Ruger Standard misfire

[fatelk]

I have an older Ruger Standard .2 auto pistol that I bought recently. It's from the early '70s, but looks to be practically unfired. It was really gummed up bad, like someone had used some WD40 on it decades ago, and it turned to varnish. I cleaned it up thoroughly. It shoots and functions fine, except for for an odd malfunction.

About once per magazine it misfires. Click and no bang, but no dent on the rim at all. I started paying attention and every once in a while the bolt doesn't close all the way. It hangs open a tiny fraction of an inch because the rim is partially caught on the extractor but not quite in the bolt face where it should be. It seems to be an extractor problem but I can't quite figure it out.

I took the extractor out and compared it closely to the one from my other Standard that I've had for 30+ years and shot tens of thousands of rounds through, and can't see any difference. I even swapped the bolts between them and they both seemed to work fine then, but I don't want to permanently swap parts between them.

I suppose my next step is to order a new extractor, but I thought I'd check here first and see if anyone had ever seen this problem before.

[samari46]

You may or may not have cleaned out all of the old wd-4o or gunk in the bolt. Check the back end of the firing pin for burrs caused by getting hit by the firing pin. And sometimes the claw on the extractor may need some work. Look to see if it has already been messed with file marks or something similar. lotta parts for Ruger firearms won't be sent out to consumers. If any burrs on the back of the firing pin they can be files or stoned off but don't shorten the firing pin. And check with Brownells either online catalog or give them a call. If it were me I'd replace both the firing pin and complete extractor assembly. Kroil is a great penetrant for loosening things up. If you have some let the bolt soak for a few days before disassembling it. Pipe cleaners q-tips are great tools for getting gunk out of small areas. Use the cotton q-tips. Frank

[fatelk]

I should have mentioned that I completely disassembled and thoroughly cleaned and inspected the entire bolt in detail. I couldn’t find anything wrong. It all looked like new, no burrs or varnish.

I tinkered with it side by side with my other one, chambering rounds slowly from the magazine and watching how they go in. I did notice that a couple times the rounds popped up out of the magazine instead of sliding up under the extractor like they’re supposed to. It’s not a magazine issue; I have a bunch of good magazines. I’ll swap extractors next time I get to the range; that should tell me something.

It looks like I can get a new extractor on eBay for $7. I never realized that the Ruger .22 auto pistols used the same extractor as the 10/22.

[Winger Ed.]

If its that low mileage, and works almost every time, ya wouldn't think it would need parts.

I'd sure check and make sure the firing pin & the hole it rides in, and its spring are really clean.
Any little bit of old goo in there would slow it down.

[Thin Man]

Check the extractor recess in the frame beside the rear edge of the barrel. If it has any crud in it that will affect the function of the extractor. Buy a cheap set of tiny screw drivers, the kind you would use to tighten the stems on glasses. These small screw drivers make wonderful tools to dig and pry out the junk from recesses that otherwise cannot be cleaned out.

If you suspect your recoil spring assembly may be weak, be aware that Ruger no longer offers these parts for the first generation pistols. Neither do the after-market vendors. Be very cautious with this part of your pistol. Good luck.

[pietro]

.

If all else fails, I would suggest that you contact Ruger Customer Service with the SN.

They will often send you a pre-paid shipping label (ask for one), to send it back to them to be repaired under warranty - even if you're not the original buyer.

I sent in a 1960 mfg'd Single Six that had two chambers undersize.

They replaced the .22WRM cylinder, plus fitted an extra .22LR cylinder to make it a convertible, and sent it directly back to me - all at no charge.

.

[fatelk]

I’ll take the bolt apart again tonight after work, go over it with a magnifying glass and see if I missed anything. I’m pretty sure it shouldn’t be too hard to figure out, since I have another just like it of the same vintage. I can take them both apart and compare parts side by side, even swap individual parts at the range it need be. These are simple little guns, shouldn’t take too long to find the problem.

