Cleaning a Ruger MkII/III

[blunderbuss]

I know for anyone who owns one, the sheer thought of taking one apart for cleaning is a daunting task. Its the main reason I don't shoot mine as much as many of my other guns, even though I absolutely love shooting it.

Does anyone have any tips for disassembly, cleaning intervals, cleaner loads, etc?

Thanks

 

[Khornet]

First of all,

You don't need to clean 'em very often. When there is a lot of gunk built up, I try to brush it out, and it usually suffices. I never clean the bore of a .22.

When it comes time to disassemble, just follow the manual. Exactly. It is VERY easy to take down and reassemble if you do that.

It all hinges on the little strut hanging down from the hammer. Look at the mainspring housing (the part you release by pulling down the latch lever in the backstrap). At its top there is a little depression, which is the top of the mainspring. The hammer strut must seat into that or you can't reassemble. You may find that when everything is almost together, you cat tip the muzzle up and watch to see that the strut has swung back so that it will slip into the depression as you swing the latch closed. That's all there is to it. If you do it wrong, you either can't close the mainspring all the way, or you can't pull the bolt back. Stop and try again. No big deal. Great guns- I've had a MkII since about 1981.

 

[jim314]

Either of these sites are better than the manual:

http://www.guntalk-online.com/fsprocedures.htm
http://www.1bad69.com/ruger/field_strip_quick.htm

 

[03Shadowbob]

The Mark II is pretty simple I think. I just got the gun and disassembled and re-assembled on first try after watching a guy do it once, no manual needed. Why does everyone think this is hard to do?

 

[IndianaBoy]

The Mark II is pretty simple I think. I just got the gun and disassembled and re-assembled on first try after watching a guy do it once, no manual needed. Why does everyone think this is hard to do?

I can't figure that out myself.

 

[blunderbuss]

Mine is a MkIII, so I don't know what the difference is between it and a II, but:
1) I've never been able to disassemble it without ripping out a finger nail/having a very hard time using something to pry up the disassembly lever.
2) Its almost impossible to get the holes for the bolt in the rear lined up without using a hammer (on mine at least, even after repeated oiling, etc.).
3) Even after you get it all put back together correctly, if you forgot to have the barrel pointed up at the sky while reassembling, the internal safety engages, so you have to repeat half the process again.

I'm not saying its a bad gun at all - love to shoot it. One of my most accurate and fun guns to shoot, but I just think the breakdown is rediculously difficult.

 

[Trebor]

The Mark II is pretty simple I think. I just got the gun and disassembled and re-assembled on first try after watching a guy do it once, no manual needed. Why does everyone think this is hard to do?

Because not everyone is mechanically inclined. I've never been good at understanding how parts relate and interact and visualizing what's going on inside a machine. If you are "good with your hands" it's hard to understand that not everyone else is like that.

For me, getting the darn Mk II back together is *always* an exercise in frustration. Yes, I know "the trick," but I take the gun apart so infrequently that I have to relearn the procedure every time.

 

[jklinstein]

Tip 1: The mainspring housing bolt stop pin is removed and replaced with the hammer fallen (i.e. uncocked).
Tip 2: The bolt is removed and put back in with the hammer in the cocked position (so it doesn't interfere).
Tip 3: The receiver is removed/replaced with the hammer fallen (so it doesn't interfere)
Tip 4: TURN THE SAFETY OFF before re-assembling.

The real goober for me is replacing the bolt stop pin. I think it comes with being a tight fitting assembly that the receiver & frame don't easily align the holes for this pin to go through, making it very difficult. I've resorted to a preliminary step where I put the pin in from the TOP of the pistol first, tap it lightly to get the holes lined up, and then I proceed to push it up from the bottom.

 

[03Shadowbob]

I've never been able to disassemble it without ripping out a finger nail/having a very hard time using something to pry up the disassembly lever.

Use a paper clip

Because not everyone is mechanically inclined. I've never been good at understanding how parts relate and interact and visualizing what's going on inside a machine. If you are "good with your hands" it's hard to understand that not everyone else is like that.

