True Blue Sam the Travelin' Man

David aka True Blue Sam

The Master Nutcracker is made by a little family business in Sarcoxie, MO, and you can find them HERE. I don't see any way to order on the Internet, so you will have to send a check, or call for more information.

David aka True Blue Sam

David aka True Blue Sam

The Mk II bushing is a neat little stocking stuffer that will be well appreciated by any Mk III owner. The bushing (Dark Object Above) replaces the magazine safety (Shiny Parts above the bushing), allowing Mk III pistols to fire with the magazine removed, just like the earlier Mk I and Mk II Ruger pistols. It does a couple other things that make it a good accessory. The magazine safety interferes with magazine changes because it makes the magazine reluctant to fall free when you push the latch. You have to grab the magazine and pull it out rather than it falling out. The bushing also prevents a good many feeding malfunctions. The mag safety makes seating magazines an iffy proposition, and it is common to fire your first shot and then the gun goes 'click' on the next shot. This happens because the mag safety offers some resistance to seating a magazine, and they don't always latch in right. The first shot makes the magazine drop down slightly and then you don't get a fresh cartridge when the slide goes forward. It's all very frustrating, but is easily cured with the Mk II bushing.

One more benefit is that your Mk III is easier to tear down and reassemble after installation of the bushing because you no longer have to slip magazines in and out to make the the hammer fall. There are many videos online that show how to disassemble a Mk III, and we will do one for this blog soon, showing how to install this little device, so have no fear of tearing down a Mk III if you order one of these.

David aka True Blue Sam

This may be it. The little round rod you see is the Hammer Plunger. It has a spring behind it in the hammer, and a relieved area on the side so it remains captured by the little pin you see in the hammer. This plunger pushes forward on the backside of the Cylinder Latch when you draw the hammer back, which lowers the front end of the latch, allowing the cylinder to turn. The Plunger is pushed upward into the hammer as the hammer drops, and then it pops back to the limit of the relieved area against the little pin when it is at rest. The plunger broke on a Single Six I had in the mid-1970's, and I saw this repeated on a friend's Single Six a year or two later. It was easy to replace by using a drill bit shank cut to length, and then filing the side where the pin rides.

If this breaks in your revolver you cannot operate the action normally. The cylinder latch is not moved when you try to cock the gun, and it is jammed up as the hand tries to rotate the cylinder. I think you could make the gun work by opening the gate, rotating the cylinder so it is unlatched, closing the gate, and then cocking the hammer. The important thing for you to do if this happens is to turn the gun upside down and catch the bottom of the Hammer Plunger. You will need it when you make your new piece so you can make the length right. I haven't had this problem again for over thirty-five years, but I sure have not forgotten it. A prudent person would probably order a few of these plungers just in case one is needed.

David aka True Blue Sam

Here's an inexpensive item that will be liked by anyone with a 10/22 rifle. It's a replacement bolt buffer pin. This pin sits in the end of the action and intercepts the bolt during the firing cycle. The factory pin is solid steel, and it clacks. It also disturbs your follow-through just a bit when the bolt smacks into it. Nylon pins have been popular, but they need replacing after every three or four bricks of ammo, and the ones pictured here are steel on the inside, and polymer on the outside. They should run for a good long time. I picked these up from Midway (#814069) and plan to try them out soon.