New MkIII Target Jamming Annoying!

[Kman]

Hi guys
 
Welcome from Australia!
 
I FINALLY acquired my brand new Mk3 Target a few weeks ago after a 14 month licensing/acquisition process (DON'T go there, we have the world's most ridiculous firearm laws, ie punish the law-abiding shooters for the acts of criminals).
 
I took it to the range last week for a sight in and although I'm not the best shooter managed to get accustomed to it. I also went last night and did some more sighting in however hit some serious problems. Only about 20 rounds in, it started to not fire, as in the pin would not drop. I'd drop the mag, pull the slide back and eject the round. Then go back to reload, drop the slide and shoot. Sometimes it would shoot again but it would happen a few rounds later; but several times it wouldn't even shoot again. Thought it was the ammo, tried some new rounds, still the same problem. Seemed to be happening on the 3rd round of each set of 5.
 
I've always been a little confused with the Safety mechanism and was wondering if my sequence was affecting it; I wasn't putting Safety "on" before dropping the magazine out and ejecting the round. I started doing this and most of the time it was working. I did however find the tips of my rounds (CCI Standard .22LR) rubbing off in the magazine, and there seemed to be some in the chamber.
 
I just wanted to make sure I haven't damaged any of the mechanism, seeing that this is my first handgun and I'm still learning a great deal. I haven't field stripped it yet and am not too keen on doing it, as they are rumoured to be a pain! I was also looking at dropping the Volquartsen trigger kit in, or at least the quick strip kit I saw, but the trigger kits are quite costly to get shipped here, and apparently no dealer will ship the quick strip kit here; if you know of one who will ship internationally please let me know! Other than that some new grips will do nicely for now.
 
Cya

 

[james r jr]

when you say the pin would not drop, do you mean there is no click of any kind, as in the hammer falling, etc? are there any strike marks on the rounds that did not fire? i don't have any answers for you yet but maybe these questions will help you and others to solve this problem.

 

[Kman]

That's correct, no click with the trigger; it wouldn't go all the way back. And there were no pin marks in the casing.
Ta

 

[contender]

It is POSSIBLE, (just guessing here,) that your choice of ammo might be the problem. If you are using standard velocity ammo, and a new gun,, it might not be powerful enough to operate the bolt fully.
Try a different type of ammo, and make sure it is high velocity.

 

[mattsbox99]

Standard velocity works in my MKIIIs and if its feeding a new cartridge into the chamber that is more than far enough to reset the hammer.

I wouldn't mess with the quick strip kit, familiarize yourself with the pistol and it becomes really easy to take down. Read the directions and do exactly as it says and you won't get in trouble.

 

[rooger]

When my MKIII Target was new, it gave me fits too with FTE's( Failures To Eject) and assorted other malfunctions. I finally had to send it back to Ruger and when I got it back it worked much better. But I also added a Volquartzen extractor as suggested by the wise folks at this forum and that also helped. In doing my "research", I used several brands of ammo. Remington was terrible. Federal bulk worked very well. Read about "limp wristing" on the internet and how a weak grip can seemingly affect the mechanical performance of the pistol. If all else fails, you need to call Ruger for customer service. Some advice: be sure to release the bolt using the "slingshot" method described in your pistol's manual. Using the slide stop to release the bolt will wear the slide stop prematurely. For disassembly help, look at http://guntalk-online.com/detailstrip.htm There are also videos on You Tube. Good luck and keep looking to this forum for help.

 

[Bullseye57]

Sounds to me as if your disconnector is not rising up all the time. This condition is typically caused by the shipping preservative the factory sends on the pistol to prevent corrosion. Use the field stripping procedures and thoroughly clean out any lubricant inside the pistol. This will collect grit and residue and cause the pistol to malfunction in the way you've described. Pay particular attention the the long silver bar on the right side of the frame, be sure to get in behind this bar with a cloth. Once you've cleaned it all out then apply a few drops of light oil to a cloth and wipe some on the internal parts, this is all the lube you need. Reassemble and go back out to the range.

R,
Bullseye

 

[inspector 424]

my hunter had 30 rounds thru it and it did not always fire on the first trigger pull. Sent to ruger. %They found a bad disconnect and replaced it. No more problems.

 

[gfw1985]

Not being an expert, all I can do is relate personal experience. Intially I thought I had a failure to fire, which was actually a failure of trigger to reset. After the second complete cleaning and probably 100 rounds thru it, all problems have disappeared. It will now run anything I've put thru it.

 

[Kman]

Wow thanks heaps for the replies. I think I will have a go at stripping it down and cleaning it, gotta do it sometime. I'm reluctant to send it back to Ruger (or even their agent here) due to our B/S Category H laws in Oz (to possess a handgun you need to belong to a pistol club, do a minimum amount of shooters per year - no owning one for plinking/defence etc...), and in our situation you wouldn't want to be without your firearm for ages.

Thanks again

 

[meshugunner]

I've put 10's of thousands of rounds of cheap ammo through my MKIII and I can count the number of FTE's & FTFs on one hand. They have a reputation for eating anything. However, Ruger's mechanical design often depends on parts wearing against each other during use to form good mating surfaces so they can be a bit funky till broken in.

The following conditions are necessary for the hammer to drop

Safety off.
Mag fully inserted.
Hammer cocked. (Bolt has been racked)

To fire a round, there must of course be a round in the chamber. The indicator will tell you if you have successfully chamber a round.

Assuming you have all that in place, I agree with the cleaning idea. I would take an agressive solvent like acetone or carb cleaner and wash down the whole gun including the bolt. (Be sure to take the grips off first and if you have non metallic sights i.e. fiber optic keep the solven away from those. Then lubricate all the moving parts with a light gun oil.

