Mark III Owners - Tips & Tricks

OlMansRuger · Post by **OlMansRuger** » Sun Apr 10, 2011 9:11 am

"The devil's in the details"

As a new M3 22/45 owner, there are a few things I wish I'd known about before I experienced problems. I'm hoping this thread will detail those so that new owners will be aware of these "issues" and deal with them before they hamper the pistol's operation.

Stovepipes / FTE

There can be a few issues that can cause stovepipes and Failure To Eject

LCI
if you don't remove the metal tab, make sure you take the assembly out of the barrel and clean it. Failing to do so can lead to the "Ruger Stove pipe"

The LCI can cause stovepipes if it gets gummed up. If kept clean it does not cause any issues. But you must remove it in order to clean it. Just spraying it with solvent cleaners just gum it up, so you need to keep solvents away from it.

Magazine / Ejector Clearance
http://www.guntalk-online.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=18
This thread details the problem and how to fix it

Lock tite is your friend
My front sight will often work it's way loose.
The rear sight has also drifted out. I saw a good suggestion about putting a small dimple in the barrel for the rear sight set screw to seat in, so that it can't drift again.

If you've installed an aftermarket trigger, once you properly set your travel screws, locktite them

22/45
The mag or grip may have to be slightly modified for the mags to seat properly without having to give a fairly forceful 'tap'. I shaved a very small amount off the back of the grip and now both mags seat much easier

Lubrication
~ Apply some lubrication to the hook and socket, the receiver / frame connection. Makes it easier to disassemble / reassemble, and reduces wear to keep things snug. I use ordinary white lithium grease on a swab, any lube better than dry.

I added a drop of oil to the plunger (where the hammer strut goes) on the Main Spring housing. I only do this ever 5k-10k rounds.

I also use grease on the front mounding lug. On SS guns it helps prevent galling.

Tools
if you don't have a brass hammer and a set of brass punches, get them, they aren't expensive. Wooden dowels/pins for gun-work are available at your local chinese eatery (save a buck where you can!).

Rubber mallet for receiver/frame seperation

Misc
If you ever launched small parts that are spring loaded, working inside a clear plastic bag will help restrict there range of travel

Please share your tips and tricks....

ruger22 · Post by **ruger22** » Sun Apr 10, 2011 1:27 pm

I'll add one that I do to the list. Apply some lubrication to the hook and socket, the receiver / frame connection. Makes it easier to disassemble / reassemble, and reduces wear to keep things snug. I use ordinary white lithium grease on a swab, any lube better than dry.

greener · Post by **greener** » Sun Apr 10, 2011 1:30 pm

LCI
if you don't remove the metal tab, make sure you take the assembly out of the barrel and clean it. Failing to do so can lead to the "Ruger Stove pipe"

I don't think I've heard of that one before. The LCI does collect a lot of gunk that needs cleaning when you clean the pistol. The early MKIII's had metal LCI's, which could result in an accidental discharge if the pistol was dropped. They should be removed. If you are having stovepipe problems, you might want to replace the extractor with a VQ exact edge.[/code]

ruger22 · Post by **ruger22** » Sun Apr 10, 2011 1:38 pm

I don't know about not cleaning it leading to stovepipes. I know before I replaced mine with the plug, the complete LCI was causing stovepipes, because they stopped once it was gone.

blue68f100 · Post by **blue68f100** » Sun Apr 10, 2011 3:05 pm

The LCI can cause stovepipes if it gets gummed up. If kept clean it does not cause any issues. But you must remove it in order to clean it. Just spraying it with solvent cleaners just gum it up, so you need to keep solvents away from it.

I added a drop of oil to the plunger (where the hammer strut goes) on the Main Spring housing. I only do this ever 5k-10k rounds.

I also use grease on the front mounding lug. On SS guns it helps prevent galling.

If you ever launched small parts that are spring loaded, working inside a clear plastic bag will help restrict there range of travel.

OlMansRuger · Post by **OlMansRuger** » Sun Apr 10, 2011 4:30 pm

"The LCI can cause stovepipes if it gets gummed up. If kept clean it does not cause any issues. But you must remove it in order to clean it. Just spraying it with solvent cleaners just gum it up, so you need to keep solvents away from it."

I can't say with 100% certainty yet, but i know i was just spraying it heavily with CLP and using a stiff piece of paper to clean between the receiver and the plastic tab., as well as trying to get on both sides of the metal tab.

After a bit over 2k rounds (cleaning after each session, but never removing the LCI), i had a pretty bad weekend with SP's (at least 1 per mag). Was driving me crazy, until i tried to move the LCI. Talk about gritty and tough to move. Also tried to chamber a shell and it had a hard time pushing the LCI out of the way. Also had a hard time extracting it.

