Ruger Mark 3

[Les K]

I'm enjoying working on my Mark 3. I've installed the Volquartsen accurizing kit, Volquartsen bolt assist (heavily modified), Majestic Arms speed strip kit, Aimpoint Micro H1, Altamount rosewood grips, cut/radiused the factory sight rail, eliminated the mag disconnect/Sam's bushing, and high polished the flutes with red jewelers rouge. I've purchased the Cratex cylinders to jewel the bolt, but I've found that you can't do this operation by hand. I'll have to find another way. I'll also get around to eliminating the LCI eventually.

What do you think so far?

[VictorFranko]

Awful purdy Mark III

[Les K]

Oooooh- Awful purdy avatar!!!

[jimz68]

Very nice, Les. I'll have to look into the Altamont grips for my MKIII.



Jim

[mlevans66]

Goodness that thing is awesome. Where did you get the parts for all that?

[Les K]

Thanks for the kind comments everyone.

Mlevans66, The Volquartsen accurizing kit and the bolt assist were purchased from Midway. The grips were purchased from handgun grips dot com (they are the smooth ultima target in rosewood). The Majestic speed strip kit was purchased from a small local gunshop/range/gunsmith business here in Orange County called Evans Shooters World, but you can get it online too. The bushing to eliminate the mag disconnect was purchased from Sam Lam in Canada. The Aimpoint micro H1 was purchased from a local Brick and Mortar called Rifle Gear. They had a good price on it too.

One thing with the Volquartsen bolt assist:

Although I love the thing and it makes it just super easy and fast to rack the bolt with just a flick of the wrist, I've had all kinds of issues with the parts that attach to the bolt "ears" loosening under the intense vibration of the bolt during operation. Even with the high strength red loctite, the screws loosened within a few shots. I even broke the first one that I bought due to over tightening. When this assembly loosens, it rotates. And when it rotates, the bolt will not go into battery. This would happen within 4 magazines.

That's why I had to modify it by drilling straight though the bolt assist and countersinking, then I drilled and tapped an 8-32 hole directly into the back of the bolt. With this I can crank down pretty tightly and I haven't even had to use any loctite at all. Last trip was 100 shots with virtually no loosening of any components at all.

I emailed Nic Volquartsen about this and his reply stated that there is a primer that they use for the red loctite which will cause it to set up very quickly and they've had no problems with loosening. I did not know this and I've never seen it for sale anywhere (It would have been nice if they included this info in the package). Again, I love the bolt assist and that's why I went through all of the trouble to make it work. I think it looks kind of cool, and it really does make it lightening fast and extremely easy to operate the bolt, especially for that first round from the closed bolt that includes cocking the hammer.

[23 Blast]

Man, that is some seriously naughty gun porn!

[mlevans66]

Thanks for the reply and I plan on getting a better trigger for mines next year.

[1911ShooterPhil]

That's an awesome looking Mark III pistol! I am building one in a similar fashion. I hope it turns out as well.

[Les K]

Hi Phil,

I'll have to post new pictures since I've not been able to stop messing around with it. Since taking those pictures, I've added the dedicated Aimpoint mount which brings the red dot closer to the bore and also lightens it up some since there's a bit less hardware. It's a very clean looking mount. I've also disassembled the whole thing and buffed it all out to a mirror finish. It looks very shiny now! I've tried jeweling the bolt, and it looked really good, but it seemed to have worn off quite quickly since it rubs quite a lot on the receiver.

New pics to follow when I get a chance!

Good luck on your project and since you're in the O.C., let me know if I can be of any assistance!

[1911ShooterPhil]

One thing with the Volquartsen bolt assist:

That's why I had to modify it by drilling straight though the bolt assist and countersinking, then I drilled and tapped an 8-32 hole directly into the back of the bolt. With this I can crank down pretty tightly and I haven't even had to use any loctite at all. Last trip was 100 shots with virtually no loosening of any components at all.

Les K,

Once I get the gun out of DROS and get more of the parts I need, I will take you up on your offer. How you drilled and tapped the bolt assist knob to the bolt is brilliant. I like the bolt assist knob, and I want to install one on my gun, but I'm worried about it flying off the gun. did you drill and tap it yourself or did you have a gunsmith do it?

1911ShooterPhil

[bikingben]

I'm enjoying working on my Mark 3. I've installed the Volquartsen accurizing kit, Volquartsen bolt assist (heavily modified), Majestic Arms speed strip kit, Aimpoint Micro H1, Altamount rosewood grips, cut/radiused the factory sight rail, eliminated the mag disconnect/Sam's bushing, and high polished the flutes with red jewelers rouge. I've purchased the Cratex cylinders to jewel the bolt, but I've found that you can't do this operation by hand. I'll have to find another way. I'll also get around to eliminating the LCI eventually.

What do you think so far?

@Les K : Can you post of pic of how you modified your bolt assist? I just ordered one last week and I am curious to see if I have the same problem and how to fix it. Great looking setup. I will post a pic of mine once it gets assembled.

Thanks!