Ruger mk iv jamming

[SGW Gunsmith]

This was unnecessary.

I have shot 800 fps match exclusively for nearly 2 years now - and over 7k rounds.
Not - A - Single - mis-feed or issue. At all.

Super! Which brand of .22 rimfire was that. I'd like to try some of it.

 

[EHJ]

Super! Which brand of .22 rimfire was that. I'd like to try some of it.

RWS Super Pistol 250.
But I'm not running suppressed...

 

[SGW Gunsmith]

RWS Super Pistol 250.
But I'm not running suppressed...

Well, RWS Super Pistol 250 has a box velocity of 853 FPS

.22 Long Rifle
40 Grain Lead Round Nose
Premium Line Super Pistol 250
Muzzle Velocity: 853 fps
Uses: Target Shooting and Competition

Doubtful it will cycle any semi-auto .22 Long Rifle handgun. But, I certainly will try some of it as soon as I get it in. Doesn't matter, suppressed or not, at least according to my Oehler 35 P chronograph.
Ordered a few boxes this morning, so will see how, or if, it will cycle a Ruger Mark II Government, Ruger Mark II & IV Competition Target, Browning Buckmark Contour, Smith & Wesson Model 41, and a Volquartsen LLV. Gonna be an interesting test.

 

[EHJ]

Well, RWS Super Pistol has a box velocity of 853 FPS

SNAP!

Doubtful it will cycle any semi-auto handgun.

These are both semi-auto handguns, no?




Tapping out of this conversation.

[edit:who am i kidding...]

 

[SGW Gunsmith]

Yes, you are very observant. I'll be using five of my own .22 rimfire pistols, not suppressed. Coulda swore you wrote 800 FPS previously. Doesn't matter, I'll chronograph the velocities when the ammunition arrives.

 

[EHJ]

 

[SGW Gunsmith]

yes...Why would it shoot 50 or so rounds then jam? I would think if it was the mags it would jam consistently...Like you my mk II and mk III run awesome

Excellent point! Magazines cause more feeding failures than anything else other than under-powered .22 rimfire ammunition, especially if they have rough edges along the feed lips. Another item, especially on the Ruger Mark & 22/45 pistols, is the factory extractor:


This part has been in use since "Day 1" concerning the Ruger Mark and Standard RST pistols. The extractor is stamped out from sheet steel. What I've shown above is the bottom, or off side, of the extractor where the metal cutting die is smearing metal into the shape of a sharp burr.
Now, with those burrs present, the extractor is a bit thicker than the intention of what it should be. Now, add to the fact that .22 rimfire ammunition is some of the dirtiest ammunition out there, carbon and other crappola will collect on the bottom burrs and not allow the extractor to work through its arc of pulling out a spent case until the extractor hits the back face and sends it off to the right. Result: stovepipes and misfed rounds.
There's a very good reason that there are at least 6 aftermarket extractors for these Ruger Mark pistols. I have tested each and every extractor available and have settled on just one for personal use in my personal array of Ruger Mark pistols.

 

[SGW Gunsmith]

Oi. Say it ain't so. Sounds like the Mark IV won't work unless you get some other company's parts. That they can't even fix it at the factory with Ruger parts. I used to have an M II that I shot many thousands of rounds through, and it never misfired or jammed or failed to eject even once. Sounds like I shoulda kept it.

No, that's not quite the case. I ordered a Mark IV Competition Target right after all the commemorative issue pistols with the knife were sold. I use Davidson's in Prescott, AZ for my Ruger Distributor as they are so close to the ruger plant they can get guns from the local taxi-cab service.



My Mark IV Competition Target has **NOT** been sent back for the recall, nor will it, ever. Getting a magazine for the effort didn't work for me. I fixed the issue(s) myself and my pistol operates wonderfully. The actual recall involved a bit more than just the safety:

The safety plate hook was modified at the factory, and an "S" was added, hopefully for "Safety", and not some other adjective. I modified my original plate myself and it also works wonderfully and as positively as possible.
During the recall, Ruger also redesigned and replaced the "SEAR". Not sure they ever mentioned that:


Another feature "improvement" the engineers at Ruger thunk up was to change the thumb safety detent from steel to plastic. For 70 years, the Ruger RST Standards on up through the Ruger Mark III pistols, ALL versions, used a steel safety plate detent. Here's a comparison of the two detents with the black plastic version, which now has a nose/face, like a pekinese:

Gee! I wonder if that plastic detent nose wearing flat in short order had anything to do with the safety drifting off the "ON" position? I replaced the black one in my pistol, along with quite a few others. No flat noses so far.

 

[DJW]

I have a Ruger MkIV 22\45 lite...bought it a couple of years ago. I had alot of issues with it in the beginning. I tried tuning the magazines after watching a video on YT. Tried different ammo...nothing seemed to work. And then...it just started working. I guess whatever was wrong got worked out? I wouldn't say it's flawless, but I'm not having problems with it any more.

 

[Alexx1401]

I have a Ruger MkIV 22\45 lite...bought it a couple of years ago. I had alot of issues with it in the beginning. I tried tuning the magazines after watching a video on YT. Tried different ammo...nothing seemed to work. And then...it just started working. I guess whatever was wrong got worked out? I wouldn't say it's flawless, but I'm not having problems with it any more.

A VERY common thing with these is the extractor. It's a fairly simple fix if that is what is wrong. If that was what was wrong with yours it may have worn it's self in. For anyone having the problem this is a good place to start. Had a buddy who had a MKIII for years he was angry with. Would not work at all with cheap ammo, only fair with the best stuff. He finally tried this and after he put it in it eats even the cheap ammo great. There are of course video of how to do it yourself for anyone who wants to try one.

Exact Edge Extractor for MKII, MKIII, MK IV, and 10/22 | Volquartsen Firearms

volquartsen.com

 

[kmk1012]

A VERY common thing with these is the extractor. It's a fairly simple fix if that is what is wrong. If that was what was wrong with yours it may have worn it's self in. For anyone having the problem this is a good place to start. Had a buddy who had a MKIII for years he was angry with. Would not work at all with cheap ammo, only fair with the best stuff. He finally tried this and after he put it in it eats even the cheap ammo great. There are of course video of how to do it yourself for anyone who wants to try one.

Exact Edge Extractor for MKII, MKIII, MK IV, and 10/22 | Volquartsen Firearms

volquartsen.com

Great advice here, I've never needed one in either of my four 22/45's. I however did wear one out. It never stopped extracting but I noticed it was roundish when I took it down for the 50,000 round checkup. No, not an error on my part, this one has well in excess of 65,000 rounds through it with only one issue needing factory assistance (didn't even need to send it in).