That damn Ruger pin

[vito]

Today after returning home from the range I had three guns to clean. One is a S&W revolver, nothing to take apart, just swing open the cylinder. The next was my Glock 17. Easy to take apart, no small pieces, no tools needed. The third is my everyday carry, an LC9s. So many things I like about this gun, but taking it apart does require a tool or paper clip or something to push out the pin, and the damn pin itself is a problem (at least it was today for me). After I removed it from the gun it rolled off my work bench, bouncing on the concrete floor and rolling who knows where. For the next 20 minutes I was down on my knees, or my back, using a powerful flashlight, looking under the work bench (amazing how many screws, nails, washers, nuts and other debris I found under there), under two different cabinets, around the hot water heater and behind a pile of old lumber. I finally found it, all the while searching thinking that maybe its time to switch my EDC to a Glock 26 and never think about the damn pin again.

Ruger knows how to do things right with certain guns. My Mark IV is a dream to take apart for cleaning, so much easier than the Browning Buckmark I sold after buying the Mark IV. But pushing out little pins or similar items when other makers have found ways to avoid that step is a frustration with the LC9s.

 

[BDM1]

Glad you found it, sometimes those little parts are never found, no one seems to know how they disappear.

 

[Yawn]

Careful... this guy got flamed pretty hard for similar complaints:

http://www.rugerforum.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=43&t=271659

 

[recumbent]

You need a magnetic parts tray from Harbor Freight less than $5

 

[vito]

Thanks for the suggestion. A magnetic tray seems like a worthwhile purchase for more than just gun parts.

 

[Mike J]

The way some of the Rugers break down goes back to their origin. The LCP & the original LC9 while not direct clones were basically copies of Kel-Tec designs. The Kel-Tec P-11 I had broke down that way. I believe the Security 9 breaks down the same way.

 

[Fox Mike]

Take apart things, that have "oh crap" parts in them, in a clear laundry bag. Easy to find when there is a sudden 'ping' or oops.

 

[57springer]

Take apart things, that have "oh crap" parts in them, in a clear laundry bag. Easy to find when there is a sudden 'ping' or oops.

Good idea :wink:

 

[steveodtw]

You need a magnetic parts tray from Harbor Freight less than $5

That little parts tray makes for a "Where were you all my life" moment. But even that wouldn't have helped the first time I cleaned my SR1911. Of course that slide spring cover launched, and I didn't find it until after I received the replacement order. At least now I have a spare.

 

[vito]

Glock seemed to figure out how to make cleaning and re-assembly as simple as possible. Maybe the next generation Rugers will as well.

 

[mpalm]

I have purchased a lot of small pins,springs, e clips, over the years for various guns that got lost
seems everbody has a story like that, made me laugh.
Happy Holidays

 

[langenc]

You need a magnetic parts tray from Harbor Freight less than $5

Around here, just take the coupon from the flier and get it free. Im headed that way this week.

 

[rugerguy]

Ah yes, the joys of learning and experiencing "gunsmith position ONE, on your hands and knees" looking for the part.....
and as for Murphys Law.....Mr Murphy was an "optimist"........ 8) :roll: :wink:

 

[SamV]

Unfortunately, sometimes those small parts never make it to a magnetic tray. They fly away quickly. I will try the mesh lingerie laundry bag trick. I am sure my wife won't mind.
What happens when you can't find your magnetic tray? Mine disappears frequently, sometimes with important parts still in it. My son is always tinkering with electronics and often walks off with my tray sometimes in mid-project. He has caused several duplicate tool purchases.
There are several tiny springs and parts somewhere in my basement, probably sucked into a missing dryer sock black hole.

 

[s4s4u]

Glock seemed to figure out how to make cleaning and re-assembly as simple as possible. Maybe the next generation Rugers will as well.

You mean like the American? Doesn't get much easier.

 

[mohavesam]

Aerosols. :wink:

 

[vito]

Aerosols. :wink:

Meaning what?

 

[mohavesam]

meaning: On a phone on a rental-car bus, a one-word reply is acceptable.

Look, this is the 21st century. Aerosols clean metal and plastic. For milk money, one can spray the guts of a handgun to food-grade clean without tools. My answer to decreasing dexterity and small pins and springs. Aerosols scrub a bore, dissolve lead n copper, even re-lube any handgun machine.

Good designs can go hundreds or thousands of handgun rounds with spray-solvents and a brush/wipe rag. I personally know some Ruger 22s that havent been stripped in 15 years or more. Sometimes I think fingerprints are a worse threat than repetitive unnecessary stripping.

Obvious to most, the answer to the OP frustration is the age-old process of disassembly inside a plastic bag (planning ahead: toss in a good magnet)

 

[leadhead2]

I don't have a problem with my LC9s... I push the small lock down, turn
it over and the pin drops out by itself... I do use a little oil on the pin when
I reassemble it.
Denny

 

[CoyoteHunter_]

I agree with you about that pin. It's hard to rack the slide and get the pin in the proper position while also pushing the pin out of the hole.