As I look at the photos and think it through, it’s clear that what’s happening is that the rim is not reliably sliding up under the extractor as it comes forward out of the magazine. That narrows it down to either the extractor, bolt face, or magazine. The magazines are not suspect, so there really can’t be much to it. The only frustrating thing is that it doesn’t happen every time.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I suspect you considered this, if it is the case...But I'll mention it, just in case.

Old 22LR ammo (a decade or so old) that had a wax/oil lube on them, the lube could be dried up and making for difficult chambering. I have some 20 yr old Federal Lightning ammo that would cycle most of the time, but not all the time, in my Ruger Mk II. I freshened the lube on that old ammo, and then the ruger would cycle reliably 100%. If this is a possibly, be sure to check and clean the chamber too.

[Petrol & Powder]

Before you start swapping out parts or filing on things, make absolutely certain that pistol is completely clean.

I would detail strip the bolt, including the extractor and firing pin. Make sure everything is clean and free from old dried up oil and other crud.

When you are completely satisfied it's totally clean........you may want to lightly polish a few parts such as the extractor.

I've owned a bunch of MKII's over the years and they are boringly reliable. I would eliminate all of the potential simple issues first.

and yes, I know you cleaned it once.........do it again

[Tripplebeards]

I had the same issue with the used CZ 452 ultra lux I bought used. I took the bolt apart and the firing pin was solid gunk and varnished.I cleaned everything out and then I polished all the I internals with mothers chrome polish. I then lubed it up with synthetic slip 2000. I had one misfire after 250 rounds after I Cleaned and tested it and it was dud round. I tried to fire that round three times and tossed it, before I cleaned it every other round wouldn’t go off.

I also had the same issue with a brand new Ruger American rimfire in 22 WMR. The gun shot two .3 inch group at 100 yards with Hornaday Vmax ammo and two .6 inch groups with the Winchester ammo when I took it out the sighted in for the first time so it wasn’t going back to the factory in fear they would replace it or mess with it and hinder my tight shooting rifle. I took the bolt assembly apart. It was full of thick muddy looking grease and had a metal burr broken off mixed in with the grease. The machining of the internals were so rough to the point you wouldn’t believe it. I spent a half hour sanding and polishing all the internals along with the firing pin and it took care of that one as well. It still has failures to extract after every 40 or so rounds through it even after I polished the chamber. Those 22 WMRs just like to dirty everything up real quick and then the cases stick... just the nature of the beast.

[fatelk]

I just spent some time taking everything apart and going over it again carefully. Every last piece is just as clean as it was before. There's just not that many parts to it. I took apart the bolt of Old Reliable too (my other one- I've fired untold quantities of ammo through it in the last 30+ years). I compared each piece and part under a bright light and magnifying loupe. The only real difference that I can see is that the extractor is almost imperceptibly different in shape, and about .004" thinner.

When cycling rounds though it by hand (safely and carefully), my old gun was 100%, whereas this new one doesn't seem to reliably fling them out. Next time I get to the range I'll just swap extractors between the two and see what happens. It's a quick and easy test. A new extractor is $7.49 shipped on ebay, cheap fix. I could also tinker with tuning the old one, but doubt it's worth it.

To be clear, there was never any jamming. Every single malfunction was the same; the bolt was ever-so-slightly open on the rim of the cartridge, because the rim wasn't fully under the extractor. The resulting misfire didn't leave a mark on the rim. When I started looking for it and saw it wasn't fully closed, a tap on the back of the bolt, and it clicked closed and subsequently fired correctly.

[Gtek]

Absolutely sure nothing in the extractor hole/bore? What about a tear down and good soak in acetone and finish with a good high pressure blow dry. I dealt with a Dad that thought WD was the stuff, maybe he was secretly training me to completely take firearms apart and assemble. I know for a fact it will lock up M700 trigger assembly.

[fatelk]

I absolutely, positively guarantee that it is clean, clean, clean.

Cleaning small components very precisely and thoroughly (and documenting it) is occasionally part of my job at work, and I’m pretty good at it.

