I bought a new Ruger MKIII 5.5" stainless target model.  Everybody always wants to remove some of the MKIII features and usually asks questions so I figured I would take some pictures.






I removed the LCI.




This is an LCI slot filler from Rimfire Central.




I fitted and installed using some red locktite on the screw.  The screw threads into the filler, not the upper.




I knocked out the spring pin containing the internal key lock.




I removed all the lock's guts.




I removed the grips and slowly pulled the hammer pin until the the hammer slid out.






Here is a picture of a mess.  That is the magazine disconnect.






A new Volquartsen hammer bushing and a stainless steel washer I had handy.  The Volquartsen bushing is not a press fit like the Clark and is very similar to a factory MKII bushing.






I opened the washer up just a bit.




I checked to see if it fits the bushing with no play and that it is centered.




I made sure the washer doesn't get near the sear surface no matter which way it is spun on the bushing.




Here are some pictures of it installed.






The finished product.




I also added some Williams sights.




I also have a Sam Lam conversion bushing and a Majestic Arms speed strip kit on the way with a real MKII hammer included.  The washer will be temporary until I figure out if the Sam Lam bushing with the OEM MKIII hammer or the Majestic Arms MKII hammer with a MKII bushing is better.

I feel so shamed....my well used Mark I [Standard] is over 50 years old...and stock..and still FUN.

That notwithstanding, very  NICE work indeed. Did you keep the old parts in case you ever have to return to Ruger for warranty work? You know what they'd do to you/your pistol...restore to original factory specifications.

Everything survived and is in a little bag except for the internal lock spring.

While I applaud your fearlessness and man-handiness with tools (I too am a do it your-self er) I fail to see why people get all sensitive about loaded chamber indicators and remove them, thereby removing that functionality from the gun which had no negative impact on the gun whatsoever that I can see.

I understand the hatefulness towards big ugly warning roll marks, and even mag disconnect safeties, as these are just ugly and could affect the function in a negative way, but loaded chamber indicators seem pretty harmless to me.

Anyway, rant over

Nice gun! I have the blued version, and I'll keep it forever.

I just had similar upgrades done to 2 of mine. I went with SAMs bushings in the mk III hammer, extended safeties, mag release, bolt releases, target sears and those LCI fillers from Patza. That thing is genius and what an improvement in looks. Installs nicely too. I feel like the guns lost 8ozs by getting rid of all the mag disconnect stuff. My triggers break cleanly  at just about 2.5 lbs and what nice guns. (2 mark IIIs, fluted hunter and a competition model)

I have to confess I did similar things to my MK IIIs, but I used a VQ MK II hammer while ignoring the LCI and internal lock. All you need now is an extended mag release. I made my own a couple of years ago by drilling and tapping the mag release and bolting on a 1911 mag release extension. Now Midway among others has a factory made part. I used that one on a new 22/45.

i didnt do anything too my ruger mk 3 and it ran just fine, i guess i would if i knew how though. upgrading the trigger would of been nice on mine

It has been proven on this board that the loaded chamber indicator causes some guns to misfeed. As the owner of three Mark 2 pistols, (the first one I bought in 1982) I find it nothing short of a crime. Around here a clean Mark 2 used costs as much as a new Mark 3

Kudos to OP for ditching the PC bullshit add ons. "New and improved" has  become America's excuse for keeping engineers employed. No need to try to fix something that is not broken. I would not trade either of my Mark 2 pistols for 5 new Mark 3's if I had to keep them as is.

That is the first thing I removed on my new MKIII 22/45 as it gave me a lot of problems even when gun was fresh and clean when rounds would ride up into the feed ramps. I'm sure if I ran the new gun enough it would break in and be fine but its a silly Ruger make happy government move on there part. And if your one that likes to get at least a 500-1000 count between cleanings the LCI will causes problems from it sticking being dirty. Anyways its easily reversible mod and any one handling guns should assume there always loaded and verify by looking into open chamber.
Also this makes them more Mark II feeling and one of the main reasons I sold mine off to rock out paps stainless MKII target model.

