Ruger Mark III FTF, extractor question.

[WayneWong]

Recently, my Mark III has had trouble chambering the first round from both my magazines. Yes, I am using soft lead winchester white box ammo, which I have always used with no problem. I noticed that after loading a few rounds in the mags, they begin "pointing lower" and after loading, the top-most round gets pushed into the bottom edge of the feed ramp when the bolt is released.

I did some research and found that this is a common problem. Very common. Ruger tells people to lift the top-most bullet upwards in the magazine, and it will load properly and all will follow. This in fact works perfectly, although this is merely a work around to a problem in my eyes. Someone on the interwebs suggested that installing a Volquartzen extractor may solve the problem because by many accounts the Ruger extractor wears out prematurely.

So my question to you experts is, does an extractor play any part in the proper feeding of the first round of the magazine?

 

[Sir_Macadoo]

I know extractor tension can affect chambering on other models of firearm - stands to reason it would on a Ruger Mark III. If the tension is too tight or loose, the round wont be brought into the the chamber square and may not load properly. Again I have seen this first hand on other models, though not on a MarkIII - YMMV.

 

[Mike-Mike]

Recently, my Mark III has had trouble chambering the first round from both my magazines. Yes, I am using soft lead winchester white box ammo, which I have always used with no problem. I noticed that after loading a few rounds in the mags, they begin "pointing lower" and after loading, the top-most round gets pushed into the bottom edge of the feed ramp when the bolt is released.

I did some research and found that this is a common problem. Very common. Ruger tells people to lift the top-most bullet upwards in the magazine, and it will load properly and all will follow. This in fact works perfectly, although this is merely a work around to a problem in my eyes. Someone on the interwebs suggested that installing a Volquartzen extractor may solve the problem because by many accounts the Ruger extractor wears out prematurely.

So my question to you experts is, does an extractor play any part in the proper feeding of the first round of the magazine?

Is this a brand new gun?

 

[WayneWong]

No, the gun is about a year old and has plenty of rounds through it. It just started acting up recently, which is why I think something is worn down. The mags look great, and the feed ramp looks great too. I keep the gun very clean. Posters on the web say they experience the same problem with new mags. Ammo can definitely be a factor, but like I said, I have been using Winchester white box in the past without a problem. I guess my next step is trying different ammo, but if upgrading the extractor will help my Mark III eat more ammo, it's a cheap fix and I'd rather do that.

 

[Mike-Mike]

I will tell you that this is a great extractor.

https://www.volquartsen.com/products/163-exact-edge-extractor


But My MKII took 18 years to where down enough to need to be replaced. I think you got an ammo issue. Some of the lead bullets have a wax coating on them and to say its put on unevenly is an understatement.

 

[WayneWong]

That is the one they say to get, and that it is easy to put in yourself.

 

[Mike-Mike]

That is the one they say to get, and that it is easy to put in yourself.

It took me about 5 min to figure out how to get it in. Easy.

 

[WayneWong]

Ok, thanks. For $12.00 bucks I can be a big spender and try this, and also experiment with ammunition and a new mag.

Thanks, I appreciate your and Si_Macadoo's help.

jeff

 

[Mike-Mike]

Ok, thanks. For $12.00 bucks I can be a big spender and try this, and also experiment with ammunition and a new mag.

Thanks, I appreciate your and Si_Macadoo's help.

jeff

Good luck and hit me up if need any help getting it in.

 

[Rugerfan]

My son, a buddy of mine and myself have all had the same problem at one time or another with MkIII pistols. The cure in all cases was to clean the magazines. The wax lube from the ammo gums up the works and doesn't allow the rounds to feed properly.

Take the magazines apart (look in the manual for details), be careful of the spirng so it doesn't get away from you, clean with a good solvent, dry them out. I run a silicone cleaning cloth through them to to leave them nice and slippery on the inside, and the problem goes away.

YMMV but that fixed it for me.

 

[WayneWong]

I cleaned out one of the mags, but not with the wipe. I'll try that again like you say with the silicone cloth. I'll hit the problem from all angles. Thanks.

 

[Mike-Mike]

if all else fails call Ruger.. Unless your serial number starts with 180 they will fix anything

 

[WayneWong]

I hit this problem from all angles, now it feeds and cycles flawlessly. FLAWLESSLY!

Meticulously cleaned the magazines and firearm.
Upgraded the extractor
Switched to Federal Game Shock Ammo.

Just I don't know which one or two or even three of the above measures fixed the problem.

 

[Mike-Mike]

I hit this problem from all angles, now it feeds and cycles flawlessly. FLAWLESSLY!

Meticulously cleaned the magazines and firearm.
Upgraded the extractor
Switched to Federal Game Shock Ammo.

Just I don't know which one or two or even three of the above measures fixed the problem.

Nice work!

 

[Rugerfan]

Don't you just love it when a plan comes together? Glad to hear it all worked out.

 

[WayneWong]

My conclusion is that it is a design issue between the magazines and the feed ramps. Not necessarily a defect, just too tight a tolerance to allow hollow points or soft lead to slide over the bottom edge of the feedramp. The Volquartsen extractor was a good buy, I don't know if it really helped with the problem, but it sure chucks the brass out a lot better than the stock one.