Ruger MK Bolt Bounce

[Chaos47]

I'm sure more than a few of you are on reddit, so repost for you! hah.

But I thought others might find this interesting.
Recently reddit/imgur user Oelund highspeed filmed his MK2's bolt bouncing when dropped on an empty chamber showing the differences as it became more and more dirty.
Original Post: http://imgur.com/a/2OFbI

Clean pistol:


Dirty pistol:


Filthy pistol:


Today he posted a follow up of what it looks like when chambering a round
Original Post: http://imgur.com/a/qo4LY

The bolt bounces a couple of times before settling.

An interesting thing to note is that the extractor does not retract the cartridge from the chamber as the bolt bounces back.

Again I did not take these videos/ make these gifs. They belong to Oelund. I am merely trying to share his work with more people. Follow the imgur links to see more photos and text.

BTW the same guy made this awesome photo called "Anatomy: Ruger Mk II"

[jthesby]

Very cool, especially since I just picked up a mkii.

[Occams Rasor]

Yea, I have seen slo-mo vids of a 10/22 and the bolt does the same thing.
Bounces about two times before seating. I like the vid of filthy gun. No bounce at all. Good reason not to clean your gun?

[Twystd1]

Dam good post. !

-T

[Packy14]

that's why I never clean my guns unless they start having issues.

[Bastard]

interesting - but then again, what I take away from it is to not clean the Ruger... I think that I might just have to get one now

[Merc1138]

Yea, I have seen slo-mo vids of a 10/22 and the bolt does the same thing.
Bounces about two times before seating. I like the vid of filthy gun. No bounce at all. Good reason not to clean your gun?

Pretty much.

Unless it starts acting up, there's no reason to clean it. If we were talking about a defensive pistol that you need to not act up... that's a different story.

[tanakasan]

Cool vids!

There's something to the "don't over clean your 22" camp think. Thanks for posting these!

Robert

[Packy14]

Cool vids!

There's something to the "don't over clean your 22" camp think. Thanks for posting these!

Robert

My 22 pistols always run better when they are less than clean... my friends laugh at how dirty they get but they run so much better dirty.

[Fishslayer]

So... why exactly is the bolt bounce bad?

My guess on the extractor thing is that it happens so fast the extractor doesn't have time to close over the rim?

[Press Check]

So... why exactly is the bolt bounce bad?

Honestly, nothing, but as evidenced by a few responses, another reason to justify poor maintenance.

[Merc1138]

So... why exactly is the bolt bounce bad?

My guess on the extractor thing is that it happens so fast the extractor doesn't have time to close over the rim?

Honestly, nothing, but as evidenced by a few responses, another reason to justify poor maintenance.

Hammer falling against a bolt that isn't in battery = light primer strike.

There's also a difference between "poor maintenance" and not over-zealously cleaning it. There are people who claim they'll disassemble and scrub a firearm clean even if they only put 5 rounds down range that day, yet it's not a problem next time they go out and end up shooting longer after more than 5 rounds worth of crud has accumulated.

[Press Check]

Hammer falling against a bolt that isn't in battery = light primer strike.

Of all the variables associated with light strikes, this is not one of them.

Besides that, the hammer cannot be disengaged when there's an out of battery condition, although there seems to be a bit of leeway in MK pistols. If you put pressure on the trigger, and ease the bolt out of battery, you will see how much leeway you have before the trigger is completely disengaged from the sear.

There's also a difference between "poor maintenance" and not over-zealously cleaning it. There are people who claim they'll disassemble and scrub a firearm clean even if they only put 5 rounds down range that day, yet it's not a problem next time they go out and end up shooting longer after more than 5 rounds worth of crud has accumulated.

Some shooters are simply more meticulous about upkeep than others, but suggesting that allowing enough fouling to build up to slow the bolts cyclic rate to prevent the bounce, or allowing enough fouling to build up on the bolt face and breech face to blunt the bounce is just nonsense. On the opposite end, it's a great way to induce mechanical failures, including light primer strikes.

As noted within the blog, the bolt bounce is being captured at 1,000 frames per second, so the phenomena itself happens extremely quick in real time. Obviously, so fast that most are unaware of the occurrence.

[Merc1138]

Of all the variables associated with light strikes, this is not one of them.

Besides that, the hammer cannot be disengaged when there's an out of battery condition, although there seems to be a bit of leeway in MK pistols. If you put pressure on the trigger, and ease the bolt out of battery, you will see how much leeway you have before the trigger is completely disengaged from the sear.



Some shooters are simply more meticulous about upkeep than others, but suggesting that allowing enough fouling to build up to slow the bolts cyclic rate to prevent the bounce, or allowing enough fouling to build up on the bolt face and breech face to blunt the bounce is just nonsense. On the opposite end, it's a great way to induce mechanical failures, including light primer strikes.

As noted within the blog, the bolt bounce is being captured at 1,000 frames per second, so the phenomena itself happens extremely quick in real time. Obviously, so fast that most are unaware of the occurrence.

So what you're saying is...

You don't know the cause of some light primer strikes, but you'll rule bolt bounce out for no reason.

Claiming the hammer can't drop while the bolt is out of battery makes no sense, as the bolt is clearly in battery at least 4 times(although it's the first two bounces being significant, especially with it bouncing back a third of the way open again in the first .gif).

If you're going to be so "meticulous" why not clean it between every shot?

edit: Yes I realize the first 3 gifs from the OP are on an empty chamber. But even with the bolt slowed down chambering a round it still bounces pretty significantly.

It could simply be that it was made to run without having to be spotless(which they seem to do, just fine).

[Press Check]

So what you're saying is...

You don't know the cause of some light primer strikes, but you'll rule bolt bounce out for no reason.

Excessively loose chamber, cartridges failing to fully chamber, chamber burring from unchambered FP strikes, burrs on the FP, fatigued hammer spring, fatigued FP rebound spring, fouling in the FP slot, a worn FP head, and I could go on, but what I hear you saying is that you need help diagnosing a problem. All you had to do was ask.

Anyway, any time you have a blowback system where the bolt face strikes the breech face and relies on a spring to bring the bolt back into battery, you're going to have bounce. The bolt in my 10/22 bounces as well, and if you're suggesting that it creates a malfunction, you're not giving the engineers at Ruger enough credit. Oversight? Nope, not at all.

Claiming the hammer can't drop while the bolt is out of battery makes no sense, as the bolt is clearly in battery at least 4 times(although it's the first two bounces being significant, especially with it bouncing back a third of the way open again in the first .gif).

Yes, 3-4 times at 1,000 frames per second in the GIF, but there was no ignition during that occurrence. Think about what you just said, or at minimum, go pull your bolt out of battery that far and pull the trigger. Again, the trigger will completely disengage from the sear. You have a bit of leeway, but the hammer will not disengage during the first bounce depicted in the GIF. Possibly in the second, which is in battery for most MK pistols.

Sorry that doesn't make sense, but do you own a MK pistol?

edit: Yes I realize the first 3 gifs from the OP are on an empty chamber. But even with the bolt slowed down chambering a round it still bounces pretty significantly.

Wait, which is it, LOL?

It could simply be that it was made to run without having to be spotless(which they seem to do, just fine).

And made to run without a malfunction occurring when the bolt strikes the breech face and bounces.