Mark III issue Magazine Backwards !

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Ruger Nut10

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Mar 18, 2010
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I am new here and have a question.
I just borrowed a Ruger MarkIII and put the magazine in backwards and it locked in some how and now the think won't come out. HELP!
 
A

Anonymous

No, you didn't... stop playing!

If you did, get a screwdriver and start prying. Take off your grips to.
 

Ruger Nut10

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Mar 18, 2010
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Yes I did. Dummy me.
I did take the grips off and tried to force it out but no luck yet. Will dig deeper as soon as I can get my hands on the gun again. Since it isn't mine I didn't want to beat on it too much. I have a Buckmark so the Ruger is new to me.
 

Ski

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Dec 26, 2007
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Minnesota
Ruger Nut10":gaqxopgx said:
Yes I did. Dummy me.
I did take the grips off and tried to force it out but no luck yet. Will dig deeper as soon as I can get my hands on the gun again. Since it isn't mine I didn't want to beat on it too much. I have a Buckmark so the Ruger is new to me.

Well first of all I'd share the problem with the owner. Second, how far is the magazine inserted? If it isn't too far in, you may be able to do the prying thing after taking off the grips (depending on which model Mark III you have). If you've got it pushed most or all of the way into the grip, it is probably caught on the bolt stop in shich case, about the only way to get it out without bending something is to remove the grips and pop out the hammer pin which the bolt stop also rids on (again, depending on what model Mark III you are talking about). Removing the hammer pin will disassemble some of the internal fire control group - more than you may really want - but at least you'll get the mag out. Be warned, if you need to free the mag utilizing this last method, you will need to take the gun apart the rest of the way to get everything back together - so if you're not familiar or comfortable with breaking down the Ruger Mark series, you might really leave this whole problem to someone that is....
 

Ruger Nut10

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The owner was there when it happened. I am just sick it happened to me. He has the gun now but I need all the info to help repair it. If not I will take it to a gunsmith.
Thanks, it does seem stuck right around the slide release area.
 

Ski

Bearcat
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Ruger Nut10":2sc3xvr9 said:
The owner was there when it happened. I am just sick it happened to me. He has the gun now but I need all the info to help repair it. If not I will take it to a gunsmith.
Thanks, it does seem stuck right around the slide release area.

If the owner has been inside the Mark III before, then it should be no problem getting it back together once you get the magazine out - just look at the parts breakout in the owners manual.

I assume the bolt is closed (in battery) and the hammer is cocked and you can not pull the trigger and cause the hammer to drop. If you could take the gun apart with the mag stuck in the grip frame, you wouldn't have to remove the hammer pin. Problem is, you can not readily remove the bolt stop/mainspring with the gun cocked and thus you can not get to the inside of the gun.

If the above assumption regarding the cocked gun is incorrect (that is, the hammer is not cocked), then pull the mainspring, get the hammer down so you can remove the bolt, take off the barrell and then you should be able to get things disconnected from there.

Again, if the owner is not comfortable getting into that Mark III, I'd be inclined to take it to a gunsmith or somebody that is familiar with the innards of the Mark III and let them tackle the problem. If you need to pop the hammer pin, you'll be letting loose several pieces that ride on it so put the gun inside a large plastic or paper bag to keep from loosing anything when you pop the pin.
 

afallen

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Nov 20, 2010
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Hi. I found your solution most helpful. I just bought a brand new Ruger Mark III competition. I had only put 70 shots through it and was stupid enough to force the magazine in the wrong way around. I followed your instruction and hey presto it all came apart. However, as I had never done this sought of thing before, I had to climb a steep learning curve. It just took me a little time to figure out how to get the hammer mechanism all together again as it it fell apart on my lap. The only word of warning that I have is that the exploded view does not show a small pin that fell out of the safety assembly lug (button). It took me a little while to figure out where it fitted (I don't like having parts left over).

Thanks for you help.

For anyone else: be brave and give it a go. Just don't lose any parts.
 

Elfego El Gato

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Mar 17, 2008
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Repeat after me: Slamming the magazine home should only be done by actors in Hollywood movies. In real life, whacking the bottom of the magazine to insert it into the gun usually leads to bad, bad things happening, as this thread goes to show.

Don't learn gun handling from movies and TV. Those actors have no idea what they're doing and are generally anti-gun, anyway. Learn from an NRA class or from an experienced shooter that you know. I've never met a shooter yet who wasn't willing to share his experience.

