Mark III reassembly problem

[The Tiger]

I have a Ruger Mark III with the bull barrel.

When I bought it, a friend told to never take it apart. I guess he was right. I'm no noob to cleaning guns but this was the first time I tried taking the Mark III apart. I figured it was getting really dirty and thought I could figure it out.

I've watched a few Youtube videos on cleaning and I'm still stuck. The way it is now, I can't pull the slide back. It catches on something when I try. Where did I go wrong?

I could post pics or a video of my problem if necessary.

Thanks

[Khafre]

The most likely problem you have is aligning the hammer strut with the mainspring housing.

You will have to swing out the mainspring housing (the assembly with the latch on the grip frame) out, and point the muzzle end of the pistol up (to the sky).
You should be able to see a free swinging rod in the hole in the rear of the grip frame. This is the hammer strut. This part has to fit in an oval cut within the mainspring housing. In order to align the two parts you have to swing the mainspring housing close while the pistol is pointed up. When you close the latch the mainspring housing should have spring tension on it.

Also make sure the hammer is in the full forward position. you can do this by pushing on it with a small stick through the hole in the back of the grip. This does not require a lot of force.

Remember to insert the magazine before you swing the mainspring housing latch close.

http://youtu.be/opNMCQ_sqwo

[Khafre]

I may have responded too quickly, but are you are having difficulty in removing the bolt during disassembly or reassembly?

My previous answer is for reassembly.

If disassembly:
After the removal of the mainspring you can remove the bolt by either,
reinserting the magazine and pointing the pistol upward then pull the trigger and bolt will fall out. If that method does not work then
that means the hammer is up blocking the bolt and all you have to do is give the top of the pistol a good smack until the bolt becomes free

[The Tiger]

No you got it right! And I'm back in business. I just finished putting it back together and it seems to be functioning perfectly now. That video really helped. I guess I was watching the wrong ones. Now I know which one to refer to.

Thank you!

[randomBytes]

Don't feel bad, the ruger is horrible to disassemble and put back together.
If you have the book, there are several points at which you need to point the thing, up/down while pulling the trigger etc. Each step is important.

[Banleno007]

You will have to swing out the mainspring housing (the assembly with the latch on the grip frame) out, and point the muzzle end of the pistol up (to the sky).
You should be able to see a free swinging rod in the hole in the rear of the grip frame. This is the hammer strut. This part has to fit in an oval cut within the mainspring housing.

[mlevans66]

Next time go here for cleaning. Best vid out !

http://www.ruger.com/products/markIIITarget/extras.html

[ck66]

Worth bookmarking http://www.guntalk-online.com/service.html
If you're not already there.. http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/index.php
These Rugers are easy to strip and assemble, once you understand how it works.

[vnguyen297]

try this youtube vid, it helped me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fIYIWK0boo

[The Tiger]

Thanks for all the suggestions.

[cebuvfr]

Got a mk3 target last december and put about 4-5 bricks thru it before finally field stripping it. It took me over an hour from start to finish. I had to pound the dammed thing hard because it was too tight. Youtube helped a lot getting it back together. I've shoot almost 8 bricks since the 1st and only field strip without any cleaning and not a single FTF! I'm very impressed with it and feel guilty not cleaning it for a long time.

[goofcat]

Go to Ruger, down load the manual. Enlarge the disassembly/reassembly instructions, print it out, highlight all the steps. Have this in front of you each time you take it apart until you remember all the steps.