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Ruger Mark 3 FTE


Monkeybat

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This supposedly reliable bullet proof gun is anything but that for me. Absolutely hates Thunderbolt hollow points. I get a couple of FTEs every mag.

I have some Remington round nose rounds that jam less often but still getting about 3 per 50 rounds.

Seems to do worse when clean. I'm thinking about sending it back to Ruger.

Any thoughts?


Sent from the Fortress of Solitude.
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how many rounds through it?   Could be a case of stiff spring vs weak ammo if the gun is new.   Once broken in they can handle weak ammo.

 

The extractor might be damaged.   Its cheaper, and faster, to get them to send you one than to deal with shipping a full gun.  Once the frame has to ship, the price and aggravation go way up.  Can you tell by looking at it?

Edited by Jonnin
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I agree with the majority.

Fun to shoot. Use to be cheap to shoot.

But they can be finicky. 

 

A lot of manufactures recommend the CCI. I believe that are a little more reliable. But a little more expensive.

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CCI has my vote. I always fed my Ruger 22/44 with CCI Mini Mags. No major issues. Then at some time I got a bag of Winchester (I think) hollow-points. That bag was one huge dud. Plenty of Failure to Fire and lots of Failure to Feed. But the Mini Mags always run and cycle smooth. Highly recommended.

Edited by Obiwan
  • Like 1
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Thunderbolt is terrible ammo in my experience and runs in about zero percent of the guns I own.  

And this will usually solve just about any FTE issues you will have with a Ruger Rimfire.  

http://www.rimfiresports.com/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=RSC&Product_Code=VC10EE%2FVC2EE&Category_Code=R2EXT

 

I don't like TBolt either but Ive had 0 issues in my MK3 with it.   But my MK3 has several K rounds through it.  I haven't tried any JHP in it as I haven't found any that were less than the solids.   I have yet to find an ammo that won't work in it,  and I take what I can find these days.   Nothing is 100% and the original extractor is sharp edged and easily damaged ...  that replacement looks nice if the original fails.

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I would only shoot Thunderbolt in a manual action .22 and then I would prefer to shoot them using someone else's firearm.

 

After having had quite a few MK series Rugers I would agree that right out of the box many could use some help, especially MKIIIs with all that safety gear added. Either that or shoot a thousand rounds through it and then see how it works.

 

 After all - the MK series is a high volume mass produced pistol.  But I think the MK Series has the greatest potential of any 300.00 .22 to shoot nearly if not as well as any 900.00 .22 if a couple of steps are taken.  Speaking of 900.00 .22 pistols I bet even a NIB S&W 41 doesn't like Thunderbolts... 

 

The first thing I would do to a NIB MKIII is take a piece of 2000 grit sandpaper (easily found at Walmart in the car body section) and give the bolt a good going over. Then I would rub the interior of the receiver with that piece of sandpaper.  If you are OCD then finish with Flitz or even Semichrome, etc.  Check the ramp and leading edge of the chamber for a burr or ledge, carefully knock it down if found.  Polish the ramp and lightly inside the chamber.  Replace the extractor as posted earlier.  Extractor

http://www.rimfiresp...tegory_Code=VC2

 

The next thing I would do is remove the Loaded Chamber Indicator (if it were my pistol)  I would either leave the space open or go online and buy an LCI blank that fills the space.  Loaded Chamber Indicator replacement

https://www.tandemkr...2245-_p_16.html

 

And to make the MK III a wow! pistol I would do the following:

 

   Trigger

https://www.tandemkr...ROSS_p_197.html

0r

http://www.rimfiresp...tegory_Code=VC2

 

Ruger MK II bushing to replace the mag disconnect safety apparatus

http://www.rimfiresp...tegory_Code=VC2

or this

https://www.tandemkr...istols_p_9.html

 

Volquartsen Sear

http://www.rimfiresp...tegory_Code=VC2

 

Hogue Rubber Sleeve - cut the back off and glue this to the grip or use as seen but you will need to slip off to disassemble. This applies to the 22/45 that does not have removable grip panels.

http://www.midwayusa...p-sleeve-rubber

 

Then make something like this:

http://www.guntalk-o...opic.php?t=1175

 

And if the Ruger MK series is found to be too much of a PIA to dis and reassemble trade it in for a Buckmark or S&W 22 or whatever the Smith is called these days.  Both are serviceable and reliable pistols. I don't think either has the potential as the Ruger MK series to go well beyond what comes in the box with a little attention.  

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  • 3 weeks later...

I have 2 MKIII's that typically eat anything. Except that crap Federal makes. That being said, I'm not a fan of the T-bolts either.

 

Odd. My 22/45 thrives on the Federal stuff.