Guns are often packed with cosmoline or some heavy gunk and who knows, on the trip to Australia or during storage it might have caked up or mixed with dust.

Finally, Ruger Customer Service is ... well ... fantastic... just no other word for it. They are very accessible on the phone. It might be worth a call to the US if they don't have a service center in the Southern Hemisphere.

The MK xxx is a wonderful gun. It has a solid rep for ruggedness, reliability and deadly accuracy. I hope you get yours working properly. You will love it.

 

[Kman]

The MK xxx is a wonderful gun. It has a solid rep for ruggedness, reliability and deadly accuracy. I hope you get yours working properly. You will love it.

Mate can I please ask you (or others) another quick question....

I did my first strip of it this afternoon and it's gone all well - I followed the videos on the Ruger website. No problems in disassembly though the bolt pin stop did need a fair whack with the plastic hammer.

BUT....

I have tried, tried and tried more to get the bolt pin back in. I've adjusted the grip and receiver ever so slightly by tapping so the holes align - and then checking it by putting the stop through. But as soon as I put the bolt back in and slide the pin through, it just won't go through the top of the receiver.

The user manual says a gentle tap may be required so I did that and actually got it up through the receiver, but when I went to fold the spring housing back in it just kept falling out. Do I need to give it a good whack to put it through or have I messed with the bolt or done something else catastrophic? I just can't get it to stay in.

Thanks for your help
k

 

[contender]

Ok mate,,, go back & re-read the manuel. It sounds as if you are not getting the hammer strut in it's proper place. Of all the MK series guns, the MKIII seems to be the one where most folks have issues reassembling them. ALso, there are some links in our archives here, and several videos on the net to help in reassembly.
DO NOT APPLY FORCE in reassembly or it will get a trip back to Ruger.

 

[james r jr]

here is a good video for you. hope it helps.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opNMCQ_sqwo

 

[meshugunner]

There's two kinds of problems one can encounter when replacing the bolt pin.

One is the hammer strut issue that contender mentions. The pin goes in fairly easy but stops short even tapping with a mallet. If you try close the mainspring assy, it will pry the bolt out of the hole. Here the hammer strut has fallen all the way backwards and got itself in the way of that square hook on the main spring assy that is supposed to hook on to the bottom of the reciever as the main spring assy closes.

The other is an alignment problem that occurs mostly when the gun is new and the fit is very stiff. It can be very tough to get the holes properly aligned. Take out the bolt and insert the bolt pin from the top (yes upside down) and see if it will go all the way in. If not, get a 5/16" ( 8mm) drill bit and tap in the non cutting end to align the receiver with the grip frame.

Once you have the parts aligned and the bolt in place, the bolt pin can still sometimes snag when trying to push past the the half moon clip at the end of the recoil spring guide rod. Reach in from the top with a small screwdriver to push the recoil spring clip thingy back a bit.

Once you've got the bolt pin properly inserted, the next issue is to get the hammer strut in the right position. This is what all the videos discuss.

I had a very tough time with mine at first. The parts were very stiff to move and I wasn't sure what I was doing. Was it not going together because it's new and needs a good smack or is something not right. Now I can strip and reassemble the pistol quickly with a minimum of fussing.

I know people who never strip their MK III s. They just spray in through the port and then run a snake through the barrel. It's to the gun's credit that it will work well even with such poor maintenance.

 

[Kman]

The other is an alignment problem that occurs mostly when the gun is new and the fit is very stiff.

Hi guys

OK well I spent about half an hour last night and now tonight trying to get it back in; I was having some trouble getting it through the recoil spring guide rod bit. To help I got a ballpoint pen casing (which is the same diameter as the pin) to help get the bolt through.

Well I can get the bolt through and it clicks into the top of the receiver. But when I go to bend the mainspring housing down, the pin starts to fall back out, and I'm back to square one. The housing won't go in by only 1mm (1/32"??), so I must be very close with the pin.

Am trying not to apply too much pressure; I think there are still some alignment problems though I might strip the whole thing back later this week - shooting was supposed to be tonight
Also am hoping to dear heaven I haven't damaged anything in the process.

Cya

 

[james r jr]

sounds like your hammer is in the cocked position. it needs to be in the uncocked position and on a Mark III this will require the mag to be in the gun so you can release the hammer from the sear [ uncock the hammer ]. then make sure the strut is dangling toward the rear opening in the grip where the main spring housing goes. hope this helps. you will know if you have done all of this right when you try to close the main spring housing, you will have a little resistance [ spring tension ] about 1/4" before it is completely in the grip opening.

 

[Bullseye57]

Make sure your hammer is in the "fully" forward position. It can appear up but not quite all the way forward. You should use a tool to push the hammer further while holding the trigger rearwards. The tool can be anything long enough to move the hammer forward a pencil, a punch, or an Allen wrench. When the bolt stop is getting pushed back out of the receiver this is generally the reason. All looks good but it isn't completely forward for the mainspring to close properly.

R,
Bullseye

 

[Kman]

Make sure your hammer is in the "fully" forward position.
R,
Bullseye

Yep, that did it! I didn't have it "fully" forward; after that, mainspring went back in fine as instructed by the manual. Ran a few dummy rounds through (no shooting until the range thanks stupid gun laws) it and seems fine.

So thanks one and all for your tips.

K

 

[Bullseye57]

Hopefully all will go well with your new gun when you do eventually make it out to the range. I know you folks down under have some very different laws when it comes to firearms and what can be done on Sundays.

R,
Bullseye