When I first started shooting regularly, I couldn't understand the point of a .22. I thought of it more as a joke or a marginal step up from a BB gun. I was wrong. VERY VERY wrong.
.22 pistols serve a great number of functions. They are excellent diagnostic tools as well. However, more importantly, ammunition for them is inexpensive when compared with any centerfire cartridge. 550 rounds can be had for under 20$ where a lone box of .45 or .38 will set you back the same amount.
This translates to more shooting, more practice, more fun! After shooting a Beretta Neos, I was convinced I had to have a .22 pistol of my own. I did my research and ultimately narrowed it down between a Browning Buckmark and a Ruger Mark III. The Ruger won in the end.
I purchased a Ruger Mark III Hunter with a 6 7/8" barrel. I wanted something that was accurate and that could be customized. Speaking of customizing your Ruger, Volquartsen has a wonderful line of upgrade products which are priced fairly and eliminate some of the issues I believe most people have with the Mark III series pistols.
I think by all accounts, the Mark II pistol without the Loaded Chamber Indicator (LCI) and magazine disconnect is the pinnacle of the Mark series. However, I wanted a new gun so the Mark III it was. Warts and all.
I shot the gun. A lot. My thumbs were sore from loading magazines. Religiously I would clean the gun after every range trip or 500 or so rounds. Whichever came first.
Contrary to what most people say, the gun is not that difficult to take down. It is different, but not difficult. I use the hook from a safety pin to open the lever on the mainspring housing and a small wooden dowel rod to push the mainspring housing pin out of the receiver. After that, the gun is basically taken apart. I believe where people get into trouble is the reassembly which requires the hammer to be forward or else the mainspring will not close correctly and the bolt will not cycle.
Anyway, there are plenty of youtube videos of how to disassemble your Ruger. To ease the disassembly process and smooth up the internal workings of the gun, I bought a Mark II style bushing from Volquartsen (along with an extended bolt release, firing pin, extractor, disconnector, and sear). The Mark II bushing eliminates the magazine disconnect and consequently the need to insert and remove the magazine from the disassembly reassembly process.
I also removed the LCI as it got dirty and is very difficult to clean. I don't care about how it looks, but when it gets dirty, it doesn't move freely and then the gun starts to jam up. And it jammed up a lot. 3x in 10 rounds wasn't uncommon. I nearly gave up on the gun and then decided to try removing the LCI. Magically the gun never had a single jam again (and this is at least 5000+ rounds later).
After a few years of flawless performance, I decided to add another Ruger Mark III to the family and bought the competition model with the slab side barrel. I performed essentially the same modifications to this gun as with the Hunter. However, it didn't get shot nearly as often. I think it was because I didn't really care for the target grips it came with.
I decided to replace the grips with grips I bought from Handgungrips. The grips required minor fitting which I did with a drill bit in my hand and a small round file. I did not use a power tool with the drill bit! After putting on the new grips I figured I'd take the gun apart and clean it before I took it to the range.
This is where things got bad. A pin on the mainspring housing had drifter into a lip on the frame which means that the mainspring housing could not be removed without excessive force which would break the mainspring housing and possibly the grip frame. I called Ruger.
From the start, there customer service was extremely pleasant. I spoke with somebody in customer service as well as technical support and was told that my problem was not unique but was most likely an improperly staked pin from the factory and that my gun would have to be sent back to be serviced. They issued me a return and sent me a label.
I was up front with them that there were aftermarket parts in the gun. They said this would not be a problem and to enclose a letter stating the problem with the gun.
Normally before shipping a gun back, I would have removed the aftermarket parts but I had no choice but to ship it with them since I could not break the gun down. This made me very nervous. Especially since there were numerous accounts of Ruger either rejecting a gun for service based on modifications or flatly not returning the gun with the aftermarket parts. Additionally, I was worried since some of my modifications included the removal of the LCI and the magazine disconnect. Both of these are considered to be "safety" devices on the gun.
I don't keep my .22 pistols loaded nor do I carry them for any sort of reason. They are strictly range guns, so I don't need to have a visual indicator that is going to jam my gun nor a magazine disconnect. Follow the golden rule of keeping your pistol pointed in a safe direction and this is absolutely never an issue.
Despite my fears, I sent the gun in to Ruger because frankly, I had no choice. The grip frame is a factory fitted part and the mainspring wasn't going to come out without destroying it.
My letter requested they use the original parts or at the very least return them as they were after market parts.
It took Ruger 2 weeks from the date I mailed the gun to the day it came back. I consider this to be a very good turn around time. Granted Henry returned a rifle to me in under a week once but that is a rare exception. That reminds me that Henry must have the best customer service on earth. They are very pleasant to deal with. I can't speak more positively about them. But back to Ruger.
During the 2 weeks, I was reading customer service stories where people said how great Ruger was...unless you had aftermarket parts or modifications. I would get myself worked up and then just remind myself that there is nothing I can do about it.
I opened the package nervously not sure what to expect. The LCI was reinstalled and there was a bag inside of the case which contained my original Mark II bushing. They had reinstalled the magazine disconnect. However, the rest of the parts that I had sent were installed on the gun. They had a letter with it that stated something to the effect of legal liabilities required that any gun leaving their factory have all of its safeties in tact. I understand. I was pleasantly surprised though that all of my parts were in the gun. I was also sent another manual with the gun. When I had shipped it, I only shipped the gun, 1 magazine, and the plastic case it came with.
In short, I am very impressed with Ruger's customer service. They treated me right. Did I get lucky getting my parts back? Perhaps. But I was polite with them even though I was freaking out on the inside that a gun that had been shot so little and was less than a year old had developed such a catastrophic problem. My letter was also quite clear on what to do with any parts that were in the gun.
I want to the thank the good people at Ruger for taking care of me! I will continue to buy Ruger with confidence that they stand behind their product!