 

EDIT...Sorry this was about the MKIII, not the 22/45 I guess.

Edited by hipower
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I have been drooling over the new Smith & Wesson SW22 Victory. I guess I’m going to have to check it out.
http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Category4_750001_750051_804153_-1_757752_757751_image

I checked one out yesterday, they look pretty nice but they are heavier then a MKIII. I'm looking to go with a 22/45 lite so the weight of the S&W takes it out of the running for me. I also have a MKIII that eats anything, and is a tack driver. As for T-Bolts, no thank you.

rugermark3.jpg

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I checked one out yesterday, they look pretty nice but they are heavier then a MKIII. I'm looking to go with a 22/45 lite so the weight of the S&W takes it out of the running for me. I also have a MKIII that eats anything, and is a tack driver. As for T-Bolts, no thank you.

 

 

The victory is going to have a LOT of accessories.  It was designed around the idea of being a tinker's platform.  They are not on the market yet, but within 2 years  you should have a ton to choose from including lightweight builds.   Within a couple of  years they may start offering the light builds etc as a stock option instead of a replacement (expensive) approach.   Who knows?   I think this line is going somewhere, but there isn't a lot of point in running out to buy the first one on the shelf unless the stock initial build is what you want...   I am going to be keeping an eye on this line.

 

My current ruger 2.5 looks just like that one ^^^  but I rebuilt it from my mk II and made many mods.  I like the weight, but its a very heavy pistol.

Edited by Jonnin
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I would only shoot Thunderbolt in a manual action .22 and then I would prefer to shoot them using someone else's firearm.

 

Now that's great advice IMO. Remington hasn't made a decent .22LR cartridge in many years and that's pitiful for one of America's premier arms makers. Their Golden Bullets are pathetic as well. It's what happens when the bean counters have control and quality takes a back seat to profit.

 

OTOH, .22's are notorious for being ammo sensitive. Each .22 rifle or pistol is a law unto itself so it's often necessary to experiment with different cartridges to find what works best.

 

The OP's Ruger may well need to be broken in and after a few bricks it may smooth out and be completely reliable. I'd start by making certain that the chamber is spotlessly clean before each use as residue can cause problems. While it may be painful to your bank account, the pistol may prefer a more expensive cartridge. I paid $135 yesterday for two bricks of RWS Target Rifle cartridges. It hurt - a lot - but the rifle I use to shoot IBS bench rest matches loves the stuff... and it's actually pretty cheap compared to the upper tier ammo.

 

One final though; ALL semi-auto pistols require resistance to recoil in order to function properly. If the grip is relaxed, the shooter can cause the pistol to jam.

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I own a model of every major manufactures 22lr, semi automatic pistol on the market All of them like CCI and Federal. None of them will cycle thunderbolt. Most of them dislike the winchester products. The higher end Remington products are also problematic.
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  • 4 weeks later...

Got some CCI ammo.  100% reliable.  Also bought some of the Browning ammo.  That has also fed very well with zero issues through 100 rounds.  I'm getting to the range this weekend and will probably dump a few hundred rounds through it.  Picked up a cheap red dot.  I think before even shooting it, I may like iron sights better.  

  • Like 2
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  • 1 month later...

I just sent back 8 320 round boxes of Federal 22's, Sorry I cant tell you the type other than the box's were cream color with black strip down the center.  Talked to Quality control at Fed, and she said YOU CAN NOT USE THEM IN A S&W FIREARM, THEY WILL NOT BE POWERFUL ENOUGH TO CYCLE THE ACTION, & ,she was right but the OLDER fed I have work fine

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7 hours ago, Capbyrd said:

Sounds like Federal Automatch and I haven't had anything bad to say about those rounds. 

Not only have I not experienced any issues with the automatch, it is my .22LR of choice. I think they shoot very accurately and can count the problem rounds on both hands and feet, not bad considering the thousands of them I've sent downrange. 

 

I don't have any Smith rimfires though, that would be hugely disappointing for me to hear that if I did. 

 

I still wouldn't send them back, just use them in the Rugers.

  • Like 1
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10 minutes ago, TrickyNicky said:

Not only have I not experienced any issues with the automatch, it is my .22LR of choice. I think they shoot very accurately and can count the problem rounds on both hands and feet, not bad considering the thousands of them I've sent downrange. 

 

I don't have any Smith rimfires though, that would be hugely disappointing for me to hear that if I did. 

 

I still wouldn't send them back, just use them in the Rugers.

You must be the one guy who gets all the good boxes of Automatch. I've never found it to be consistently reliable. For me that's true of most all of the Federal .22.

Only my bolt guns shoot it reliably.

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