MK III Talo.....trigger not resetting

[Dregg]

Picked up a used MK III Talo edition and took it to the range. The trigger will not reset at all. I'll load mag, rack the slide and fire off a round. The brass ejects and a new round gets chambered. Go to pull the trigger again but no go. Trigger doesn't reset. I have to rack the slide again (which ejects a perfectly live round and chambers a new one) Pistol goes bang but process starts all over. No trigger reset.

Anyone have ideas ?

......now I know why it was sold/traded in

 

[SGW Gunsmith]

I have a couple of questions about this pistol. Does it have aftermarket grips on it, and does the trigger appear to be aftermarket also?

 

[Dregg]

I have a couple of questions about this pistol. Does it have aftermarket grips on it, and does the trigger appear to be aftermarket also?

I'm not sure about that. Everything looks "factory" to me. Here are some pics

 

[Shooter III]

How handy are you at taking things apart, then getting them back together ?
It possible someone took it apart and didn't get it put back together correctly or lost something during re-assemble.

Take the barrel off the receiver (lower) and look down into it, on top of the trigger you should see a plunger (spring under it) on top of the plunger should be a small arm that is part of the transfer bar, which runs down the right side of the lower and into the hammer/sear. This small arm rides on top of the trigger plunger/spring

Make sure there is a plunger and spring as part of the trigger ? It is possible, but not likely you have a broken sear spring or not put back together correctly .....

 

[SGW Gunsmith]

By chance, and I have seen this several times, is there a gap between the left grip and the head of the hammer bushing pin? That grip is supposed to hold the head of that pin up tight against the frame. If that doesn't happen the pin can drift a bit to the left and that will cause what you're experiencing. A shim added or better yet, some epoxy to fill the gap between the grips and head of the hammer bushing pin will aid in keeping that pin from drifting left.

 

[Dregg]

There's no gap between the left grip but there's a cut out where that pin is. My question to you is, does that pin need to be absolutely flush with the frame of the gun ?

I disassembled the pistol and inspected it. Everything seemed to be in place and no parts were noticeably missing.
If I can't sort this out, I guess I'll be sending it off to Ruger.

 

[SGW Gunsmith]

There's no gap between the left grip but there's a cut out where that pin is. My question to you is, does that pin need to be absolutely flush with the frame of the gun ?

I disassembled the pistol and inspected it. Everything seemed to be in place and no parts were noticeably missing.
If I can't sort this out, I guess I'll be sending it off to Ruger.

Yes, it should fit flush, especially on the right side of the frame. If the hammer bushing pin drifts too far to the left it may allow the hammer to drop down on that side and cause failure of the hammer to rotate correctly, and not allow the disconnector to pop back up. If that cut-out doesn't touch the head of the hammer bushing pin, you might consider using a shim, or a build-up of epoxy filler.

 

[Dregg]

[D A Wood], thanks for the tip.

Took the pistol to the range today and had mixed results. Here's the problem......after you pull the trigger, the trigger will NOT always move all the way forward to "reset" itself.
If I manually move the trigger forward, it resets.

Is there a type of trigger return spring ?

 

[SGW Gunsmith]

[D A Wood], thanks for the tip.

Took the pistol to the range today and had mixed results. Here's the problem......after you pull the trigger, the trigger will NOT always move all the way forward to "reset" itself.
If I manually move the trigger forward, it resets.

Is there a type of trigger return spring ?

There is a trigger plunger spring in the top rear of the trigger. If the trigger plunger hole is gunked up that would restrict the disco from popping back up.

 

[Dregg]

There is a trigger plunger spring in the top rear of the trigger. If the trigger plunger hole is gunked up that would restrict the disco from popping back up.

Thanks, I will look into that. In the mean time, I ordered a hammer bushing.

 

[Dregg]

Ok, I've learned quite a bit about this little pistol.

I did a detailed dis-assembly and all the parts were there. The plunger, plunger spring....etc. While I had the whole thing apart, I also did a detailed cleaning and polished up a few parts as well. I installed a new hammer bushing so that eliminates the need to have a mag for dis-assembly/reassembly.
Pistol function checks as it should. The trigger reset seems to be positive now.
I'll have to take it to the range and give it a good workout.

