Never Pass Up a Box Marked.................

Gun Parts! I stopped by an estate sale last week to see if anything there might be of interest. When I spotted a box marked "Gun Parts $65.00", I just had to see what was in the box:

Oh boy! But are ALL the parts in there. Took the chance and paid the person. When I got back to my shop, my interest was quite piqued by then to see just what parts were present and which ones, if any, absent. Ruger Mark pistol parts are mostly not always a swapable alternative.
As I started getting the pistol all back together, I was actually surprised that the only part missing was one of the grip screws. No big deal as those are the very same as the Ruger type.

What I did find interesting was the AMT Lightning bolt being two-piece with one-inch diameter straight ears and a one piece cast mainspring housing rather than the laminated housing most often found on the Ruger Mark II pistols. Now, I have found two-piece bolts involved with the Ruger Mark II pistols, but those have tapered ears, and mainspring housings that were solid cast initially.
Interesting stuff, but I gotta wonder, Ruger came out with the Mark II in stainless steel in 1982 and the AMT Lightning was introduced in 1984, so who copied who as far as the solid mainspring housing body and the two-piece bolt. Too bad Columbo is no longer with us.

Now that's a deal, good for you!
Santa came early, :wink:
Terry

WOW... just Wow!

That box full of parts gives some credence to all the stories about MK series pistols showing up at the gun shop, as bags of parts! (You probably have stories of your own, like that.)

Congratulations- that's the best story I've heard in a while!

Did you buy a lotto ticket as well...

I never noticed before that my Lightning has a two piece bolt as well. Was the magazine an Eaton or was it AMT branded? I believe the original grips were Pachmayrs but the Hogues you got are better. One really nice thing on mine, the bolt stop pin is flush with the receiver.

The minute I saw the picture,, I thought; "AMT!"
Kudos on a DEAL there!

Thanks. The magazine does indeed have the AMT embossed base, so most likely original. Put 10 rounds of CCI Mini-Mags through it this morning. Function is fine, but the internals are not as nice as the Rugers.
It's been claimed that AMT used an early "Clark trigger" on these guns, but I've never read any real proof of that being the case. Several years ago I was on Numrich's site looking at the Lightning schematic and became interested in the trigger, which they were selling for $3.65 plus shipping at that time, so I ordered a few. They fit right well into Ruger Mark pistol Models I thru III to replace the factory aluminum trigger. I put that word out on a couple of other rimfire sites, along with the price, after, I bought 10 more for stock.
Sorta funny how the price for those triggers quickly went up incrementally as the orders came flowing in for 'em. I think they are now going for $17.95, which still isn't a bad deal for a cast steel trigger.

No, no lotto ticket. There's where my luck runs completely out.

SGW Gunsmith said:

No, no lotto ticket. There's where my luck runs completely out.

Click to expand...

I like to think of the Lottery as a self-imposed tax on those who don't understand mathematics.

That said... if my wife ever wins, I'll come down off my high horse! :mrgreen:

Great find! Good for you.

Thanks, they don't come often. This version from AMT didn't last too long, IIRC. Mr. Ruger became a bit upset that a "near" copy of the Mark II was available for a lower price point. Word has it that he sent a posse of lawyers onto AMT's trail to quell that sort of competition.

The two piece bolt is probably the way to make them, if you can do it at a cost savings from milling a chunk of bar stock to do the whole thing. With the price of steel, why not? Ruger was a definite first on that beginning in 1952 during the Korean War.
The mainspring housing? That's also Ruger's design on the mainspring housing... no matter if you make it solid or laminate, since there could always be easier ways to do things. But the design... definitely Ruger.
Chet15

chet15 said:

The two piece bolt is probably the way to make them, if you can do it at a cost savings from milling a chunk of bar stock to do the whole thing. With the price of steel, why not? Ruger was a definite first on that beginning in 1952 during the Korean War.
The mainspring housing? That's also Ruger's design on the mainspring housing... no matter if you make it solid or laminate, since there could always be easier ways to do things. But the design... definitely Ruger.
Chet15

Click to expand...

Glad to read your response, and I agree to some extent. I can understand your view concerning the methods involved with manufacturing and how a two piece bolt design might be advantageous, back in the day, especially when steel was scarce and needed more for a "police action" involving the Korean conflict. But these days with manufacturing entities using multi-axis computer controlled machining techniques, all sorts of odd shapes can be formed in a matter of minutes. And let us not forget that Ruger was a HUGE pioneer in "investment casting techniques" whereby they have cast receivers, among other parts, that need very little machining after the casting process.
I've been involved with heavy duty manufacturing for 45 years after I spent four years in an indentured toolmaker program and have seen most all of the progress from manual machines like, manual Bridgeport Milling Machines, on up to the Huffman CNC 7-axis machining centers where parts can be turned out, ready to use, in a matter of minutes, and they are all alike.
Somehow, these days, Ruger has been doing right well with making solid Mark pistol bolts involving very little machining involved, and that sir, is advantageous to all of us Ruger Mark pistol fans, and they themselves, as a group, cost wise.