Bummer, sorry to hear that! Those days at the range a so frustrating and I think we have all been there. If you were shooting Winchester ammo, than I would point the blame there, but I am actually a big fan of the federal bulk ammo and would not expect that to be the cause of your issues. How much lube does the owners manual advises for the break in period? I would think that you would want more than a 'light' lube to break it in? Maybe after a good cleaning, try more lube and give it another go.
-
If you enjoy the forum please consider supporting it by signing up for a NES Membership The benefits pay for the membership many times over.
-
Be sure to enter the NES/MFS May Giveaway ***Canik METE SFX***
New Ruger MKIV a real let down, what gives?
- Thread starter Oldarmy
- Start date
Bummer, sorry to hear that! Those days at the range a so frustrating and I think we have all been there. If you were shooting Winchester ammo, than I would point the blame there, but I am actually a big fan of the federal bulk ammo and would not expect that to be the cause of your issues. How much lube does the owners manual advises for the break in period? I would think that you would want more than a 'light' lube to break it in? Maybe after a good cleaning, try more lube and give it another go.
Your experience with MkIV is strange. I have a blued target MkIV (after recall) and out of the box it has been totally reliable with all sorts of ammo. After running through a few bricks of cheapest CCI and Federal high velocity ammo without issues, I put in a complete Volqartsen trigger kit, Tandemkross firing pin and extractor and a couple of springs along with Hogue Extreme G-10 grips and the gun is nothing short of phenomenal. I think MkIV is the best .22 Ruger ever made. In your case, call Ruger and have them inspect and rebuild the gun for you before modifying it. Good luck.
Last edited:
I've never even handled a MK IV, but have many rounds through my MK III.
Once had a very similar problem, turned out one of the scope mount blanking screws had worked it's way a little too far in and was just touching the slide.
Backed it out and all was good.
Once had a very similar problem, turned out one of the scope mount blanking screws had worked it's way a little too far in and was just touching the slide.
Backed it out and all was good.
Sounds to me that what is inconsistent is the MK series of guns. With all due respect I'm just a plinker not the greatest shot either. I shoot for fun and entertainment. I don't think anyone should have to go on a hunt for that special diet that my gun likes best lol. It's a freaking .22 and should eat whatever it is fed period. If it won't the problem is the gun. Jmo ymmv
ToddDubya
NES Member
I was going to suggest the extractor. My only beef with Ruger is that there are parts they tell you not to lube, but they come loaded with grease (striker channel in SR series). I'd blast the hell out of the bolt to get any grease out of there. The other place to look is the chamber and the little notch next to where the extractor goes when the bolt closes. If that has junk in it the extractor can't get a good purchase on the rim.
If the roll pin is sloppy you might open the ends a little and see if a little extra friction keeps it in place.
Good luck.
I know they will fix it but that's not the point it should be fixed before it leaves for sale. I know shit happens and I'm not crying just disappointed in the quality control. I should not be doing their job. I have taken apart the bolt, takes like three minutes. The extractor is a stamped part and the hooked part at the tip looks off to me. It had not been de-burred very well so I did it. I have checked the little depression it seats into and it seems clear of crap . But the really sharp point on the extractor could be part of the issue. It could be imbedding into the soft brass, made even softer by way of the discharge and not letting go of it. Like I said I cleaned it up a touch and will try some other ammo and see what happens. If it turns out I HAVE to use some special blend that will be the end of it. I repeat that I think the dammed thing should shoot .22lr any flavor within the specs for the gun. I am sure as the gun wares in it will. The springs are new as well as moving parts so I realize this. I could build some of this shit with hand tools if I had to lol. I want to play with my few toys not be fixing them right out of the box.
Dennis in MA
NES Member
- Joined
- Feb 12, 2007
- Messages
- 38,421
- Likes
- 33,359
Imagine if we bought AR's and had to only use "special" ammo or run XYZ for 200 rounds first. We'd be pretty pissed and call out the AR manufacturer. Same with a Glock or a S&W pistol.
Why do we accept guns that "need" breaking in? Shouldn't they be broken-in, not broken when we get them???
FWIW, I've got 2 Ruger Mark's. A 2 and a 3 (22/45). Both have been flawless with anything I've put in. I'd be pretty pissed if I had to use special ammo or break the gun in.
I agree 100% I was expecting a love affair and got the herps.
