Ruger Mark III questions

[flyer_55]

Hello all. Newbee here, just waiting for my 1st gun to finish it's 10 day wait. In the meantime, I've been looking at the online manual and it mentions dry firing this gun several times, as part of the normal break down and re-assembly process.

I've always been told that dry fire w/o a snapcap or something to catch the pin is bad. Is this gun different? I'm sure each gun has different requirements re handling and such, but I would like to get some info on dry firing the Mark III.

Also any hints on 'must have' enahancements would be appreciated. As I said, I am new and have not shot much at all. Looking to start out plinking and target practice, but would like to do entry match shooting with this gun if possible.

Oh btw, it is the slab sided stainless 'Competition' model - Mark III 678GC

Thanks much -

Joel

[gunn]

I really like my Herrett Adjustable Match Grips for my MKIII. I use my MKIII mostly for target shooting so this works great for me. The only downside is if your plinking involves walking around with the MKIII strapped to your hip while you look out for squirrels, the width of this grip may not be for you.

http://www.theshootersbox.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=71_73&products_id=312&zenid=8febd1aae3db2c69b73dfd56bb469f0a

Two other comments:
* Taking apart the MKIII is a challenge in and of itself. Even if you read all the sites and look at all the pictures, you'll still spend a surprising amount of time taking it apart and putting it back together again the first time. One recommendation: unlike the MKIII, you will need an empty magazine in the gun to make sure the hammer flies forward when you pull the trigger. If the hammer isn't forward all the way, assembly/dissasembly just won't happen. This is probably the singly most frustrating weapon I've ever had to assemble/disassemble.

* When i added the herrett grips, I found that the bolt stop release lever is hard to release because the wood grips get in the way. The solution is to either trim the wood grips a bit right underneath that lever or buy a Volquartson ext slide release lever AND install it.

[kmca]

First thing I did when I got mine was remove the magazine disconnect. It's pretty easily done with just a spacer and it makes assembly/disassembly much easier. After taking it apart a couple of times, it's not any harder than field stripping any 1911. You might want to look at the website "Rimfire Central", they have a lot of good information.

I also have heard dryfiring a rimfire is a bad thing. Since I use mine for steel challenge, I have to dryfire it at least 39 times a match to show clear and drop hammer, I'm not having any problems with the gun yet.

[Bird of Fire]

I picked up a 22/45 bull barrel model a couple months back and couldn't be happier. The only thing I've done for it is adjust the sights to get her zeroed in, and that's it. Maybe later down the road I'll buy a little red dot sight to screw around with, but in the meantime just shoot it and have fun. Grips are a personal preference thing, so it's up to you in that regards.

As to the dry firing you are correct. However, it is a ruger, it is built like a freaking tank, if you're doing it during assembly/dissasembly I doubt you'll hurt anything. Heck my buddy has one he's taken down hundreds of times that was built back in the 50's and his works perfectly still. You'll be fine.

And yes the dissassembly/reassembly is a gigantic pain in the ***. A cork board/mat for whacking it with the rubber mallet helps when taking it apart. Putting it together is just....well you'll see. Also look up videos on youtube on how to put it back together to see someone else doing it as well. I had to do that, along with a couple phone calls to friends to help me out along the way. It was about a 90 minute ordeal. Now I can do it in roughly 15 minutes, just takes some practice. Good luck!

[Glock_XXI]

Dry fire away, just make sure three times that your MK3 is unloaded. Iirc the manual says it is fine.


They are not that hard to take apart, don't get intimidated. The just seem harder if you compare them to say, field stripping a Glock. I shoot mine every range trip and only clean about every 1000 rds or so. Mine has worked like a champ.

Congrats!

[jmc45]

i think you only dry fire once. the other times you pull the trigger is just to manipulate the hammer (after the frame and upper are seperated).

i would at least add one of those volq. extractors.

http://www.rimfiresports.com/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=RSC&Product_Code=VC10EE/VC2EE

and yes, disassembly/reassembly can be a challenge. especially if you dont get that dang hammer strut right on top of the mainspring ledge. check out step #8 in the reassembly section

http://www.guntalk-online.com/fsprocedures.htm

if your 22/45 was like mine, theres alot of cosmoline that will soak up debris and give everything that gritty feel/sound. i'd spend alot of time getting rid of that junk before you shoot it.

[Bird of Fire]

Taking apart is easy. The putting back together a lot of people do have problems with, myself included. I ate a lot of paint chips as a child so that may have some bearing on the situation tho.

[tincan715]

Reassembly of a Mark III isn't really that bad, you just have to follow the instructions very carefully. My usual problem is with the magazine, you have to remove and reinstall it several times during the assembly process and if you don't do it at the correct point things will go south on you. The owner's manually describes the process well, you just need to pay careful attention to each step.

[Kruzr]

On some rimfires, if you dry fire, the FP will peen the edge of the chamber (where the rim of the round usually is.) This is NOT an issue with a Ruger Mk II or III. Rugers have a cross pin in the bolt that prevents the FP from going forward far enough to hit the breech. You can dry fire a Ruger until your finger falls off unless that cross pin is missing from the bolt.

On the Mark II's and early Mark III's, the cross pin is a solid pin that you can remove by pushing the FP forward. You have to take this out to replace the rebound spring (which WILL break over time.) The newer Mark III's use a roll pin in this service. The roll pin doesn't fall out by itself.

(One way to know when the rebound spring was broken was when there was no tension on that cross pin. Now, you won't know until you get light strikes on every round.)

[flyer_55]

Thanks guys

Thankyou for the information. I will be spending a lot of time getting to know this gun on my own workbench before going out to the range. Your information is very helpful.

I have watched about 3 or 4 videos of field stripping the MK3 and while none of them make it look easy, at least I think I have some idea of what to watch out for.

I was looking at the accurizing kit from Volquartsen. Anybody want to comment on if this is worth adding another C-note to the price of my machine? Also, is this a DIY job or should it ONLY be tried by a gunsmith?

Joel