Well today, as promised I will show pictures of the Sam Lam bushing installed in a hammer and the Majestic Arms 3.2 speed strip kit.  Both products are designed to convert a MKIII to a MKII firing system.  

I ended up not using the Sam Lam bushing on this particular gun.  It is a quality product and has a very precise fit.  There is absolutely no wobble when it is inside the hammer.  The only down side I can see is the wide area that the trigger bar contacts is not normal MKII bushing diameter.  Also, since the stock trigger is retained it will have almost the same weight trigger as it did before the conversion.  I say almost because the sear travel was limited by the diameter of the MKII volquartsen bushing in the same manner as the MKIII magazine disconnect.  The sear contacted the bushing edge before it bottomed out in the hammer groove.  The smaller diameter of the Sam Lam bushing causes the sear to fully engage the hammer ledge so more sear travel was required to trip the hammer.

The Majestic Arms kit improved the trigger pull but was a bit more difficult to install.  The kit came with a new hammer, MKII bushing, and bolt stop.  The instructions stated to reuse the MKIII hammer strut and pin and also to reuse the bolt stop pin.  I went ahead and ordered a MKIII hammer strut and pin from Ruger.  I found that the MKIII hammer strut pin was not long enough to stretch across the length of the hammer to be peened like I would prefer.  I happened to have a new old stock MKII hammer strut pin to use but I do not know if Ruger makes them anymore.  Other than that installation was as simple as knocking out a pin and peening it and the hammer pin upon installation using a center punch.  

Here are the pictures:



The strut and pin I ordered from Ruger.  The bags are opposite the parts that came in them.





The Majestic Arms speed strip kit 3.2 version.





Hammers from the front.  My washer set-up on the left in a MKIII hammer, the Sam Lam bushing in the center in a MKIII hammer and the Majestic arms MKII hammer on the right.





Same hammer order from the side.  If you notice I had already center punched the pin on the Majestic Arms hammer.  I just laid it flat on an anvil and gave it a couple of healthy taps.





This is an example of how much longer the MKII hammer strut pin was.  I guess you could make your own pin since the MKIII is too short.  A 1911 hammer pin is peened on both sides so that should not be an issue.





Here is the bolt stop pin installed beside the old pin.  I just tapped the pin out enough to slide the bolt stop pin out, inserted the Majestic part, knocked the pin back in and peened both sides again.





Finished product.





Finished product field stripped.  Complete takedown is still the factory style method.

If you use a suppressor on this gun, the LCI gunks up VERY fast and results in malfunctions.

I also have a big problem with anything that detracts from the going assumption that every gun is a loaded gun.  The LCI instills a false sense of security, and if it were to malfunction, it could lead one to believe that a loaded gun is unloaded.

How do you like your William's sights?  I actually bought my MKIII from William's Gunsight and I was super happy with the retail side of the business.  I don't have any experience with their sights but my gun was less expensive than I've seen anywhere new or used and I got a free day at the range for my purchase.  The only mods I've done so far are to remove the LCI and fill it with nothing, and install a hammer bushing to eliminate the mag release funny-business.  I made my own bushing out of 304 Stainless because I didn't want to use an MKII bushing or a steel bushing without any surface treatment.  I still need to get my hands on the LCI filler piece.  

The safety lock doesn't bother me too much but I am curious about your bolt stop pin.  What advantage are you getting?  I saw some speed strip kits and they looked bulky to me.  Do you have any pictures of yours fully assembled?

I really like the Williams sights.  I do not like the plain black blade front sight.  I drilled a hole and added a dab of white paint on another MKIII that I have just for a little contrast.  I am sure they are not precision sights but for a plinker like me they work well.

The advantage to the bolt stop pin is that with a few spins I can take the bolt out without needing to pull out the mainspring.  The gun stays in one piece but I can run a cleaning rod through it or clear jams.  No torque is required on the pin because the recoil spring assembly presses on a flat side to keep it from loosening.  All this is sort of a good a side effect though because I only bought the kit to get the MKII style hammer.  The bolt stop was a pleasant surprise to have once I used it.  It is not bulky to me.  

The picture second from the bottom is the gun assembled with the speed strip kit installed.  It looks normal.