Odd Ruger Mark III jamming problem

[Prepper]

Well, maybe it's not odd for others, but I'm still fairly new at this. This is my third time taking this particular gun to the range. First two times went fine, and I somehow managed to field strip, clean and reassemble it each time when I got home.

I shot off several mags without any problem today. Then, partway through another mag, I pull trigger and nothing happens. I notice that the bolt is not all the way forward... it has another approx 3/4" to go. In the chamber area, there's a shell casing stuck slightly into the barrel and at an angle. Behind it is a complete cartridge jammed in there due to that shell casing. I pull the bolt back and the cartridge easily falls out but the casing is still in there... I wasn't able to get the bolt to lock back for some reason, so I held it back while pulling the casing from where it was wedged into the barrel.

Then, I continued. Within about 20 rounds, this happened two more times. The third time, it wasn't a shell casing stuck in the barrel; it was the tip of the bullet of a complete cartridge, which went into the barrel up to where the casing begins, and was stuck and a bit bent. And behind that was another cartridge. I don't see how this would happen unless two cartridges somehow got pulled in from a single return motion of the bolt.

Each time this happened, I also had trouble ejecting the magazine. The third time, it refused to eject at all until I had first cleared the jam.

After #3, I called it quits for that gun for the day and proceeded with a revolver for the remainder of my time (which of course handled the .22LR ammo just fine).

Any idea what's going on here and how to make things better going forward?

 

[Cross-X]

.22 autos like lots of lubrication.

It is not ordinary to have so many complex jams. Try some lube.

 

[kendall-op]

Try different ammo and like Cross-X said make sure its lubed well and the bolt face is clean. Also if new it give it some time to brake in.

 

[Cuda444]

With the gun unloaded and chamber clear, mag out... does the slide move freely on its own? With the slide forward, can you pull it all the way back without feeling any resistance? When you let it go does it slide forward on it's own or does it stick back? All these questions relate to whether or not it was reassembled correctly after field stripping. If you've had it apart, you know what a bear it can be to get back together. Also, what brand ammo are you using?

 

[Cuz]

If you have less than 500 rounds thru it you haven't broken it in yet so don't worry and just keep shooting. I would NOT recommend taking it apart and cleaning it after each range session. My MK III gets cleaned at most twice a year and NEVER with less than 1500 rounds thru it.
Also, try a few different types of ammo. Mine started working flawlessly when I started feeding it the cheap Federal Bulk pack from Walmart. 550 rounds of copper coated hollow points for about $10 bucks. Can't go wrong. My gun will not work with the same bulk pack of Remington ammo. Go figure? You need to try different ammo (stick with the cheap stuff for now) until you find what your Ruger likes then stick with it. Good luck.

-Cuz.

 

[MassMark]

Jesus - since when do Ruger Mark I's II's or III's need breaking in??? I hear the "let it break in" a lot with regards to everything from 1911's and beyond - I'm puzzled by it. My Mark II and Mark III never, ever, ever, (did I say ever?) needed breaking in - they just ran from round one....The only malfunctions I've ever had were from bad ammo that didn't go bang - neither has ever had a stoppage in thousands and thousands of rounds and I rarely clean them.

Has something changed????

 

[adweisbe]

My MKIII failed to feed and extract several times when I got it and then the problem went away after a brick or two. I can't explain why.

 

[Prepper]

It's CCI ammo (hollow point). It's not a breaking-in issue; I've put 300 rounds through it each trip, for a total of about 600, all w/o a problem.

Since this jam happened, I can't get the bolt to stay back on it's own... I had to hold it back with one hand while I cleared the jam. Something looks wrong... at the very least, I expect to have to take it apart to see if I can get the bolt catching properly.

 

[Cuz]

It's CCI ammo (hollow point). It's not a breaking-in issue; I've put 300 rounds through it each trip, for a total of about 600, all w/o a problem.

Since this jam happened, I can't get the bolt to stay back on it's own... I had to hold it back with one hand while I cleared the jam. Something looks wrong... at the very least, I expect to have to take it apart to see if I can get the bolt catching properly.

It could also be a magazine problem. Don't overlook them as the possible cause.

-Cuz.

 

[Prepper]

It could also be a magazine problem. Don't overlook them as the possible cause.

-Cuz.

Good point. In addition to what I already said, the position of the cartridges in the mag that I popped out looks odd. Here's hopefully a pic of what happened after the 3rd jam... I think you have to click the attachment to see it...

