartsen trigger kit...still had a mag disconnect. Took it apart to clean and the devil took over. Upon attempted reassembly, the hammer would only rise some 1/2". The videos I watched indicate the hammer should move up and down freely I believe. The sear appeared to be blocking full height. As the hammer is pushed up, it "hits" the top of the sear and goes not further (upward). Grasping at straws, I ordered a volquartsen bushing and installed it, taking out the mag. disconnect. Did not help...same problem. If I use a probe and nudge the sear out of the way, the hammer can then be moved to full height. When you bring it back down (need to do that to install the barrel/bolt) , it will again only rise some 1/2". Pics below hopefully illustrate the "blockage". HELP!!

BTW, I called Ruger. Got the usual good service, but they would not give me a recommendation, and asked for me to send it in for a looksee. I told them that it had a VQ trigger kit, and would they be able to fix it and send it back without reinstalling the OEM parts. They stated they could not return it with its VQ kit as it alters the trigger pull and sending it back that way would expose them to liability for "condoning"...or some such. Bottom line, I do not want oem parts.
 

Attachments

  • 20220516_104727.jpg
    20220516_104727.jpg
    200.1 KB · Views: 87
  • 20220516_104548.jpg
    20220516_104548.jpg
    215.4 KB · Views: 87
  • 20220516_104613.jpg
    20220516_104613.jpg
    209.1 KB · Views: 91
  • 20220516_104530 (1).jpg
    20220516_104530 (1).jpg
    239.2 KB · Views: 91
  • 20220516_104522.jpg
    20220516_104522.jpg
    242 KB · Views: 87

hittman

Moderator
Staff member
Moderator
Joined
Jan 16, 2008
Messages
16,913
Location
Illinois
Welcome to the forum. (y)

Ruger told you what they tell everybody. Can't blame them for not giving gunsmithing advice over the phone or for approving of aftermarket parts. Just too risky.

Anyway I'm sure somebody who knows the answers you need will be along soon. I'm not that guy but others here know their way around these pretty well.
 

WWC

Bearcat
Joined
Mar 21, 2022
Messages
4
Location
Alice, Tx
Yep, I agree wholeheartedly! After reflection, cannot blame them for avoiding advice on aftermarket components in the least. As a general rule, Ruger customer service is top notch!
 

NikA

Buckeye
Joined
Nov 2, 2014
Messages
1,810
Location
Yrisarri, NM- high in the Manzanos
I've done that when (mis)reassembling a Mark III lower, but I cannot remember exactly how it was misassembled. Best advice I can offer is take it all apart, read/view/watch some reassembly instructions and pay careful attention to the relationship between the hammer, sear, and safety when putting it back together.
 

WWC

Bearcat
Joined
Mar 21, 2022
Messages
4
Location
Alice, Tx
Thx for the reply NikA. I am perplexed as I did not take apart the lower when the issue arose, i.e. did not mess with the hammer, sear, safety, etc. I just took off the barrel and bolt and cleaned the gun. Do now know how/why the darn thing started acting up initially. Only then did I decide to take it apart to install a hammer bushing and take off the mag disconnect. I did not however, take out the (volquartsen) sear portion, which I now suspect may be the wrench in the gears.
 

Bad Barlow

Blackhawk
Joined
Apr 3, 2022
Messages
622
Location
Norcal
Usually, these problems are a result of mis-assembly. Either the hammer, hammer strut, or other part is not in the correct location during re-assembly.
Hammer strut not in position when you reinstall the hammer spring housing in the backstrap,is the common culprit.
It has to sort of "dangle" into the depression on top of the housing.
 

WWC

Bearcat
Joined
Mar 21, 2022
Messages
4
Location
Alice, Tx
Thx all! After monkeying around with a probe, moving the sear, and seeing its relationship to the safety, I believe the issue is that the safety "indention" was not properly seated over the sear. Tandemcross is to send me a spacer for the hammer bushing (came without it) as the hammer is quite loose and moves from side to side. I will then make sure the safety and sear are properly aligned. If this fails, I will hollar again :). TC customer service and tech support is awesome!!
 

TestEngineer

Bearcat
Joined
Jan 7, 2022
Messages
93
The videos I watched indicate the hammer should move up and down freely I believe. The sear appeared to be blocking full height. As the hammer is pushed up, it "hits" the top of the sear and goes not further (upward).

This is the way the hammer is supposed to work. It goes back freely and is blocked by the sear as it moves forward. It's called cocking the hammer. If you want the hammer to move forward, you need to pull the trigger. The person(s) in the videos you watched were probably holding the trigger pulled back.
 

Latest posts

Top