Ruger MKIII sights issues!

[goofcat]

After waiting for years, I finally got a MKIII Hunter (6") earlier this year. The guns is a ton of fun to shoot and eats everything, but the sights suck!

Front sight issues: Right off the bat, the front sight would wobble loose after every session at the range. I loctited it several times, all that did was to extend the time I needed to retighten it. But I still had to tighten it every time I took it out.

Then, the bent piece of metal holding the little green acrylic rod, fell out while shooting. Fixed that.

Eventually the entire front sight fell out during another range session!

Ruger customer service was great and sent me out a replacement free of charge.

Rear sight: After the first 1000 rounds, the rear sight started to move! I had to tap it back into place frequently. Due to the fact it is a dove tail set up, I'm not sure if I can even use loctite to hold it in place. Currently, my range time with the gun is limited, because the rear sight well eventually work it self off the gun!

For how much Ruger is asking for this gun, I'm very disappointed by the poor quality/fit and finish of it. It has completely turned me off from ever buying another Ruger.

Not sure if my experience is unique (somehow I got a lemon). But if all Rugers are so poorly made, I really don't understand all the love they get.

Lastly, anyone have ideas on how to get that darn rear sight to stay put?

[ojisan]

Loose dovetails can be a problem on any gun.
You can use a centerpunch to make a dent in the sight's base that causes the metal to be displaced outwards, effectively widening the base so it fits tightly into the groove.
You could also dent the overhanging edge of the dovetail groove on the gun, or dent the metal at teh base of the groove, using a partially sideways hit to raise the metal.

Generally it is best to dent the sight itself, because if things go wrong, you can always easily replace the sight and try again.
It's not so easy to replace or fix the gun in comparison.

I think the Ruger QC is good; the sights themselves, while very popular now, seem to be a little inconsistent in their dimensions, leading to problems like yours.

Possibly consider using the older all-metal Ruger sights or other quality brands.

[kmca]

Just a guess because I don't have a Hunter model..Is the screw and barrel stainless steel? are you using 242 loctite? Are the rear sight and screws stainless steel?

[goofcat]

Barrel is stainless. Screws/sights are not. The rear sight has a tighten screw on it and it is all the way down, yet the sight still manages to fall off each time!

[Sheldon]

Locktite the dovetail and screws too. I've had good sucess with the blue version.