Ruger MK lll 22/45 feeding problem

First off, sorry if this has been brought up before.

I brought it out to the range for the first time in a while...now I remember why its been sitting in the safe.

This thing pretty much won't tolerate any kind of ammo. It jams every other 2-3 rounds. The nose of the rounds get gouged from smashing into the edge of the feed ramp. It has taken forever but I've shot enough for the gun to be broken in. Its been taken apart and cleaned several times, tried several types of ammo and mags.

Aside from just getting rid of it (which I'm about ready to do) does anyone have any ideas of what else might be wrong?

Sometimes Ruger makes something incorrectly, this gun may be an example.

Send it back to them or gun show it.

Don't "gunshow" it. Dumping a problem off on someone unsuspecting is not the way to go. Call Ruger and explain the problem. Chances are they will get you a call tag and have it shipped in.

I had a guy with a 22/45 in a CCW class the other day that was having the same issue. He was getting frustrated so I gave him one of my loaded mags and it ran perfect. He was using Winchester lead rounds (not sure which variety). The mag I gave him was loaded with Federal 36 gr. bulk pack with the copper coating.

Still don't know which it was that fixed it. Ammo, mags, or dumb luck.

Let us know what you find out.

Nothing wrong with selling off a problem gun as long as you give full disclosure to the buyer and adjust the price accordingly.

Have you tried contacting Ruger? They normally have good cumstomer service. I have a Ruger MKIII 22/45 Hunter that eats everything, never had a hiccup.

Well that's timing! I have a Mark III Hunter, IT sat in the safe for about 1 year because I couldn't stand the rear sight on it! I figured out that the rear sight on the Mark II Target and the Mark III Hunter are identical - except for the blade itself. I FINALLY found somebody that had it in stock last December and I swapped it out then.

Took it out to the range the other day, ran maybe 2 magazines - Federal 36gr hollow points - through it when it started messing up too! It would fire 2 or 3 rounds then 'click' Open the bolt, empty chamber, but it didn't strip the next round out of the mag. Let the bolt fly forward, 'click' WTF?!? We take a closer look at the next round in the magazine and realize that the tip is grooved from being jammed into the feed ramp. Drop the mag, reposition the round in it, insert the magazine, release the bolt, bang! A couple rounds later, the same thing happened. This happened in both the factory mags I had with me. Then the break through! One round jammed, the round missed the chamber and kept going, when I went to drop the mag - thinking for the moment that it was my Mark II - I grabbed the base of the mag AND IT DROPPED RIGHT OUT!!

So we experimented a little and found that 3 out of 4 times inserting the mags, it sounded and felt like it was seated, but we could pull it right out! Our thinking was that the mag wasn't completely seated and when the bolt went back, to extract/eject the spent round, it would depress the magazine slightly - so that on the trip back into battery it would jam the next round into the feed ramp and jam it back into the mag without actually chambering the round.

Anyway, today I took the grips off and discovered that the magazine safety disconnect feature seems to be causing the problem! When the mag is inserted - I'm in the habit of tapping it with the heel of my hand, just like I do with my double stack mags - the disconnect seems to 'catch' it and make it seem like it is seated. In reality it's not QUITE seated. If you give it another sharp rap with your palm, or a stiff push with your thumb, you can feel and hear another click when it actually latches on the magazine release catch.

After wandering around the interwebz today, to see what other folks were doing to solve the problem, it seems that A LOT of people are having feeding problems that they are attributing to their ammo choice and/or bad magazines. And the ammo choices run the gamut from Wally World Federal bulk packs to CCI. I'm wondering if a number of these people are actually experiencing what I described above - but just don't realize it?!? I know I would have been stumped if that round hadn't jammed in there sideways!

On that note, does anybody have any experience with the Majestic Arms 3.2 Speed Strip Kit? Not only does it speed the field stripping of the Mark II/III, it also tightens the trigger AND removes the magazine disconnect feature on the Mark III - HOPEFULLY making the magazine insertion problem disappear!

Interesting....That may explain why mine works. I eliminated the mag safety shortly after I got it and don't regret it one bit. Still doesn't explain why the gun in my CCW class started working with my mag and ammo.

I completely agree with the mag disconnect issue, I cant wait to have the money to get it taken off. From what I have experienced if after a about 1000 rounds the gun is so dirty the mag doesnt feed as well and the feed ramp is dirty. Quick spray of lube in the mag spring and some hoppe's on the feed ramp, works like a dream again.
I still give the extra bump to seat the mag just in case.

a dremel can be borrowed if you don't have one, or buy one for 20 bucks


Or the MKII bushing can be bought for 3 bucks

Or you can do it for about a dollar and some simple tools like I did.

http://www.guntalk-online.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=387&highlight=washers

Looks like a project for this weekend! Thanks

I failed to mention that I did the revised version as shown in post #14 in that thread. It involves different size washers. Just thought I'd mention that before you headed off to the hardware store. It goes together pretty well after a little filing with a chainsaw file to slightly enlarge the holes in the washers.

I had the same problem with mine. I went through the whole big bag of Ruger tricks and ended up completely converting it to a MKII. Still jammed.... While at a plate match one of the guys says "hey did you ever clean those mags before you used them?" I said nope. I have never had to clean mags from factory new guns, never even a thought. They looked clean and looked like they functioned properly but there was a little bit of packing grease left in them. Just enough to make them inconsistent in function. I cleaned and lubed them up and bam perfect ever since. The only problem I have now is that I went out and bought a real nice MKII to replace the 22/45 that I will not be selling now that it works perfectly. Well I guess it's not that much of a problem...

I had a MKIII that was jamming the nose of the bullet into the feedramp. Called Ruger. They shipped me a revised mag catch that held the mag a few thousandths higher in the gun. Hasn't missed a beat since.

If you remove the magazine disconnect, something has to fill in the space, between the flange on the hammer bushing and the hammer, left by the spring and lever that are removed.

Note: carefully look at the sear spring before you remove the hammer pin. Remember it's location, with respect to the pin that goes through the hammer bushing.

I tried a #10 stainless washer and a M5 stainless washer. Both need material removed from the Outside Diameter, but the M5 needs a lot less material removed. I used a grinder and belt sander for this. Inside Diameter: the #10 will fit over the hammer bushing OK, the M5 is a little too small, I opened it with a round diamond file. Make sure the OD is small enough so the hammer can engage the sear. (A Volquartsen sear will improve the trigger pull a lot, VQ also sells the MK II hammer bushing, I used one to replace the MK III hammer bushing and washers, the gun runs the same with either.)

Two washers are needed, I used one #10 and one M5, next time it will be two M5's.

General MK II and 22 45 comment: CLP helps prevent fouling from sticking to metal. After I load the magazines, I put a drop of CLP on the top bullet and along the top of the top cartridge. Then I spread a drop along the cartridge cases visible through the cut out on the side of the magazines, put it on both sides. Also hold the follower down and put a drop down into the mag on the front, back and both sides of the inside of the magazine. This lets the magazines run freely, feed the next round upward, fast. The CLP goes into the gun during firing and helps minimize fouling from sticking to the inside of the gun. I use an Ultimate Clip Loader, put 50 or 60 cartridges into it, spray them a bit with Rem Oil that has Teflon in it. The spray is needed every 150 cartridges or so. Do this and if the Ruger can run reliably, it will.

PS, I was wrong to advise gun-showing the pistol.

you are in la la land if you think everyone does that. maybe you do. To everyone else here, "gunshow it" means to dupe an unsuspecting buyer and to me that' s just flat wrong. Do the right thing - send it back to Ruger.

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