The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - Ruger MkIII 22/45 Hunter-Mainspring Housing Problem

zombiehunter · October 12, 2009, 12:50 PM

I know, I know, it seems like a new Ruger Mk disassembly/reassembly question gets posted every few weeks. I've searched around the forum and found a couple threads on disassembly/reassembly issues with MkIII Targets and 22/45 Hunters, and I think I've got a problem somewhat similar to Tintop's in this thread, except on my 22/45 model so I don't have removable grip plates.

I disassembled the pistol (for my first time) after putting a few hundred rounds through it because I wanted to see what the fuss was about. There were no problems with disassembly - I stopped after removing the mainspring housing and the bolt, saw no reason to remove the barrel. Then without any noticeable trouble I reassembled it (really I don't remember if I was holding the barrel up while decocking the hammer - I've been monkeying with this for so many hours now that I can't recall) and function checked it. After pulling the bolt back (with mag out) the bolt wouldn’t slam home without some light manual assistance from my left thumb. I thought, "Damn, I must have missed something in the reassembly I guess that's what the fuss is about." So I tried to re-disassemble and this is where I ran into my problem. Now the mainspring housing won’t swing free from the grip. Safety’s off, internal lock is off, tried it with mag in and mag out, but the mainspring housing will only swing out about 3/8” before it gets hung up and won't travel any farther. To make things more exciting, the hammer won’t decock – no firing pin click - in dry fire (with mag in, safety off, and internal lock off), either – which I’m suspecting may be the reason the mainspring housing won’t swing free. Although, the bolt doesn't get hung up (easily slams home after charging it back with mag out) when the mainspring housing is swung out that 3/8".

Here's a pic of what I'm dealing with. (And yes, the marred frame is from me getting frustrated and rammy while trying to pry the mainspring housing free - really pisses me off at myself for letting my impatience mark up the polymer frame.)

I took it to one of my local gun shops, who’s usually really good with challenges, but he wasn’t able to get it to swing free and recommended sending it into Ruger. Before I do that though, I wanted to check and see if you guys had any clever ideas on getting this sucker re-disassembled. If it is a cocked hammer keeping the mainspring housing from swinging free, then is it possible to decock the hammer (without using the trigger) by manually going up through the mag well or down through the receiver? Thanks in advance, guys.

October 12, 2009, 12:50 PM	#1
zombiehunter Junior Member Join Date: October 12, 2009 Location: Colorado Posts: 6	Ruger MkIII 22/45 Hunter-Mainspring Housing Problem I know, I know, it seems like a new Ruger Mk disassembly/reassembly question gets posted every few weeks. I've searched around the forum and found a couple threads on disassembly/reassembly issues with MkIII Targets and 22/45 Hunters, and I think I've got a problem somewhat similar to Tintop's in this thread, except on my 22/45 model so I don't have removable grip plates. I disassembled the pistol (for my first time) after putting a few hundred rounds through it because I wanted to see what the fuss was about. There were no problems with disassembly - I stopped after removing the mainspring housing and the bolt, saw no reason to remove the barrel. Then without any noticeable trouble I reassembled it (really I don't remember if I was holding the barrel up while decocking the hammer - I've been monkeying with this for so many hours now that I can't recall) and function checked it. After pulling the bolt back (with mag out) the bolt wouldn’t slam home without some light manual assistance from my left thumb. I thought, "Damn, I must have missed something in the reassembly I guess that's what the fuss is about." So I tried to re-disassemble and this is where I ran into my problem. Now the mainspring housing won’t swing free from the grip. Safety’s off, internal lock is off, tried it with mag in and mag out, but the mainspring housing will only swing out about 3/8” before it gets hung up and won't travel any farther. To make things more exciting, the hammer won’t decock – no firing pin click - in dry fire (with mag in, safety off, and internal lock off), either – which I’m suspecting may be the reason the mainspring housing won’t swing free. Although, the bolt doesn't get hung up (easily slams home after charging it back with mag out) when the mainspring housing is swung out that 3/8". Here's a pic of what I'm dealing with. (And yes, the marred frame is from me getting frustrated and rammy while trying to pry the mainspring housing free - really pisses me off at myself for letting my impatience mark up the polymer frame.) I took it to one of my local gun shops, who’s usually really good with challenges, but he wasn’t able to get it to swing free and recommended sending it into Ruger. Before I do that though, I wanted to check and see if you guys had any clever ideas on getting this sucker re-disassembled. If it is a cocked hammer keeping the mainspring housing from swinging free, then is it possible to decock the hammer (without using the trigger) by manually going up through the mag well or down through the receiver? Thanks in advance, guys.