Mark III 22/45 Hunter frame - hammer pin problems resolved??

FourCornerm'n · Post by **FourCornerm'n** » Mon Mar 12, 2007 1:49 pm

I haven't been able to find information about whether the problems causing damage to some Mark III 22/45 frames has been solved by Ruger, or not.

I thought the problem was due to very early wear AND TEAR by the hammer pivot pin enlarging its hole in the thin Mark III 22/45 frame.

Considering saving to buy a Mk III 22/45 Hunter that I'd shoot 100.000 to 200,000 rounds through for plate practice and competition.

Does anyone know who serious and how prevalent the problem is? What has Ruger done about it? What should they do about it?

Hopefully .....

Thanks

Post by **Bullseye** » Mon Mar 12, 2007 9:24 pm

I haven't had any updates from Ruger on any 22/45 frame modifications. I don't think they see this as a big problem. There were four or five of these, that I know of, where the frame was damaged by the hammer pin walking to the right. I cannot say if this situation was caused by improper installation of the long sear spring leg or a design flaw in the frame. I did see some of the damaged frames but the root cause was not determined. If you're worried about buying one of these, I would remind you that Ruger has a very good reputation for supporting their products, even if you weren't the original owner. It should give you plenty of satisfaction and last you a lifetime.

R,
Bullseye

FourCornerm'n · Post by **FourCornerm'n** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 1:59 pm

I'm beginning to see how consistently well Ruger tries to handle most customer concerns.

There's a Mark III 22/45 Hunter 4 1/2" for sale in a well reputed pawn shop in my small town for $425. It's been sitting there for more than two months. That's surprised me. I'm speculating, but I don't think the buying public has caught on yet to the usefulness/quality ratio of this particular configuration. It's not a bullseye configuration, of course, and that reduces interest among many of the people on these forums.

I noticed that "one of the pins" (hammer or sear) on this pawn shop gun has a "head" on its left end (when installed) that makes it impossible for the pin to pass through the frame, or, obviously, to drift to the right. Is this Ruger's idea of FIXing the problelm?

Perhaps, being low funded late in life, I'll just have to wait until others put large volumes of ammunition through their short barreled MK III 22/45 Hunters before I screw the courage up to invest.

I really think this configuration would make an outstanding steel plate competition gun and really want to try using one this way.

chompin' at the bit ....

Thanks, Bullseye

If any new information comes anyone's way about this Hunter tyke, maybe someone could give me a clue at: [email protected].

Thanks, again

Post by **Bullseye** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 7:10 pm

Are you saying that you saw a 22/45 Hunter with a big headed hammer pivot pin? Those do not come on a 22/45 pistol. They do come on a regular model (metal framed) pistol. If you saw one in a pawn shop then it likey had the part added by an owner not Ruger. The big headed pins do not have the locking grooves that the 22/45's have cut in them. The long legs of a 22/45 sear spring lock the pin in place with this groove. The big headed pin on a regular model is held in place by the grip panels. On a 22/45 the grip panels are molded and a pin like this can still walk to the left with use. That situation would ruin the right side of the frame.

There'd be one other problem with using a Mark III Hunter as a plate gun - that's the magazine disconnector safety. It causes the magazines to stick and this would hamper rapid reloading, something I'd consider important in plate shooting. There is a solution and that requires the disconnector be removed and replace some of the internal components of the Mark III pistol with those from a Mark II pistol. Fortunately these parts are compatible between the two models because the frames are the same dimensions.

R,
Bullseye

FourCornerm'n · Post by **FourCornerm'n** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 1:04 pm

Am going to review and research a bit, and get back here with results. No use speculating until I do. Couple of days at most.

My plate shooting is on a five shot, plus make up shot(s) (aarrrgh!!), course of fire, so if I ever get close to 10 rounds expended, I'd rather be in Philadelphia, anyway. If I go the Mk III 22/45 route, I'll be looking up elimination of the magazine disconnector safety. Thanks for the heads up.

If I move to Filly, you'll see a new user name: Phillycreamcheese.aarrrgh,

Thanks, agan