Volquartsen sells quite a few Mk3 aftermarket thinghies.
They sell (among other things)
extended mag releases and bolt releases
but they don't look very "1911-style" to me.
How to do
DROP FREE MAGS FOR 22/45 Mk3
On Mark 2, the trigger mechanism works like this:
On Mark 3, they put a spring and a disconnecting plate (that part in yellow)
so it cannot fire without the mag:
So, if you remove the feature "fire only with the mag in",
your mags will drop free (and they will insert much easier),
because you will replace some parts that keep pressure on the mags.
Also, stripping/assembling will be much easier.
So, to do this, you have few options here. Choose one:
The method of Mk2 bushing in the Mk3 hammer:
You have to remove these 3 parts:
-hammer-bushing (or pin, or pivot),
-disconnecting plate, and
-spring
and replace them with a Mk 2 hammer-bushing.
The Mk2 hammer-bushing looks like this:
You can get it from Clark Custom:
http://www.clarkcustomguns.com/22pts.htm#ruger
(
I think you need CLK-517)
or from Volquartsen:
https://www.volquartsen.com/category/16-action-trigger-components/4-mkiimkiii
In a nutshell, this is it:
OR
The DIY1 method
(or the ghetto/welfare/recession method)
You can do this mod in the kitchen.
This method was used by hundreds (if not thousands)
of 22/45 Mk3 owners in US.
It may look complicated, but it's very easy.
Once you find the right washers, it takes 10 min.
You have to:
-keep the original Mk3 hammer-bushing (pivot),
-eliminate both the spring and the disconnecting plate,
-make something (a spacer) that will eliminate the side-play that
is created by the removal of the above 2 parts.
For the spacer, you can successfully use 2 washers.
Before going to HomeDepot to buy washers,
measure the outside diam of the hammer bushing
and
make sure you take along the calipers AND the hammer bushing.
Remember this when looking for washers:
the inside diameter of the washers has to be
as close as possible to the outside diameter of your original Mk3 bushing.
Think of it as a very close fit, similar to a slip-fit.
Don't worry now about the outside diameter of the washers,
because you will modify that anyway, as you will see farther down.
This is how you make the spacer:
After you find the 2 washers
with the right inside diam,
start to file them like this:
Again,
make sure the washers' ID is very close to the bushing's OD,
because this is very important.
If the washers are too lose on the Mk3 hammer-bushing,
then the flats of the first washer will not prevent against rotation,
and that washer can get out from under the step of the hammer,
and it may rotate and can/will jam the hammer or sear (or both).
OR
The DIY2 method
(like I did, if you have access to a lathe).
I took the rough dimensions and I went slowly, trial and error.
I made a spacer
that is nothing else than a stepped bushing (and without flats)
that slips on the existing Mk3 hammer-bushing.
It does exactly what the washers do
(but me, I was too lazy to file washers).
I don't have a picture of mine, but it is a hybrid between
the Mk2 bushing method and the washer method. That's it.
Et voila. You have drop free mags now.
(And you also get rid of that ridiculous "fire only with the mag in",
that is annoying not only when shooting,
but also when stripping/re-assembling).
It will also make your gun operate much more lean/clean/easy.
Choose whichever of the 3 methods you like.
The pics above are shamelessly stolen from the net.
If you go to a gunsmith and ask him to do any of these mods for you,
he will say NO, because it is a huge liability for his business,
as the feature "
fire only with the mag in"
is legally supposed to be a safety thing.
(For the same reason a lot of gunsmiths
are very reluctant to do trigger jobs, etc.).
....
....:
