MK III breech face battering

bgreenea3 · Post by **bgreenea3** » Sun Aug 21, 2011 3:35 pm

Ruger usually is more worried about keeping current customers happy so they will buy more ruger guns than trying to get every little dime out of current customers. They've sent me out springs and small parts for my gp100 before at no cost even though it was my fault I lost them. I wouldn't worry about them doing you wrong they would probably put on a new upper and ship it back at no cost.

piasashooter · Post by **piasashooter** » Mon Oct 10, 2011 2:31 pm

Georgezilla, have you heard anything from Ruger or got your gun back yet, I was just wondering since you mentioned in another post that you had also been waiting a while on getting your gun back. I'm still waiting.

Georgezilla · Post by **Georgezilla** » Fri Oct 14, 2011 12:51 am

I am sorry to hear that you have are still waiting, as of a few days ago. I remember reading that you wanted your pistol back for a then upcoming league, which must be underway now. I hope one of your fellow shooters is letting you borrow one of their pistols so that you are still able to participate.

I have indeed heard back from Ruger. I'm not going to blast Ruger too much, but I will say I have had a couple issues with my experience with them. All of the people I have dealt with at Ruger during this process are very friendly, but they were unreliable in getting the information to me like they told me they would.

After having the pistol for 30 business days, they told me the breech had "normal wear" and they would not be replacing it... Also, they didn't even call me and tell me that, I had to find out by talking to several people. I asked for someone to explain to me how that is "normal wear" for the round count, and I brought up the issues Bullseye mentioned. The service rep I was talking to put me on hold and, I assume, passed on the issues I brought up to her manager. When she came back on the phone she immediately said to disregard the earlier determination and that Ruger would be replacing the barrel and receiver assembly at no charge. So overall that was painless and I did not have to battle them.

Ruger said they would be shipping it out to my FFL at the end of the week. I don't want to speak too soon, but it appears that Ruger made good on this. I am still disappointed that I lost a significant amount of time during this ordeal, mostly spent on hold, and that even though they are replacing the defective part, I still lost over $100. $100 is almost 25% of the next acquisition I want to make. But in the end, manufacturing defects happen, I am just grateful I had GTOL as a resource to help me determine the defect.

Post by **Bullseye** » Fri Oct 14, 2011 1:18 am

Good to hear that this situation is apparently working out for you. Being persistent with them pays off in the end.

R,
Bullseye

Georgezilla · Post by **Georgezilla** » Fri Oct 14, 2011 11:20 pm

True to the estimate Ruger gave me, they shipped the pistol today. Despite the minor hiccups I experienced with the process, Ruger stood by their product and I will continue to patronize them for years to come.

piasashooter · Post by **piasashooter** » Sat Oct 15, 2011 9:40 pm

Glad to here they did end up replacing it for you. I got an email today stating that my gun has been shipped to my FFL. So I will finally have it back after about 35 business days. About double the amount of time that I was told it should take. I understand things happen and they can't predict exactly how long it will take, but the person I spoke to made it sound like 15 days at the most and probably faster. Also, until I see my gun I can't say for sure, but I was told over the phone that my frame was not replaced, which really doesn't make sense to me because after sending the pictures to Ruger, they were the ones eager for me to send it to them because they said the frame should not do that. I'm really not to impressed with Ruger service, my experience doesn't seem to reflect all the great talk about Ruger service and repairs.

Georgezilla · Post by **Georgezilla** » Sat Oct 15, 2011 10:45 pm

At least the both of us know that we didn't get any "special treatment" in regards to the turn around time.

Do you know what they did to your pistol? They sent me a PDF invoice stating what was replaced and how many rounds were ran through it.

greener · Post by **greener** » Sun Oct 16, 2011 8:48 am

Did you guys specifically ask for an update? The only way I knew my LC9 had been returned to me was the UPS delivery note in the door.

Georgezilla · Post by **Georgezilla** » Sun Oct 16, 2011 1:27 pm

Greener, I did ask them for an email update when it ships out. They were reluctant and said that sending an email is not their policy, but they would try.

piasashooter · Post by **piasashooter** » Mon Oct 17, 2011 12:37 am

I know for sure that they replaced the barrel/receiver, because I had to give them the address of the FFL I wanted it shipped to. I still don't really know why they replaced the upper on the gun, it did have breech face battering like your gun did, but that would be the only reason I can think of. Also I got an email that looked like a copy of the work order for the gun, it also said how many round were test fired through it, 30 or 40 rounds I think. According to the woman I spoke with, if the gun was shipped this week, it should arrive at my FFL on Monday. I am wondering, Illinois has a 72 hour waiting period on pistol purchases, anyone know if that applies to my situation, because the serial number did change?

blue68f100 · Post by **blue68f100** » Mon Oct 17, 2011 8:36 am

I don't know the laws on Illinois but technically it was not a purchase. Your gun was in for service and repaired.

Post by **Bullseye** » Mon Oct 17, 2011 4:22 pm

It is easier to replace the barrel/receiver than just the barrel alone. The indexing process is automated on the production line which takes far less time than removing and hand fitting a new barrel.

R,
Bullseye

Diabolus · Post by **Diabolus** » Mon Jan 09, 2012 10:09 pm

I was inspecting my MKIII Hunter just last night and noticed the severe damage to the breach face. When I searched on line I was relieved to find this thread and what had transpired.

I have less than 1k rounds through my MKIII and the breach face is heavily damaged. I was having extraction issues and just thought the gun was dirty, but it is more than likely the issue that has been previously discussed.

Ruger was contacted this morning and I was advised to send pictures to the technician. Others were taken care of in this thread so I hope they take care of me as well.

One important question remains though. I purchased Volquartsen sights and the accurizing kit they sell, it was also installed by them. If Ruger requests that I send in my firearm, what are they going to do with my parts if it gets replaced?

My pics aren't as good as the original poster, but it's the exact same damage. The guide rod is in the way of the damage behind it, but its almost identical.

Anyone have an idea what causes this, especially with such a low round count?

Georgezilla · Post by **Georgezilla** » Tue Jan 10, 2012 1:12 am

Diabolus, welcome to GTOL! Glad this topic could be of service to you.

First, if you ever send any pistol to Ruger, remove all aftermarket parts from the pistol and replace them with the factory parts. If not, Ruger will replace all of your aftermarket parts with factory ones and you will be charged in most cases. I understand that you did not install the parts, so removing them may seem daunting, but Bullseye has great instructions on detail stripping these pistols. If you use those for reference you should be fine. Removing the rear sight shouldn't be too hard either, just remember to remove the elevation screw, flip the sight up, and loosen the set screws. After you loosen the set screws just drift the sight out with a non-marring punch (brass) and hammer, then just pop the original back in.

Considering it's only got 1,000 rounds through it, your pistol certainly looks like it is heading the way the one I sent back Ruger was. I think contacting Ruger was indeed in order.

When the pistol was brand new, did it have any extraction issues, or did these issues only recently develop? What does the left hand side of the breech face look like? Could you remove the bolt and take another photo that shows the entire breech face?

greener · Post by **greener** » Tue Jan 10, 2012 6:24 am

As bad as the right side looks, not sure if need to see what is under the recoil spring guide rod. Looks like a call/email into Ruger and a little quality time replacing the original parts is in order.