The Good, Bad and Just Plain Ugly

[Ole Joe Clark]

I posted photos earlier of the Ruger Mk II with the 6 7/8" barrel. I brought it home and finally got it cleaned up and test fired. It shot great.

I took photos of it before I cleaned it. The grips were stuck to the frame, and it was really nasty. Pictures speak louder than words, it took quite a while to clean it up and back together.

Have a blessed day,

Leon

[6518John]

I would bet that was it’s first cleaning!

[LVSteve]

Petrified grease??

[Mule Packer]

Originally Posted by 6518John

I would bet that was it’s first cleaning!

Yep. I wouldn't be at all surprised. But those Mark II's take a lickin' and keep on tickin'. I think you'll really appreciate that firearm, Leon. That's going to be a great little gun.

[LoboGunLeather]

Over the years I have purchased quite a few firearms that had never been properly cleaned or maintained. I have come to take that as the norm.

In many cases a thorough detail stripping and cleaning will reveal a functionally new firearm. Occasionally there will be a serious issue or two. Sometimes we can tell the difference going into the deal, sometimes it doesn't become clear until after the tear-down and cleaning are done.

I can honestly say that I have very seldom seem a (civilian) firearm that is honestly worn out, but I have seen a lot of them that were seriously ignored by previous owners.

[Old_Cop]

I'll bet you could time that hammer fall with an hourglass.

[Lee Barner]

good job, seen many like it over the years. your title reminded me of my ex-wives. Lee

[Ole Joe Clark]

Originally Posted by Lee Barner

good job, seen many like it over the years. your title reminded me of my ex-wives. Lee

Lee,
With all due respect my friend, I'm not touching that one.
I've never had a ex wife. :-)

Have a blessed day,

Leon

[Ole Joe Clark]

Originally Posted by 6518John

I would bet that was it’s first cleaning!

I think you are right, I was reminded of the comment "I just sprayed er down with "MAGIC GUN CLEANER" and put her up."

The extractor was a pain to remove because of the gunked up mess that was packed in and around it.

Have a blessed day,

Leon

[hkcavalier]

Originally Posted by LoboGunLeather

Over the years I have purchased quite a few firearms that had never been properly cleaned or maintained. I have come to take that as the norm.

In many cases a thorough detail stripping and cleaning will reveal a functionally new firearm. Occasionally there will be a serious issue or two. Sometimes we can tell the difference going into the deal, sometimes it doesn't become clear until after the tear-down and cleaning are done.

I can honestly say that I have very seldom seem a (civilian) firearm that is honestly worn out, but I have seen a lot of them that were seriously ignored by previous owners.

Seen a few .300WM rifles for sale with bad barrels. These are usually either very old hunting guns (very old for .300WM at least) or the newer crop of long range target rifles. Barrel life is definitely an issue with these.

But yeah, other than those and some pump shotguns shot completely loose (like the barrel will fly off when fired), I don't see too many guns that are functionally toast due to round count.

[Echo40]

Sadly, there are a lot of folks who seemingly never clean their firearms, particularly new gun owners who don't know anything about how to properly clean, lube, or maintain their firearms.

Sometimes folks buy a firearm, take it directly out to the range with the cheapest ammo they could buy, shoot it until it chokes, complain about how it "broke" at the range, dismiss or deflect any questions in regards to cleaning/maintenance, then they take it back to the gun shop demanding a refund or attempt to mail it in for warranty, and ultimately report back complaining about how rude the folks at the gun shop were because they looked it over and told the owner to clean it, or they complain about the manufacturer mailing it back to them claiming nothing was wrong, openly admitting that it started working again for awhile at the range before it inexplicably stopped working again.
If you press them hard enough on how often they cleaned their firearm between range visits, their answers are typically vague, nondescript, and strongly suggest that they've never cleaned it at all if you read between the lines or a very defensive response of how they cleaned it plenty, yet they won't ever divulge the names of what brand cleaner/lubricant they used, which makes me suspect that they "cleaned" it quite literally in the kitchen sink or with a garden hose.

