Is it important to match spring and ammo for a MkII?

[BuckRimfire]

I have three MkIIs. All are used, so I don't know the round counts, but I've put a few thousand through the one I've had the longest. AFAIK, all have the original recoil springs.

I've generally shot a mix of HV and SV ammo. I used to be partial to AutoMatch. A few years ago I bought several bricks of Aguila SV and HV when they were still Eley primed; have a couple of those left. New version Aguila looks worse in targets I've seen people post online, so I guess I'll be using CCI SV from now on when keeping score. I have a few boxes and was able to get another brick of it a couple of weeks ago.

I also succumbed to the silliness of getting a couple of bricks of Aguila Interceptor a little while back (a knock-off of CCI Velocitor, as far as I can tell). Trying to get more "power" out of a .22LR doesn't make much sense, but I'm a sucker for gimmicks, I guess!

So, my question is whether it's going to beat up a MkII to shoot that much of this stuff. Looking at parts, I see that Volquartsen sells standard and HV recoil springs. Should I dedicate one of them to the supersonic ammo and put an HV spring it it (and maybe replace the standard springs in the others with new ones, while I'm buying parts), or is the difference not really important? (I've always thought that MkIIs were fairly insensitve to ammo, unlike, say, High Standards, but perhaps I was misinformed.)

 

[hittman]

I don't know the answer to your questions but ….. always had a policy of not fixing something unless or until it is broke.

The Ruger MK series of semi auto's must be one of THE most dependable, reliable and trouble free guns ever produced.

 

[BuckRimfire]

I don't know the answer to your questions but ….. always had a policy of not fixing something unless or until it is broke.

The Ruger MK series of semi auto's must be one of THE most dependable, reliable and trouble free guns ever produced.

Sure, one of the attractions of the Rugers is that they usually eat everything and you rarely see someone saying that they broke one or wore it out. But these "hyper velocity" Velocitors and Interceptors are a relatively new thing, so I'm just wondering if they cross the line, unlike good ol' MiniMags.

 

[Cholo]

I believe we've covered this before and the manual says no to hyper velocity ammo. It won't blow your gun up, it's just not recommended.

 

[BuckRimfire]

I don't want to find out the hard way that firing hundreds of rounds of Velocitors on a standard recoil spring winds up battering the bolt, the pin on the mainspring assembly, or that pin's hole in the receiver!

 

[WAYNO]

I don't know the answer to your questions but ….. always had a policy of not fixing something unless or until it is broke.

The Ruger MK series of semi auto's must be one of THE most dependable, reliable and trouble free guns ever produced.

I also don't see a need to fix or change anything that is working fine.

I've owned many Standard's, MkI's, and MkII's. Zero interest in MkIII's or MkIV's, but I'm sure they are as robust as the original "good" ones. I've shot standard velocity, high velocity, and Hyper velocity rounds thru them all. They all continue to operate and shoot perfectly. In the old days I used to field strip them after any shooting activity. Now, not so much. A bore swab, a scrub job with a toothbrush, and a wipe down, and they just shoot forever.

 

[BuckRimfire]

I also don't see a need to fix or change anything that is working fine.

I've owned many Standard's, MkI's, and MkII's. Zero interest in MkIII's or MkIV's, but I'm sure they are as robust as the original "good" ones. I've shot standard velocity, high velocity, and Hyper velocity rounds thru them all. They all continue to operate and shoot perfectly. In the old days I used to field strip them after any shooting activity. Now, not so much. A bore swab, a scrub job with a toothbrush, and a wipe down, and they just shoot forever.

I'm right there with you on the cleaning schedule! A full take-down is rarely needed, IMHO. One of the things I love about the MkII is that they continue to run fine when as dirty as a sewer. I did have to squirt a little extra Ballistol into one of my mag releases the other day, and it returned to locking back properly.

 

[beentheredone]

I have to say there are very few guns whose springs I worry about less than those of the Mark II. I personally know of a couple that have probably digested a train carload of ammo with never a spring change or parts breakage. But, hey, want new springs? I say, get 'em... ;-)

 

[Pps1980]

The MkII is built like a tank. I've put tonnes of all sorts of ammo though mine in (gosh next year will be ) 40 years and the only hiccups I ever had were with the addition of some aftermarket target grips. Once Ruger removed them and provided (free) replacement stock grips I have a) never had a problem and b) been a life-long fan of Ruger support.

 

[BuckRimfire]

I guess the other question is whether dis/re-assembling the recoil spring unit is typically challenging, or does that go pretty smoothly?

 

[Dan in MI]

IMO the recoil spring is the weakest link in a pure hyper velocity ammo situation. Easy and cheap to replace as an assembly if it ever comes to that. Which I doubt, although I have seen seriously spread out "bows" on them.