This post is not a dig against the OP. We've all screwed up, me more than most. Sometimes you have to learn the hard way. But, if you take a few seconds to think before acting, there's a pretty good chance you won't screw up as often or as bad.

Take it from one who knows: Slow down, ask questions, and learn to do things right, *especially* where firearms are involved...

Sermon over. This post was as much a reminder from me to myself as it was for anybody else. Every once in a while, it's useful to remind yourself of the basics, just so you don't start to take them for granted... Don't ya think?
 

afallen

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Nov 20, 2010
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:D
Thanks guys. I will always listen to good advice. I am enjoying the sport.
By the way, the gun is working fine again. I still need to sight it in as that is what I was doing when I stuck the magazine.
 

Cholo

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Ruger Nut10, let us know how it turned out.

It's not only Hollywood who slaps the magazine in. I've read in gun mags. to slap it shut as well. I prefer pressing it in place and hearing the audible click. Can't think of a single reason to slap it.
 

Ruger Nut10

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Mar 18, 2010
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Well the gunsmith made a good chunk of change on this one.

I didn't slam the mag home I used my thumb to push it in and while looking down range I heard the click. But since it was backwards it was stuck good from the get go. Will stick to the Browning Buckmark, no Mark III for me ever. I could of bought a used one for the price of the fix. That was months ago I almost forgot about this. Thanks for reminding me. :oops:
 

Fishslayer

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Jan 1, 2010
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Nevada said:
Repeat after me: Bullets go towards front of gun.

Just make sure the boolits point the right way! :D

HKbulletsBackwards.jpg
 

Dumb_Gun_Girl

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Aug 22, 2011
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United States
Hi
Thank you guys so much for the info on here for fixing this problem.
My Grandpa has a ruger mark iii and my dad was checking it out and put the mag in backwards. After several hours of trying to figure out how this happened, i looked on here and then he didn't feel so dumb. Thankfully the mag wasn't loaded. After a few more hours of trying to get the mag out we all quit trying.
I came home and thought and thought and thought
Then today I went back to my grandpas to try my idea AND IT WORKED!!!
thought i should share in case anyone else does this

Take a tape measure cute the tape use the cut end and wrap around the round egde of the magazine slide it up the mag between the butt of the gun and the mag when it hits the top slide both the mag and the tape measure piece up as far as they will go... pull them out together.

it took 10 seconds and no damage to anything but the tape measure. if you are like my grandpa you have ten million tape measures laying around anyway. i'm sure and piece of very thin very stiff metal would work. Hope this helps :wink:
 

davblan

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Oct 28, 2011
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western PA
BIG THANK YOU dumb-gun-girl....Your method worked perfectly for me. I couldn't believe I had put the magazine in backwards in the first place, let alone that it would get stuck as it did. Of all the other "fixes" I read about in this thread and from MSG boards elsewhere, yours seemed the simplest to try first, and it worked. I had to push up slightly on the mag, but once I did that both the tape and mag slid right out. Absolutely not a scratch on the gun, fantastic! So, to any other MKIII owners who have a brain lapse and insert their mag in backwards, try this first, it really works!!!!


I had to join the RugerForum just to say thank you.

Dave B.
 

Britt

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Joined
Oct 10, 2013
Messages
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I realize this is an older post, but Thank You to Dumb_Gun_Girl! I, too, tried the tape measure
and it worked like a charm. It was bad enough to feel like an idiot inserting a magazine backwards,
but even worse that the gun did not belong to me.

Thank you!

BD
 

afallen

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Nov 20, 2010
Messages
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Location
Australia
Britt said:
I realize this is an older post, but Thank You to Dumb_Gun_Girl! I, too, tried the tape measure
and it worked like a charm. It was bad enough to feel like an idiot inserting a magazine backwards,
but even worse that the gun did not belong to me.

Thank you!

BD

I fixed this problem permanently. I replaced the Hammer Bushing (40) with a Mark II bush and removed the Magazine Disconnector (38). It doesn't matter now if I accidently put the magazine in backwards. It will come out fine and not get stuck. Doing this also got rid of the failed to fire problems that I was having. The best $10 bucks I spent on my Mark III and no fail to fire issues. I bought the parts from Brownells.com


Tony
 
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