I have a Mk II and a Mk III. I got rid of the mag safety in the Mk III (that was a PITA for me but pretty cheap...bought a bushing of some sort for about $11 IIRC) and it shoots great but its such a pain to field strip and clean I hardly ever shoot it (am I overthinking this...dont need to fully disaseemble every time I clean it??).

The ca 1980 Mk I my dad gave me when I was 13 got stolen when I was in grad school.

With my Mk II the biggest issue was getting the receiver on far enough so that I could replace the hammer spring housing - the receiver and frame were tough to align properly to get the little cylindrival piece back up in the assembly to allow the housing to swing into the grip so it can be locked in place. I had to put a couple towels on the floor and push the barrel into the floor and lean on it a little to get it to go the last few MMs.

I just hose mine out and run a bore snake through the barrel.

I have no trouble field stripping and reassembling my MKII (it gets much easier with practice).

Now replacing the trigger assembly with a Volquartsen accurizing kit, that's a real challenge for sure!

quote:

Originally posted by Ronin101:
I just hose mine out and run a bore snake through the barrel.

^^^^ This. I run between 1 and 2 thousand rounds before I do a complete field strip. I've never had a problem doing this.

Jim

A rubber mallet is my friend on my MK2

My Mk I needed good hard blows to get the receiver off and on. A gunsmith friend, at my encouragement and his reluctance, tried a trigger job on it and it went very, very wrong. Sent it back to Ruger. They fixed the bollixed-up trigger (and made it absolutely perfect, I might add) and fixed the receiver/frame fitment. Never had a problem with it, since.

I haven't taken my MKIII apart yet, I have been putting it off! I have a few parts sitting here waiting for me to get the courage. I guess I am waiting on a day my wife and baby aren't home

OP, hope you get it figured out.

It's fairly straightforward.

Key points:
1. make sure the upper receiver is fully seated on the lower.
2. Hammer forward BUT strut behind the pin AND in the plunger when closing the latch.
3. If there's not a small amount of spring tension when closing the latch, remove the assembly pin and try again.

I used this video and it helped a lot. Nice lady made the video too. The block of wood really helped.

I had a Gunsmith I knew a while back take out the mag safety and install the spacer plug for the LCI on my MKIII. That was the first and only time it's been apart in the several years I've owned it.

It's the only gun I still use (non-chlorinated) brake cleaner on. I blast it out, clean it as well as I can with brushes, patches and a snake, then spray the bolt front and rear with CLP which foams up when it comes out of the tube. No problems yet.

When I do have to take it apart, I see no reason to take the receiver off the frame.

And then came the Mark IV. Competition works just the way Adam Smith - and many others - said it would. Hard to find a Mark IV in store or at a show. Would not take the previous Marks as a gift - life is too short.

Locals have wife shooting a Mark IV 22/45 Lite and, so far, it seems to be a match for her strength. She shot 150 rounds of CCI SV this afternoon (heat wave) hitting 25 yard gong almost every time and 50 yard gong much of the time. Only issues are the need for a long rod to push a patch through the barrel - but a snake does the job with ease - and a lot of force is needed to cock the internal hammer - but a wooden rod up the barrel helps and several people make things to clamp on the end of the slide/bolt to help. Mac

The title of this thread made me chuckle before I even clicked on it.

I took my first Mk 1 apart when I was 8 years old. Took me something like 2 weeks to get it back together. Have loved these pistols ever since. My Mk 2 Goverment is one of my most cherished firearms.

It's funny this came up. My son borrowed my MKIII. He broke it down to clean and he said he had not put it back together again. I found this video years ago. It's entertaining and useful. It's how I learned to put it back together again.

just an update, i got it back together!! thank you for all the help and advice.

Glad to hear it. The first time I tried to put my mark 3 22/45..I accidentally jam the pin into the slide. I spent 30 minutes wrestling, cursing, and frustrated. The same e,option as everyone else. The best tip...watch these video before a bunch and during the assembly. Take your time. Do not miss a step. And buy that bore snake.

Ruger Mk II... the Rubik's cube of firearms.

quote:

Originally posted by neckbone:
Ruger Mk II... the Rubik's cube of firearms.

Indeed. My first pistol was a 1983 MK II Standard which gave me fits. I recall the frustration of trying to reinstall the mainspring housing following the initial field strip & cleaning. I recently picked up this near mint 1993 KMK 678 Target at a local shop. Here's a photo of it detail stripped for cleaning. (Ruger does not recommend this degree of disassembly, though a certain amount is required to access the overtravel adjustment on the target models.) Reassembly is definitely an acquired skill and requires some patience. After 35 years I'm much more familiar with the MK II pistol though I still rely heavily upon on drawings and photos to determine the orientation of certain springs and small parts.

quote:

Originally posted by sigspecops:
I hope the designer of the MK2 is burning somewhere near the ninth level of hades as we speak.

I don't know what, if any, level of Hades he is in, but Bill Ruger died in 2002.

FYI for any still having trouble, this is the best resource I've found for working on the ruger 22s. Great pics and info.

http://www.guntalk-online.com/detailstrip.htm

Keep an eye on that hammer strut when you put the mainspring assembly back in.

Congrats on gettin her sorted out.