My dad's probs with Ruger MK III Hunter

[The Red Hot Rider]

OK...My dad recently traded to a NEW Ruger MKIII stainless hunter model 22lr semi-auto pistol. Only a few clips into shooting, the gun started FTF/FTE. This was with both clips that came with the gun, and with any type of ammunition he used (Winchester, Remington, CCI, etc.).

He sent the gun back to Ruger, and it was returned with a note saying it was fixed and a list of what had been done to the gun. Within the first clipload, the gun was FTF/FTE again.

About two weeks after he purchased the hunter model, I purchased the target model. It eats anything I feed it without even a hiccup.

Well, I talked to him today, and he took the gun back to the shop again for the gun to be sent back to Ruger...again. However, the gun shop owner called Ruger while my dad waited. The lady on the phone asked what kind of ammo dad had been using, and he told her the various types. She said "Ruger doesn't recommend using high velocity ammunition in their guns". When dad told me this, I laughed out loud. I can't remember the last time I bought .22lr ammo that wasn't advertised as "high velocity".

What do you, my friends, know about this? Is this true that Ruger doesn't want you to use "high velocity" ammo? Have any of you personally had any problems with the Ruger MKIII hunter model? Have any of you had problems with Ruger's return/repair process?

I own several Ruger handguns and one 10/22. I also own several Taurus handguns, and I have gotten thick-skinned regarding Taurus-bashing because I have heard it so much. It's like water off of the proverbial duck's back now. BUT, I sure expected better than this from Ruger.

Hit me back with any suggestions, similiar experiences, etc.

 

[mbopp]

The reason I keep my old Mark I is that it digests anything I feed it. I save the standard velocity ammo for my Hi Standard.
Never had to use Rugers repair service.
You may want to post your questions on rimfirecentral also.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

My Mark II also digests whatever I feed it. The things I've read on various gun boards have convinced me that I don't need a Mark III.

 

[chicago guy]

My Mark III had plenty of ftf...etc when I first got it. I just kept shooting it for about 500 rounds, now nothing gives it a problem. Maybe they just have to get "broken in"?

 

[Shadow 7D]

It will smooth out, keep it lubed, and clean it, a number of the safety 'features' have been accused of adding drag and making the gun malfunction,

Check out Rimfirecentral, they have a forum dedicated to the MK series, and probably a sticky on how to fix it.

 

[J2FLAN]

MY MK111 hunter is really fussey, CCI Mini Mags or FED match is about it for that gun. I don`t think it is a magizine issue, just ammo picky.

 

[gb6491]

The user manual specifically states that "The RUGER MARK III pistol is chambered only for the .22 caliber Long Rifle cartridge, standard and high velocity, manufactured to U.S. Industry Standards."
I've heard that Ruger recommends against the use of hyper-velocity .22 Long rifle ammo.

In regards to the jams, give "Ejection/Extraction" and "Magazines" a look on this page:
http://www.guntalk-online.com/TroubleshootingPage.htm

This also might be worth a look:
http://xavierthoughts.blogspot.com/2008/10/mkii-magazine-tweak.html

It might be worth the time and money to replace the OEM extractor with a Volquartsen Exact Edge or Power Custom Sharp Claw extractor. I have the Sharp Claw in all my Ruger .22 pistols.

Regards,
Greg

 

[Utahusker]

I recently purchased a MKIII Hunter and it hasn't failed once after 500 + rounds. I've shot Federals, CCI, and will try Winchester this week since receiving some for Christmas.

You should send it back till a resolution is made.

These pistols aren't all the same out of the factory. I was lucky and got one that had a great trigger out of the box. My magazine also falls freely when released, but my wife's 22/45 doesn't have as good of a trigger or mag release. Her's does feed and eject flawlessly though and so should your father's.

 

[LightningMan]

I had a similar problem, maybe not as bad, but I could barely make it through a full 10 rd. mag. without having a FTE/FTF. Usually what would happen is the spent case would get caught between the recoil spring rod and the next round trying to go into battery. More or less a stovepipe pain in the @$$. I did the magazine tweak but it made little difference, I finally removed the metal blade on the loaded round indicator, reinstalled what remained to cover the slot/hole and the gun runs like a champ now. LM

 

[Armored farmer]

My MKII bull bbl eats everything. Can't remember when I have had a FTF/FTE.
I buy the cheapest stuff Wally has. Rem and Fed bulk.

 

[The Red Hot Rider]

Thanks for all the replies. The one that said "send it back 'til it's right" is the one that makes the most sense. He sent it back for the 2nd time yesterday, so we'll see how it cycles when he gets it back.

I truly appreciate the remarks about the "volquartsen" extractor. I am not being sarcastic. I really appreciate them. However, I agree with my father's opinion of "I'm going to send it back to them 'til it comes back right". When you buy a Ruger, you expect excellence out of the box and to not have to buy aftermarket parts to make it cycle correctly. I recently bought a Heritage Arms Rough Rider, and it did pretty well. However, I could tell that, compared to a single six, it just wasn't as sturdy of gun. So, I traded the Rough Rider to a Single Six, which is what I should have bought in the first place. I knew the single six would simply hold up better and last infinitely longer.

I see from some of the other posts that other folks have had problems with the MKIII. Like I said in my original posting, my target model MKIII eats anything. I came home from work today and shot 100+ rounds through it in the back yard without so much as a hiccup.