I have a Walter's PPQ M2 4" 9 mm semiauto and it's very easy to take apart without any tools. I sure wish that Ruger would make a gun that was easier to take about to clean.

One time when I was cleaning my new AR15 a spring flew out under pressure and bounced onto the floor. It went down the air vent. I tried to use a long handled magnetic tool but the part was not magnetic. I ended up searching the entire kitchen/dining room area and under the refrigerator and the stove trying to find that little pin. I finally got down on my hands and knees and reached down into the air vent to find the pin at the very tip of my fingers. I had to really stretch my arm/hand/fingers down into that air vent to retrieve the spring. I had not even fired the AR15 and it cost $1350 new so I was desperate to find that pin as the rifle would not work without that tiny pin.

 

[dfletcher]

When Smith went from "real steel" parts to MIM they changed the hand spring from being attached to the trigger to not being attached. It of course went flying and took me hours to find the damn thing. Then more hours to figure out how it went on to the trigger. That was the hard part.

Sometimes I think I'd rather hear that pump shotgun being racked noise than having a partially disassembled gun in my hand and hearing "ping"

 

[CoyoteHunter_]

I agree with you 100% about the little takedown pin that Ruger uses in the LC9S Pro which I own. It's a real pain to take the slide off. I have to get that slide back just a wee bit in order to get the pin to push out. PITA. Why can't they make the gun like a Walther or a Glock which are much easier to disassemble without any tools.

Ruger knows how to do things right with certain guns. My Mark IV is a dream to take apart for cleaning, so much easier than the Browning Buckmark I sold after buying the Mark IV. But pushing out little pins or similar items when other makers have found ways to avoid that step is a frustration with the LC9s.[/quote]

 

[Clovishound]

Glock seemed to figure out how to make cleaning and re-assembly as simple as possible. Maybe the next generation Rugers will as well.

Except for that safety issue of having to dry fire to remove the slide. Yes, if you make sure it is unloaded before dry firing, it won't go off. Still a very bad design IMO. Stuff happens. Lots of incidents of NDs from this, often from highly trained folks.

 

[vito]

Personally I don't think there is ever an excuse for thinking a gun is unloaded when it isn't. Even on guns that I have put away in my safe unloaded, after cleaning, I rack the slide to check it as soon as I remove it from the safe. At the range, after shooting, I rack the slide several times, just to be sure. I no more would leave a round in the chamber than I would point a loaded gun at something or someone I did not intend shooting. I would trade the Ruger system for taking a handgun apart for the Glock system in a heartbeat.

 

[WAYNO]

I'm a notorious pin-loser.

I've found a pin-block to be sometimes useful. It's soft, and doesn't damage a gun, and the free pin sticks to the internal magnet. :mrgreen:

 

[Clovishound]

Personally I don't think there is ever an excuse for thinking a gun is unloaded when it isn't. Even on guns that I have put away in my safe unloaded, after cleaning, I rack the slide to check it as soon as I remove it from the safe. At the range, after shooting, I rack the slide several times, just to be sure. I no more would leave a round in the chamber than I would point a loaded gun at something or someone I did not intend shooting. I would trade the Ruger system for taking a handgun apart for the Glock system in a heartbeat.

I agree that there is never an excuse for ignoring safety procedures. Having said that, people aren't machines and sometimes do things that they never thought they would ever do. I don't believe that technology should be over engineered for unnecessary safety mechanisms. However, when there are simple, effective designs that help prevent serious accidents when people have one of those moments, I believe that is good engineering.

 

[5of7]

I keep one of those magnets that are attached to a telescoping rod for this sort of thing. Also, whenever I have to do a disassembly, I have a cookie sheet with a 3/4" high lip around the edge of it. If I drop anything is is usually still on the cookie sheet, if not, I use the telescoping magnet. Works for me.....

 

[blammer]

I'm a notorious pin-loser.

I've found a pin-block to be sometimes useful. It's soft, and doesn't damage a gun, and the free pin sticks to the internal magnet. :mrgreen:

Very nice. Another gadget to put on my long list of 'must haves'. The bright color and soft (assume grippy) and magnet are better than the solid plastic one I have.

 

[blammer]

I keep one of those magnets that are attached to a telescoping rod for this sort of thing. Also, whenever I have to do a disassembly, I have a cookie sheet with a 3/4" high lip around the edge of it. If I drop anything is is usually still on the cookie sheet, if not, I use the telescoping magnet. Works for me.....

Have one of those, but also bought a big 2inch x 1 inch magnet mounted on a metal frame with a big hook on the top. I tied a string on the hook and then I can just drag it along on the floor without having to bend down. Only problem is cleaning all the metal filings it seems to find in some parts of the basement.

 

[blammer]

I'm a notorious pin-loser.

I've found a pin-block to be sometimes useful. It's soft, and doesn't damage a gun, and the free pin sticks to the internal magnet. :mrgreen:

Very nice. Another gadget to put on my long list of 'must haves'. The bright color and soft (assume grippy) and magnet are better than the solid plastic one I have.

Found it: Real Avid smart bench block.