[Gtek]

Ok, gotcha, you clean. How about some new springs? Those are what 48ish years old?

[arlon]

I have an old Standard (1951 production) that had a few different issues. It had ejection and fail to fire problems. Someone suggested an aftermarket extractor. I swapped out the extractor and it has functioned perfectly since. By all appearances everything looked perfect. Low mileage and clean but it just didn't work all the time. What ever was different between the old and new extractor was not obvious but the new one fixed the issue.

[fatelk]

Thank you, that’s good to know. I’ve swapped ejectors, will try to hit the range sometime this weekend if I can.

That’s a good idea to replace the spring too. I see I can get a Volquartsen extractor complete with a spring for $13 shipped. I’ll get one of those coming. It’s interesting that all the Ruger .22 pistols and 10/22 rifles use that same extractor. They’re easy to swap out too.

If it turns out not to be the extractor or spring, then I’m back where I started, but at this point I’m feeling pretty confident that one of those is the culprit.

[Gtek]

Enjoying the open troubleshooting here but thinking- If the extractor spring was old and weak would it not slide over rim easier? If the operating recoil spring was borderline weak maybe not enough force to push okay extractor assembly over rim and into battery?

[arlon]

Thank you, that’s good to know. I’ve swapped ejectors, will try to hit the range sometime this weekend if I can.

That’s a good idea to replace the spring too. I see I can get a Volquartsen extractor complete with a spring for $13 shipped. I’ll get one of those coming. It’s interesting that all the Ruger .22 pistols and 10/22 rifles use that same extractor. They’re easy to swap out too.

If it turns out not to be the extractor or spring, then I’m back where I started, but at this point I’m feeling pretty confident that one of those is the culprit.

It's a really cheap and easy place to start! I think I got the Volquartsen parts too. It was a spring and extractor from ebay for pretty cheap. It did fix what ever the issue was.

[fatelk]

Enjoying the open troubleshooting here but thinking- If the extractor spring was old and weak would it not slide over rim easier? If the operating recoil spring was borderline weak maybe not enough force to push okay extractor assembly over rim and into battery?

I've spent a lot of time recently slowly cycling rounds through it, and watching closely to understand exactly what the problem might be. The extractor should never slide over the rim, when working correctly. The design is such that the rim should slide up under the extractor as it comes out of the magazine.

The problem here is that occasionally the rim is either not sliding under the extractor, or is popping out before fully chambered. I suppose either a faulty extractor or a weak extractor spring might cause something like that. The spring looked and felt identical to the one from Old Reliable, but it's had umpteen thousand rounds through it so it could be a bit weak too, though it's quite reliable.

I'm looking forward to getting out to the range for a little practical trouble-shooting (pardon the pun).

[fatelk]

This is a weird one. I may just give Ruger a call to get their opinion. I made it out to the range this morning, took 3 Ruger pistols with me: the new-to-me '70s Standard in question, my old faithful '70s Standard that I've owned forever, and an '80s MkII.

I swapped parts around on the two Standards. I even ended up swapping all parts between the two stripped bolts. The problematic pistol had all small parts from the other gun in it's bolt, and still did the same thing.

When I swapped the entire bolt body, it ran like a champ- 5 mags and zero malfunction. The weird thing is when I put the bolt from the new gun into old faithful, it also ran perfectly- five full mags and no problems. I even tried the extractor from the MkII, no change. I assume there must be some slight geometry issue with that bolt body in that gun. I could permanently swap bolts, but I don't want to do that. I've had my old one since I was a teenager, plus it's nickel plated.

Also, when I cleaned the bolt body, I hosed it down with carburetor cleaner and inspected every crevice with a magnifying glass. I couldn't find even the tiniest burr or imperfection that would be a problem. I think I'll strip them both down again and compare again. It just seems odd that when swapped, both guns work fine with the other gun's bolt.

On the plus side, I'm getting really good at detailed disassembly of Ruger Standards.