BFD's mkIII

[Bullseye]

How are your magazines positioned? Is there a little gap underneath the ejector pin and the rear feed lips when the mags are installed?



If there's a gap then the VQ extractor will solve the problem. If one or more of your mags are right up against the ejector pin then the new extractor may not be 100% effective. However, it will be better than what you have now.

What's happening is the case is loose on the ejector and it is striking the rear feed lip and getting knocked off the hook prior to hitting the ejector pin and being expelled out of the ejection port. This causes a dual feed jam in the breech.



The case can be sticking out of the port like this one shown or it can even turn around backwards and get jammed up underneath the recoil spring guide.

R,
Bullseye

[bigfatdave]

Well, crap, I lost a big post ... probably my fault.
Boiled down, it was:

That is exactly the ejection issue I'm having on one of two mkIII pistols, my target model is about a year old now and has stovepipe issues much less often, and the two pistols share 7 magazines and one UCL.

Upon inspection, both pistols have very little gap between mag and ejector.

Do you recommend the Xavier "mkII magazine tweak", even if the magazines don't malfunction in one pistol? I've numbered my mags and can't isolate the ejection FAIL to any particular mag.

[Bullseye]

You may have lost it, or my server host did it. I got a notice just the other day that they were changing locations and would be moving servers. They anticipated three days to move all their servers. My server wasn't on the move list but I did notice an access down time for forum access last night.

Do any of your pistols have the VQ extractor installed?

I see the Xavier Breath blog magazine tweak all the time. He just expanded on what another old MarkII.org forum member (Yzguy) did on tweaking Ruger 22 Auto magazines years ago.

Having all magazines doing this points the problem toward weak extractor claws holding the spent casings to the bolt face.

R,
Bullseye

[bigfatdave]

Do any of your pistols have the VQ extractor installed?

Not yet, I have 2 on order from VQ, it would be nice if they shipped my order one of these days, I ordered on the tenth and haven't recieved a shipping notification yet.

I'm planning on installing the VQ goodies on the more problematic mkIII first, if that doesn't solve the problem I'll think about taking a file to my magazines.

[bigfatdave]

Hammer bushing from Sam arrived, and parts from VQ as well, so it was time to tear down and rebuild a mkIII again.
The problematic 512 bull barrel was selected as the patient and I armed myself with some basic tools and Dr Bullseye's tutorials. With MrsBFD providing the third hand and instruction reading I got to work and replaced the extractor, sear, and trigger. I'd removed the LCI a few days back. For some reason I couldn't get the trigger to swing up on the disconnect lever, so I ended up with an empty frame for a bit.
After a few reassembly blunders (mostly caused by giant fingers and tiny parts) I got the pistol back together and apparently functional.

The hammer bushing deletes the silly magazine interlock and frees up the hammer nicely. Sam is easy to do business with, if you want the mag interlock to go away and aren't up to machining washers, think about ordering from him.
The target trigger is most likely overkill at this point, I am the limiting factor on my shooting for now. We'll see how it works at the range, hopefully I can get in a range trip before heading off on vacation.
The sear/trigger combination do seem to have lightened trigger and made the break more crisp.
The extractor is so obviously a superior part, and once I figured out how the old one locked in getting it swapped out was an easy three-hand operation (my vise is sadly out of commission) using a 90degree scribe.

I function tested it with an empty casing, and it seems to be 100%, now I need to get some ammo through and repeat the process with the 678 target model.

I plan on keeping the factory parts in case I ever need warranty work or to return the pistols to stock configuration, is there any issue with storing them in a baggie? I'm concerned about rust in an enclosed environment like that.
Would it be a bad idea to use paper envelopes and toss those into my safe, so a baggie isn't separating the parts from the dessicated air in the safe?

[blue68f100]

For my old parts I oil the parts and put them in a small ziplok bag. Just do a fold and staple, do not seal the bag and put it in the safe. If you have any of the treated paper used to preserve parts put it in with the bag.

I used the Clark bushing in my MKIII. Some think your suppose to sand to make it fit, which is wrong. You want a press fit to eliminate any play, so you only have one rotating point. I've heard nothing but good things about Sam's bushing, so my guess you will be pleased.

I added the pretravel mod to my MKIII yesterday, With none of the set screws accessable, I think I tore it apart 20 times before I was happy with it.

Let us know how it works, My guess is you will be happy with it and your accuracy goes up.

[bigfatdave]

For my old parts I oil the parts and put them in a small ziplok bag. Just do a fold and staple, do not seal the bag and put it in the safe. If you have any of the treated paper used to preserve parts put it in with the bag.
I used the Clark bushing in my MKIII. Some think your suppose to sand to make it fit, which is wrong. You want a press fit to eliminate any play, so you only have one rotating point. I've heard nothing but good things about Sam's bushing, so my guess you will be pleased.
I added the pretravel mod to my MKIII yesterday, With none of the set screws accessable, I think I tore it apart 20 times before I was happy with it.
Let us know how it works, My guess is you will be happy with it and your accuracy goes up.

You know, it never occurred to me that I could NOT seal a baggie ... thanks!

Sam's bushing snapped in with a wiggle, I would say it was sized perfectly, based on that. Hopefully the next one will go in as easily.

Thanks for making me feel better, I only had to tear mine down 4 times!

I'll be sure to provide a range report for my new Ruger mkII.5

[bigfatdave]

I completed installation of upgraded; hammer bushing, sear, trigger, and extractor. Also I have the LCI pulled completely.
I took my shiny and clean Ruger mkII.5 to the range and ran some ammo through it for function test. in two hours with two shooters and a UCL, we ended up putting a full Federal 550 pack through.

• Trigger pull is much improved
  Accuracy was improved
  Mags drop free
  Not a single failure of any kind in 550 rounds!

It was like I had a new and improved Ruger pistol, I was able to shoot without distractions, malfunctions, or the need for tools. I was amazed to see accuracy improve, but I was just destroying tennis balls at 15 yards, and when we moved up to 10 yards I was cutting the strings holding up the tennis balls!

I'd just like to thank Bullseye and all the other posters who offered advice and experience, it was worth the effort to get deeper into the internals, Sam's bushing and VQ parts made a huge difference in the accuracy and reliability of this gun. Now I just have to do the same to MrsBFD's mkIII, as she won't put up with me having a better target pistol than her!

[blue68f100]

Good to hear. It's always nice when a plan come together.

I have yet to test mine, I have not replaced the hammer or sear, Yet? But I did polish the sear, to 2400git. I have 4000 grit, stones to 8000 grit and 1/2 micron diamond paste if I want to get serious. I expect the same results but probably not quite as nice trigger. I don't want it to good, or I will get spoiled when I shoot my Sig229, action works by Gray Guns Inc.

Did you change the spring on the trigger plunger that pushes up on the disconnector? I know the complete kit has the replacement spring.. Lightens the trigger pull more.

Have your magazine have the mods done?

[bigfatdave]

Did you change the spring on the trigger plunger that pushes up on the disconnector? I know the complete kit has the replacement spring.. Lightens the trigger pull more.
Have your magazine have the mods done?

VQ trigger came with spring/plunger, I used the new ones.
I was almost to the point of filing mags to work with the problematic mkIII, but thankfully I did some part pulling and swapping first. Unmodified factory mkIII mags now work better in both pistols after I pulled the LCI.

[Bullseye]

It is great to hear that you are happy with the upgrades to your Ruger pistol. I'll bet you have a much better understanding on how the internals work now that you've completed these modifications.

R,
Bullseye