I am definitely not mechanically inclined or at least I don't think I am. If anything, I am more electrically inclined. Now, I know I am anal-retentive since my wife tells me so everyday. Maybe that's the trick

 

[10-Ring]

At first, the cleaning of my Mk II was a true adventure But, I met this older shooter at the range who took pitty on me & showed me how to field strip it, clean it & reassemble it
Now, I shoot the gun like I do my others & don't fear cleaning it in the least

 

[MNBud]

The paper clip is a great idea,however I keep a bobby pin I borrowed from the wife handy in my 22caliber cleaning kit.Like others have mentioned I keep my manual close by when I field strip mine because it gets done so seldom I can never remember the procedure from memory. Memory,hell I can't remember what I had for breakfast!

 

[CajunBass]

I beat my head against the wall until I figured out the real trick to reassembling my Mk II and III.

Read the instruction book. There is a reason for every step and every step is important.

 

[greener]

Great pic's, Indianaboy.

The first time I field stripped my MKIII, the language was so bad the dog left the room and I had visions of a box of parts going to a gun smith. After a couple more tries it was easy. Then I discovered Bullseye's site and the ibad69 site. Bruised my forehead with the heel of my hand. If you follow the good advice on this thread and use the instructions on guntalk-online, field stripping a Ruger is fairly easy. In fact, I think my Buck Mark is harder to field strip than my Ruger because I have to use an allen wrench, remember not to lose the washers and fiddle around with the buffer. If you want easy to field strip, then a 22A is the best (shoots pretty well, also).

Just spend some quality time taking the Ruger apart and putting it back together. Like everything else, a bit a practice goes a long way.

 

[Princi]

Say What

Hey Indianaboy, that is a picture of a detailed strip, not a field-strip. You trying to scare people?

I have a couple of Mark II's and a couple of Mark III's. The biggest problem that I've had in reassembly is getting the barrel-receiver back on correctly. There are two aspects of this: 1) is the forward backwards position. You may have to whack the front with a rubber hammer to move it back far enough. 2) this shouldn't really happen, and I'm not sure how to describe it, but it is possible to get the barrel slightly rotated in a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction. It is barely perceptible, but it makes it very difficult to get the bolt stop back into place. I've had to remove and reinstally the barrel-receiver in order to get it aligned properly.

 

[RyanM]

1) I've never been able to disassemble it without ripping out a finger nail/having a very hard time using something to pry up the disassembly lever.

My Ruger manual says to use a paperclip. I use an eyeglass screwdriver instead, though. Works fine. Using your fingernail is just crazy.

2) Its almost impossible to get the holes for the bolt in the rear lined up without using a hammer (on mine at least, even after repeated oiling, etc.).

I'm not sure what you're doing wrong, but don't use a hammer. Check to make sure you put the recoil spring in straight. It's the back thing on the recoil spring that holds the mainspring housing pin in there.

3) Even after you get it all put back together correctly, if you forgot to have the barrel pointed up at the sky while reassembling, the internal safety engages, so you have to repeat half the process again.

That's actually the little thingie on the hammer, which slips into the mainspring housing. All you need to do is rotate the MSH out again, point the gun down, squeeze the trigger and shake to get the hammer down, then point it up and rotate the MSH in again.

I've never really had a problem with my Mk.II, other than the very first time I took it apart.

 

[gpr]

my 70's rst4 has a lot of side play on the hammer tail...i find that a little side ways tilt helps line it up to the spring....some times...gpr

 

[brett30030]

The Mark II is pretty simple I think. I just got the gun and disassembled and re-assembled on first try after watching a guy do it once, no manual needed. Why does everyone think this is hard to do?

Raymond: 97X, bam! The future of rock 'n' roll. 97X, bam! The future of rock 'n' roll. 97X, bam! The future of rock 'n' roll.
Charlie: Ray, enough already! Change the channel.
Raymond: 97X, bam! The future of rock 'n' roll. 97X, bam! The future of rock 'n' roll.

 

[Golddog]

I've owned four, but sold them all because of the takedown issues. This is a perennial thread everywhere, and I don't think any other popular guns requires it, so it won't do just to castigate people as idiots. Three of my four necessitated a baseball bat (literally) to get the barrel off the frame.

Phooey, even though they're inexpensive great shooters with nice triggers.

 

[Trebor]

Three of my four necessitated a baseball bat (literally) to get the barrel off the frame.

Yeah, the barrel/frame fit is *quite* tight at first. I used a rubber mallet on mine. In the gun's defense though, that fit does loosen up after the gun has been taken apart once or twice and it's usually only a problem getting it apart that first time or two.

 

[Buzztail]

I have over 175K rounds through my MKI and only clean it when it gets crudded up tp the point of not working- not very often