.....And so it was said that you should take your BL-22 to a gunsmith for disassembly and cleaning of the internals. Not so said I, for I have had mine apart many times, without avail.
Well, maybe it's been too long since I did have it apart, long enough to forget what a PITA it is to re-assemble. So I said I would post some pictures on how to disassemble and reassemble the little fellow. No big deal, I just needed a little sunlight for taking the photos, so this afternoon I pulled the little darling out of the gun safe to do the deed, and armed with a couple of hollow ground flat tips I went at it. Well all was good until I began re-assembly, darned if it didn't take 45 minutes to get that lower mated with the upper without the ejector and or spring getting kattywampus. So long story short, they're easy to pull apart, but that darned ejector is just a royal pain to keep in place during re-assembly. So if you're ham fisted or not particularily mechanically inclined, don't try this at home.
OK, so here she is, really quite a beauty, small, light weight, and very well constructed
OK, so here we go with implements of destruction: There is one single take-down screw on the side of the receiver.
Out comes the screw, no fuss no muss.
With the bolt closed, push forward on the upper receiver (not the bolt). This will get the upper moving, so things don't really fly apart when you go to seaprate the two halves. The receiver will only move forward 1/8 of an inch or so because the BL-22 uses a real locking lug on the bolt, keeping things locked to the upper. This little push is just to get the separation started. You can see this in the bolt hole as well.
Now open the lever to unlock the bolt, allowing the two halves to separate...
Now push again on the upper receiver, while holding the forend with the other hand, this should separate the two halves, be mindful to keep the stock and lower vertical, so as not to spill the innards when the two halves do seaparate
.
Shazam!!! Apart she comes.
Here is the little bugger which makes everything so difficult to reassemble, the ejector delicately balancing on a small spiral pancake spring. This is the only thing that's difficult about re-assembly, keeping both of them in place as you try to get the bolt and lower back into the upper.
Here's a close-up of the ejector and pancake spring.
And from another angle.
Here is the locking lug in position on the bolt, when re-assembling the rifle, make sure it is inserted properly, the thick part of the lug goes to the rear.
Here it is by itself on the lever mechanism, I find it easiest to put the lug in the bolt recess part-way, then hook it over the pin on the lever, and then manuever the bolt back onto the runners on the lower. You may have to try several times or methods to get this all back in running order. Be sure to work the lever once or twice, while holding the bolt down to the runners to make sure the feed mechanism is not bound up.
Now, for the hard part re-assembly of the two halves. Make sure the ejector is on it's pin in the receiver, then use a small wooden dowel to hold the front of it down, compressing the spring squarely (make sure the ejector is riding on the top of the cone spring only, else the spring will be damaged. So hold the ejector down while sliding the lower in place (bolt open so the locking lug is recessed). I use the upper surface of the receiver to keep the bolt straight as I move the two halves together, when I feel the ejector begin to enter the bolt recess I stop to make sure the cone spring and ejector are still properly in position.
Here's a picture of the slot on the bolt where the ejector aligns:
So once the bolt and ejector are aligned and engaged with the cone spring not crunched, the upper and lower slide easily back togheter, then just insert and tighten the take-down screw. Tada!!!
Well, maybe it's been too long since I did have it apart, long enough to forget what a PITA it is to re-assemble. So I said I would post some pictures on how to disassemble and reassemble the little fellow. No big deal, I just needed a little sunlight for taking the photos, so this afternoon I pulled the little darling out of the gun safe to do the deed, and armed with a couple of hollow ground flat tips I went at it. Well all was good until I began re-assembly, darned if it didn't take 45 minutes to get that lower mated with the upper without the ejector and or spring getting kattywampus. So long story short, they're easy to pull apart, but that darned ejector is just a royal pain to keep in place during re-assembly. So if you're ham fisted or not particularily mechanically inclined, don't try this at home.
OK, so here she is, really quite a beauty, small, light weight, and very well constructed
OK, so here we go with implements of destruction: There is one single take-down screw on the side of the receiver.
Out comes the screw, no fuss no muss.
With the bolt closed, push forward on the upper receiver (not the bolt). This will get the upper moving, so things don't really fly apart when you go to seaprate the two halves. The receiver will only move forward 1/8 of an inch or so because the BL-22 uses a real locking lug on the bolt, keeping things locked to the upper. This little push is just to get the separation started. You can see this in the bolt hole as well.
Now open the lever to unlock the bolt, allowing the two halves to separate...
Now push again on the upper receiver, while holding the forend with the other hand, this should separate the two halves, be mindful to keep the stock and lower vertical, so as not to spill the innards when the two halves do seaparate
.Shazam!!! Apart she comes.
Here is the little bugger which makes everything so difficult to reassemble, the ejector delicately balancing on a small spiral pancake spring. This is the only thing that's difficult about re-assembly, keeping both of them in place as you try to get the bolt and lower back into the upper.
Here's a close-up of the ejector and pancake spring.
And from another angle.
Here is the locking lug in position on the bolt, when re-assembling the rifle, make sure it is inserted properly, the thick part of the lug goes to the rear.
Here it is by itself on the lever mechanism, I find it easiest to put the lug in the bolt recess part-way, then hook it over the pin on the lever, and then manuever the bolt back onto the runners on the lower. You may have to try several times or methods to get this all back in running order. Be sure to work the lever once or twice, while holding the bolt down to the runners to make sure the feed mechanism is not bound up.
Now, for the hard part re-assembly of the two halves. Make sure the ejector is on it's pin in the receiver, then use a small wooden dowel to hold the front of it down, compressing the spring squarely (make sure the ejector is riding on the top of the cone spring only, else the spring will be damaged. So hold the ejector down while sliding the lower in place (bolt open so the locking lug is recessed). I use the upper surface of the receiver to keep the bolt straight as I move the two halves together, when I feel the ejector begin to enter the bolt recess I stop to make sure the cone spring and ejector are still properly in position.
Here's a picture of the slot on the bolt where the ejector aligns:
So once the bolt and ejector are aligned and engaged with the cone spring not crunched, the upper and lower slide easily back togheter, then just insert and tighten the take-down screw. Tada!!!
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