Having secong thoughts

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dog gone it

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I recently loss the use of my right hand and most of my right arm. Anyway Ive had my mind made up on a Ruger Mark III because accuracy is very important and I would very possibly scope it later.
Ive been reading a lot and I see where several people have trouble with the reassembly. I could get me a small vise with rubber inserts or something like that to help but Im wondering if I would be better off with something else like another semi or possibly a revolver.
I just dont want to sacrifice accuracy.
Any suggestions ?
 
You don't really have to clean a MK that often. I run mine til they start misfeeding a time or two, which usually take several thousand rounds....You don't necessarily have to field strip the gun. I am sure you could just lock the bolt back, clean, rinse with brake cleaner, lube, and call it a day.
 
Where do you live in TN? I would be more than glad to clean it once in a blue moon when it might have to be done. ColtPythonElite is correct. It doesn't have to be completely taken apart very often.
 
+2 on what was said above. My Brother has one that was never disassembled for cleaning. He soaks it in K1 odorless kerosene, that he bought in a hardware store, and then blows it dry and runs a patch through the bore . To my knowledge he has been doing it for years without any problems.
 
I've posted this many times before, but I've owned a Ruger MKII and a Browning Buckmark for over 15 years now (actually closer to 17) and I've never taken them down for cleaning after the first time. It started as a joke and an experiment to see when they will fail, but they never have. I just use a bore snake on occasion, spray with brake cleaner and put light lube on exposed rail sometimes -not after every time I shoot them.

Now this is not something that I recommend if you need that pistola for SD or for hunting, but for a plinker, you will find that modern .22lrs don't need to be babied at all.
 
As the others have stated, the MK series doesn't need to be broken down much at all. I just shot mine for the first time a year and a half because I actually found some ammo for it (it was cheap soft tip crap that did not cycle reliably, but that's neither here nor there and another story).

After a range trip, I just hose it down with CLP, run a bore snake through it, and hit the exposed mechanics with a touch of lube. I only have a couple thousand through mine, but short of bad ammo, it's never given me an issue.
 
The MKs I have fired develloped gritty feeling triggers after just a few thousand rounds (not much shooting for a .22) due to messy ammo. I wound up putting in a shield to keep gunk out of one. It was along the lines ot this: http://xavierthoughts.blogspot.com/2008/11/ruger-mkii-blast-shield.html

So here's my take. People love their MkI-III pistols for a number of good reasons.They are very nice. But they aren't nice for everyone. For a person with limited use of one hand, I would personally opt for a different gun. The blowback action with a bolt will make chambering a round hard. Those thumb-killing magazines will make loading hard. It will make simple things hard.

A Ruger SR22 would be a better choice. So would one of several revolvers.
 
If I only had use of one hand, I would load mags with an Ultimate Clip Loader. I would put a VQ bolt extension on the bolt end and rack it on the heel of my boot.
 
If you can spring the cash, a S&W double action revolver sounds like a great option for you, as long as you can load it with one hand (?). And they have an excellent rep for accuracy.
And a lot easier for you to thoroughly clean; .22lr can get really dirty.

Edited - now realize the cylinder release is on the left side of the gun, may not be workable solution because I presume you use the left hand exclusively. Mags may be easier to deal with....
 
Just hose it out with cleaner every now and then and don't worry about it.

If a MkIII is anything like a MkII... It generally takes me about an hour to get a MkII back together, with two hands, a couple of "how to" web sites up, and a YouTube video... plus lots of frustrated cursing.

The most hassle will probably be cocking and chambering a round. A wristband with a paracord loop would let you use the loop to cock it with your right hand while holding it with the left.
 
Thanks for all the help. At least I know that I dont have to take it apart and put it back together all the time. Thats good news.
Milkmaster I live about 1 hr west of Nashville. Thanks for your generous offer. I might give you a shout if I run into trouble. Sounds like they are worry free for the most part.
 
For a situation like this one option would be to get a tall narrow dunking tank that you can fill with the easy to mix up Ed's Red mixture. Then every 1000 to 1500 rounds fired remove the grips and literally dunk the action into the Ed's mix. Lift, drain and dunk a few times to ensure you flush out all the areas. Then hang it over the tank in a position that drains it the best and let it dry a while.

