Good day with Ruger Mark IV and S&W 617

AzShooter · June 6, 2017, 03:26 PM

Today was a good day at the range with my Ruger Mark IV 22/45 and my S&W 617.

Two weeks ago I noticed that my compensator was filled with lead and I had to clean it. I tried “Wipe Out” that I got from Brownells to clean the comp. It worked like a charm. After about an hour of sitting I could scrape all the lead out.

I thought this would help my groups but to my surprise they went from 3 inches at 25 yards to 10 inches. To see what was wrong I determined I had to take my compensator off and check the muzzle. It was caked with the Wipe Out.

I cleaned it up using my MPro-7 and a brass brush. Now the muzzle is squeaky clean. I also decided to recut the crown to 11 degrees and see if that would help the groups.

Today I started at 25 yards with Eley Pistol Match and saw a big difference. What would only group 3 inches before now gave me a great group 1 inch in diameter. I was shooting from a heavy bag rest which was very steady.

CCI Mini Mags and Standard Velocity also produce good groups of 1.5 inches each.

The 617 needed a little work. I had to increase my trigger pull from just under 7 lbs double action to just under 8 lbs to get 100 per cent reliability. Using Federal HV and Federal Auto Match The gun functioned flawlessly through 100 rounds of each. Groups were also nice at 1 ½ inches at 25 yards from the same heavy bag rest.

The 617 still would skip a round or two out of 100 using CCI MM or SV ammo. Fortunately I have a good supply of Federal Ammo for the 617.

gnystrom · June 12, 2017, 01:00 PM

Be aware there is a recall involving Ruger MKIV's

https://ruger.com/dataProcess/markIVRecall/

Model12Win · June 15, 2017, 07:31 AM

If you're Mk IV's serial number does not start with a "5", it is unsafe and needs to be sent back to Ruger before firing.

June 6, 2017, 03:26 PM	#1
AzShooter Senior Member Join Date: June 20, 2006 Location: Surprise, Az. Posts: 766	Good day with Ruger Mark IV and S&W 617 Today was a good day at the range with my Ruger Mark IV 22/45 and my S&W 617. Two weeks ago I noticed that my compensator was filled with lead and I had to clean it. I tried “Wipe Out” that I got from Brownells to clean the comp. It worked like a charm. After about an hour of sitting I could scrape all the lead out. I thought this would help my groups but to my surprise they went from 3 inches at 25 yards to 10 inches. To see what was wrong I determined I had to take my compensator off and check the muzzle. It was caked with the Wipe Out. I cleaned it up using my MPro-7 and a brass brush. Now the muzzle is squeaky clean. I also decided to recut the crown to 11 degrees and see if that would help the groups. Today I started at 25 yards with Eley Pistol Match and saw a big difference. What would only group 3 inches before now gave me a great group 1 inch in diameter. I was shooting from a heavy bag rest which was very steady. CCI Mini Mags and Standard Velocity also produce good groups of 1.5 inches each. The 617 needed a little work. I had to increase my trigger pull from just under 7 lbs double action to just under 8 lbs to get 100 per cent reliability. Using Federal HV and Federal Auto Match The gun functioned flawlessly through 100 rounds of each. Groups were also nice at 1 ½ inches at 25 yards from the same heavy bag rest. The 617 still would skip a round or two out of 100 using CCI MM or SV ammo. Fortunately I have a good supply of Federal Ammo for the 617.

June 12, 2017, 01:00 PM	#2
gnystrom Senior Member Join Date: July 30, 2006 Posts: 308	Be aware there is a recall involving Ruger MKIV's https://ruger.com/dataProcess/markIVRecall/

June 15, 2017, 07:31 AM	#3
Model12Win Junior member Join Date: October 20, 2012 Posts: 5,854	If you're Mk IV's serial number does not start with a "5", it is unsafe and needs to be sent back to Ruger before firing.