- Joined
- Sep 7, 2011
- Messages
- 2
- Likes
- 0
Send Back to Ruger. I have MK III hunter. probably about 5000 rounds fired. Never issues with anything except waxy bullets. Federal bulk has never been an issue. Stick with plated stuff. Tack driver, volq internals. Hogue rubber grip. Exceptional
Agreed. Rimfire and the words "unreliable", "finicky", and "POS!" has been used to describe it probably since rimfire was created. It's not right, but kinda nature of the beast and sets expectations up front. Some of us have experienced the same issues as the OP, and shared the workaround of using minimags. Which is no different than when someone post about their issues using cheap Federal Champion or Tulammo centerfire ammo. The feedback has universally been to stop using garbage ammo. The options are to either try better ammo or send it back to Ruger. This depends on what one's tolerances are with rimfire not meeting their expectations.
I pretty much consider every .22 LR pistol I pick up to be "a complete piece of shit until proven otherwise" ![[laugh]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/012.gif "Laugh [laugh]")
That's how much disdain I have for them in general. I don't think I've ever been more disappointed with one particular class of firearm... admittedly a lot of it is
because about 40% of the .22 LR ammo on the market is trash so that doesn't help things either.
Admittedly, the range of viable ammo seems to change depending on the gun. For example, a Ruger 10/22 will eat a lot more marginal .22LR than a lot of
semiauto 22 pistols will eat, etc.
-Mike
That's how much disdain I have for them in general. I don't think I've ever been more disappointed with one particular class of firearm... admittedly a lot of it is
because about 40% of the .22 LR ammo on the market is trash so that doesn't help things either.
Admittedly, the range of viable ammo seems to change depending on the gun. For example, a Ruger 10/22 will eat a lot more marginal .22LR than a lot of
semiauto 22 pistols will eat, etc.
-Mike
IMHO, .22 rimfire rarely runs well in an autoloading handgun. The features that allow some .22lr rifles to be reliable (heavier bolt with a long enough through for brass to clear the incoming round, curved magazine, etc) aren't doable in a pocket pistol.
Even with the .22 rifles, sometimes you just need to experiment to find the ammo that your particular gun is reliable and accurate with.
That was my experience with Ruger Mk IV -- needed to be run with full-power ammo for the first few range trips before it could reliably feed CCI-SV.
Even with the .22 rifles, sometimes you just need to experiment to find the ammo that your particular gun is reliable and accurate with.
Pistols, yes -- revolvers have always been fine. I've owned probably a dozen .22 LR and .22 WMR wheelguns over the years, and aside from a few bad batches of ammo, all have been very reliable.I pretty much consider every .22 LR pistol I pick up to be "a complete piece of shit until proven otherwise"
Yeah, my SW617 would pretty much eat and fire anything, so I can't really bitch there. It got filthy as hell pretty fast, but it always worked. I should have kept it
as a training aid... I just hated cleaning the thing.
-Mike
CatSnoutSoup
NES Member
Shot probably 300 rounds through my MKIV hunter yesterday, on only its second trip to the range, and it work flawlessly.
I was trying different ammo so I used CCI minimags, Federal Champion, Browning, and Aguila HV all copper plated cartridges.
The only slight issue I had was that it seems the Aguila HV cartridges have an OAL that is a hair to long for the MKIII-IV magazines and the spring does not want to return without some help. Once place in the magwell it feed fine, but until then you had to be careful the top cartridge did not fall out because it was not being forced up against the feed lips.
I was trying different ammo so I used CCI minimags, Federal Champion, Browning, and Aguila HV all copper plated cartridges.
The only slight issue I had was that it seems the Aguila HV cartridges have an OAL that is a hair to long for the MKIII-IV magazines and the spring does not want to return without some help. Once place in the magwell it feed fine, but until then you had to be careful the top cartridge did not fall out because it was not being forced up against the feed lips.
greencobra
NES Member
- Joined
- Jul 2, 2011
- Messages
- 27,248
- Likes
- 26,745
i don't think there's need for panic, these are pretty solid pistols. been out for over a year with no history of major issues.
Agreed, I still have faith in the MKIV just not the one I got lol. If it wasn't for bad luck I would have no luck.
ToddDubya
NES Member
Too late I already threw all of mine in the recycle bin.
Asaltweapon
NES Member
I haven't owned a .22 rimfire that liked everything it was fed. Maybe it was the market they were purchased or aimed at but my HS Victor and Citation 2 were picky eaters for CCI. When I bought my Pardini I was told to run nothing but Federal Gold thru it. Wouldn't run a practice w/o something going wrong with that crap. Changed to RWS Target and that was the cure for many, many thousands of rounds. Mod 41 only ate RWS even from the original owner who was also a teammate.
