Ruger MK III Dissassembly/Reassembly problem

[jcisbig]

I recently got a Ruger mk III with a 5 1/2 inch bull barrel in the blued finish. I attempted to disassemble and reassemble the pistol according to the instructions and everything was pretty easy to figure out if you followed the instructions. However, the barrel and grip frame fit EXTREMELY tightly together and I had to do what I would call excessive banging on the pistol with a rubber mallet to disengage the barrel from the grip frame. Does this get easier over time? Or should I send it in to Ruger to have them take a look at it? Thanks!

[whoshisface]

To date I've never been succesful in getting the barrel away from the frame MKII . I don't have a rubber hammer to do so. I've hit it with just about everything else, a shoe placed against the barrel and a hammer pounding away didn't budge it, I'm pretty sure it's just a very tight fit and thats the way they intended it to be for some reason.

[woody]

The Ruger mk2/3 pistols need a tight frame to receiver fit. If it gets very loose you may have
malfuntions. Best thing is to not disassemble it if you don't need to.

[aubie515]

If you have an older MKIII the instructions are incorrect because Ruger used the same instructions as the MKII and the MKIII is different.

You don't need a rubber mallet per se...what I do sometimes is I slam the barrel against the carpet...that will normally be enough force to remove the barrel receiver from the frame. I reverse the procedure when I install the frame and the receiver. Most people don't disassemble the MKIII that often. If you have issues you can IM me or give me a call and I'll help you through the process.

[whoshisface]

Hehe, Yeah I didn't clean the damn gun for a long time because it's a pain well sure enough I started stove piping, When i cleaned it the damn feeder ramp was so lead filled that I wasn't surprised to have misfeeding problems, That's what happens when you just clean the barrell of a gun, Duh.

[Suburban]

The Ruger mk2/3 pistols need a tight frame to receiver fit. If it gets very loose you may have
malfuntions. Best thing is to not disassemble it if you don't need to.

+1

For a long time, I didn't even know that the grip frame came off without tools. I started having feeding problems when the reciever got loose enough to remove the grip frame.

[Frenchy]

Get your self a good piece of 3/4 plywood to place on your work bench, slam the gun down holding the barrel with a finger in the triger guard to take off, same procedure but on the muzzle to place it back in.
Rugers have always been tight, if you do any thing like try to pry the lug, or like some do actually sand/grind it down, your gun will lose much of its accuracy and not function well.

[Krackels]

Frenchy's right.

My MKII is probably at least 5 years old and it's still tight enough that I have to hit the muzzle pretty hard with the heel of my hand to get it to come off.

[jcisbig]

Okay guys, thanks for the info. I guess it's a good thing that it's tight, but it's not so good that I can't easily take it apart to clean it. Ah well, I guess I just won't have to clean as often as I thought. But from what I hear, it's a good idea to keep the breech area clean, including the feed ramp and whatnot? That shouldn't be too hard. Thanks for all the input!

[greener]

I use a rubber mallet or a piece of wood. No problems getting the barrel off my MKIII. Takes a bit of work to get it back on and the bolt stop holes lined up. I use put the bolt stop pin in through the top and tap on the barrel until everything lines up. No real problem, just takes a bit more time.

nice thing about Rugers is they don't require that level of field strip that often. Other nice thing is if you have a bad day shooting you get to beat the gun when you come home.