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.

250774250775

[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.

[Idz]

My Mark IV is picky about ammo. Rem golden bullet misfires about 4/100 but Federal works fine. I also look for rub marks on the bolt and use a toothpick to put a tiny amount of white lithium grease anywhere that rubs and a drop of gun oil on the extractor pivot point.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I wonder what polishing the recess in the bolt face (where ammo case fits), as well as polishing the chamber.
I'd think a dremel small buff wheel and Rouge, even if you hit it hard, I don't think you would do any damage.

[fatelk]

Before doing that I think I'll talk to Ruger and see if they have any suggestions. I doubt they'll have any magic ideas, and I don't expect them to do any warranty work on a 45 year old gun, but it still won't hurt to see what they say.

The bolt face looks about the same as my old one, and any ammo I've used drops freely into and out of the chamber. I forgot to mention that I've used at least 4 types of ammo in testing, all with the same result, as well as 4 different magazines (1 MkI and 3 MkII).

Here's a close up of the bolt faces. The close-ups make them look dirty, and a couple small fibers look like cracks, but aren't. It was after firing so they are a little dirty.

250963

[LAGS]

I did have a similar issue with the same type of gun years ago.
I found a Burr in the chamber from the previous owner DRY firing it all the time.
I had a tool back then to Iron out the little Burr.
But I have not seen them on the market for years.
I found the problem by coloring the rounds with a felt tipped pen.
Then looked for scratches on the case after firing.
The rounds fit the chamber fine when dropped in by hand.
But when firing , or should I say the round being cycled durring firing it dragged on the case just enough to restrict the bolt from closing all the way.

[fatelk]

I'll give that a try. Any ideas are worth checking out. Thank you!

What really confuses me, though, is that when I swap bolt bodies between the guns, both guns then work flawlessly. That just seems really odd.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I'll give that a try. Any ideas are worth checking out. Thank you!

What really confuses me, though, is that when I swap bolt bodies between the guns, both guns then work flawlessly. That just seems really odd.
Since you said the MkI you've had for 30+ years has fired thousands of rds worked with the bolt that 'may' have an issue...is the reason I suggested the polishing on the seemingly unfired 45 year old gun bolt and chamber. What ever the issue is? I'm guessing the wear has loosened the tolerances to overcome the issue.

[fatelk]

It was worth a try, but I can't see or feel even the tiniest imperfection in or around the chamber.

251030

[fatelk]

Well, I've been trying to figure this one out again. I ordered a new extractor, even though I was pretty sure that wasn't it. It doesn't hurt to have a spare extractor, especially since we have multiple pistols and rifles that all use the same part. I even bought another magazine, found a new looking MKII at a show for $10.

I finally made it to the range again today. It did its little annoying trick 5 times out of 100 rounds. I got smart and made a "slo-mo" video with my phone, and it did it on the second shot. It cycles so fast that it's hard to see even on slow motion, but it looks like it cycles and feeds just fine, and then the bolt "bounces" slightly. It looks like for some reason the rim is not under the extractor as it closes, near as I can tell. The cartridge is fully chambered, and the bolt slightly bounces after closing, then closes again, a tiny fraction open because the extractor is resting on the wrong side of the rim. There is never a mis-feed, never a jam.

I think I'll do what I should have done earlier, and call Ruger. It's embarrassing that I can't figure this one out. I can usually figure stuff like this out.

[rbuck351]

Check clearance between the extractor and the bolt face to make sure there is enough room for the cartridge head to slide up easily. Check the back of the extractor for burrs and polish off any roughness. With the gun loaded, pull the slide to the rear and ease it forward looking for any resistance of the round sliding under the extractor. If none of that is a problem, file a bit of an angle on the bottom front of the firing pin as it sticks out the front of the bolt face on the way forward and the round can hang on that squared off bottom of the firing pin. It should have enough inertia to pop the pin back in the bolt but it might be rough on the bottom. Also check to make sure the firing pin slides freely. Don't know if any of these will help but cycling the action slowly might show whats happening.

[justashooter]

extractor spring and the rubber rod inside the spring might be replaced to good effect.

[fatelk]

Yep, I've tried all those things. I'll check them over again though. I don't know about a rubber rod though, not familiar with anything like that on this model.

