Ruger 22/45 MKIII misfires: crappy ammo or something worn out?

[RecoilRob]

The chamber opposite where the firing pin strikes might be worn down enough that the rim is bending rather than getting the 'pinch' the priming needs to properly detonate. Don't exactly know an easy way to fix it if that should be the case, but if the firing pin is protruding enough and hitting with full hammer energy....there's not a lot left it can be....right?

 

[243winxb]

Oid thread warning.

What else can I check?

Rebound spring- Its to keep the inertia firing pin from setting off a round, if the gun is dropped. This spring may retard pin velocity and limit full travel forward. Removing 1 coil from the spring has fixed a misfire problem for me today.

*This is a last resort fix, as it many be dangerous, causing accidental discharges. Adjust at your own risk.*

But first check other thing..
1. Firing pin protrusion. Lay a straight edge across the bolt face. The pin nose should be a hair shorter. Dont want the pin nose contacting the barrel face.
2. The pin nose can be reshaped, making it not as wide.
3. Last, take a coil off the rebound spring. *Do so at your own risk. *


1KPerDay, did you find a fix?

 

[1KPerDay]

Have put the old bolt and guts into a new upper with a red dot installed. Still getting hangfires and duds with Federal. I had thought maybe the side of the chamber or breech face was worn on my original upper and maybe that was causing it. Nope. Stopped shooting the gun as much as it's frustrating. I may try taking a coil off the rebound spring. I've tried everything else. CCI usually works but not always.

 

[Buck13]

not a bad idear. best way to pull 22?

Drill a hole in a piece of wood that the case fits in snugly. Grab protruding bullet with pliers and twist/tilt.

 

[Dibbs]

The strikes look the same to me in person. As noted I tried ruger extractor and volq extractor with same results. Recoil spring looks fine but I'll take another close look at it.

Three things:
1. Wow, that's a beautiful gun. Love it. Are those Mica or Ivory grips?

2. Wolff makes a spring set for this gun. Since I put my Wolff springs in my
MKII, it's shot faultlessly.

3. Most 22LR autoloaders are fussy about box ammo. All mine are. It's also going to get dirty much faster than
centerfire pistols. Just the nature of the ammo. It's very sooty. IME, Federal 22 ammo
is a little sticky.

 

[CoalTrain49]

My friend has a MKIII like yours. He gave up on it and bought a new MKIV Hunter. He had problems with just about everything he ran thru it. I was able to get some of his problems solved by spreading the lips of his magazines but he still had other problems.

These aren't well made pistols IMO. I have a MKII and the difference is night and day. I'm not sure I would buy a new MK anything from Ruger. They're going to regret ever marketing that 22/45.

 

[1KPerDay]

Three things:
1. Wow, that's a beautiful gun. Love it. Are those Mica or Ivory grips?

thanks!
I think they were called vintage ivory micarta. Someone else here had a pair and I loved the look. The pistol has had a custom grip panel mod also: these are full width 1911 size panels.

2. Wolff makes a spring set for this gun. Since I put my Wolff springs in my
MKII, it's shot faultlessly.

It might come to that. But I've replaced all the relevant springs at least once with ruger or VQ parts so I'm thinking it's not a spring issue.

3. Most 22LR autoloaders are fussy about box ammo. All mine are. It's also going to get dirty much faster than
centerfire pistols. Just the nature of the ammo. It's very sooty. IME, Federal 22 ammo
is a little sticky.

I don't find it sticky; quite the contrary. Other makers' lubes are far stickier at least to the touch. However the thing that puzzles me is this ammo was exceptionally reliable in this pistol for over 10K rounds. Then I started having problems, which started me on this apparently fruitless journey.

 

[1KPerDay]

My friend has a MKIII like yours. He gave up on it and bought a new MKIV Hunter. He had problems with just about everything he ran thru it. I was able to get some of his problems solved by spreading the lips of his magazines but he still had other problems.

These aren't well made pistols IMO. I have a MKII and the difference is night and day. I'm not sure I would buy a new MK anything from Ruger. They're going to regret ever marketing that 22/45.

I love this thing and don't plan on buying a MKIV ever, but things change.

Up until recently this was the most reliable pistol I've ever owned. Fed every single type of .22 I tried flawlessly. Even stuff I can't shove into the cylinder of my single six... works fine in my MKIII. Feeding is not and has never been an issue. Ignition of late is. As noted this pistol went 10K rounds with maybe 2 misfires/malfunctions and that was without detail cleaning. And lots of it with a broken rebound spring. Reliability is not something I am dissatisfied with until lately. I could just say well I wore it out and I sure as heck got my money's worth out of it, but it puzzles me why it stopped igniting every round reliably. And I don't like not being able to solve puzzles.

 

[Kookla]

Dumb question if you didn't mind- do you still have all of the original parts? Maybe you can try swapping out some of the aftermarket parts for the oem ones and see how that goes?

You remind me of my dad- very patient man who has lots of resolve to figure out stuff.

 

[1KPerDay]

Dumb question if you didn't mind- do you still have all of the original parts? Maybe you can try swapping out some of the aftermarket parts for the oem ones and see how that goes?

You remind me of my dad- very patient man who has lots of resolve to figure out stuff.

Yes I do. The only ones I haven't tried putting back in are the magazine disconnect safety and guts, because it's pointless and I hate it and the Clark bushing is now in its place, and that sucker is never coming out without a 2-ton press.

I think I'll try to find a MKII OEM or VQ hammer just for grins and see if it makes any difference.

What I really need is a complete lower but people really want a lot for them and ruger wouldn't sell me one (and said they don't have any MKIII 22/45 frames at all).

 

[Dibbs]

Maybe "sticky" was a poor choice of words. Federal has a bit of a rep for crap 22 ammo.

 

[1KPerDay]

Ah. Yeah, I would have disagreed with you until recently. Federal was my Go-to after CCI for a long time. Now I'm having to readjust my opinion a little.

 

[243winxb]

The red marked area of the recoil spring , should not contact the top of the firing pin. Mine does not.

Not sure if it could be a problem area?

 

[1KPerDay]

thanks, I'll check it out

 

[Got_Lead?]

Hi 1K,
I saw your post a few days ago, and wanted to respond with a few photos, but Christmas kind of got in the way. I had the same experience with a Henry survival rifle (AR-7). The rifle wasn't feeding properly and shaving lead, so I chamfered the mouth of the chamber a bit. That solved the feeding problem, but then I started having a lot of misfires. I reshaped the firing pin, and recessed the pin slot to let it go farther forward. (In 20/20 hindsight, I don't recommend recessing the pin stop), I also bent the hammer spring to increase tension for a harder hit. The cases all had good dents in them, but I still had misfires. I finally faced the breech of the barrel, removing most of the chamfer, and that fixed the problem. Looking at the photo you posted, the chamfer on your chamber is pretty significant, much more than any .22 LR I have seen. When you consider where the priming mixture is on a .22 LR, you don't have much room to work with. If the head of the case under the priming mixture isn't directly supported by the chamber mouth, even a good hit doesn't seem to always ignite it. It's my guess that's your problem, you might call Ruger and have them take a look at the pistol.

 

[1KPerDay]

Thanks for the ideas. However the problem persists with a new upper (same bolt/guts/lower). So I'm doubtful the chamber or chamfer is the primary problem.