Anyway, I'll also try the other mag out next time.

 

[Prepper]

Although now it occurs to me that I'm not sure how to examine a magazine to see if there's anything wrong with it.

I field stripped, cleaned and reassembled it. Looks good now. This time I lubed it some... it seemed rather dry and now the moving parts move easier. I'm still not sure what was wrong so that I can avoid repeating the problem, but the good news is that I'm getting better at reassembling it. Only took 10 liesurely minutes this time.

 

[6hold]

* NOT FROM A RUGER *​

Myself and some of my friends have had trouble with magazines in different 22 pistols through the years. If you have more than one magazine it might help to mark them individually so you can tell if the same one is being used when the trouble arises.

If it is one particular magazine and not the others then you can compare them side by side and probably tell by eyeball if there is something awry. Occasionally the lips at the top of some magazines are not “tight” enough or possibly too open “lose” and will let the next cartridge pop up too high. It is worth a peek at least. It doesn't take much to adjust the lips just be careful. A replacement mag. would only run you probably between $20 and $30, that's not so bad, if it's the trouble. Good luck.

There is more money being spent on breast implants and Viagra today than on Alzheimer's research. This means that by 2040, there should be a large elderly population with perky boobs and huge erections and absolutely no recollection of what to do with them.

 

[RKG]

Caveat: all long-distance, more or less sight unseen diagnostics are essentially exercises in speculation. This one is no different; you should have the pistol (and its magazines) eyeballed by someone who knows what he is doing. However, a thought:

.22 LR is a rimmed cartridge, i.e., the diameter of the rim is larger than the diameter of the body of the case. Rimmed cartridges have long presented some design issues for the designers of removable box magazines.

In essence, the lips that enclose the rearward portion of the top of the magazine have to be closed enough to stop upward movement of the body of the case; it is not uncommon to find a magazine whose lips have opened sufficiently to permit the body to rise prematurely, even though the rim is still retained. When this happens, the cartridge performs a "premature tip-up" evolution, and that looks like what is depicted in your photograph.

 

[Prepper]

Thanks, that's a good explanation. If it ever stops RAINING, I'll be able to try it out to see if just one magazine is doing it.

 

[Coyote33]

I've had that problem often enough with the MkII, which is most likely well past the broken-in period. (-;

I think it might just need a good cleaning and lubrication, and a decent diet of higher powered ammo. Mine doesn't like the cheap Remington the cheap CCI stuff. The faster CCI stuff seems OK, and I've never tried the expensive Remington.

I also have had some light strikes or duds or whatever you want to call it. I just take out the magazine and keep trying until it goes bang. Once in a while, it won't still, and then I just pull the lead off and pour out the powder on the ground.

 

[AtlasShrugging]

I don't see a DNR on this thread, so ...

I had the same problem Prepper described with my new Mark III, bought a couple weeks ago. I fired 400 rounds the first day, cleaned it, and fired 300 the next day, and about 1 in 100 did this on both days. Also, one time a shell failed to eject and jammed up with the next cartridge. This was with CCI minimag ammo.

On the second cleaning, I took the advice here and made sure to lube everything really well. I put 300 rounds through it today without a single problem. I also put a little lube around the top area of the magazine, as I thought it might be a problem pulling the cartridge out of the mag, also suggested here. (Should have used dry lube for that, but I didn't have any.) I can see how the cartridge having to make 2 turns up and over the ramp from the mag to the chamber could be problematic.

But a question about the trigger. With so much force required, I feel hardly any trigger travel. There's just resistance, resistance, resistance, then pop. Is this a good thing (to anyone other than the AG)? I find it disconcerting, because I can't really tell how fast or smoothly I'm pulling. Any reason I should try to get used to this, or should I just get a trigger job?

 

[JimB]

try those mentioned

but if they don't work send it back to Ruger. I had similar problems
with my MKIII. I called them, they sent me a call tag and off it went.

They use CCI green tag to check their completed guns.

They fixed 7 items, 2 of them were mag replacements....

Its up to you but i would send it back..

JimB

 

[jar]

But a question about the trigger. With so much force required, I feel hardly any trigger travel. There's just resistance, resistance, resistance, then pop. Is this a good thing (to anyone other than the AG)? I find it disconcerting, because I can't really tell how fast or smoothly I'm pulling. Any reason I should try to get used to this, or should I just get a trigger job?

Minimal travel is exactly what you want. It makes you less likely to disturb the sight picture while pressing the trigger. It shouldn't take a ton of force though.