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I told a friend today I would ask the forum about an issue he is having with his Ruger Mark lll Hunter. I think the problem may have started after he cleaned the gun a short time ago, but he thought it might have happened even before he cleaned it, he wasn't sure. The problem is this: the last round shot from the magazine sometimes fails to keep the bolt locked open (action open). I caught this after he finished shooting when the bolt was in the "ready to fire the next round position" and he set his gun down. I told him to "be careful that a round was still in the gun". He said "no it isn't, the bolt doesn't always stay locked open after firing a complete magazine".
With all the knowledge in here I thought you folks could help with possibilities. This was the ammo he was shooting, so it looks like there is plenty of pop to the ammo to fully cycle the action?
Winchester 22 LR 36gr Copper Plated Hollow Point. 1280 fps. 333/box
Haka

If this only happens with one of his magazines then the button may be dragging and not rising up quickly enough to latch the bolt open during the cycle.

If this happens with any mag then there's two possibilities, one is a worn bolt stop latch lever, the other is a dirt and grit in the frame causing the bolt stop parts to drag and miss the latching time. The bolt stop lever should have a nice flat edge up front to catch the bolt. Some folks release the latch like a 1911 instead of pulling the bolt rearward and slingshotting it. This causes the bolt stop latch to quickly wear and then it won't hold the bolt open. If the lever feels sticky or gritty then it needs a detailed cleaning to get any residue out from behind it and allow for proper operation.

R,
Bullseye

Inre of the good advice you mention, the gun is very new (one month), and he said he had just cleaned it? I don't imagine there is much wear at all on the gun, being so new.
I also told him to join up in this forum, as it would benefit him well. He's a pretty nice ole guy that would be a plus to the forum.
H

If he had just cleaned the gun the for the first time, it may be gummed up. He needs to detail clean the gun to remove all of the oil put on to keep it from rusting during storage. Needs to take the mags apart and clean too. Then the problem may go away. Like Bullseye said the mag needs to push up the mag catch lever.

Thanks guys for your help, much appreciated. I'd like to have the gun before me to see if I could fix it. I'll pass on the good info to him.
thanks again, Haka

1 - Cleaning sometimes moves around crap rather than removing it (and a detail cleaning couldn't hurt)
2 - Ruger has had issues lately with leaving burrs, perhaps the bolt latch is being impeded by one
3 - Swapping ammo and/or magazines is always the first step in troubleshooting, try out some mini-mags or Federal 550, or anything that doesn't have the words "Remington" and "rimfire" on the box at the same time.

If he shot it before deep cleaning, I'd put my money on Ruger's shipping preservative and that it has attracted grit and residue behind the bolt stop levers slowing them down just a little but enough to mess with the timing of the bolt catch.

R,
Bullseye

I'll have to have a chat with him next time I see him, and get a little more in-depth about the problem.
thanks, haka

ps.......I hear a lot of belly aching about Remingtom 22lr ammo. My favorite 22 ammo is the CCI standard and HV depending on the situation. It's a little more expensive, but it works when I pull the trigger. Lately, I've been using
Federal 550 bulk which seems to agree with my Ruger.

Don't get me started about Remmington rimfire ammo, my views on this brand have been quite clear and consistent over the years.

R,
Bullseye

The only Remington Rimfire I ever pick up is the "C-Bee" round when I can't find CB shorts or other quiet rounds for plinking with my Henry ... beyond that I've had so many bad experiences with Remington Rimfire that I steer clear.

9 of 50 failures to ignite primer in a box of .22mag (multiple strikes in a NAA, it may be tiny but it leaves BIG primer dents on the rim)
dirty nasty residue and bad failure rates with golden bullets
overpriced plinking ammo always on the shelf because everyone else knows better
.22LR bullets freely spinning in their cases, some loose enough to remove by hand

Winchester has left me disappointed and annoyed a few times as well, so generally I buy my rimfires from the Federal/CCI product lines, and stock up whenever I can.

I've had pretty good luck with Winchester, Federal and CCI ammo. They seem to go through all my rimfire guns without any significant problem level. Remington ammo has been a different story. My experiences have been less than positive and the only way I'd buy it is when I couldn't get anything else.

My Hunter had intermittent trouble with the bolt staying open on one mag. I couldn't find the cause. I cleaned the magazine and the pistol 2-3 times and still had the problem. It didn't happen with the other mag. Since it wasn't a serious problem I kept shooting with the "defective" mag. After a while the problem went away.

My $$ would go to Grime and Goo under the bolt stop, try cleaning and lubing.....if that doesnt work maybe there is a burr on it somewhere and some polishing may clear it up...or its the mag. some times there are gremilins