A minor upgrade to a Ruger pistol revealed an odd hidden problem. This got me to thinking-
Those of us who buy used firearms and do some work on them ourselves have probably found more than a few odd issues and problems once we got below the surface. I'm going to relate a couple of mine, and I'd like to hear your stories two.
I bought a 1993 vintage Ruger MKII Competition Target Model a couple of months ago. The pistol appeared to have a Volquartsen accurizing kit, as it had the wide VQ trigger. I didn't look too closely at the lower when I cleaned the gun before it's first range trip. The gun functioned fine and was accurate, however the trigger had an odd feel and was over 4lbs when tested. A VQ kit should result in a 2lb trigger.
Tearing the pistol down again for a good look I find only the VQ trigger was installed. So I ordered the most critical trigger part, the VQ sear. Yesterday the sear arrived and I disassembled the hammer/ sear group. When I pushed out the sear pin it had about a 15 degree kink in the middle. The hole in the sear was worn oblong. Three questions came to mind, how does a sear pin get bent in the middle, how did the pistol still function reliably and why did someone spend the money on just the trigger which does not do a whole lot to improve the pistol?
Luckily I had the few VQ sear and a spare pin from a previous project. The pistol now has a trigger under 3lbs, and I hope all else is well.
I inherited just one of my grandads guns, a very well used 1957 Winchester Model 12 field grade 16 GA shotgun. He carried that gun for hundreds of rabbit hunting outings with his beagles. Grandad kept the barrel scrupulously clean and the exterior oiled. I figured he'd kept the action and receiver clean too.
During an informal hand thrown clay shoot, the gun began to slam fire. Uh, oh. I was only 17 at the time, but very mechanically inclined. I had an American Rifleman with a tear down and schematic of the M12. They are supposed to be easy to remove the trigger assembly from once the barrel is off. Well this one wouldn't budge. I tried everything, even took it to a gun shop and they couldn't budge it.
I soaked the receiver in Liquid Wrench and let it set. Finally, I was able to get the trigger assembly out by using a birch dowel rod through the trigger guard and smacking the rod with a hammer. Crud flew everywhere! Grandad had never cleaned the receiver. Now for the odd finds. There was a corroded, smashed .22 Long case riding above the bolt! Also found a fish hook stuck in the trigger group and part of a purple shotgun hull pretty much fused to the back side of the bolt. How in the heck did the gun function for years with that junk inside! Unfortunately, I also discovered the source of the slam fired, the disconnector parts were worn to a razor edge. I cleaned, then retired the gun.
Those of us who buy used firearms and do some work on them ourselves have probably found more than a few odd issues and problems once we got below the surface. I'm going to relate a couple of mine, and I'd like to hear your stories two.
I bought a 1993 vintage Ruger MKII Competition Target Model a couple of months ago. The pistol appeared to have a Volquartsen accurizing kit, as it had the wide VQ trigger. I didn't look too closely at the lower when I cleaned the gun before it's first range trip. The gun functioned fine and was accurate, however the trigger had an odd feel and was over 4lbs when tested. A VQ kit should result in a 2lb trigger.
Tearing the pistol down again for a good look I find only the VQ trigger was installed. So I ordered the most critical trigger part, the VQ sear. Yesterday the sear arrived and I disassembled the hammer/ sear group. When I pushed out the sear pin it had about a 15 degree kink in the middle. The hole in the sear was worn oblong. Three questions came to mind, how does a sear pin get bent in the middle, how did the pistol still function reliably and why did someone spend the money on just the trigger which does not do a whole lot to improve the pistol?
Luckily I had the few VQ sear and a spare pin from a previous project. The pistol now has a trigger under 3lbs, and I hope all else is well.
I inherited just one of my grandads guns, a very well used 1957 Winchester Model 12 field grade 16 GA shotgun. He carried that gun for hundreds of rabbit hunting outings with his beagles. Grandad kept the barrel scrupulously clean and the exterior oiled. I figured he'd kept the action and receiver clean too.
During an informal hand thrown clay shoot, the gun began to slam fire. Uh, oh. I was only 17 at the time, but very mechanically inclined. I had an American Rifleman with a tear down and schematic of the M12. They are supposed to be easy to remove the trigger assembly from once the barrel is off. Well this one wouldn't budge. I tried everything, even took it to a gun shop and they couldn't budge it.
I soaked the receiver in Liquid Wrench and let it set. Finally, I was able to get the trigger assembly out by using a birch dowel rod through the trigger guard and smacking the rod with a hammer. Crud flew everywhere! Grandad had never cleaned the receiver. Now for the odd finds. There was a corroded, smashed .22 Long case riding above the bolt! Also found a fish hook stuck in the trigger group and part of a purple shotgun hull pretty much fused to the back side of the bolt. How in the heck did the gun function for years with that junk inside! Unfortunately, I also discovered the source of the slam fired, the disconnector parts were worn to a razor edge. I cleaned, then retired the gun.
