Ruger MKII bolt issue

[Faulkner]

I was talking with one of my co-workers at the range this week and he said he had a Ruger MKII that was giving him problems and asked if I knew anyone locally that worked on them. As we talked about the symptoms he was having I told him I probably knew what the problem was because I'd experienced it some years ago, I told him I'd bet the bolt rebound spring was broken.

He pulled the gun out of his range bag and we took it to a bench to look at. I disassembled it and when I pulled out the bolt the firing pin stop pin fell right out, an indicator that the spring was broken.

I continued stripping the bolt and when I pulled the firing pin I found the afore mentioned spring was indeed broken.

Fortunately, when I contacted Ruger to order one for my Ruger MKII (which they sent me free of charge), for some reason they sent two in the little zip lock bag so I had a spare. I found the spring in my spare parts box and installed it then reassembled the bolt. I did a deep clean on the MKII while we had it apart, then I reassembled it and we took it out to the line for a test and it worked flawlessly.

As we walked back to the bench he said, "wow Faulkner, I'm impressed with how quickly and easily you disassembled and reassembled my MKII. I always struggle with it."

I reached back into my gun parts box and pulled out my Man Card and showed it to him.

He took it and laughed and asked, "how do you get one of these?"

"You have to earn it," I said.

.

 

[Puller]

I have a couple of Ruger MKII's and once I took them apart a time or two and figured out the process I've not found them too tough.

 

[LVSteve]

I've never owned a Ruger MkII, but I do have a Remington R51 and a couple of Grand Power pistols. They can be "fun" to disassemble/reassemble if you're not holding your chin right.

 

[STORMINORMAN]

My Brother and I bought a Standard MK I (with a 5-something?" Bull Barrel) in the mid '60s. Shot thousands of 22lrs with only an occasional dunk-style cleaning. I do well remember the need for a third hand (or the ability to temporarily defeat gravity?) the 1st time it was successfully broken down and reassembled.

The reason I remember it so well was that it was I who took it apart and my Brother would have killed me if he had come home from college and found it in pieces!

The World Wide Web wasn't even a "gleam in Al Gore's imagination" at that early date: I can't recall where I finally got ahold of some written instructions that made any sense... It sure did function better after a real cleaning, though!

Cheers!

 

[pharmer]

Very nice of you to educate and remediate. Once a person masters "angle for dangle" (muzzle up 45* so stirrup falls into mainspring cup) it's literally a snap. After almost 50 years MKI,II's are still my favorite .22 autos. Joe

 

[rockquarry]

You only need to separate the barrel assembly from the frame every few decades. Even then you may find it wasn't dirty enough for a teardown. Still worth checking.

 

[jc2721]

The very first pistol I ever bought was a Ruger Mk. I Bull Barrel back in 1978. The very first thing I did was field strip it, clean, oil and reassemble. I've probably put 20-25K rounds through it. I still have it.

I've never had any problem disassembling or reassembling the Ruger pistol.

 

[GypsmJim]

I bought a Ruger Standard eons ago. It came with an Owner's Manual. I read the manual. After a few thousand rounds I disassembled and cleaned it. Easy peasy.

Then in later years I read on the internet that they were hard to disassemble. Then I went back to the manual and scratched my head.

I also have a Mk II and III. Took them apart just because. Didn't need to. They went back together real easy.

Finally I bought a Mark 4. It's a fine firearm and I haven't seen the need to do a disassembly yet. I loved the comment above about wusses.

 

[tmd17]

The 'secret' is simple. Full Moon, bare feet, and a live version of the Eagles "Hotel California" playing in the back ground.

 

[rockquarry]

The 'secret' is simple. Full Moon, bare feet, and a live version of the Eagles "Hotel California" playing in the back ground.

Listening to good music might work even better.

 

[GypsmJim]

The 'secret' is simple. Full Moon, bare feet, and a live version of the Eagles "Hotel California" playing in the back ground.

There is no "secret". The manufacturer went to great lengths to describe how to do it. If some people can follow the directions, than anybody can do it.

Unless the person has a reading disability.

If that is the case, maybe owning any firearm isn't in one's best interests either.

 

[Baxter6551]

Easy peasy once you master it. Even easier if you get one of these puppies. Follow the instructions when installing. You’ll be glad you did.

Ruger MK Reassembly |the One-Time Fix |Hammer Strut Support

 

[Empe]

I love the " Man Card " ....very funny ! The Ruger MK II handguns are not at all difficult to take apart and reassemble once you've done it a couple of times. You need to have the hammer and hammer strut support in the right place at the right time . Once that's understood it's really quite easy.

 

[DWalt]

I have never experienced a problem with my Standard Model. There is only one real trick to remember. When re-assembling, and after the bolt is in position, make sure the hammer is down, not in the cocked position. That allows the hammer strut to be in the proper position. Nonetheless, I usually do not take mine apart unless it is really necessary, and that is not too often. Reading Ruger’s instructions first will help first timers, not really needed after that.

 

[steelslaver]

I have 3 of them. I wait to take them apart so that I have to take a couple shots at it before going oh yea to get my card back