That's why I always take negative range reports I read on forums with a grain of salt if it's by a new user who openly admits that it's their first firearm and are very dodgy when it comes to cleaning/maintenance of their firearms.

[CAJUNLAWYER]

Well if it worked why would the previous owner want to take it apart with the good chance that he would not be able to put it back together again. I seem to remember several threads indicating that a prudent course is to NOT take it all the way down unless the gun starts to hiccup but to simply swab the bore and chamber with a good shot of gunscrubber. Let us not fall off our lofty perches whilst casting stones at the unwashed. I'd be willing to bet that the gun worked flawlessly before the detained cleaning. But now that it IS sparkling clean and like new, I wonder when the next time it will be detail stripped and cleaned????? Probably by the new owner when it gets sold down the line.
We're talking about a Ruger .22 after all, pretty much bullet proof the way the old man designed it. And I thought that the reason you got them in stainless in the first place was so you didn't have to baby them.
PS: Still stand by my first impressions though, nice gun and I LOVE that barrel profile

[6518John]

I had and Uncle that said, “I buy guns to shoot not clean. If I want to spend my time cleaning I can go home and let your aunt nag me about running the vacuum!”

He spayed his guns down with WD-40 every 5 years or so, whether they needed it or not!

[Drm50]

I have cleaned many guns that never been apart since owners dads and grandfathers bought them after returning from WW 2. They brag about AKs taking gunk in action? I cleaned a 11-48 that looked like it was new. I don’t know how it functioned. Each shot the parts had to chew a hole through gunk. Ruger autos are fun. Usually clean but dropped off in a bag for assembly. I had one a couple years ago that several guys tried to put together. It came to me, no problem I’ll show you how fast one can be slapped together. WRONG!!! Bubba had it in vise trying to force it together.
The hook connection between lower and receiver was warped enough that it wouldn’t allow the main pin to line up and pass through receiver. It took some careful thumping with a brass bar and ball peen to seat it. 5 minute job took several hours.

[OLDSTER]

I didn't think those Rugers ever needed to be cleaned. Seriously those things are incredible re; reliability, endurance, etc., etc., and yours obviously needed a cleaning; but even if you didn't clean it, it would shoot and shoot and shoot. Nice pickup by the way.

[Ole Joe Clark]

Originally Posted by CAJUNLAWYER

Well if it worked why would the previous owner want to take it apart with the good chance that he would not be able to put it back together again. I seem to remember several threads indicating that a prudent course is to NOT take it all the way down unless the gun starts to hiccup but to simply swab the bore and chamber with a good shot of gunscrubber. Let us not fall off our lofty perches whilst casting stones at the unwashed. I'd be willing to bet that the gun worked flawlessly before the detained cleaning. But now that it IS sparkling clean and like new, I wonder when the next time it will be detail stripped and cleaned????? Probably by the new owner when it gets sold down the line.
We're talking about a Ruger .22 after all, pretty much bullet proof the way the old man designed it. And I thought that the reason you got them in stainless in the first place was so you didn't have to baby them.
PS: Still stand by my first impressions though, nice gun and I LOVE that barrel profile

"I wonder when the next time it will be detail stripped and cleaned????? Probably by the new owner when it gets sold down the line."

Well, I had it apart today, messing with the trigger, and last Saturday, removing the extractor and cleaning it.

Have a blessed day,

Leon

[steelslaver]

A good share of gun owners shouldn't take their guns apart. But, most of them don't fire that many rounds anyway. They should run a brass brush down the bore with some Hoppes and the bolt open, then a couple of patches. they should wipe the gun down. They should not dump a bunch of oil all over it or stick grease every wear.

