A compromise on Mk I, II, III cleaning debate?

[roca7]

got my new mk111 competition today. came home and layed it on a towel. pulled out the mallet and plastic punch which i didn't use. pulled out the mainspring and bolt, pulled out the receiver, and pushed the barrel with the heal of my hand and removed it. looked in side and it was dry, with a tiny bit of oil here and there. oiled and lubed, put it back together. about 25 minutes.
wonder what would have happened if i had shot it before i cleaned it first?

 

[BuckJM53]

wonder what would have happened if i had shot it before i cleaned it first?

Congrats on your new MKIII and kudos for giving it a good clean and lube before you hit the range (25 minutes isn't bad at all for your first time).

In answer to your question with regard to how it may have performed if you hadn't cleaned it first, it's impossible to say (it may have performed perfectly or it may have had a few problems). The important thing here IMHO, is that you got started off on the right foot and proved to yourself that servicing a MKIII properly isn't hard. :wink:

 

[Desert Dawg]

Hi,

I haven't tried a Mk III yet to see if the "horror stories" are warranted, but I know my Mk II is a lot easier to field strip and assemble than I was led to believe before I bought it.

The receiver's been removed from the frame exactly once: when the gun was new, to do a thorough cleaning as I try to do w/ all my new guns. Since then, I don't see a need to remove it, as it may eventually loosen up.

When the innards need cleaning, I remove the grips so there's no plastic to be affected, hit everything w/ brake cleaner, then fire up the compressor. Even w/o compressed air, that drill gets the bad stuff out IME. Properly re-oil everything the cleaner's touched, both for lube and corrosion protection, and reassemble.

Works for me...

Rick C

Be selective with what you clean with brake cleaner.

I used it on a brand new WW Special 10-22 and it took some of the receiver powder coating off.

A bit of a bummer cuz the rifle was brand new and unfired by me.


I took the remainder of the powder off with stripper and shot it with an epoxy spray paint for guns.

Didn't like that either and stripped that.

Sanded it down to bare metal and left it that way.

Bare metal receiver shown below.

I understand that some of the later 'blue' 10-22's have powder coated receivers.

 

[gatorhugger]

Anybody got a link to a SIMPLE step by step group of photos?

Here you go Gator (hope it helps) http://www.guntalk-online.com/fsprocedures.htm

Thanks for the link, that is helpful.
I will try again to get the mainspring housing out, didn't realize it was to go straight down to pull it out, and I didn't realize the magazine had to be in it on a Mark II.

 

[BuckJM53]

didn't realize it was to go straight down to pull it out, and I didn't realize the magazine had to be in it on a Mark II.

Gator ... because the MKII does not have a magazine disconnect, the magazine does not have to be in place in order to release the hammer when the trigger is pulled. Sorry for not pointing that out in my earlier post (other then that, the procedure is the same).

 

[kelbro]

I cleaned my MKII in 1980. Shot about 5-6K rounds through it without a hiccup since then. Guess I should give it another cleaning soon.

I did tear down and clean my MKI last year so I'm not a total slob

 

[wingspar]

It's a daunting task for someone who has never done it. I have the Standard model that my father bought brand new in 1950. It's been in a box since 1988, and hasn't been shot since probably sometime in the early 1980's.

I decided to take it apart before shooting it using the manual I downloaded online. I got nowhere. I posted a question in a forum, and was directed to the videos. Without the videos, for me, it would be an impossible task. Tho I have not had the chance to clean it since watching the video, I don't see it as being an easy task. Sure, once I've done it, doing it the next time will be easier. I just hope I can get it back together.

 

[Snake45]

I cleaned my MKII in 1980. Shot about 5-6K rounds through it without a hiccup since then. Guess I should give it another cleaning soon.

I did tear down and clean my MKI last year so I'm not a total slob

A man after my own heart!

I cleaned my MKII in 2007. Last year some friends shot 550 rounds through it and this year I shot 500. After about 350 this year, it started giving me some problems, which I diagnosed as a dirty chamber. I cleaned that out on the spot with an M16 bore brush and it started running 100% again. Its chamber must be tighter than I thought (certainly tighter than either of my 10/22s). I'll keep this in mind for future shooting.

I'm shooting a Ciener conversion 1911 that's getting NO maintenance all year except for some oil on the frame rails every 1500-1800 rounds. Last weekend I put round #4,000 through it this year (I clean it good every winter) and it's still perking along just fine. Lovely gun. It now has over 15,000 rounds through it since I bought it in 2007.

 

[voland]

Its not that bad... I picked up a 22/45 III this weekend, took it home and tore it down. Yes, the first time, it did take me some looking to put it back together but the second time it took me 5 minutes. Third time, I got it on the first try...

Its NOT that bad...

V.

 

[raw6464]

Its not that bad... I picked up a 22/45 III this weekend, took it home and tore it down. Yes, the first time, it did take me some looking to put it back together but the second time it took me 5 minutes. Third time, I got it on the first try...

Its NOT that bad...

V.

Yes if you take the time to understand the mechanics of the gun it is really very easy to take down and reassemble. The key IMHO is understanding the hammer strut, it's function, how it works and how do you reassemble it. It's the number one reason of locking up the gun by neophytes.

It didn't help when Ruger added another step on the Mark III and increased the already confusing convoluted instructions by adding the mag release function.

Since it is so easy to field strip I can not support cleaning the gun without field stripping because it is a rationalizing to validate a justification that has no merit.

 

[rooger]

I don't know everything there is to know about that strut. In fact, I know darn little about it. The only thing I needed to know was its correct position during the assembly process. Once I learned that, assembly is quick and simple.

 

[mohavesam]

Like my Browning and other rimfire pistols, dis-assembly is un-necessary and very rarely done.

Dunkit and canned air solved that issue two decades ago.

 

[Rob72]

Have any readers on this forum installed the Volquartsen speed strip kit? It seems like a good idea, but I can't offer any practical knowledge.

http://www.majesticarms.com/id10.html
I don't have one myself, I just use a rubber mallet.

Resurrecting that item: is it "necessary"? No. Is it useful? Yes. I have them in my MkIIs, and it makes things "more orderly", if that makes sense. It does have a retaining nub that locks the upper and lower receivers while the bolt is out. It requires less parts manipulation in the frame.

Disadvantages- some folks have reported lighter strikes/FTFs due to the lightened hammer (that was the only thing they could identify)-I have not experienced this with either of my pistols, using Fed and Rem bulk pack, and CCI Stingers, so YMMV. It does add an Allen wrench to the takedown tool kit, but, of course, if you don't have/forget the wrench, you can still do the stock method.