I'm not one of those who find the Ruger MK series of .22 LR semi-auto pistols difficult to field strip and reassemble. I do own several MKII's, a MKIII, and a MKIV. I like the MKIV the least and find I shoot the MKII's the most. I even taught my sons to field strip and reassemble my MKII's when they were 7 or 8 years old just to prove how easy it can be.

Even so, I did run across an ingenious little device that can be readily installed on the MKII and MKIII pistols that can help those who may not yet have the Ruger stamp on their man card. I ran across an ad in the last issue in the American Rifleman for the Ruger MK Reassembly-the One-Time Fix Hammer Strut Support(TM) . It caught my eye and out of curiosity I checked out the link to the web page. The installation video showed that the device was a simple one time installation, and the little gadget was under twenty bucks.

What pushed me over the edge into purchasing one was that my wife had some Amazon points so I looked and saw I could purchase it from the Amazon site with her points and get free shipping to boot. It showed up in the mailbox today, so I took another quick look at the installation video, pulled out one of my MKII's and had the little device installed in about 5 minutes start to finish.

I've had my MKII's apart so many times I have the process down pat and I've never had a problem getting that little dangling thingy back in it's slot, but you know what, I can see where this would be a big help for those who don't have the process down. If you're MKII or MKIII challenged I recommend you give it a look.

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Thanks Man-had a MKII for decades and always wrestle with reassembly-where do I get my man card stamped?

Sadly, this nifty item does not work in the 22/45.

Why not just leave it assembled, dump it in a gallon of Varsol, blow it out with compressed air, and shoot in some CLP?

I always liked these but avoided them because they were difficult to strip (same with Colt Woodsman target). When they came out with the Mark IV, I grabbed one, had Volquartsen I stall a trigger, stuck on a set of target grips, and i have a target grade 22 that strips by pushing a button.

Saw the ad for it in the same mag and ordered one myself. Installation was done this past weekend.

I have one an original mk1.
Rarely shoot it so as to avoid stripping it.
Handed down from my Dad.
May have to get me one of those gadgets.


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Look thru the rear of the main housing... uh oh... the strut is caught behind the pin. Grab a q-tip, reach thru the housing and push the hammer forward a little. Bingo, the strut is free.

Another tip is to push the pin thru the barrel and frame from the top. Yes , seat the pin fully from the top. This will assure barrel and frame are correctly aligned.

I've said it time and again >>>> it shouldn't take longer than 5 minutes to strip and reassemble.......the ruger assembly 'dance' is a crock!!!

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triggers dog-pile egomaniacs

Ha, I can tell you field stripping, cleaning, and reassembling it back is a whole lot easier than that ^^

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Thanks for the tip....

I have three MKIII Hunters...one in each barrel length. The only time one was ever apart was to put a Tactical Solutions upper on it for use with a suppressor on it...

Cleaning...take the grips off...spray out with cleaner, let dry, spray in some lube and put the grips back on...have no clue why one would take one apart...

Bob

Thanks for shareing. I've seen these advertized but never knew anyone who actually installed one. It's certainly cheap enough and I can see where it could help some folks. If it helps them love the gun, it's money well spent.
I'm a big fan of the Ruger MK series pistols myself ( and own"a few"of each series.) I used to strugle with reassembly but then realized that ease/success is all about understanding where that hammer and hammer strut needs to be in various states of assembly (particularly when the mainspring houseing is installed. )
That said, I can't tell you the number of times that I have been brought a MK I/II/III (or 22/45) pistol in pieces by a desprite friend /customer who had given up. If/when you "see the light " nothing else is needed (except maybe a plastic mallet on the tighter specimines.)
Once I get these pistols back togeather, I tell them to leave the gun togeather and to clean with a good blast of gun scrubber into the internals when needed. These venerable pistols can run for tens of thousands of rounds with little more than that and a few drops of well placed oil.

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Dave

The solution is is to never take one apart. I've fired thousands of rounds without disassembly. Clean the bore. Use CLP in the nooks and crannies. Voila! No problems.

Sure the Ruger RE-ASSEMBLY is not as easy as some others. On the other hand, it aint rocket surgery either. Learn it, live it, love it, OR at least walk away when frustrated until the hissy fit subsides & put it back together. YES I've struggled with 1 more than once & felt foolish after it MIRACULOUSLY went back together. To spend MORE time & effort to "clean it" the wrong way & risk ruining the crown, just don't make sense to me. STUPID GUN!!!

SURE one can run a very longtime doing nothing but squirting asst products inside, or running a cleaning rod down the bore. That is not what the manual suggests to do. If the interweb put as much bad press into (& readers believed it) changing light bulbs, we'd all be sitting in the dark. If I can do it, a monkey could.

There is only one trick to easy Ruger dis-assembly and re-assembly and that is to always keep the hammer DOWN. That's it. No other devices are needed except your fingers. I have better uses for $20 than buying that unnecessary doodad.

Pin alignment from the top YES....big , big help with the MKII's.
I had never heard of this but started doing it this way about 5 years ago first with a round steel bar of the same diameter as the bolt ...makes alignment easy , easy ... then just started using the factory pin from the top .
Great Tip !
Gary

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I don't know...

Tilting the gun and pulling the trigger is not that hard for me.

That's a 550 round box of ammo..

Absolutely. I always get a chuckle out of those who relate how impossibly difficult it is to put a Ruger back together when a smart 5-YO could do it after a little instruction. I've read that gunsmiths often get visits from people who have taken their Ruger .22s apart and can't re-assemble them.

I once had a neighbor (now deceased) who brought his parts to me in a box after spending hours trying to put his Ruger back together. He and I had a little instructional session as to how it's done.

KEEP THE HAMMER DOWN!

I like bananas too!

This is my favorite reassembly instructional video for the 22/45. Just 1:40 and you are done. The presentation is clean and clear, with no nonsense.

Yeah, I like this video . . . demonstrates that it's really not that hard to do.

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Combined with the fact that.the gun will shoot for twenty plus years without being disassembled....this piece is unnecessary. I had one for 30 years before I ever disassembled it for cleaning. Shot the heck out of it. It's still going strong.

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This≠DodgeCity&You≠BillHickok

I've owned Mk Is and IIs for years also. Never had the problem a lot of folks do with them. Neat gadget though. Now off to get my man card stamped...lol.

A little bit off the main topic, but maybe interesting? Up until a couple
of years ago I was teaching the class for the enhanced concealed weapon
license. It was a day long (8 hours) duration. I only allowed 8 to a class.
But still had two or three hundred over a 2 or 3 year period.

Each student would shoot 100 rounds at various distances. Target was
a 9" paper plate. Number of holes in their plate would be part of their
final class grade.

Only 2 students scored 100 on the plates. They both used Ruger
Mark II and/or III.

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In Omnia Paratus

A pretty "smart" move, I'd like to see them try that with a snubby.

I purchased one used mark that needed to be disassembled because the receiver was so leaded up the pistol couldn’t of functioned. No problem stripping them down.

Agree. Been disassembling, and reassembling MKs I,II,and III for many years, and can do it in 5 minutes in the dark. But I have to say, that for less patient owners that gadget is better than major frustration

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John

I bought one a couple of weeks ago for the hell of it and installed it. Hope my purchase helped his retirement. Thoughtful part indeed and appreciate the creativity!

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