Looking at a Ruger Mk 1 for sale locally...

I bought my first Ruger auto way back in the early 1980s used with no box or instructions. It took me just a few minutes to figure out how it came apart and how to put it back together. Same thing with the Nylon 66 I bought used that was broke because the feedramp had came loose and slid down. So I took it apart and glued the ramp back in place with Accraglas Gel and put it back together.

All way before the internet or youtube videos. I really don't understand all the fear some have for taking these two guns apart?:confused:
 
I bought my first one in a pawn shop, blue 4 5/8 for 35.00 in 1963 while in the service and kept it in the arms room until getting discharged, I never had a problem takeing it apart for complete cleaning when it needed it. now 55 years later I own three is one a early target model and a mk 11 SS 4 5/8 and a mk 111 target . the old one was sold years ago, but not because it didn,t work.
 
Ok, fine, they learned, but..why did they NEED to???
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That's EXACTLY what we actually did learn. ;)

IMhO you are absolutely correct.

I've told the story in greater detail elsewhere in the forums but the short answer is we took it apart because it was there and we were (very) young men.
 
44 AMP said:
Ok, fine, they learned, but..why did they NEED to???

because someone, who very probably didn't need to, took one apart. My point isn't that you can't do it, or that its really tough to learn or do, but that you shouldn't do it, absent a compelling need.
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Uhm... Same reason one field strips any firearm for maintenance? How do you propose one adequately clean & lube it, otherwise?

My Mk. I runs flawlessly, on any and every brand and type of .22 LR ammo I feed it, bar none, if I keep it more-or-less reasonably cleaned and lubed. If I let it get a bit too dry and/or dirty it'll start choking.

Since it's neither an SD nor competition firearm I generally wait until it starts giving me grief before taking it down, however.
 
Same reason one field strips any firearm for maintenance? How do you propose one adequately clean & lube it, otherwise?
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There are numerous firearm designs that can be adequately cared for under normal conditions, without field stripping, or full detailed stripping. There are numerous firearms that have been in use for over a century and have never been taken apart, even once.

There are some made to be taken down, part way, as a regular thing. There are others that are made to be taken apart all the way, without problems.

The whole "guns must be taken apart and cleaned after each use," was a valid mantra for CENTURIES. From the beginning up to the age of smokeless powder and non-corrosive primed ammo. It is a powerful historical imperative, and tough to argue with.

Except for when people repeatedly take apart things that weren't made to be repeatedly taken apart. OH hell, I been doin it that way for 20 years, never no trouble...until one day.. and that pin don't fit so tight anymore...that round hole is now a bit egg shaped...things seem a little ..loose..etc.

Some guns are about immune to that, some, aren't. Why risk it if you don't need to?? detail strip that 1911 every day, and twice on Sundays and it will still probably out live you. A Ruger .22? Can't say with certainty, all I can say is I'm not gonna find out, not with my pistol, anyway. :D

And yes, though it took nearly half a century, I've finally learned the wisdom of "if it ain't broke, don't FIX it!"
:rolleyes:
 
The piece will let me know when to Deep-Clean

There are numerous firearm designs that can be adequately cared for under normal conditions, without field stripping, or full detailed stripping. There are numerous firearms that have been in use for over a century and have never been taken apart, even once.
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Your point is well made and even though I have no problems with disassembly and reassembly, I rarely do either. I listen to the piece, talk to me and respond as needed. I have actually helped folks more, on this than I have for myself. For those who feel the need to Deep-Clean" often. They make a kit that replaces the OEM pin. It's held in with an allen-head fastener, that won't harm the frame; or shouldn't. The add is in most gun magazines. …. :)

Be Safe !!!
 
I don't take my Ruger autos apart every time I shoot them. But every 500 rounds or so they do get broke down to the major pieces at least so they can be flushed and blasted out. 22s are about the dirtiest ammo there is short of black powder. And you just shoot a couple of rounds and quit. Nope the whole brick has to be disposed of all at once.:eek:

The only way to get the gun really clean is to take it apart so you can get into all the crooks and nanny's. I mean nooks and crannies.:D
 
44 AMP said:
Some guns are about immune to that, some, aren't. Why risk it if you don't need to?? detail strip that 1911 every day, and twice on Sundays and it will still probably out live you. A Ruger .22? Can't say with certainty, all I can say is I'm not gonna find out, not with my pistol, anyway.
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I don't think many folks bother to DETAIL strip a Ruger MK handgun -- there's not much need to do that unless you're swapping out/upgrading parts.

It's the FIELD strip process that causes all the problems, because one key step isn't intuitively obvious.

Field stripping is a relaltively simple process once you learn the secret handshake... And if you have a friend who knows how, and can guide you through it, you can master it pretty quickly. Otherwise... :(
 
I don't think many folks bother to DETAIL strip a Ruger MK handgun -- there's not much need to do that unless you're swapping out/upgrading parts.
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Well, as I said earlier, I bought mine NIB in 1975.

I have done this "DETAIL" strip twice in that time period. It is original as I purchased it. So far, that has been all that was needed.

Of course, other cleaning methods apply in between.
 
Walt Sherrill said:
I don't think many folks bother to DETAIL strip a Ruger MK handgun -- there's not much need to do that unless you're swapping out/upgrading parts.

It's the FIELD strip process that causes all the problems, because one key step isn't intuitively obvious.