Check out this channel, this guys videos helped immensely

https://www.youtube.com/user/venomcannon13/videos

 

[Dregg]

Range report: Pistol functioned flawlessly. I guess the proper cleaning and assembling of parts, along with a new hammer bushing cured the problem.

 

[Bullseye57]

While you were detail cleaning one thing you would have come across is a reddish-brown oily substance all over the internal parts of the pistol. This is a shipping lubricant/preservative placed on the pistol and its components at the factory. This substance tends to attract residue and become more viscous over time causing reset malfunctions like you experienced with your new pistol. The disconnector lever depends on the upward tension of the trigger return plunger and spring to reset on the sear. This tension is nominally only 4 to 6 ounces of upward pressure. It doesn't take much resistance to prevent the disconnector lever from raising up and resetting the sear. Any powder residue on the top of the trigger, or down in between the disconnector lever and the frame, will create enough resistance to prevent proper functioning of these components. By thoroughly cleaning out behind the lever you have reduced the drag on the lever and likely solved the problem.

Also, the top of the trigger is an area where powder residue tends to congregate after use. If this problem returns you may want to consider opening up the plunger hole on the top of the trigger slightly. I usually use a #10 (0.1935") twist drill bit for this operation, take care not to deepen the plunger hole, just open up the diameter slightly to reduce drag on the trigger return plunger from blow-by powder residue. Opening up this hole dimension allows for less friction on the return plunger after high usage. This slight modification gives you more range time between the need for deep cleanings. The plunger hole is sized originally at 0.1910" and the #10 bit is the just next size diameter larger.

Hope this helps.

R,
Bullseye

 

[SGW Gunsmith]

While you were detail cleaning one thing you would have come across is a reddish-brown oily substance all over the internal parts of the pistol. This is a shipping lubricant/preservative placed on the pistol and its components at the factory. This substance tends to attract residue and become more viscous over time causing reset malfunctions like you experienced with your new pistol. The disconnector lever depends on the upward tension of the trigger return plunger and spring to reset on the sear. This tension is nominally only 4 to 6 ounces of upward pressure. It doesn't take much resistance to prevent the disconnector lever from raising up and resetting the sear. Any powder residue on the top of the trigger, or down in between the disconnector lever and the frame, will create enough resistance to prevent proper functioning of these components. By thoroughly cleaning out behind the lever you have reduced the drag on the lever and likely solved the problem.

Also, the top of the trigger is an area where powder residue tends to congregate after use. If this problem returns you may want to consider opening up the plunger hole on the top of the trigger slightly. I usually use a #10 (0.1935") twist drill bit for this operation, take care not to deepen the plunger hole, just open up the diameter slightly to reduce drag on the trigger return plunger from blow-by powder residue. Opening up this hole dimension allows for less friction on the return plunger after high usage. This slight modification gives you more range time between the need for deep cleanings. The plunger hole is sized originally at 0.1910" and the #10 bit is the just next size diameter larger.

Hope this helps.

R,
Bullseye

Wouldn't it be wonderful if that were the case. The trigger plunger and spring hole have tolerances involved with the manufacturing (drilling) of that hole diameter at Ruger. A drill is a roughing tool, so that hole will hardly ever be precisely at the mentioned 0.1910-inch diameter. I currently have 26 Ruger factory triggers in a drawer where my customers didn't want those back after I replaced them with a Clark or VQ trigger. The plunger and spring hole diameters for these triggers run from 0.188 to 0.204, so using a #10 drill in around half of these trigger, you'll only cut air. Then, if you do make the plunger hole bigger it only makes room for more gunk and other debris to enter. I would recommend that the plunger be highly polished, and if you can get there, with a mirror finish. Gunk has a tough time sticking to a slick and polished surface. Or, get or make, yourself a "blast shield" that goes over those trigger parts and works to keep all that crapola outta there. There's a fella over on Rimfire Central who sells these blast shields, or you can make them yourself from an aluminum beverage can. They work very well, but there's no real, sure fire method, that will keep you from doing a periodic cleaning of your pistol. :mrgreen:

 

[Bullseye57]

We'll just disagree and leave it at that.

R,
Bullseye

 

[Dregg]

I'll simply stick to giving the pistol a good cleaning when it acts up.