Ruger Mark II Bolt Question

[parsimonious_instead]

Good news: I'm getting faster and smoother at disassembling and reassembling my Ruger MarkII.
Bad news: the bolt has a slender pin that transects the bolt about halfway in, and is now inexplicably loose. Doesn't seem to affect the functioning of the gun, but I'm concerned about why/how it happened, how it could affect the gun down the road, and what I can do to inexpensively/easily rectify this, if need be.

Can anyone offer any advice/suggestions? Thanks...

 

[ColtPythonElite]

It sounds as if you are describing the firing pin stop. If so, the main thing is to just make sure it is in place when you replace the bolt. Without it, your firing pin will slam forward into the chamber mouth and indent it.

 

[wally]

If yours was tight at first its a fluke, all mine are too easy to take out. As he said make darn sure its in there before you put the bolt back in the gun.

My wife and I have half a dozen Ruger going back to the MK I and the current threaded barrel 22/45, and an AMT Lighting 10" barrel clone, none has a cross-pin that won't come out if you tap the side of the bolt on a table a few times, but it never seems to cause a problem and there is no scoring inside the upper where it would be rubbing if it was a problem.

 

[BADUNAME37]

I have a Mark II and that crosspin needs to be in place to act as a stop against which a portion of the firing pin strikes to stop the firing pin just short of hitting the rear edge of the chamber. As others mentioned, if you leave that pin out, the firing pin will hit the edge of the chamber and will most likely cause damage with as little as one or two or three dry-firings. It may also make the firing pin extend too far when firing a live round, which could rupture the case at the edge where the pin struck the case rim.

My crosspin will not just fall out, however I think the grease and oil I use are what holds it in. That pin will come out extremely easily with the bolt removed!

 

[parsimonious_instead]

Thanks, folks. Sounds like having a "loose" crosspin isn't indicative of a problem, although I should certainly make darned sure to not lose it.
Interestingly, I found for about $50 on a major gun parts dealer's site a Mark II "Service Pack" that has all of those little itty bitty pieces that we find on the bolt, as well as a magazine, including that crosspin. Not a bad deal...

 

[BADUNAME37]

Just be SURE THAT THE PIN IS ALWAYS THERE, whenever re-assembling the gun, and you should have NO PROBLEMS!

 

[bigfatdave]

If we're talking about the firing pin stop pin, it is simply loose

Ruger experimented for a while with a roll pin, it resulted in frantic calls about the pin being missing and may or may not have been less durable for extended dry-fire (it should be springy, but if installed with the cut in the wrong direction it might allow too much travel)

Next time you have the gun apart, pop it out most of the way and put a blob of thick grease in to help keep it in place (grease is gummy as well as being a lube)

And then get in the habit of checking it is in the bolt before installing.

 

[481]

In the past, I'd had the same concerns as the OP, but have since then found that it is not a tight fitting part.

 

[Drail]

If you put enough rounds through a MK II things will loosen up. Just be sure that pin doesn't fall out while you have the bolt out of the reciever. A whole bunch of MK II pistols have have chamber peening damage because people lost that pin. If you send one to Ruger they have a swaging tool that will make the gun functional but it's better to not whack the chamber with the firing pin. I have 3 old MK IIs and all of their firing pin retaining pins will fall out easily. Pretty much all of Ruger's designs require that you look at every single parts when reassembling the gun. Lots of little things can go wrong.

 

[Chuck Dye]

How about a link to that service pack, please?

Given my excellent experiences obtaining parts from Ruger, I am a bit dubious of a "pack."

 

[parsimonious_instead]

Chuck: It was a Brownell's item that I found through a Google Search. Of course, just like a sighting of a cryptid, I can say that I saw it, but can't offer hard evidence.