For cleaning the bore the nylon weed whacker cord with the felt pull thru patches is as simple as it gets and neatly effective as long as there's no leading. It would not take much to set up a holder to let you do this one handed.

Let's face it, if the right arm is not at all useable at this point then you'll be wanting to get someone to work with you and make up jigs and holding aids for a lot of your day to day activities. A couple that are suitable for holding a gun like the Ruger so you can perform some basic operations is certainly one item that would be worthwhile.

All the best with whatever path you decide on.
 
I bought my Mk-II new in 1987. It's seen tens of thousands of rounds. It's never been broken down.

It's been cleaned while intact maybe five times in its time with me. Still looks and runs like new.
 
One hour West of Nashville...would that be Three Rivers??

I had a heck of a crash there back in the 80's...
flat left front tire at 80+ MPH, went off the road, down the hill, and into a huge ditch...
the front bumper was three feet higher on that '72 Plymouth Duster after the crash...
bent the frame something fierce...bent the steering wheel back with my grip...
had the Plymouth emblem pressed into my chest when the seat belt broke...
which became a large bruise that stayed for weeks...

Miss that car...it was a good one :(

Oh, anyway, what caused the loss of use?? Stroke or some sort of crash?
If you're fairly young, the body can be tricked into re-routing the neural conections...
If over 50 or 60, not so much...
 
From my experience, the 22/45 models come apart way easier. The last one I had I could pop the slide off with one hand and pop it back on the same way. In reality you don't need to take these down to get them into a somewhat clean but working order.
 
sorry for your loss of mobility, i wish you the best.

that said, the ruger 22 pistols generally aren't super easy to disassemble (actually i take that back. easy to take a part but a real pain to put back together). i don't really see how it would be feasible to do it one handed, even with a vise or other holding tools. despite that, there are other alternatives ranging from dunking/flushing cleaning methods, bore snakes, farming it out to a friend/shop, etc. and 22's tend not to really need cleaning all that much if you don't want to/can't. i wouldn't fret too much, and get what you like/shoot the best!
 
Sorry I hadnt responded to this thread in a while. I have since ordered and received my Mk III Target. Ive shot 20 rounds of Tbolts. Thats the only ammo I have right now but Im getting something different soon.
I have more trouble loading the clip than I do operating the pistol. As far as disassembly goes I guess I will cross that bridge when I get to it. Like several have mentioned on here, I have several options.
I loved shooting the few rounds I did shoot yesterday evening. I look forward to seeing how accurate I can get with practice.
Thanks for all the help.
 
Had a Ruger MKII that I bought because of the legendary reliability and accuracy of the firearm. When it ran good, it was a pleasure to shoot.

It did seem to have ammo preferences. The T-bolt ammo didn't seem to agree with it. CCI Stingers worked better.

Nevertheless, my policy is to clean every gun after every outing. All my guns, after use, are cleaned, oiled, wiped down and stored back in "like new" condition. That goes whether I've shot 100 or 10 rounds through it. I don't like the idea of putting up a dirty gun.

The MKII was just too much trouble in this regard, so I traded it back in and got the SR22. This gun is much more reliable in that I haven't found a brand of .22LR it won't shoot happily all day long. It's accurate, easy to shoot, and easy to break down and clean. It's also easier to carry.

ee36ec22-a822-47d7-b27e-742d71a9e0dc.jpg
 
They aren't that hard to put back together, but if I was you, I'd get the Ruger I wanted and then drop in a Majestic arms speed strip kit. I have one in a 22/45 light that gets pretty dirty due to suppressor use, and it only takes a few turns off an Allen screw to drop the bolt out. The kit improved my trigger pull and killed the magazine safety to boot.
 
Years ago I met a gentleman that had only 1 arm. He had a Ruger MK2 that he shot very well. He also was able to manipulate the gun very well indeed.

Keep at it! You will adapt and be able to enjoy your pistol.

As others have said, you may need help making a coupla gadgets to help out, it is do able. :D
 
the MK series have a reputation for being hard to reassemble. The first time I took mine apart, it took me a few hours of cursing to get it together. That was before the internet.
The last time I took it apart, it took all of 20 seconds to get it back together. It's not hard, but there is a trick to getting it back together and Youtube is a godsend for that.
If I remember right, you have to hold it upside down and at a certain angle to get the final part to click in.
 
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