I really feel bad for my dad about the MKIII, and I hope he sticks to his word about sending the gun back to Ruger until it runs right. He traded a Ruger 7mm magnum rifle for the pistol because both he and I have realized that, for poor boys, the 22lr is the way to go for target practice. We reload heavy calibers in rifle and handgun, but the 22lr is still the most practical way to go for practice. It seems that the fundamentals of good shooting are the same, whether you're shooting a .22lr or a .44 magnum.

 

[gb6491]

Just out of curiosity, is Ruger covering the shipping costs?
Regards,
Greg

 

[Messenger Guard]

My best friend and shooting buddy had a horrible experience with a MKIII like you describe. Failure to feed and eject with all types of ammo. The weapon would fire once and have a dead trigger on the next shot. He sent it back twice and his frustration grew each time. After the second time back, the weapon came back with marring from being in a vise. He was so upset, he basically through force of will had Ruger send him a new Mark III. The new Mark III worked but the bad taste never left him. He traded it. We both have had positive experiences with other Rugers but I must say customer service on this one left a lot to be desired. He was patient and polite with them and they took what he both agreed was too long. The problem wasn't corrected on the first return, and it was butchered by amateurs the second time. My slab sided govt. target Mark II is a great gun and what he hoped the Mark III hunter would be. I'm afraid there has been a bad run on that gun now that I read your story.

 

[Holo]

I dont own either of these guns but have rented both from my local range. The target model ate whatever i fed it, the hunter model (also in SS) would get 2 or 3 FTE's per mag.

All i know about the MK series is they love to be oiled.

Best of luck

 

[The Red Hot Rider]

Yes, Ruger covered shipping. Well, to be honest, I am assuming they are. He has taken it back to the dealer both times, and the dealer sent it back. East KY Firearms in Pikeville, KY. They have really worked with him on getting this resolved.

 

[The Red Hot Rider]

I will keep everyone posted on the situation. It's a shame because the thing is accurate as all get-out.

 

[M1key]

"Chambered round indicator" on the MKIIIs have been the cause of jams in recent memory. I think Ruger should have ditched this device.


M

 

[Double Vision]

We put about 125 rounds through a Mk II yesterday. Some of that ammo was over 20 years old. The Ruger has no problems.

 

[Messenger Guard]

Double Vision, I believe we all feel the Mark II has no inherent problems. The Mark III Hunter is an entirely different bird. I told my buddy about this thread and he started to boil again.I'm sooooo glad I have the MkII target. A loaded chamber indicator is nonsense if one is following the commandments of gun safety.

 

[rtn]

Before sending it back to Ruger again, pull out the Loaded Chamber Indicator (see Gun-Talk online for instructions) and see how it runs. It can always be put back, and the empty slot has no effect on the gun other than looks.

 

[LightningMan]

I will add to my previous post as to why I removed the blade from that loaded chamber indicator. That blade rests against a round that is in the chamber causing it to push outward from the frame, while it may work fine when the gun is new, it doesn't take long for carbon fouling to build up around that area. This causes the chamber indicator to get gummed up and it will not move as freely as when new, or just cleaned. So I wouldn't get your hopes to high when you get the gun back from Ruger. It may work at first but chances are once it gets dirty again it will have more problems. I shoot close to a brick of ammo every weekend during the winter months, and my Ruger MKIII Hunter just plain works. LM

 

[The Red Hot Rider]

Any idea from anyone as to why it seems to predominantly be the "Hunter" MKIII models that seem to be having these problems? Like I said in my original post, I have the "Target" model with the bull barrel, and it has NO problems. As a matter of fact, he and I went out today shooting, and I shot hundreds of rounds through my Target model without a hitch.

 

[bigfatdave]

LightningMan, leaving the whole worthless assembly out does no harm, you know.
In fact, I'm reluctant to leave an inoperable feature on the gun, since I hand it off to so many new shooters. I'd rather have an empty slot than something that appears to indicate an unloaded chamber to someone who doesn't know better, of course we all would NEVER trust a flimsy mechanical device to verify the chamber clear, but who knows what a new shooter will assume if you glance away for a moment?

The Red Hot Rider, I can't diagnose your dad's pistol remotely, but you can do it in person if you're willing to build up some courage and do a detail strip per the instructions on the guntalk-online board.
You can also disable the unwanted features one at a time to troubleshoot, if you're getting failure to return to battery and failure to eject I'd suspect that silly LCI first, you can pull it with a magnet from the underside when you have the upper off the gun, there's a detailed thread over on GTO with more info.
In my opinion, the mkIII is a great target/hunting pistol that Ruger wasted some operating margin on by adding silly "safety" features some clown in the legal department wanted.
You don't need a magazine disconnect, you don't need a LCI, and you don't need an internal lock.
The first two can be disabled casually (mag. disc. needs a $10 part to delete) ... IF you're able to do a detail strip. Considering the large number of Ruger mk__ users who never clean their guns let alone detail strip them, the lack of crud tolerance in the LCI and trigger assembly of the mkIII is unbelievable.

I don't know if it is the case in your dad's gun, but I think the number of complaints about the "hunter" models is a symptom of people thinking a more expensive gun will run better than the base model. The "upgrades" you pay for with the hunter are not action-oriented, they are cosmetic and sighting improvements. The "target" models are a great middle ground for me, they have good sights, a low cost, and are compatible with drop-in parts if I want action improvements.