This current deal were everyone is pushing some magical gun oil don't help. Bunches off any kind of lubricant isn't good. Even if it don't turn into sludge, it will collect dust and debri and turn into gunk.

Although tearing that Ruger down and detail cleaning it was the right thing to do. Joe Nimrod probably would have been better off to take the grips off,hose it down with carb cleaner while working it. Then put a tiny bit of good oil in the few spots that slide, and pivot.

Most people can't change their own oil. How do you expect them to tear down a gun , clean it and correctly resemble it?

[Drm50]

As Clint would say, “ A mans got to know his limitations “ is true. Guys that are scared to take apart there gun never ruins one. Bubba Gunman will tear up screws with a dime store screw driver and use it as pry bar on gun.
Under most circumstances a Ruger Auto doesn’t need frame and receiver separated if taken reasonable care.

[Echo40]

Personally, I wouldn't buy a firearm if it had an extremely complex, difficult, or involved breakdown procedure. There are more than enough firearms out there which can be broken down in a simple three to five steps without any tools required.

In fact, when I purchased my very first pistol, ease of takedown was actually one of my primary factors when it came to the decision of what to get because I didn't want a firearm that was so difficult to break down that cleaning it was practically out of the question or would cause me a bunch of stress, so I ended up choosing the Walther PPK/S since breakdown was as simple is pulling the trigger guard down, pulling back the slide all the way to the rear, lifting it up off the rails, then easing it forward off the frame. No pins, no screws, no clips, no bushings, no precise alignment of the slide, and no tools required.

[Jessie]

If you think the Ruger is too hard to takedown, I’m not sure what to say.
Putting it back together is a diiferent thing but once you know how it’s nothing.
No tools required either.

[RobertJ.]

A while back I cleaned my BIL's Ruger P89, and it looked like that. It jammed every other round, and it took so long for the slide to return to battery that you could run several errands while waiting. It sure shot good after the cleaning, though.

[steelslaver]

To some people a 1911 would be difficult to tear down and reassemble.

Lots of people show up here needing help taking down and reassembling S&W revolvers. Some of the little springs like for the DA fly and the hand are a bit tricky if you go that far.

Like Jessie said, thee Ruger semi 22s are rather easy to tear down. Putting them back together is a study, but once you figure it out it isn't bad. Very few guns are actually that hard to take apart and put back together, FOR ME.

My wife on the other hand. If I showed her how to tear down a 1911, she would not be able to do it again in a few weeks. She is far from stupid. But, her head just don't work that way.

[jeffrefrig]

So, we meet again, Mr. 1911! Do you wanna try taking my forehead out again, eh?! I've said this before, but my cellar floor has stolen two of those doohickies (sorry if too technical!) that go over the end of the spring while not paying enough attention while re-assembling the gun after a thorough cleaning. I bought extras the second time I lost one, but never had to use them again. What a humbling, embarasing thing to admit to, but I learned! That is a nice Ruger up there. A guy at the range let me shoot his a couple times; very accurate and felt good in the hand.

[Drm50]

Once living in apartment I was replacing mainspring in a Ruger BH. Being young and dumb had paper clip in teeth to trap spring on strut. It had phone book on coffee table to work on. Just as I had spring compressed to stick wire it hole, I lost control. Spring went flying. Lucky it didn’t go up my nose hole. Looked for an hour for that spring, move furniture , everything couldn’t find it. Later happened to look up and it was sticking in ceiling tile.

[DeathGrip]

I always check out the internals on a new purchace. Especially when it's a used gun.

When I bought my MkII it was in great shape but I took it apart anyhow just to see, Yep someone installed a part backwards. I can't remember what it was but I was happy to have caught it.

Good thing I studied several youtube vids and looked up some drawings before starting. I read up on them before even buying one because of all of the chatter about how difficult they were to assemble.

Yep, Chatter. I found it easy.

[Dan Carey]

Yup, that one was definitely nasty! But, I have seen worse, I'm sorry to say!