Help - Ruger mark III reassembly fouled up

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normbro
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Help - Ruger mark III reassembly fouled up

Post by normbro » Sun Jun 18, 2006 5:17 pm

:o
I managed to lockup my pistol. After cleaning it and disassembling it a couple of times I thought I knew how to put it back together.

I reassembled my ruger mark III incorrectly. After cleaning, I reassembled the pistol, but the bolt only opens about halfway before it stops.
I opened the mainspring latch, but it won't swing open. It feels like it is binded and I can't take it apart to reassemble it correctly.

Is there a way to take it apart without sending it back to ruger?

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Bullseye
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Post by Bullseye » Sun Jun 18, 2006 5:50 pm

Yes there is a way to take it back apart. What has happened is your hammer is not all the way forward when you are trying to disassemble the pistol. The hammer strut is causing the mainspring housing to get stuck when trying to remove the assembly. Insert an empty magazine into your pistol and squeeze the trigger. While holding the pistol muzzle down, keep the trigger squeezed fully to the rear and try removing the mainspring housing. NOTE- You cannot remove the mainspring housing in a 22/45 with a magazine inserted, the latch won't release and clear the frame.

If it still won't release then here's a next step. You want to get a block of wood (piece of 2X4 stud) and set it on the floor or a hard surface. You will next take the pistol, insert an empty magazine again, squeeze the trigger and hold it, then tap the pistol firmly on the barrel muzzle end onto the block of wood. This should cause the hammer to move fully forward and release the mainspring housing. Try removing the mainspring housing again.

Lastly, there's a manual way to release the sear in a Mark II/III pistol. You'll need a scribe or another small metal tool to manually release the sear. A long flat bladed screwdriver to press the Mark III magazine disconnect safety lever, to release the sear. First remove the grips on your Mark III pistol. Insert the long flat blade screwdriver and depress the magazine safety lever to release the sear. Next reach in and hook the sear with the scribe and pull downwards to release the sear. Here's a picture of the process.

Image

Once the sear has been manually released, the mainspring housing can be fully removed and the pistol reassembled again. Be sure that the hammer is in the FULL forward position prior to inserting and closing the mainspring housing. One way is to use a metal tool to push the hammer forwards like in step #6 of this fieldstrip procedure: http://www.guntalk-online.com/fsprocedures.htm

Hope this helps. One of these steps will work for you.

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normbro
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Thanks!

Post by normbro » Mon Jun 19, 2006 5:28 pm

:D

Step 2 worked. As soon as I swung open the mainspring assembly, I could see that the hammer strut was Behind the crosspin. I thought I was looking at the strut when I closed the mainspring yesterday, I must have imagined it or wiggled it and lost the position.

Too bad I was messing with it just before I was going to shoot some silhouette.

I see you are a Distinguished pistol shot. I got mine a few years ago for highpower rifle.

I really appreciate your time in helping me. Thanks a bunch!

Norm

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Post by Bullseye » Mon Jun 19, 2006 8:58 pm

Hi Norm,

You're very welcome; happy I could be of some assistance. That hammer strut can slip off the mainspring cap just before the housing is fully closed. The good news is now that you know what's happening you won't miss any opportunities to go out and shoot again.

Yes, I'm actually Distinguished in both, rifle and pistol. Pistol was my first passion and I worked at highpower rifle pretty hard. It was a piece of cake once I got the hang of all the little particulars. I compete in both areas, not many folks who are equally adept with either shooting platform.

Good Shooting.

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greener

Mark III Lockup

Post by greener » Sat Jul 08, 2006 9:48 pm

If you followed the Mark III manual, you inserted the mainspring with the barrel pointing down and then closed the mainspring. Follow this up to the point that the the housing stop bolt is fully inserted and the mainspring is almost fully inserted, then tilt the barrel up to allow the hammer strut to fall into the groove in the mainspring. See http://www.guntalk-online.com/fsprocedures.htm

Tried it this afternoon and it worked like a dream.

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Post by Bullseye » Sun Jul 09, 2006 9:41 am

I'm glad you found that maintenance procedure helpful for reassembly. If there's other procedures you'd like to see incorporated onto the Mark III maintenance pages, then post a request for an addition and I'll put together a step-by-step description and post it on the webpage.

Welcome to Guntalk!

R,
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