Ruger Mark III

[pawn]

I have on order a Ruger Mark III, stainless steel with a 6 7/8 inch slab sided bull barrel. Should have her in my hands by the end of the week. It's been years since I've plinked with a Mark III- looking forward to getting reaquianted

Any other Mark III shooters out there?

-pawn

[user]

yup. 6 & 7/8" Target model in blue w/Weaver 4x handgun 'scope:



The good thing is, it's easy to mount a 'scope on it, 'cause the top don't move. The bad thing is, because the slide's internal, it's a nasty bit to get it put back together after a thorough cleaning.

Lots'o fun for killing soda cans with, though.

[pawn]

Originally Posted by user

yup. 6 & 7/8" Target model in blue w/Weaver 4x handgun 'scope:



The good thing is, it's easy to mount a 'scope on it, 'cause the top don't move. The bad thing is, because the slide's internal, it's a nasty bit to get it put back together after a thorough cleaning.

Lots'o fun for killing soda cans with, though.

nice pistol user

[greener]

Nice looking pistola, user.

I have a couple MKIII's.

[artabr]

Pawn, you'll love it. I have a MKII Gov't. Competition and I love mine, it shoots great.


Art

[Pistolenschutze]

I often shoot my Ruger 22/45 with bull barrel which is mechanically quite similar to the Mark III, Pawn. It is perhaps the most accurate .22 handgun I've ever fired. You made an excellent choice for plinking and target shooting.

[pickenup]

MK-II shooter here.

[pawn]

Thanks for your comments and pictures everyone !!!

My Mark III came in today and I will for sure be trying her out tomorrow.

Will post a range report.

The only possible caveat is that I have heard they are tricky to re-assemble after field stripping/cleaning... time will tell.

-pawn

[artabr]

Pawn, post # 38 in the link below does a good job explaining reassemble of your pistol. The 2nd to last paragraft is the key. You need to pay attention to the hammer strut when closing the mainspring housing. Holding the gun the way he states is also key.
Trust me, it takes longer to read this than to do it.

There is a link inside the post I'm talking about. Pay no attention to it, the guy is clueless, inless you want to beat on your gun with a 2x4.

http://www.bayoushooter.com/forums/s...?t=5111&page=4


Art

[Pistolenschutze]

Originally Posted by pawn

The only possible caveat is that I have heard they are tricky to re-assemble after field stripping/cleaning... time will tell.

-pawn

They are simple to disassemble, but reassembly can indeed be a pain in the butt, Pawn. The key is to READ THE INSTRUCTIONS and do exactly as they say, even when it sounds silly. At one stage in reassembly you have to tilt the pistol up just right so the thingamajig will fit into the dumaflogie or the damn thing won't work.

[pawn]

Thanks Art and Pistol

[artabr]

Pawn, ya gotta let as know how it went.
Hows it shoot.

Art

[pawn]

Originally Posted by artabr

Pawn, ya gotta let as know how it went.
Hows it shoot.

Art

Art,

I put ~ 300 rounds through her yesterday- it was a great experience. The pistol is well balanced and highly accurate right out of the box. Recoil was very low, even with CCI Stingers. Attached picture is the back of my target cardboard- I was shooting from 25 feet.

No FTF's, one stove pipe with federal target ammo which was easily cleared.
I love the MKIII Competition- easy to shoot well, inexpensive ammo and a nice lookin pistol ta boot

Disassembly was pretty straight-forward- I did have to use a hammer and wooden dowel to remove the bolt stop pin... it was in there tight. Cleaned her up but I'm stuck at re-inserting the bolt stop pin I will work on that again today but its a very tight fit and there's no way I see to apply concentrated force with a hammer/dowel to get it back through. I'm sure it will loosen up after a few times.... and I haven't even made it to the tricky part yet. I like a challange

Look forwad to years of enjoyment plinking away with my MKIII.

-pawn

[artabr]

Pawn, make sure your bolt is fully seated into the receiver, turn the gun upside down, pull the trigger to allow the hammer to fall into the bolt as it would when striking the firing pin (I think you'll need to insert the mag. to pull the trigger). Point the barrel of the upside gun down intill the hammer strut rest against the inside of the pistol grip, Then install the bolt stop/mainspring housing intill the bolt stop fully seats, once the bolt stop is in, while still holding the gun upside down tilt the barrel upwards intill the hammer strut hits the mainspring housing. Close the mainspring housing and you're done.
Note: This is for the MK.I and MK.II. I have not taken a MK.III down, but don't think there would have been any take down changes other than having to insert the mag. because of the mag. disconnect.