Field stripping is a relaltively simple process once you learn the secret handshake... And if you have a friend who knows how, and can guide you through it, you can master it pretty quickly. Otherwise... :(
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My problem Walt is that I get it figured out but I only field strip it like once a decade so I have to look for instruction video again. First time I field stripped it there were no internet instruction videos and it took me about a week trying at various times to get it back together and then I finally got it back together not really understanding how I did it. :o
 
The "Mark I" was the target gun.
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the Mark I Target was the adjustable sight model, and was available with either the tapered 6 7/8" or the 5 1/1/2" Bull barrel.

The fixed sight gun was the Standard Model, and available in 4" or 6" barrel lengths. (the 6" fixed sight guns seem pretty rare, one see lots of 4")

The OP identifies the gun of interest as a Mk I, doesn't say what sights it has, or post a pic, so we really can't know which it actually is. Many folks say Mk I for all the guns before the Mk II.
 
To all you guys that are interested, Ruger has the instruction manual as a downloadable .pdf file. That is what I use when necessary. I keep one on a hard drive, I keep one on a flash drive, and I printed it and keep the copy in one of the safes along with the flash drive.

44 AMP: I have the 6" version.
 
Get it. Probably my favorite plinking firearm is my Ruger mkll. Always wanted the stainless
6 7/8 target model. Years later I see one on consignment at an LGS. So dirty the bolt wouldn't even close under it's own power. I bought it. I took it home completely disassembled it. Put it in the sink. Cleaned everything until it looked new. I was aware of the issues with reassembly. I just took my time, don't force anything. Took a little time but got it done in probably 10 minutes. I shot thousands of rounds before I disassembled it again. Still was functioning perfectly. It's not really a that bad. Hell didn't even have internet. Had internet the second time. It's very easy to just remove the grips and blast it clean. Boresnake the barrel, clean feeding ramp. It rarely needs complete dissambly, not a very hard pistol to maintain. Will shoot the nastiest ammo my rifles choke on. Amazing reliability from a rimfire handgun. Haven't replaced anything on it. Definitely a crowd pleasure. Took my amazing wife shooting a couple of weeks ago. She had never fired a gun. She was not raised anti gun, just never been around them. She's 5 ft nothing and about 120 lbs. Hands the size of a doll. She shot the AK and the 9mm a little. But the mkll is how she learned to shoot. In no time she was busting targets, cans, clays laid out etc offhand consistently. Great gun to train new shooters on and experienced shooters love it also. Get it. Sounds like a good deal. Great series of handgun.
 
44 AMP said:
the Mark I Target was the adjustable sight model, and was available with either the tapered 6 7/8" or the 5 1/1/2" Bull barrel.
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Ah, then what I have is a Mk. I target. Mine has the 6-7/8" tapered barrel.

I feel many people make way bigger a deal about the difficulty of reassembling a Ruger Mk-series pistol than is warranted. I only field strip mine once in a blue moon, too. I have to stop and think about it, then remember "Oh yeah, that's how it goes back together."

The fiddly bit is getting that hammer strut positioned correctly so it ends up on the depression in the end of the spring. A way to remember that's what has to happen is just look at the top of the spring and notice that place for the hammer strut to rest.

Personally, I do not feel the need, but some find this helpful: Ruger MK Reassembly-the One-Time Fix Hammer Strut Support(TM)
 
Until you try to take it apart. My advice is ..DON'T. I don't care if an Internet Expert U Tube says "its easy..watch this.." if you don't HAVE to do it, don't. Re-assembly is a little tricksy, if you know the "trick" its not terribly difficult. If you don't, it is IMPOSSIBLE to correctly reassemble the gun

Copied from above.

I hope no one follows your advice. It is easy if one follows the instructions/directions. If you. dont have the owners manual just call Ruger and they will send you one.. Instructions therein are explicit on the procedure.
 
44 AMP said:
Why??



true, but irrelevant.
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Probably because you, like many others, have exaggerated both the difficulty of the take down/reassembly process beyond what it actually is and implied that repeated tear down could shorten the life span without any evidence of that occurring.

Mine are torn down rather frequently, between swapping uppers, parts and cleanings. Those that have a tight fit are still tight and the looser ones are as loose now as they were when they left the factory. The only one that has ever had a problem with fitment is because Ruger drilled the pin hole, for the mainspring, off center.
 
I don't have any evidence, never bothered collecting that kind of thing, sorry. All I have is over a half century of tinkering with guns, being a Small Arms Repiarman, not becoming a professional gunsmith only because I didn't want to put up with the hassles of doing it as a business, and a lifetime of dealing with people who are competent, people who are incompetent, and the worst of all, people who THINK they are competent are aren't.

You may find a task simple and easy, you may do it well, but not everyone does.

Not "evidence", just a sort version of personal experience;
Future ex-son-in-law borrowed wife's Mk I. She specifically told him (in front of witnesses, me and our daughter) DO NOT TAKE IT APART!

A couple months later, wife asks visiting daughter if he's done with her pistol. Gets an evasive answer. Repeated requests for the pistol over the next 4 months. Finally daughter returns it to us, in a grocery bag, in pieces, VERY apologetic.

He could have gotten instructions from Ruger, or from the Internet, or he could have just asked me...he didn't. He "knew what he was doing". Or thought he did...

No, its not proof of anything other than people like that are out there, so I stand with my general advice, "if you don't need to, don't do it".
 
Seems like a better statement would be “Don’t take anything apart unless you are willing to learn how to put it back together.”
 
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