Is that a steel breech? I.e. an OEM Ruger steel barrel? I'd call that a lot of wear. Maybe you could do that with a steady diet of over-powered ammo like Stingers - I don't really know. SGW or someone who knows what 100,000 rounds or so looks like might join in.

But to answer your question: I don't like it but I think you're OK. I have an aluminum after-market barrel where the breech is close to that and it's not a problem. I expect mine to erode more and it might become a problem but if yours is steel and you stick with reasonable ammo (standard or high velocity, not ultra) I'd expect it to not get worse. SGW, what do you think?

 

WOW! Here's what concerns me. The extractor slot, or what's left of it, in the right side of the breech face is much bigger than I've ever seen one. It's hard to see from here, if that's erosion or if a piece broke out of that area. Did the range have any idea as to how many rounds have been through that pistol? It appears to me to be a Ruger Mark III and must have been a very popular rental piece, judging by the bolt face imprint into the breech face. I have seen a few Ruger pistols with an alleged 70 to 80 thousand rounds through 'em, but they looked nothing like your pictures.

As far as it being safe to shoot. I'd get some heavy leather gloves, full face protection, like a flip-down face shield and Kevlar vest, to wear, stand off to the side around 30 feet, and then have KimberDave shoot it. If he won't step up to the plate, send these same pictures to Ruger and see what they say. I'd be very curious as to what they might do, besides grab for the Advil bottle. :yikes:

 

Very interesting indeed.

From where I sit, that looks like .050" or more worn away from the rear of the barrel.

I don't know what the bolt face looks like, but it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to imagine that there's some wear on that part too.

The end result has got to have reduced the headspace.

So, the next question is could the reduced headspace cause a slam fire?

I kind of tend to doubt it, but anything's possible I guess...

The wear appears to be uniform and wouldn't be slamming at any one given point on the case. It would take a lot of impact to crush the whole rim of the case enough to discharge. I doubt that the spring has enough force to do that.

So, the best question is will Ruger rebuild that pistol if it were sent back in for service?

EDIT*

A .22 being used for CCW classes? Interesting! Here in Texas it's .32cal minimum. What state is this in?

 

Very interesting indeed.

From where I sit, that looks like .050" or more worn away from the rear of the barrel.

I don't know what the bolt face looks like, but it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to imagine that there's some wear on that part too.

The end result has got to have reduced the headspace.

So, the next question is could the reduced headspace cause a slam fire?

I kind of tend to doubt it, but anything's possible I guess...

The wear appears to be uniform and wouldn't be slamming at any one given point on the case. It would take a lot of impact to crush the whole rim of the case enough to discharge. I doubt that the spring has enough force to do that.

So, the best question is will Ruger rebuild that pistol if it were sent back in for service?

EDIT*

A .22 being used for CCW classes? Interesting! Here in Texas it's .32cal minimum. What state is this in?

Headspace for the Ruger Mark pistols is in the bolt face, where the rim resides when a round is chambered. It would be interesting to see the bolt face, though. Unless the "shooting gallery" renting that pistol kept a round count, that number will never be known.

 

The picture is hard to see. The wear around the chamber is one thing but it looks to me like there is a chunk blown out of it.

NOPE. that one is done.

 

Yep gun probably has 200K plus rounds through it. I will probably still function fine and I bet it is smooth !!
Send it to Ruger they will probably rebuild it for minimum charge and you will have a as new gun for a reasonable cost. What I would do.
Point out the chip in the extractor cut and "wonder if it is safe". They may rebuild or replace it cheap.

 

one thing i see is there isnt as much apparent wear from the bolt face on the left side of the chamber. might be the bolt wasnt very square from the start causing wear on the right side until it wore down enough for the left side to start making contact. theres virtually no way to be shure from a crappy cell phone photo of how much wear there is or if it warrents a rebuild / rebarrel and or new bolt from ruger. I would take it to a gunsmith or send it in to ruger as someone would need to see this in person to determine how to proceed.

 

My money is on a head case separation causing catastrophic failure. The results was a chip being blown out around the extractor slot. double charged ammo or plugged barrel? Can't believe they would sell it that away unless it absolutely won't fire and was sold for parts, lots of liability involved here.

 

There are better pics and more information about this pistol here...

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=1010108

Scroll down to post #12.

Apparently the bolt face is not damaged, the headspace is OK, and in the improved pics it looks like the breech face isn't worn so bad either.

Most of what we were seeing was the footprint of the bolt face stamped into the gunk build up.