Art

[pawn]

Thanks Art, I got it!!!

Barrel and receiver weren't quite lined up, thats why I couldn't get the bolt stop through. Once that was squared away I followed your directions and popped the mainspring back in without too much trouble.

Like you say, just have to remember to pull the trigger to move the hammer forward to allow mainspring to latch in while also lining up the hammer strut with that spot on the mainspring housing.

Thanks again.

-pawn

[artabr]

Tain't nothing to it.


Art

[user]

Thanks for the compliments, folks, and congratulations on your fine new piece, Pawn. Looks great!

As to reassembly, I find I have to poke at the hammer with a bamboo skewer at the same time I'm holding the trigger back, so the hammer will lie flat. And when I first got it, that pin was not going back up into the hole through the slide and stuff. So I polished it up a bit. Works ok, now, though there's no way I can remember how to do all that. I have to have the instructions in front of me every time I do it. All I can remember is that the hammer has to be in three different positions at different phases of reassembly.

Well, anyway, Pawn, I hope you get lots of enjoyment from that gun.

[pawn]

Originally Posted by user

Thanks for the compliments, folks, and congratulations on your fine new piece, Pawn. Looks great!

As to reassembly, I find I have to poke at the hammer with a bamboo skewer at the same time I'm holding the trigger back, so the hammer will lie flat. And when I first got it, that pin was not going back up into the hole through the slide and stuff. So I polished it up a bit. Works ok, now, though there's no way I can remember how to do all that. I have to have the instructions in front of me every time I do it. All I can remember is that the hammer has to be in three different positions at different phases of reassembly.

Well, anyway, Pawn, I hope you get lots of enjoyment from that gun.

cheers sir

[Tom]

My MK III Hunter and MK III512. Both are very nicely accurate. Both weigh 40 oz. My MK II 678GC weighs 46 oz.

[pawn]

Nice pistols Tom!!!

[tenbears]

If I were to head out to the woods today with only one backpack, I would pick any Ruger semi-auto. My second choice would be a Smith in .22 cal.

[Jack Ryan]

Originally Posted by pawn

Thanks for your comments and pictures everyone !!!

My Mark III came in today and I will for sure be trying her out tomorrow.

Will post a range report.

The only possible caveat is that I have heard they are tricky to re-assemble after field stripping/cleaning... time will tell.

-pawn

Ignore that nasty rumour.

You just bought the easiest gun in the world to throughly clean.

Take the wood off. Pull the magazine and make sure the chamber is empty.

Now get a can of gun scrubber. Myself, I use starting fluid/ether because it's a lot cheaper. Take the gun outside where it doesn't matter if it drips a little. Wear rubber gloves makes every thing a lot easier.

Lock the chamber open and just spray. Spray every thing every where. Lay the can down and just operate every thing several times and spray again. Repeat until dirt stops coming out. Some compressed air comes in real handy but even if you don't have it the ether dries up in a hurry. Pull a patch through the bore and wipe the whole gun down with a paper towel. To relube mine I just spray WD40 every where any thing moves and then blow the whole gun off again with the air gun and wipe it down one last time.

Put the grips back on and you are ready to shoot another thousand rounds.

[ponycar17]

Originally Posted by pawn

Recoil was very low, even with CCI Stingers. Attached picture is the back of my target cardboard- I was shooting from 25 feet.

I've got the 22/45 in a 5.5" bull barrel model. What I've noticed about recoil is that when firing rapidly as with double-taps, I notice that the second shot is always below the first. I attribute this to the heavy barrel and the low recoil of the .22 round. I think that when the slide slams back forward, the weight of the barrel actually helps the pistol tip down a bit. For that reason I'd like the try the aluminum barrel/frame combinations available for the pistol if they weren't so expensive...

All in all though, it's a great little .22 that you'll enjoy for many years.

[raveneap]

You'll enjoy the Mark III. This is my Ruger Mark III 512. Great gun.

[22dave]

Re: Jack Ryan post #22

I think this is absolutely the best way to clean the semis. Since it only takes 10 minutes, I do it after every session which is about 200 rounds. my math is a 99% clean gun @ 100% of the time beats a 100% clean gun @ 25% of the time.