Replacing the spring only is tough unless you have an aftermarket designed for it.

I think the reason for aftermarket std and hv is more for use with cans.

 

[CHEVYINLINE6]

Volquartsen makes a recoil spring kit with 3 different replaceable power level springs. You unscrew a screw on the recoil rod and replace the spring with one of your choice. Seems better built than the factory spring, but in 40+ years of shooting Ruger Mark series pistols I had yet to have a factory recoil spring fail. Have seen some Bubba damaged due to forcing the bolt stop pin against the recoil spring that wasn't seated properly.

 

[BuckRimfire]

Replacing the spring only is tough unless you have an aftermarket designed for it.

Ah, that explains why the Volquartsen spring thing I saw available at Wirthwein has a screw and I didn't remember seeing a screw on mine.

Well, I guess I'll stay with the springs I've got unless I decide I *really* want to shoot a lot of Interceptor for some dumb reason.

 

[beentheredone]

I guess the other question is whether dis/re-assembling the recoil spring unit is typically challenging, or does that go pretty smoothly?

It is doable, but a royal pain in the drain.

 

[Dave Schwaab]

I love my Mark IIs, and shoot at least one every week. Never had any problems with the recoil springs.

I have replaced firing pins and extractors, when I had problems with rounds not going off on the first strike, or the cases not clearing the gun after firing. Once I put the TandemKross parts in I have had no further problems.

I do clean my guns after a range session, as I usually shoot about 300 rounds through the Mark IIs at a time. That gets them sufficiently dirty that not cleaning them will lead to problems the next time I take them out if I don't. Never have a problem with the reassembly when I remember the tips from this video, the BEST I've ever found on the subject.

 

[BuckRimfire]

I *can* take down my MkIIs, I just don't care to do it more than absolutely needed, because I'm lazy. I find that a few drops of Ballistol, a little dabbing with a patch and maybe a couple of drags with the Boresnake gets me through at least a brick of ammo without problems.

When I bought my first MkII, which was at the gun shop in downtown Boulder somewhere around 1988, they had four MkIIs for sale: two with fixed sights and two Target models, a 5.5" and a 10". I think they wanted $150 for the fixed and $175 for the Targets. I was going to get the 5.5" since that seemed like the most reasonable option, until I noticed that the receiver would rock a little from side to side on the frame. I can only assume that the previous owner compulsively stripped it down so many times that it became loose! So, I bought the 10" and have been careful not to wear it out like that. ;^)

 

[TestEngineer]

...these "hyper velocity" Velocitors and Interceptors are a relatively new thing, so I'm just wondering if they cross the line, unlike good ol' MiniMags.

I don't want to find out the hard way that firing hundreds of rounds of Velocitors on a standard recoil spring winds up battering the bolt, the pin on the mainspring assembly, or that pin's hole in the receiver!

That's exactly what will happen!

You can feel the solid "WHAP" as the bolt smashes into the stop pin with hyper-V ammo. So I wondered if you could add a bolt buffer, like many people add to their 10/22s. So I made one and installed it. It was hard rubber with a tin cap. I fired 5 mini-mags and checked it. It was a little compressed, but not too bad. I kept repeating this for another 20 rounds, but the buffer remained unchanged. Then I fired 3 stingers. The result was ugly. WAY to much backward velocity on the bolt for the buffer to handle.

These pics show the buffer from top and side, before mini-mags and after stingers. No more hyper-v ammo in my semi-autos!

 

[CHEVYINLINE6]

I have fired many boxes of CCI Stingers over the years with no signs of wear or damage. I have a good friend that has a MK 1 he bought new and has only used Stingers for many years with no wear or damage. I would change your recoil spring to a new one and run your buffer test again.

 

[TestEngineer]

I have fired many boxes of CCI Stingers over the years with no signs of wear or damage. I have a good friend that has a MK 1 he bought new and has only used Stingers for many years with no wear or damage. I would change your recoil spring to a new one and run your buffer test again.

The test was done with a new spring. Standard Ruger spring, not one of those extra power VQ springs.

 

[Cholo]

This is simply FYI only. I don't care what 22 LR ammo someone chooses to shoot in their Mark pistols.

This is currently on Ruger's website under the FAQ's you have to poke around to find:

What type of ammunition should I use in my Ruger® .22 pistol?
The Ruger® .22 pistols are chambered only for the .22 caliber Long Rifle cartridge, standard velocity or high-velocity, manufactured to U.S. Industry Standards. Do not attempt to load hyper velocity, .22 Long, .22 Short, or any other type .22 caliber cartridge into the magazine or in the chamber of the pistol. Use of .22 shot shells is not recommended.