Logically, it has to be something. I keep hoping it turns out to be something simple that makes me feel foolish when I finally figure it out.

[LAGS]

Does your pistol have the same issues with every magazine.
Or does it misfunction with only one.
People that only have a pistol with one magazine sometimes have issues , and it is hard to eliminate that as an issue since they can't compare how it fires with a different magazine.

[Texas by God]

If this has been suggested, please disregard. Replace the recoil spring. A new one might shove it into battery Every Time.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

[ulav8r]

Is the extractor possibly hitting the bottom of the cutout in the barrel, causing the bolt to bounce back?

Edit: A weak recoil spring could also allow it to happen.

[fatelk]

I have 6 magazines, and it seems to do it occasionally with all of them. I'll have one magazine that works fine for a couple mags full and I get thinking maybe that's it, then it does it.

The only new part I've bought is an extractor. Frequency of malfunction seemed to decrease some after that, but it also seems to depend somewhat on the ammo used.

I have a couple other guns, another Standard and a MK2. I've swapped all small parts, including springs, to no avail. All the small parts from a known good gun in the problem gun, and the problem gun still has problems. All small parts from problem gun in known good gun, and known good gun is still good. When I swap the bolt bodies themselves (still with small bolt parts swapped), BOTH guns function perfectly. There seems to be some very minor difference in the bolt body causing the problem, but I can't see it. I've looked it over inside and out under magnification for any burrs or imperfections.

I found some slow motion videos on Youtube, of Ruger .22 pistols being fired. It appears that the bolt bounce I see in mine is normal. It would be interesting to have a good quality high speed camera to be able to see what it actually going on.

I can't get to the range very regularly. I think I'll give Ruger a call tomorrow to see if they have any idea what the problem could be, if they'll even talk to me about it. If they just tell me to send it in for them to look at it, that's a no-go. I'll keep tinkering with it before I spend a bunch of money on shipping and repairs. It has to be something, and it must be pretty minor if the bolt works perfectly in the other gun, and the other bolt works perfectly in it.

[Texas by God]

Shoot a brick of Stingers thru it? Maybe loosen it up a bit- throwing things out there at this point lol.

[rbuck351]

After looking again at the pictures of the two bolt face, I see a difference in the two firing pin faces. The one on the left appears much blockier. File a slight bevel on the bottom front edge and polish that pin to help the round slide up past the pin and behind the extractor on the way into the chamber. Also I would remove just a bit from the entire front edge of the extractor. It may be that the cutout in the barrel for the extractor was cut a tiny bit to small causing the extractor to bounce outward releasing the round and then as the bolt bounces back a bit the extractor settles behind the round.
Just guessing but either the round is getting ahead of the extractor on the way forward or it is being released and the bolt/extractor is bouncing back a bit leaving the round in the chamber. My guess is the bounce back.

[Kenstone]

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.

I didn't read all the other responses but wanted to suggest you clean/re-clean the slot/cavity/cut-out in the barrel face for the extractor.
Any debris in there will keep the bolt for closing.
:mrgreen:

[reivertom]

Have you replaced the slide spring assembly? I had one that had problems and a new spring assembly cured it. The old one wasn't strong enough.

[justashooter]

firing pin spring in bolt is same size as a BIC pen spring. AMHIK.
gunk in chamber area.

[Kenstone]

It was worth a try, but I can't see or feel even the tiniest imperfection in or around the chamber.

251030

Stoning a slight chamfer on the chamber edge to remove what looks like a knife edge might allow the casing to seat deeper so the bolt closes 100%, all the time.
Take a look at the corner on unfired brass and you'll see a small radius there.
Doing the plunk test will reveal if this is a problem.
:mrgreen:

[cupajoe]

Years ago I picked up a well used Mark 2 Target for a song. It had extraction issues, which is probably why the owner sold it. I detail stripped it, cleaned, lubed and checked for burrs, no change. I bought a popular aftermarket extractor and still the same problem. I bit my lip, bought a Ruger extractor and bingo, problem solved.

[fatelk]

I never did call Ruger; I just put it back in the safe and continue tinkering with it when I get a chance to get to the range.

