Ruger Mark III

[Waldo Pepper]

Only one major problem with Jack's cleaning program and this is the WD 40 which is way to thin and light for the bolt and is not a good lubricant for any moving part and when setting for extended periods will form a film that will harden like shellec. WD 40 should only be used to remove water from a gun, such as after being caught in a heavy rain while hunting then wiped clean and oiled with a proper oil.

I bought a S&W CS 45 about year or so ago that a guy did the above type of cleaning and oiling (probably only shot 50 rounds, just a desk gun) and would spray it down weekly with WD 40 and after 6 months it was gummed up from the dried shellac like stuff the WD 40 builds up, you could barley cycle it by hand and the trigger was awful. After a good cleaning with CLP the gun worked flawlessly and was sold for a tidy profit.

So do as he says but only use a proper gun oil instead of WD-40 and you will be like me and have a 50 year relation with a your Mk III Ruger like I have had with my 59 model Mk I Ruger that my dad bought me new.

[ponycar17]

I'll add in that WD40 has no place in the regular maintenance of a gun. WD40 was long ago banned for use at my current place of work for reasons that Waldo Pepper has mentioned... I use Birchwood Casey Synthetic Safe Gunscrubber and RemOil on all my guns now. I'm also careful now that I have been told so, not to over-oil a wood stock gun because of the fear that keeping them stored vertically with cause stock cracking over time as oil creeps down into the stock in storage...

[Waldo Pepper]

I am not crazy about the RemOil either as it is very thin and I have been told by reliable people that it is a version of WD-40 under Remington name. I tried it a few years back when it first came out and the can ended up in trash because it was so thin and smelled somewhat like the WD-40 crap.

[pawn]

I clean with Hoppes #9 and use CLP as well as Butch's Gun Oil

[Cajun Chooter]

anyone care to recommend a scope for my Ruger Mark III ? i was thinking about a Bushnell TROPHY XLT 2-6X32MM MULTI -X ...

[Tom]

I have an Ultradot LT red dot holosight on my MK II 678G. It works very well. If I were going to put a magnifying scope on it or one of my MK IIIs, I think I would use Warne QD mounts so I could quickly remove the scope and use the iron sights if I wanted to. I did that with my .500 PC Hunter with a 2x Weaver scope and it works well.

[RDHill]

I have a Ruger Mark III Hunter SS with fluted barrel. It shoots good but the trigger needs a little work. I also have a Browning Buck Mark RX pro target that has a better trigger and also shoots better. Both are great guns and I enjoy shooting both of them.

[Tom]

Originally Posted by RDHill

I have a Ruger Mark III Hunter SS with fluted barrel. It shoots good but the trigger needs a little work. I also have a Browning Buck Mark RX pro target that has a better trigger and also shoots better. Both are great guns and I enjoy shooting both of them.

When I got my MK II, it was well used and the barrel was well broken in. It shot great. The two MK IIIs I have both had somewhat rough barrels. They both required extensive break-in to shoot well. They also required trigger work. I put in VQ MK II hammers, MK II hammer bushings, VQ sears and Marvel triggers in both. It makes a world of difference.

As a part of the break-in, I had to lightly lap both barrels to smooth them. Now they both shoot very well.

[Cajun Chooter]

I just got a Ruger Mark III stainless with the 6-7/8" barrel..mounted a
Ultra Match Dot scope on it.. all I have to say is "wow".. I burned 300+ rounds last weekend... gosh i love this pistol.

[Tom]

This is my MK II 678GC with an Ultradot LT holosight.

[todd51]

Nice. Lots of good looking Mark III showing up around here. Got a new one my self but haven't been able to get out and shoot lit.

[todd51]

Just curious. Is there any reasons as to where you place a red dot like Tom's Ultra or my Burris or any of the others? I'm referring as to setting it back, middle or forward or is it just a question of personal preference?

[Neverhome]

TODD51,

I suspect it is best to place it where yo want it. It's position may be determined by where you see through it better, where the firearm balances better, or based on where it sits best in the hoslter you use. Just experiment with it. I have the Mark III Hunter with the Ruger Scoped holster I purchased from The Sportsmans Guide. Because of the hoster I have to position the Truglo red dot sight as far back as it will go on the gun. Fortunatly, that is were it balances best, has the best eye relief, and fits the hoster best. From a bench rest at 25 yds I can cover three shots with a quarter. You are going to love that gun.

Nevehome

[OKLAHOMAMOSES]

I have owned several Ruger Mk pistols over the past thirty years and recently purchased a mkIII 22/45 from a young fellow who said he was to embarrassed to give the local smith 40.00 to put it together again so offered it to me as is. I spent 3-1/2 hours the first night dis-re-assembling this little Jewel before getting it right, gun was bought with only one mag and no case or Manuel, best vid i have seen yet is Moe's you tube on 22/45 maintenance. I have shot 200 rounds of Remington gold hp's through it this week and only problem was failure to fire about once every 30-50 rnds, this ammo was bought three years ago so i think this is normal. Gun is 22/45 with 5.5 slab side bull barrel standard w/fixed sights, i love this pistol, shoots all other ammo with out a hitch, cheap rem gold only one that has non fire issues and one in 30-50 is not a problem to shoot as much as i do.

[permafrost]

Todd,
Let us know when you do get to the range. That Burris looks great! I usually buy something cheaper that works ok, but totally overpowers the pistol in size. Might have to up my cheap A** a bit. That one just looks right! I put the SAM Lam hammer bushing in mine, did the mag disconnect, and polished the hammer and sear while I was in there just a couple of weeks ago. Haven't had the chance to shoot it yet, either! Can't wait.

[todd51]

Permafrost, I originally had the Fastfire on the Hunter but you know how the hobby is, "never leave well enough alone" right? When the Burris 4x scope came back into my possession I put it on the Hunter. That left me with the Fastfire and nothing to put it on sooooo using my questionable judgement I solved that by getting the 5.5 bull barrel MK III. There was a time I was not satisfied with the Fastfire. It seems that the lighting conditions in the summer time with the trees all leafed out and shooting from under the low roof over my shooting bench the intensity of the dot would grow to the point it was useless beyond 25 yards. Spring, Fall, and Winter no problem. I found that if I got out from under the roof things were fine, and bright sun light is not problem. I am looking forward to doing a lot of shooting with it now but not under that low roof in the summer time, ha. I still would recommend to any one looking to get a red dot that they get one with a manually adjustable intensity on the dot. The Fastfire is auto adjust. I am just going to make this one work for me. Every thing else about it is fine.

Tomorrow it is on the schedule to put the Volquartsen kit in the 5.5. I put Sam's bushing in but I don't like all the pretravel and I have the kit so "just as well", ha. I have both in the Hunter and really like the results.

[permafrost]

Todd,
If you got the kit, I believe I'd put it in also. Didn't realize the Fastfire was auto focus. That does make me think a bit more. Hmmm......

[todd51]

I don't know if that Ultra Dot that Tom showed us is auto adjust or manual. Tom you out there?