Sig Mosquito only likes CCI Stingers. I bought a HS (Texas made) Victor #00962 that I didn't own long enough to find out what it liked but it gave me a lot of issues.
Sig Mosquito only likes CCI Stingers. I bought a HS (Texas made) Victor #00962 that I didn't own long enough to find out what it liked but it gave me a lot of issues.
So I called Ruger and they want to see the gun. Packed it up today and will drop it at FedEx tomorrow. They said should be about 12 days till return, we shall see. I'll let you all know how it turns out. Thanks again for the input.
ToddDubya
NES Member
I had to deal with Ruger twice. One time they overnighted me a new part and the other time they fixed me up lickety split. The first problem was actually the striker channel being greased (I mentioned that above) and after I cleaned it I didn't even need the new part. The second they replaced a bunch of parts, test fired it 50 times and sent it back.
Yeah, it sucks to have to send a brand new gun back, but in the end I think you'll be satisfied with the repair.
Yeah, it sucks to have to send a brand new gun back, but in the end I think you'll be satisfied with the repair.
greencobra
NES Member
- Joined
- Jul 2, 2011
- Messages
- 27,248
- Likes
- 26,745
true. i ran a victor for 1/2 a season years back when i shot gbpl. it only worked with cci green tag and that usually didn't go well on the rapid fire stage. i switched guns in mid season to the kart i have in the classifieds at the moment. that never gave me a problem. but the op's mkIV makes my victor look like an all star.
I haven't shot it in forever, but I feel like the only type of ammo I've had any issues with in my MKIII is Federal Automatch. The other Federal bulk, Federal Champion, CCI minimags, and even the awful Remington Golden bullet (aside from straight duds) all worked fine.
22's are finicky. Try some different ammo first before completely giving up.
22's are finicky. Try some different ammo first before completely giving up.
The Auto Match has a plain lead bullet as opposed to most of the other stuff I have used in my .22's. I wonder if it hangs up on the ramp more than the copper plated stuff ? I also measured the Auto Match and the OAL is .0985" and CCI mini mag LR HP Varmint measures in at .0962" or 23 thousandths shorter overall. That seems like a lot to me any thoughts on this?
With most 22lr your going to have some guns that will eat it all and some that are fussy......even the same models. My 22-45 and 10-22 devour automatch so I keep at least 12 boxes on hand especially now that it's available and somewhat reasonably priced. I get it for $16 a box these days. As to your question on oal........you got me on that I have no idea. Dimensions on 22lr can be all over the map too.......wwb won't even fit in my revolver.
As far as lead vs copper plated......most guys shooting 22lr that I know using "high end"22lr is lead not copper plated so I'm not thinking lead vs copper is the problem.
Last edited:
Had 2 shooters that ran brand new ruger mk4's "out of the box" this sunday at the s.c. shoot.
Both were having feed and extraction issues. Brandy-new mags too, as in just took them out of the packaging before the 1st string.
1 jammed up so bad that the extracted round was kinked.
Both seemed to be magazine related.
Seemed that the mag follower would depress all the way down, but on return, would bind up and slow the feed down, almost like it had a burr in it or was full of garbage.
Both were having feed and extraction issues. Brandy-new mags too, as in just took them out of the packaging before the 1st string.
1 jammed up so bad that the extracted round was kinked.
Both seemed to be magazine related.
Seemed that the mag follower would depress all the way down, but on return, would bind up and slow the feed down, almost like it had a burr in it or was full of garbage.
Lots of QC issues I'm beginning to become aware of lately on new fore arms. Not just Ruger either. My buddy picked up a smith 586 l comp and right out of the box had light strike issues.......first cylinder of 357 mag factory ammo only 2 out of 6 rounds fired. Packed it up and sent it back already. I'm not inclined to buy any new guns these days.
greencobra
NES Member
- Joined
- Jul 2, 2011
- Messages
- 27,248
- Likes
- 26,745
up until i bought the redhawk 45colt/45 acp that was a f'n dog a few years ago, it was 30 years since i had my last headache. that was a walther ppk/s .380 and it was a piece of shit. wouldn't feed anything! went back twice with no results. oddly, the little .22 i run now for fun is a s&w m&p .22 compact made by walther. since the day i took it out of the box it runs and runs and runs. doesn't care what ammo i feed it.
