Ammo for Ruger Mark III

Brand new bullseye shooter and forum member.

I have a new Ruger Mark III Competition.  It is stock now, but will probably send it to Volquartsen for upgrades.

What match ammo is good for this weapon?  I have several different boxes now, and I plan to test them out, but any general tips or recommendations?

Thanks,

Alot of CCI std never hurt. If you can find a case, shoot it and then look for more. 

You could shoot Eley Target, Club or Match, or RWS or SK. Every gun is different, but you want ALOT of practice ammo. Midway is selling 2 bricks at a time of CCO STD for 39.99/brick. Buy some, start shooting and keep your eyes open for more to be available.

Just a quick note if it is "Brand New:"  My new Ruger needed a couple hundred rounds through it before it settled in.  Prior to that couple hundred, I had troubles with some ammos that later worked very well.

I have a MKII and the most reliable, affordable and reasonably accurate ammo I have used is CCI SV. It has more than 5,000 and less than 10,000 rounds through it. I'm hoping someday it will start digesting a more varied diet.

The strange thing is it works fine with Eley Target but has excessive FTF and stovepipes with Eley Club(3 different lots), enough that I don't even use Club for practice.

It has has leading issues with Remington SV, unless I manually lube each bullet with paraffin/tallow blend. It also doesn't like anything Winchester I've tried. Federal 922a works well but is a bit more costly than CCI. A surprise was Magtech, worked reliably and seemed as accurate as CCI SV (for my ability).

Eley Sport purple box has been very good in a Mkii of mine.

My Ruger Mk III really likes CCI SV.  I tried Eley Sport, but it was too waxy and I'd get issues feeding.  The magazine could not feed them fast enough.  I even tried with a freshly cleaned mag.

Jack H wrote:Eley Sport purple box has been very good in a Mkii of mine.

Sorry Jack, Eley Sport was discontinued over a year ago

Tony

paw080 wrote:

Jack H wrote:Eley Sport purple box has been very good in a Mkii of mine.

Sorry Jack, Eley Sport was discontinued over a year ago

Tony

I have a "good" supply. 

CCI SV, and Aguilla Pistol and Rifle match (eley primed) worked well in my MKIII

My MKII really likes Eley Sport, I have had no problems/alibis. I bought several cases when it was extremely cheap.

I have also had no problems with CCI SV plastic box 100, and Wolf MT.

Maybe I'm lucky, but it digests about anything I stick into it.

Don't be sad about Eley Sport being discontinued....The only difference between Eley Sport and Aguila SV is the headstamp and the box.
I really like them in my guns.

There are a couple of things that I find interesting in this discussion. We all seem to accept that individual guns may vary in their 'appetite', and some have noted that the appetite may change over time. One thing I don't see mentioned is the temperature that we shoot in. Not everyone includes their home 'region' in their profile which I think might help but there are also variations in indoor and outdoor shooting. At our club we probably have less temperature variation during the outdoor/summer season than we do indoors during the winter. The range is not heated except when someone is using it so if someone was around during the afternoon it might be well warmed up when we show up on match night. If no one has been in we might finish the match before actually getting further than 'getting the chill off'. My MK II is very happy with CCI std for most of the year but it was getting a little 'touchy' about feeding the first round of any string in December when it might be under 50 degrees inside. I would expect that the lubrication used by many of the manufacturers could vary from runny to hard with changes in temperature and that it could be a factor in any given guns appetite.
I did not 'solve' my Mk II's aversion to CCI std and cold weather, I put it away and headed south for the winter but intend to look further when I get home.

Bruce

Rob Kovach wrote:Don't be sad about Eley Sport being discontinued....The only difference between Eley Sport and Aguila SV is the headstamp and the box.
I really like them in my guns.

I am not sure of that.  Eley Sport has exhibited much better reliability over Aguila SV in my guns. 

I do believe the QC of Aguila is less.  Batch lot differences in Aguila show different rates of failure to function.  Variation in cycling strength is evident with Aguila.  Aguila has been cycling strong, and weak like typical Wolf.  (Wolf is at least consistent)

Eley Sport has been consistent cycling and I believe a little more accurate in most guns

Bruce-

re: MKII and cold.

I've had a lot of problems in the cold with otherwise reliable CCI SV. Until I tried keeping the loaded magazines in my jacket pocket with a couple of chemical hand warmers. They don't get very hot but keep the lube just warm enough to feed reliably. A bit of light oil on the top round doesn't hurt either. Don't even use a drop, just wipe the top round with the tip of a needle oiler is plenty.

