Ruger Mk III - Too much wear?

[BinaryBoris]

Hello all,

I recently picked up a used Ruger Mark III for $170 (figured it was a good deal). The price was marked down so low because it was a "range gun" used for rentals and CCW courses at my local range and was a bit "worn" on the outside. I figured it would be a fun Duracoat project.

When checking out the pistol the inside was still a bit dirty, so it wasn't until I took the pistol home to clean it that I noticed what appears to be considerable wear to the breech area where the bolt face comes into contact.

I was wondering if anyone had any opinions regarding how safe this is, if it will affect accuracy, if it will eventually render this pistol unusable, or if it is no big deal. I may still be able to return the pistol, but I still am taking into consideration that it was $170.

Thanks!

[FeuerFrei]

Range pistol with normal wear for a "range pistol".
Clean it, lube it, safety check it, then shoot it and report back.
If it cycles corectly then pat yourself on the back for a deal well made.

[BinaryBoris]

Cool. Steps 1-3 are done. I'll hopefully be hitting Step 4 tomorrow.

I wonder if the Duracoat treatment will help "shore up" that metal wear and expand its longevity.

[FeuerFrei]

I cant tell what the overall condition of it is from the pic. Your call if it needs a coat of whatever.
Duracoat works. Cerakote too. Re-blue.
I'd leave it alone as long as it works.


Sent using a long string & 2 cans.

[Press Check]

Hello all,

I recently picked up a used Ruger Mark III for $170 (figured it was a good deal). The price was marked down so low because it was a "range gun" used for rentals and CCW courses at my local range and was a bit "worn" on the outside. I figured it would be a fun Duracoat project.

When checking out the pistol the inside was still a bit dirty, so it wasn't until I took the pistol home to clean it that I noticed what appears to be considerable wear to the breech area where the bolt face comes into contact.

I was wondering if anyone had any opinions regarding how safe this is, if it will affect accuracy, if it will eventually render this pistol unusable, or if it is no big deal. I may still be able to return the pistol, but I still am taking into consideration that it was $170.

Thanks!

Without knowing the round-count, it is somewhat difficult to determine if the wear is normal, or excessive. At 20,000, that would be excessively battered, but at 100,000, that would be somewhat normal, although the indentations are in fact exceptionally heavy. As a rental, for all we know, that pistol could have a 200,000 round-count, but the general concern with heavy indentations is improper heat treatment.

More important than the indentations, the distorted and completely mangled condition of the extractor groove is what would really concern me. Wow.

Would you happen to have pictures of the bolt face?

[BinaryBoris]

Yeah this was a bit of an impulse buy for me, as I figured $170 for a Mk III that just had some cosmetic issues was a great price. I didn't see the condition of the breach face until I scrubbed at it with Hoppe's. Removing the crum revealed the wear.

I will snap a few pictures of the bolt and try to get some better close ups and get those posted in the next few hours.

Thanks!

[M1NM]

Contact Ruger service. Knowing them they will repair/replace it for free.

[PzKfW]

I had a new mkIII "Target" with chipping of the camber area in the extractor groove, as you have pictured there. Mine happened after only 100rds. It was a good 1/8" chip. Ruger replaced the pistol for free with a 6" standard mkIII. No chipping so far, the pistol has over 500rds so far. When I asked Ruger why this was happening, they said they had a batch of barrels that had been over-heat treated. To their credit, they not only shipped me the replacement pistol of my choice, it was at the dealer very quickly, and they also paid for DROS. A big +1 for Ruger CS.

[TKM]

What do the trigger pin holes look like?

[Jeepers]

contact volquartsen they used to sell "take off" barrels for under 40 bucks last time i bought a couple .... the ones i had where like new except for some marring on front sights from removal ....

if volquartsen is out try clarks they also used to have take offs ....

BTW i would think thats a fair deal i haven't seen any cheaper in years

[Press Check]

Yeah this was a bit of an impulse buy for me, as I figured $170 for a Mk III that just had some cosmetic issues was a great price. I didn't see the condition of the breach face until I scrubbed at it with Hoppe's. Removing the crum revealed the wear.

I will snap a few pictures of the bolt and try to get some better close ups and get those posted in the next few hours.

Thanks!

Directly to the right of the loaded chamber indicator, there appears to be a chip in the chamber mouth, which is one of the more critical areas of the barrels breech face. If possible, snap a picture, or confirm if that is staining from propellant, or an actual chip. The same applies to the extractor groove.

[BinaryBoris]

Well, I pulled out th HD camera for some better shots. The more I look at these photos, the more I realize this barrel is fubar.

I'm wondering if I should roll the dice and maybe try the Ruger replacement possibility. If it's true that there were some production issues at some point, maybe this could turn into something far better than a simple refund.

Anyway here are the photos… (ignore the small hair that found its way into the chamber on the left side)

[BinaryBoris]

Kinda looks like the surface of the moon … haha

[BinaryBoris]

contact volquartsen they used to sell "take off" barrels for under 40 bucks last time i bought a couple .... the ones i had where like new except for some marring on front sights from removal ....

if volquartsen is out try clarks they also used to have take offs ....

BTW i would think thats a fair deal i haven't seen any cheaper in years

Thank you for the note regarding the price. It definitely seemed good to me and the action/trigger seemed broken in but not "done for" if that makes sense. It's just I didn't notice the metal problems due to the dirtiness.

I may actually look into some replacement barrels if they aren't too costly. That is of course if a replacement from Ruger doesn't pan out!

I had a new mkIII "Target" with chipping of the camber area in the extractor groove, as you have pictured there. Mine happened after only 100rds. It was a good 1/8" chip. Ruger replaced the pistol for free with a 6" standard mkIII. No chipping so far, the pistol has over 500rds so far. When I asked Ruger why this was happening, they said they had a batch of barrels that had been over-heat treated. To their credit, they not only shipped me the replacement pistol of my choice, it was at the dealer very quickly, and they also paid for DROS. A big +1 for Ruger CS.

I am definitely going to look into this! I mean it can't hurt to contact them. I've seen a lot of beat up firearms and a lot of well-used firearms, but I've never seen what looks like a layer of steel just flaked off when the rest of the firearm seemed in decent working order (I broke it down including firing pin/bolt etc).

[Press Check]

Well, I pulled out th HD camera for some better shots. The more I look at these photos, the more I realize this barrel is fubar.

I'm wondering if I should roll the dice and maybe try the Ruger replacement possibility. If it's true that there were some production issues at some point, maybe this could turn into something far better than a simple refund.

Considering the projected round-count, the chamber mouth looks ok for the most part, but the extractor channel is definitely toast, as is the breech face, but I would say that the pistol is safe.

As I have said in the past, you would be very hard-pressed to shoot-out the barrels rifling with .22LR ammunition. That said, based on the amount of muck pictured within the action, which speaks volumes about the lack of maintenance, I would attribute any notable degradation in accuracy to a build-up of wax, lead, carbon build-up (etcetera) along the rifling.

Thoroughly clean, test fire, and report back. If you decide to contact Ruger for warranty, I would imagine that their response will be based on the back-story of the pistol, assuming you disclose where the pistol came from.

Also, I am not too sure how replacement issues are handled when the receiver is replaced on a pistol that is off-roster, especially after January 1st. I would think that question would be posed to the DOJ by the receiving FFL.