MarkIII Slide Stop

[chopprs]

I have a Mark III and I purchased it new. It has maybe a couple thousand through it. Recently the slide stop started giving me trouble. I have taken the gun apart and looked through it carefully and can not find anything wrong. When firing the gun functions fine but after the last round the slide does not stay back. When you rack the slide manually with an empty magazine the slide does stay back. I have tried several different ammunitions as well as several different magazines with the same reslults. Any input will be greatly appreciated.......

 

[rugerguy]

gotta "see" and would have to check the front ,bottom edge of the bolt as well as the 'back' edge of the stop lever,,,,they get worn, they bend, they break and they wear (round off ) and let the bolt slide forward....its one thing to "rack the bolt back by hand", versus the recoil, rebound of 'live ammunition, let alone even what type of ammo one uses...we see this happen when folks use any "hyper velocity" stuff, beats the crap out of the gun.......

 

[smokeyw]

Do you release the bolt with the stop lever or do you use the "slingshot method" ? Releasing with the stop lever will round off the catch point and it will no longer work. You should be just pulling the bolt back by hand and releasing it to put a round in the chamber and close the bolt.

 

[berettapistols]

Are the grips original??
I've seen many aftermarket grips rub the slide stop lever & it's internal lever causing problems..
Just something to check..
Even over tightening the screws could cause a problem..
I've clearanced the grips on the back side with a dremel before to cure some problems..
And as Dan said check the lever itself for damage..
With 2000 rounds that would only be 200 catches of the bolt & doubt that it's worn out yet??
If the lever is worn a phone call to Ruger with the serial # would get you a new one shipped out for FREE..
Also there could be some carbon/lead/powder = Rubbish in the area next to the trigger were the spring & detent are for the lever & possibly were it pivots on the trigger pin..
Just something to check..
Good Luck!!
Gary/bp

Look here for some great pictures & info from Bullseye's Website
http://www.guntalk-online.com/service.html

 

[chopprs]

Thanx for the replies guys but like I said, I had it all apart and there are no worn or broken parts. I cleaned it really well and put it back together and the problem still lives. I have been smithing my own guns for a long, long time and I just am completely perplexed............

 

[rugerguy]

then "maybe" the lever just needs an "adjustment" to better engage the face of the bolt........
look carefully at just "how" the lever engages the bolt face and you'll see how slightly one has to 'tweek; it over to work, not neccesary to replace the lever unless its' worn that bad,and even then we;ve recut them to work work, it only lessens the bolt drop,ever so little...
yes, try the technique to see if the 'slingshot' works for you, too many folks "lower" or release the bolt improperly??? tough to "see" unless one watches it inaction........

 

[chopprs]

......like "bend" it?
but it always worked fine and the edge is not even worn......?!?!?!?
I was thinking about taking the slide stop spring out and hyper-extending it and putting it back in but I have "redesigned" gun works before and not had luck!

 

[berettapistols]

Extending the spring would cause "MORE" Tension to be applied to the lever forcing it into the down possition..
You'll notice the circle on the magazine that engages the slide stop lever..
There's a V shaped were the slide stop lever attaches around the bolt stop in the frame, It could be there's some binding there??
If it were bent slightly it would bind..
This picture shows it looking straight at it..
http://www.guntalk-online.com/images/m3instep4b.JPG

 

[rooger]

Do you release the bolt with the stop lever or do you use the "slingshot method" ? Releasing with the stop lever will round off the catch point and it will no longer work. You should be just pulling the bolt back by hand and releasing it to put a round in the chamber and close the bolt.

smokeyw's diagnosis and advice here is 100% correct. I ruined my bolt stop by not using the slingshot technique to release the bolt. After I installed a new bolt stop, the problem was solved.

 

[ranger1]

smokeyw's diagnosis and advice here is 100% correct. I ruined my bolt stop by not using the slingshot technique to release the bolt. After I installed a new bolt stop, the problem was solved.

So how many round do you figure it took to ruin your bolt stop? Maybe I better start using the "slingshot" technique.

 

[chopprs]

Well thanx to all that tried to help. I finally figured it out. It seems that the slide stop, although I looked at it pretty good, did have some wear. The corner was rounded ever so slightly. Just enough to give me an issue.
Honestly, I am not buying that business about not using the slide stop lever to lengthen the life of the slide stop. I looked at another one that has thousands through it and the slide stop does not work at all and the corner is rounded right off. I can not see how this would happen from using the slide stop lever to release the bolt since it is peened in the opposite direction. It is quite clear to me that the hammering of the bolt hitting it after the last round is what has caused the wear. The slide stop is cheap and relatively easy to replace. I am not worried about it! :)
Nonetheless, all fixed with a small amount of needle filing.....
Thanx again guys!

 

[berettapistols]

Congrats on the "Fix" chopprs

 

[rooger]

smokeyw's diagnosis and advice here is 100% correct. I ruined my bolt stop by not using the slingshot technique to release the bolt. After I installed a new bolt stop, the problem was solved.

So how many round do you figure it took to ruin your bolt stop? Maybe I better start using the "slingshot" technique.

Maybe around 5,000 rounds.

 

[rugerguy]

chopprs, good to hear, of your 'fix" as we said it never took much in the past for us to 'tweek" the guns we've worked on, and yes, the ammo does affect this wear as I often say and the factory will even tell you, depends on what ammo ones uses and for the MOST part, ANY hyper velocity stuff can and will beat the crap out of the gun, cause the wear , as well as even cause the bolt to "jump" ( bounce) off the engagement surface, not a lot there holding on...it ain't rocket science.......

 

[rooger]

My final words on using the "slingshot" method to release the bolt:
The Ruger manual describes the correct method to release the bolt with a loaded magazine. The method used is commonly referred to as "slingshot" because it involves pulling the bolt back all the way and then letting it fly forward. (The 22/45 directions are slightly different.) Before I used the slingshot method, I wore out my bolt stop lever after about 5,000 rounds. After installing a new stop lever, I have always released the bolt using the slingshot method and the bolt locks back every time after the last round. This has been the case after shooting another 15,000 rounds. I am convinced the slingshot method is the best choice for my MKIII.

 

[berettapistols]

I agree the slingshot method is the way to go on any handgun..

 

[JohnFLand]

Except for at least the Kahr P380 -- Kahr specifically says to use the slide release lever to chamber the first round (if you slingshot it, the slide may not properly go into battery).