I went out again, with all three guns: the Standard in question, my old Standard, and the newer MK2. I've swapped so many parts so many different times between them that I had to be careful to keep track of what goes where.

The chamber is perfect. Rounds plunk in nice and clean. Every little nook and cranny is perfectly clean. I've swapped all parts, including firing pins and recoil springs, from the bolts of the guns that work perfectly, into the problem gun. All to no avail. When I swap the bolt body from either other gun into it, it works perfectly. The bolt from that gun works fine in either other gun. I don't want to throw money into it on parts that don't seem to be a problem. I'm going to try to remember to call Ruger tomorrow, but I don't really expect anything from them.

[Dan Cash]

If swapping bolts between guns eliminates the problem, why not leave the parts swapped. Problem solved.

[fatelk]

The MK2 bolt is different. It functions fine, but the bolt hold-open doesn't work. My old Standard is nickel plated, and I've had it for over 30 years, would rather keep it as-is.

[fatelk]

After looking at all three guns carefully, I think I can finally see a difference. I was under the impression that the rim should always come up under the extractor, and the extractor should never pop over the rim, but when I look closely at slow motion videos of other guns on youtube, it really looks like when the bolt bounces on closing, it somehow releases and pops back over the rim.

When I have all three guns apart, put a round in the chamber, and push the bolt closed by hand, the problematic gun definitely takes slightly more force. It appears that's because it doesn't easily go into the bolt face. The edge of the bolt face opposite the extractor contacts the rim ever so slightly. This interference seems to be the problem. I just did some careful stoning and polishing of a tiny bevel on the edge. Now I can't make the bolt stop on a rim no matter how I try (cycling by hand), where I could before (only on that gun).

It makes sense in a way. I wondered if it was a tolerance stacking issue, since the same bolt works fine in the other guns. I'll give it a try next time I get to the range, and see how it goes.

251836

[EMC45]

Sounds like you got it fixed.

I have a MK2 SS bull barrel my wife got me years ago as an anniversary present. It did not work well AT ALL!! I actually wanted to sell it to get something else it frustrated me so badly. It would hang up on every type of ammo I fed it.

I was shooting at a WMA range once and another shooter noticed my issue and told me to polish the feed ramp as his dad's pistol was doing the same thing and that worked for him. Sure enough my feed ramp had a series of ridges going across the ramp. I guess it was dull cutter day at Ruger. I am very wary about "polishing", with dremmel, anything on a gun. I used a Craytex cylinder and then a polishing bob with Flitz. It now feeds anything I put in it and runs like a champ. It prefers CCI Blazer, Federal Auto Match, but it will eat anything.

[fatelk]

I finally made it out to the range again today, fired 100+ rounds through it, without a single problem!

It's interesting, sure appears that it was a genuine manufacturing defect, in a 45 year old gun. I wonder if the previous owner or owners over the decades ever became frustrated with it.

[reivertom]

I finally made it out to the range again today, fired 100+ rounds through it, without a single problem!

It's interesting, sure appears that it was a genuine manufacturing defect, in a 45 year old gun. I wonder if the previous owner or owners over the decades ever became frustrated with it.

I have never heard of this problem. You might have a one in a million. Now you know how to fix it and never will have to again! :^)

[fatelk]

It was a weird one; that's for sure. It sure wasn't easy to figure out. The geometry of the bolt face was just slightly "off". It wasn't enough to make a difference in the other guns, but I suspect that was due to very, very small differences in tolerance between the guns. I was never able to measure any difference, but clearly they were there.

The amount of metal I removed from the bolt face was very, very small. It sure made a difference though.

[fatelk]

Just thought I'd add one last thing to this thread. I've had this gun out a couple more times now, shot at least a couple hundred more rounds through it, with absolutely zero malfunctions. I'm satisfied that it's fixed.

It also appears to be plenty accurate. I sighted it in today, tapped the rear sight over and filed a little off the top of the front sight. I was shooting 4 or 5 round groups while adjusting it. I think this is my personal best 25 yard handgun group ever:

252685

Admittedly a lucky group, but most of the other groups weren't that much worse. Most were around 1.5". Historically that's the very best I've ever been able to do, open sights with a handgun at 25 yards.