Am I mistook?

[Mike Armstrong]

I seem to remember my 1961 Ruger Standard, the first new handgun I ever had, didn't have a hold-open device on the bolt. And that the RSO at the first "formal"range I ever shot on was astonished that I didn't know enough to bring a block of wood or metal or plastic to hold the bolt back between rounds of shooting (I was 18 and there was a lot I didn't know....).

But I just bought a 1981 Standard, partly for auld lang syne, and the bolt is easily latched back by pushing the safety up....

Was this always true of the Standards, and was the RSO just as ignorant as me??? Or did Ruger add this feature to the Standard sometime between 1949 and the beginning of the Mark IIs?

 

[Azrael]

In the case of my (purchased new in 1968) Standard, yes, the bolt is latched back by pushing the safety up...when I shot it yesterday I had someone at the range ask me how I kept the bolt open.

 

[wwb]

............

But I just bought a 1981 Standard, partly for auld lang syne, and the bolt is easily latched back by pushing the safety up....

Was this always true of the Standards, and was the RSO just as ignorant as me???.........

The RST6 that I bought in 1962 worked like that, and I'm willing to bet that they always worked like that.

 

[G2]

FWIW: My 1956 holds open with the safety.

 

[Mike Armstrong]

So "young" really did equal "dumb."

Wonder why that RSO didn't know how the Standard worked--there were lots of Standards and MKIs at that range and they all had wood blocks or something else stuffed in front of the bolt when the range was "cold."

 

[G2]

I don't shoot at controlled range's a whole lot,,,
but when I do... Use yellow chamber flags in everything. Leaves NO questions.

 

[SGW Gunsmith]

I seem to remember my 1961 Ruger Standard, the first new handgun I ever had, didn't have a hold-open device on the bolt. And that the RSO at the first "formal"range I ever shot on was astonished that I didn't know enough to bring a block of wood or metal or plastic to hold the bolt back between rounds of shooting (I was 18 and there was a lot I didn't know....).

But I just bought a 1981 Standard, partly for auld lang syne, and the bolt is easily latched back by pushing the safety up....

Was this always true of the Standards, and was the RSO just as ignorant as me??? Or did Ruger add this feature to the Standard sometime between 1949 and the beginning of the Mark IIs?

The bolt hold open device was added when the Ruger Mark II pistols were introduced in 1982. Notice the picture below: The top picture is of an early bolt that used the safety for the bolt hold open device, manually activated, into the two notches with the white arrows pointing.



The bottom picture shows the Mark II bolt, which initiated the bolt hold open device in the grip frame activated by the magazine follower button.

 

[Jeepnik]

This falls under "Read the manual". I know, guys don't like to admit we need to read instructions, and older guys are worse, but still...

 

[Mike Armstrong]

Unfortunately my manual got sold with the original gun in the later 1960s (my wife needed new glasses at the time and we were both grad students living from gig-to-gig). And using the manual from the 1981 gun I just bought doesn't answer the question about my original gun, since the manuals don't offer a "historical overview".

(I SUSPECT that us "old guys" are much more likely to "read the manual" than an 18 year old is, but I may just be doing what shrinks call "projecting"! At 18 I was all about shooting, not reading--mistakes were made....don't ask!)