[Skeet]

I just received my Ruger MKIII Hunter from Gander Mountain. I've read of the apparent difficulty of breaking this weapon down for a thorough cleaning and was talking to the sales person (who seemed very knowledgable) about it. He recommended that I not take the gun apart at all...but just open the breach and clean it out and also clean the barrel. He said that cleaning in that manner would be all that is needed for an initial cleaning and for subsequent cleaning for quite a while.

What do you think of this recommendation? Sure seems like an easier route at least for the first thousand rounds or so. Let me hear your opinions please.

Thanks,
Bob

 

[DrJ]

I had my MkIII Target broken down and cleaned the first time at my gun range and when I picked it up, I asked the owner of the range this same question. He said that you should only need to break it down every couple of years. Between break downs, he suggested just cleaning the barrel and breach assembled. However, he admits to not being an expert on Rugers so I would also value what the folks here think.

 

[Jim D]

FWIW, field stripping is intimidating the first couple times, just follow the instructions in the manual and you’ll do fine. I believe the Mark III is similar to the Mark II so hope I’m not speaking out of school. Autos tend to be less tolerant to dirt and grime than revolvers so I recommend cleaning after each trip to the range, at least during the break-in period.

I have 3 mark IIs, one was purchased new and the other 2 were new to me. I treated each as if new giving them a good cleaning (field strip) before I fired 1000 rounds as break-in. Each trip to the range I would shoot 200-300 rounds (testing different ammo) after which the gun was field stripped and cleaned. This let me inspect for any damage and powder buildup.

Hope this helps…

 

[Rich447]

I just dropped my off at the smith because I botched putting it back together. He said they recommended to their customers that they do not tear it down (Mark II/III's). I'm kind of with Jim D on this and am likely to try and learn from the experience and not let it intimidate me and continue to tear it down after each value pack of 500 rounds.

The first few times I did it correct and can't imagine letting the build up in the trigger area (only after 550 rounds) continue with out a tear down cleaning. Then there is the grime that gets in the bolt action and you need to remove the bolt to get to.

I'm a beginer, but I say if you want to tear it down and learn how to do it yourself don't let others intimidate you that you shouldn't.

 

[Iowegan]

I have this narrow-minded thing about guns. If you can't field strip them for cleaning, you shouldn't own them. That said, MK Series guns aren't that difficult to field strip and reassemble. You do have to read the instructions and follow them to the letter.

 

[TomC]

I tend to strip to include removing the upper receiver from the lower receiver only when I am taking the trigger mechanism apart. For cleaning, I remove the bolt only. I leave the upper and lower receivers together.