"If you are having stovepipe problems, you might want to replace the extractor with a VQ exact edge"

I hope this isn't bad advice, but I'd ensure the LCI was clean before going that route. I ended up doing what i could to "test" my extractor (put a case in the chamber and see how it pulled out. It's also a good time to see if the mag is sitting low enough and the case isn't getting bumped by it. Both don't seem to be an issue, so I'm fairly certain mine was from the LCI

bigfatdave · Post by **bigfatdave** » Sun Apr 10, 2011 4:44 pm

Volquartsen exact edge extractor ... order one per Ruger mk__ or 22/45, and one per 10/22.

lube ... less is better, experiment with oil/grease/teflon oil to find the happy balance.

tools ... if you don't have a brass hammer and a set of brass punches, get them, they aren't expensive. Wooden dowels/pins for gun-work are available at your local chinese eatery (save a buck where you can!).

LCI - dump the whole thing, it does nothing for you and having an object in the feed/extraction path of rounds cycling through is dumb.

lost bits ... if you forgot to work in a bag/box, an altoids tin full of rare-earth magnets will help you find whatever just launched, sometimes. A clean vacuum and a magnet to sift the crap you pick up is the next step.

magazines ... clean 'em once in a while! (and buy more, and buy an "ultimate cliploader")

Cabnetman · Post by **Cabnetman** » Mon Apr 11, 2011 2:35 am

I bought a new Mark III hunter. Beautiful gun and fun to shoot. Problem is that I couldn't shoot a 10 round clip with out at least a couple of stovepipe jambs. I tried all the cleaning the LCI and all that and it didn't do a thing. Found out that the problem was the clip. As the spent shell was ejecting it was catching on the clip before it reached the ejector and hence a jamb. Took a file to the clip and rounded the edges at the top and I have put ten thousand rounds thru it with no jambs. Can't believe that Ruger hasn't come up with a fix for this. Beautiful gun, accurate and fun to shoot.

By-the-way, the fix was listed here on the forum some time last summer.

OlMansRuger · Post by **OlMansRuger** » Mon Apr 11, 2011 12:15 pm

By-the-way, the fix was listed here on the forum some time last summer.

http://www.guntalk-online.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=18
This thread details the problem and how to fix it

Cabnetman · Post by **Cabnetman** » Mon Apr 11, 2011 12:25 pm

This is the site that was listed in the forum that completly solved my jamming problem. Thanks to the Bullseye's forum.

http://xavierthoughts.blogspot.com/2008 ... tweak.html

ruger22 · Post by **ruger22** » Mon Apr 11, 2011 12:29 pm

Re the Exact Edge extractor, maybe I'm just lucky? I still have my original $2.50 Ruger extractor, and after about 2K rounds, it still looks new and seems to work as well as ever. I can buy several more of them (I have three spares) for what one VQ costs.

greener · Post by **greener** » Mon Apr 11, 2011 9:19 pm

ruger22 wrote:Re the Exact Edge extractor, maybe I'm just lucky? I still have my original $2.50 Ruger extractor, and after about 2K rounds, it still looks new and seems to work as well as ever. I can buy several more of them (I have three spares) for what one VQ costs.

I haven't replaced an extractor on a Ruger (2 MKIII's, 2 MKII's, 1973 Standard) and all eject very well. Just replaced one on the new (circa 1983) 10/22 I just bought because it was giving me fits with one brand of ammo.

I've also never removed for cleaning the LCI's on my 2 MKIII's. (If they ever come out, they will go into a small baggie and not back into the gun.)

I've never had feed/extraction problems that I couldn't assign to the lube.

OlMansRuger · Post by **OlMansRuger** » Sat Jul 09, 2011 1:00 pm

finally got my pistol back from ruger with new factory parts.
first outing i had a few stove pipes and was disappointed to see that happening again.

installed the clark bushing and volq trigger - WOW what a difference. very well worth the time and money on both. ditched the lci

fired 100 mini mags and 550 federal bulk with zero issues.

minus the LCI and with the volq trigger and clark bushing this pistol is awesome!

thanks bullseye and others for the info on the site - found some good tips on properly adjusting the trigger.

Post by **Bullseye** » Sat Jul 09, 2011 4:17 pm

Be sure to use some blue Locktite on your trigger screws or they will vibrate out of position. Typically you'll experience failure to reset or failure to release the hammer if the screws change position.

R,
Bullseye

turkeyhunter · Post by **turkeyhunter** » Sun Jul 10, 2011 5:38 pm

Have had issues with stove piping in my Mark III Hunter Talo Special with all kinds of ammo. Even tried some of the fixes metioned here. Ruger does not like the magazine modification by the way. It has been to the factory 3 times. I even paid for the last "repair". It is going back for the fourth time tomorrow. Ruger has agreed to send me a new pistol and is also going to refund me for the shipping and labor for the last time it was in. Still had to pay for 2 new magazines though. I hope the replacement is more accurate and trouble free.

GunTalk-Online.com

Mark III Owners - Tips & Tricks

Mark III Owners - Tips & Tricks

parts upgrade = wow