Last Saturday it was cold for us in Florida- in the 40's. I had 8 or 10 alibis in our weekly 900 match with my otherwise reliable Nelson conversion using CCI Std. On Tuesday with temps in the 60's it ran fine.

It also might be a case of metal contraction in the colder temps. the mags tolerances may be so tight that the 40's temp was enough to hang up the rounds.

Jack H wrote:

Rob Kovach wrote:Don't be sad about Eley Sport being discontinued....The only difference between Eley Sport and Aguila SV is the headstamp and the box.
I really like them in my guns.

I am not sure of that.  Eley Sport has exhibited much better reliability over Aguila SV in my guns. 

I do believe the QC of Aguila is less.  Batch lot differences in Aguila show different rates of failure to function.  Variation in cycling strength is evident with Aguila.  Aguila has been cycling strong, and weak like typical Wolf.  (Wolf is at least consistent)

Eley Sport has been consistent cycling and I believe a little more accurate in most guns

Unless it's off the same machine, in the same factory, and the same lot#..It's different.  Made in Mexico is it not..?? I tested  some several years ago... I did not find it worth while..The lots that I had exhibited noticable case head expansion..  There's a reason individual guns do not function... It needs to be found... Rugers are a mass of manufacturing ills..There are millions of MKIIs out there.. Some as new condition.. hint...

xman wrote:It also might be a case of metal contraction in the colder temps. the mags tolerances may be so tight that the 40's temp was enough to hang up the rounds.

I was using plastic mags, so I don't think contraction was a factor. Bullet lube thickening may have done it.

Despite having just disassembled and cleaned my mags, I found that in cold(er) temperatures, putting more than five rounds in the mag meant that the rounds and follower rose rather slowly when I released the button. I have (perhaps incorrectly) presumed it to be a hardening of the lube in low temperatures. Not that I needed more than five rounds at a time, I was experimenting with not stopping to change magazines during slow fire and decided that it would not be worth chancing a misfeed during the process for any gains there might be. During the warmer (60's) temperatures of fall it was not an issue.
I have some older 'Biathlon' ammunition acquired back when we heated the range with wood that I may try when I get home in the spring. Cold was a bigger issue then as the rifle would be locked in a very cold truck all day (wasn't allowed inside the firehouse), it would just be getting warm enough to hold comfortably after building the fire and shooting the 40 round match but being single shot, feeding was never the issue like now with the MK II.
I do think that the handwarmer idea has potential so that it on the list for trial as well.
Thanks!

Bruce

Even with a different gun, I still need to keep my mags in my pants pocket in colder weather.  You might try a thin layer of light oil on the front inside of the magazine tube, where the bullets ride.  The downside is that they will probably need more frequent cleaning.

As a range safety officer, most of the alibis seem to occur during rimfire matches when the temperature is less than 45 degrees. On the line I've used those throw away hand warmer to keep both ammo and pistol warm. Seems to help.

I'll chime in here...  I shoot a MK3 in bullseye, at Expert level.  The gun shoots well for me.  As far as preferred ammo, it really does shoot most anything.  Mine, as many others do as well, shoot the CCI SV quite well.  That's what I compete with.

Be careful of the ammo that has some sticky/greasy lube on the brass case.  The Ruger will shoot it fine, for a while, but will start to get erratic on feed/eject.  You'll have to keep the chamber clean or you will have issues.  Keep an angled chamber brush handy to clean chamber crud buildup.  Which takes me back to CCI SV.  The bullet has a wax lube on it, but the brass has nothing.  It works very well.

I run my Ruger mostly dry, except for a bit of oil on the bolt in the receiver, and a dab of grease on the hammer hook.  Very little.  No oil in the mag, or rounds in the mag, or firing pin, or recoil spring, or guts of the gripframe.  The gun stays clean and runs clean without any excess oil collecting debris, which the filthy little 22 round is known for.  I've not had an alibi in 22 for quite some time now.

I actually use Hornady One-Shot Gun Cleaner and Dry Lube to both clean and lube my Ruger.  I wipe off all surfaces with a paper towel and q-tips, except for the places I mentioned above.  Yes, there is a bit of a film on the surfaces, but they are mostly "dry" and stay clean.  I can shoot a brick of ammo without issue, between cleanings.