After having this for awhile and shooting only a few rounds, I finally decided to disassemble and reassemble. And since then, it won't fire unless I cycle the bolt while holding the gun upside down. Also, the thumb safety won't engage unless it's upside down.

I've stripped & re-assembled the gun half a dozen more times and spent 2-3 hours out there, but it's always the same. Thoughts?

I have to read my manual when a disassemble and reassemble my MKII. You have to hold the gun certain directions while reassembling to let gravity put things in place. It is a real PITA. Luckily, you don't have to do it very often.

Mk III experts:

http://www.guntalk-online.com/forum/index.php

Bullseye, the guy who runs the forum has put a lot of sticky posts in there that outline how to do this or that with a Ruger Mk II or Mk III.

That's the place to go.

I'm surprised you got the mainspring housing latch to close but the hammer and the dangly thing on it are likely out of position. The dangly thing has to be free, not bound on the cross pin, the hammer itself needs to be back (cocked), and the safety needs to be on FIRE before the receiver is rejoined to the frame. Then when you put the latch in you have to get the lever in the seat just right. Remember, if the last operation (closing the latch) doesn't feel springy, something is wrong.

It's no fun trying to describe in words how to do it, kinda just have to try it. Some steps require holding it muzzle up, some down. Gotta wiggle it here and there too. I think I'll go disassemble one to see if I can remember how to do it.

BTW, I have a Volquartsen kit in mine designed for a MKII (plus MKII hammer bushings) so it has no magazine safety. This alone makes a MKIII much easier to deal with.

Thanks for the help. I had a 22/45 MKIII back in the day. My experience with it was that if you followed the directions in the manual EXACTLY, then it wasn't too hard to get it right the first time. I followed the instructions precisely on this one and something has gone wrong. I've disassembled it and re-assembled it probably 8 or 10 times by now and have the same result every time. So I think one of the springs in there must have gotten out of whack or something, because it doesn't appear to be an assy/disassy problem at this point. It's very repeatable.

Just figured it out.

Charles, your link was really helpful. I found his guide with pictures and used it to figure out that the long leg of my sear spring had come lose from the crossbrace and as soon as I re-seated it the gun worked fine. I'm sure it got unseated when I used a pick to get the hammer strut loose when it got stuck under the crossbrace.

Unfortunately, the bolt stop pin was incredibly difficult to get loose since it had never been removed. So I ended up having to use a punch with a towel on it to knock it out and put a couple tiny scratches on the pin and on the edge of the opening on top. Oh well...

Anyway, thanks to all of you for the input!

I smack them with a plastic face hammer the first few times on a new one. I filed the machining off the end of mine where it comes up through the top then polished it to a chrome like shine that can't really be scratched.

You might not like the way it looks but it makes it easier to get in and out and has no finish to wear.



I also polished the bolt while I was at it....masked it to get a clean line.

Mine is a stainless model, so it doesn't look that bad to start with. But what did you use to polish the metal? High-grit sandpaper? I might just go over the top of my bolt stop pin to clean up the spots. Still a few spots on the receiver around where the hole is, but I'm afraid that trying to fix it would make it look worse than it already does.

ETA: I used my rubber mallet at first, but had to use something else once the top was flush with the receiver.

The scratches are small, but deep. Don't think any sort of polishing/rubbing is going to get rid of them. Just "character" marks now I guess. Not the end of the world.

Buffing wheel.

You can fix SS scratches pretty well with various methods depending on the severity. Scotch-Brite is usually the go to. Be gentle at first and you'll figure it out. There are several grit levels. Flitz in a tube is OK for minor issues. If there are minor gouges, leave them. No reason to dish the surface.

The only stainless unit I have was a gift and I'm not too worried about it getting bumps because it's a workhorse. I'd likely never consider a SS anything....one reason I don't have an SR1911 Ruger. Wish they made blue ones.