New MK III Reassembly

[t dub]

I just bought a MK III target in SS. brought it home, stripped it and cleaned out shipping gunk, including magazines. The manual stated to place the barrel receiver back on the frame and push rearward until it stops, use plastic or wooden mallet if needed. I pushed it back and was not sure of alignment so i gave it a couple of taps with a small plastic face mallet. When trying to install the bolt stop, I found that I was over-traveled to the rear with the barrel receiver and had to realign it forward on the frame. Is this common? Anyone else experienced this? Have I damaged anything?

I haven't had a chance to get to the range yet to try it out.

 

[RUT]

Aligning the holes is probably the biggest problem when trying to reassemble the MKlll. Someone on one of these forums made a suggestion that seems to work great. That is, to insert the bolt stop pin from the top, then gently tap the barrel rearward (while applying slight pressure to said pin) until it seats itself fully. Then, remove the pin and insert it from the bottom in the normal manner. All I can say is it works for me.

 

[t dub]

:lol: Thanks RUT, that sounds like a great idea. I'll try it next time I break it down.

 

[Mobuck]

I have a slave pin to align the upper and lower holes w/o the bolt in place when reassembling.
On my pistols the front socket is somewhat tapered so forcing the upper too far back may cause the joint to loosen prematurely.

 

[Donaldjr1969]

One thing you will find out is after several disassembly and reassembly cycles, that bolt stop pin will not be quite so tight and alignment will not be quite so persnickety. That's not to say that the barrel to grip frame fit becomes sloppy. It's just that after doing it a few times, it is easier to snap things in place.