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My new Ruger Markiii 22/45 has severe FTF and FTE problems. Sometimes there's a stuck round in the chamber from every magazine. The round hits on the top edge of the feed port and since it's too high it gets bent like a banana. When this happens I pull the mag out and pull the bolt back clearing the chamber. I've tried polishing the feed ramp and have tried Winchester and Federal hollow points. Has the LCI (loaded chamber indicator) been a possible culprit? I have 6 mags for it and it seems it does it on all of them. So far there's been about 500 rounds fired and maybe 40 of them jammed the gun. I have read that many others are experiencing this type of problem. Has anyone found the reason why and a cure?

stevet1 wrote:My new Ruger Markiii 22/45 has severe FTF and FTE problems. Sometimes there's a stuck round in the chamber from every magazine. The round hits on the top edge of the feed port and since it's too high it gets bent like a banana. When this happens I pull the mag out and pull the bolt back clearing the chamber. I've tried polishing the feed ramp and have tried Winchester and Federal hollow points. Has the LCI (loaded chamber indicator) been a possible culprit? I have 6 mags for it and it seems it does it on all of them. So far there's been about 500 rounds fired and maybe 40 of them jammed the gun. I have read that many others are experiencing this type of problem. Has anyone found the reason why and a cure?

Stop using ho;;ow points, the 40 grain round nose will feed better. The flat at the hollow point is causing the problem. Use CCT Mini Mags or Standard velocity. Mini mags will probably work the best.

I would swap ammo first (probably to CCI minimags)
Then I'd pull the LCI and see what happened
... Then I would consider modifying anything (e.g. feedramp polishing)

As the other guys have said, the first thing to do is try different ammo. .22 pistols can be very picky with ammo, and .22 ammo quality can be hit and miss as well. I agree CCI mini-mags, CCI Blazer, CCI Standard Velocity, would be a good place to start. I have a MKIII, and when the LCI was in the gun, it never caused me any problems, I broke the plastic part of it, so I replaced it with a metal filler. So see what happens with some different ammo, I really like the Blazer for a cheaper high velocity round.

Sounds like it does not like your ammo....... But should shoot them. Mine shoots every thing.

The only thing that might help is the mod to the magazine lips, to allow the bullet to release earlier. I can't find the link at the moment, maybe someone else will post it again.

I'm away from my gun and caliper or I would shoot you some measurements on the mag lips.

Welcome to Guntalk-Online Steve.

I'm suspect of the extractor claw. If it is not holding the rounds firmly against the bolt face then they can come loose and get jammed into the breech face like you've described. There is another other factor to look at too. This would be the LCI's metal tab. It can knock the round off of the extractor during chambering. You can remove it and see if the tab is causing the misfeeds. Otherwise I would replace the factory extractor hook with one from Volquartsen. The new extractor hook should fix the problem for you.

R,
Bullseye

I have ordered the Volquartsen extractor and it should be here during the week. The LCI (loaded chamber indicator) barely sticks out when there's a round in the chamber. I noticed if you push it manually it has a lot more extension to go. There is a lot of tension on it and I can see how it could misguide one off the magazine going in. I saw that someone took out one of the springs and also where some people have taken it out all together and filled the slot with JB weld and polished it smooth. Has anyone had luck with these methods. I also though maybe the ramp hump on it could be dremeled lower. Any thoughts?
Thanks!

put the dremel down, and back away slowly, and leave the JB weld next to it. Those are permanent solutions for a problem you haven't even identified yet, you need to troubleshoot before making permanent modifications.

you can simply pull the LCI and leave the hole for troubleshooting purposes, and after that ... why fill it with anything? I'm running two mkIIIs with nothing in the LCI slot, it doesn't hurt anything. As B&OM said in the past, "there's a big gaping hole on the other side that doesn't hurt anything" (or something to that effect)

To get the LCI out, strip the gun down as for cleaning, and apply a small&strong magnet to the pin the LCI pivots on, then wiggle the LCI and pull gently. It will probably come out with surprisingly little effort. Clean up and bag the parts/pin, clean the slot it used to live in, and re-assemble the gun. If you want to re-install the LCI in the future, it isn't hard. A guy on rimfirecentral makes a cosmetic filler piece in 2-3 finishes (blued, stainless brush, and maybe chromed?) if you really want, but I've just never worked up the G.a.S. to bother.

Again:
1) Swap ammo (minimag round nose)
2)... shoot the gun and observe performance
3) Pull LCI
4) ... shoot the gun and observe performance
As needed) Post for more help or to declare success with troubleshooting report

+1 on BFD's comments, try it with the lci removed, if that doesn't work call ruger their service is excellent. I saw where one guy with a file, a vice, a hacksaw and a lot of elbow grease made a filler for the LCI out of a large stainless washer to fill the hole... or leave it empty it might be unsightly but it won't hurt nuthin.

The LCI barely sticks out on the outer surface of the pistol but on the inside it imparts friction upon the round feeding into and extracting from the chamber. The metal tab rubs against the cartridge rim and this extra friction can dislodge a case from the extractor during insertion or extraction. First replace the extractor with the new one and test the pistol. This may be all that is necessary to bring your pistol back up to top performance. Then if there's still a problem you should look toward the LCI.

R,
Bullseye

I will defer to Dr Bullseye ... if he says to change out the extractor claw, start there.

I would consider comparing the OEM & VQ parts, maybe you could find a "smoking gun"

Stevet1,
I was having the same problem with my new 22/45. First I removed the LCI chamber "finger" (essentially deactivating it) and then reinserted the LCI strip to fill the hole. Then I pulled the magazines apart and cleaned them. Reassembled the gun and haven't had a problem since!!

I've had a few extraction/feed problems when the magic lube I was trying couldn't take the cooler (45 and lower) temperatures. If the new gun hasn't been thoroughly cleaned, including mags, this could be part of the problem. One extraction problem (10/22) was immediately solved by replacing he extractor with the VQ extractor. One comparison of the extractors showed why the VQ was better.

I've got two MKIII's with LCI's as they came from the factory. I haven't had any problems I could associate with the LCI's, so I've left them as they are.

A thorough cleaning (receiver, bolt, mags) followed by a light lube and the replacement extractor should solve the problem.

Thanks to everyone for your help on the FTF/ FTE problem! It's really great when we can help each other with problems we've encountered and their solutions. I disassembled the gun and did a thorough cleaning and lubing of it and 7 mags. I replaced the extractor with a VQ one and also replaced the mag release bushing with a VQ Markii one. (should a small washer be placed between the hammer indentation and the bushing to take up that gap?) Any burrs I found during dis-assembly of the gun were polished off. In 300 firings I had only one banana shaped round. What I did experience was once in about every 50 was just a click when the trigger was pulled and the round hadn't gone up into the chamber. The bottom of all mags has about 1/32" play. Is that normal and if not is there a way to cinch that up? There is 1/16" gap between the magazine steel lip and the ejector as per Bullseye's diagram. Would rounding off the 2 forward edges of the feed lips on the mags as discussed by others help in this case?

Your magazine positioning is normal. Sounds as if the bolt is not cycling fully rearward right now and this is why you have the rare round not picked up from the magazine. You just need to shoot some more rounds through the pistol and this will go away.

You don't need any spacer between the bushing and the hammer, the wide portion of the bushing will keep everything spaced properly.

Sounds like your initial problem has been resolved with the new extractor claw. Go out and enjoy that pistol.

R,
Bullseye