Ruger Mk4 22/45

[Sprintdude]

Ruger MK4 22/45 6 in. bull barrel
I've been target shooting with this pistol for a couple years now. It still shoots better than me.
A very nice gun and does mimic the ergonomics of a 1911 in shape and weight. Recoil is lighter as is the cost of ammunition!
I have had some failures to fire from, it appears, light strike on the cartridge. Removing then repositioning the cartridge will usually result in the cartridge firing. If it fails a second time then out it goes.
Does this appear to be the gun or the ammunition?
Wondering if anyone has had similar experience and/or advice.
Thanks

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[Ben B.]

It is reasonable and cheap to suspect the light strikes occur when the bolt is not fully closing due to a dirty, gunked up chamber. Scrub chamber out as well as face of the chamber and bolt, and then try a few "plunk tests". Next would be disassemble the bolt and clean out the firing pin area.

Obvious answer is that cheap/bulk ammo often has lousy priming, and either live with it or switch ammo. CCI round nose Minimags are almost flawless in most .22 autos and have good priming, so if it has light strikes/fail to fires with Minimags, take a hard look at the gun.

I hate the stereotypical gun forum answer of "clean it and switch ammo", but my experience with .22 pistols is its either poor ammo, that ammo just doesn't work with the pistol, or it's gunked up with carbon and wax.

 

[ORhutner]

This is pretty common in the Ruger Mark series, so much so that Volquartsen makes a kit to help remedy: https://volquartsen.com/retail_mailers/2022-06-30-easily-improve-function-reliability

Not saying this will fix your problem and Ben B. gives some great advice I would follow first but if that doesn't solve your issue I would look to the Volquartsen kit.

 

[solv3nt]

I usually don't have problems with mini mags, but cheap usually will have some problems. Dirty chambers will cause problems too.

 

[srxfan]

Agree with @Ben B. My experience on mine is the firing pin channel gets gunked up over time and that slows the pin and/or doesn't let it travel fully.

If you look at a twice struck case, is the light strike noticably lighter in indentation than the second strike? If that's true, then the pin is getting hung up somewhere perhaps. If the strikes look the same, then I'd suspect the ammo first.

 

[Bobbygun]

My experience has been - when there's a problem with my Mark IV 22/45 Lite, it's the ammo.

 

[WillametteWill]

Agree with @Ben B. My experience on mine is the firing pin channel gets gunked up over time and that slows the pin and/or doesn't let it travel fully.

Some folks oil/lube this area...which can make this problem worse. This is not an oil point IMHO.

 

[Sprintdude]

Thanks for the replies. I clean my 22/45 pretty thoroughly, field stripping it, after every session but will pay closer attention to the firing pin slot in the future. A drop of oil on eaach side of the bolt upon reassembly. And yes no problem with mini-mags, but sometimes with Winchester and others. No Remington Thunderbolt as I have not liked that ammunition for a decade or so.
Thanks!

 

[Greenbug]

Winchester rimfire ammo is the absolute worst in a semi-auto.

 

[Knobgoblin]

Winchester rimfire ammo is the absolute worst in a semi-auto.

White box is for FTF drill training only.

 

[Alexx1401]

Thanks for the replies. I clean my 22/45 pretty thoroughly, field stripping it, after every session but will pay closer attention to the firing pin slot in the future. A drop of oil on eaach side of the bolt upon reassembly. And yes no problem with mini-mags, but sometimes with Winchester and others. No Remington Thunderbolt as I have not liked that ammunition for a decade or so.
Thanks!

Next time you clean try a LIGHT coat of gun grease instead of oil. I have LONG found stuff is better for moving parts on a semi. due to it tending to stay where you want / need it better.

 

[YippeeKiYoRed]

I have the same pistol. Very few problems out of some 3600 rounds. Mine has the Volquartsen trigger kit, but the firing pin and extractor are still stock. Mostly CCI std velocity target, CCI mini-mag target, and Eley CMP special. Aguila has caused some issues.

 

[drstrangelove]

I have the same pistol. Very few problems out of some 3600 rounds. Mine has the Volquartsen trigger kit, but the firing pin and extractor are still stock. Mostly CCI std velocity target, CCI mini-mag target, and Eley CMP special. Aguila has caused some issues.

Agree to a T. Aguila is CRAP… waxy and dirty. Only issue I've had with bare lead CCI is with suppressed shooting, the amount of chamber lead buildup from backpressure lead aerosolization can get ridunculous, and will lead to extraction issues. Best advice with bare lead cleanup is lead solvent and about 100 passes with a bronze brush. If that doesn't work, leadaway patch and JB paste. And lets Not discuss the inside of the suppressor.

Inre light strikes, I'd replace the hammer spring if it continues.

 

[eustace_stelio]

I have same pistol and first time I took it shooting I shot auto match ammo and had 2 FTF due to primer not igniting. 2nd time I took it out I shot 100 rds of cci no issue.

 

[oa98pistol512]

I have a mk IV stainless threaded so its a tad heavier. For cheap stuff it only shoots remington super reliable. The expensive ammo it shoots all of it. My MK II for cheap only shoots fed super reliable and all expensive stuff. Both have valquartsen kits in them

 

[whiskeybill]

I have a Mk III Target, and the ammunition that will FTF is Federal Auto Match. Not so much lately, as a couple days ago I went through 150 rounds and had only one FTF. Good strikes on the rim, and I ran it through 3 times before I finally chucked it. It was like there was no priming compound in the case rim.

 

[orygun]

I've been shooting a Ruger Standard since I was 6 or 7 which means about 1969 or 70. The only time it fails is 100% due to ammo. I once owned a SlabSide and now own another Standard. The same has been true with them. Also the same with my Marlin 81DL.
That doesn't mean there aren't other possible issues at play, but when shooting bulk 22LR of any kind, it's a rare instance where the ammo isn't the culprit.
I agree that I can not recall one issue with MiniMags, ever.

 

[Alexx1401]

I've been shooting a Ruger Standard since I was 6 or 7 which means about 1969 or 70. The only time it fails is 100% due to ammo. I once owned a SlabSide and now own another Standard. The same has been true with them. Also the same with my Marlin 81DL.
That doesn't mean there aren't other possible issues at play, but when shooting bulk 22LR of any kind, it's a rare instance where the ammo isn't the culprit.
I agree that I can not recall one issue with MiniMags, ever.

since I have loved semi 22s al my life I have always used CCI MM as the "test" when a gun, pistol or rifle, was having feeding or firing issues. First thing I would always tell people to try is this ammo and go from there. Even when I was a kid and money was tight I soon learned I would rather pay the extra for this ammo.

 

[sikhed]

Rugers sometimes will have carbon/lead/wax build up in that slot right next to the chamber, preventing the pistol from fully going into battery.
Forgot what it's called ( shoulder thing that goes up?)
See attached photo:

 

[srxfan]

It's the slot that allows the extractor room to be there and have a hold onto the rim of the round. Don't know if it has an official name