Ruger 22/45 lower half.

T

tahunua001

New member
hello all,
I find myself in an interesting situation. a while back, I bought myself a Ruger 22/45 lite because I wanted to be able to shoot cheap 22s with the rest of my family who all have 22/45 target models. well mine just didn't seem to shoot as well as everyone elses so when my brother-in-law offered to trade, I was torn. I figured the issue with accuracy had to be in the upper half, and I liked the thicker frame of the lite over the older target models but I wanted the more accurate upper. since the BOL only wanted a gun that he could mount a suppressor to we just swapped upper halves and had a win win trade, except mine is still the less accurate of the group and his is still on par with the other target models, apparently the issue is with the frame, not the upper.

ok, fast forward to recent news. last night my application for a suppressor went through so I can start building my 22 cal suppressor and I now have no handgun that I can mount it to. so now I am intrigued because there is a fellow selling his 22/45 lite upper on armslist and I made an offer on it. on one hand it'll be nice to have the lite upper again for the can, but now I find myself wondering if there might be a cost effective method of turning a upper half on a 22/45 back into a fully functional gun. does anyone know of anyone that sells a rebuild kit, or at the very least of complete lower assembly for less than the price of a brand new 22/45?
 
I don't.
I remember there having been some "custom" available in the past, but at prices pretty close to or above the base model from Ruger.
I looked for a used one on gunbroker for about five years and never found one at a decent price. I could buy a complete MK II gun and strip off the extras to resale cheaper(which may not be legal considering the serialized part is he upper). It has been a few years since I gave up.
There was a guy who posted here several years ago saying he wanted to make polymer lowers, but the response was negative and I can't remember hearing anything more.

You probably already knew about VQs frame, but:
https://www.volquartsen.com/products/1109-vc-target-frame
Won't save you any money.
 
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I have no association with the company below. I do not know anything about them except that sometimes they have what you are looking for in stock. Here is a listing.

http://www.ruger-parts.net/factory-...panels-sale-189-99-free-ship-while-they-last/

Sometimes these frames are also listed on ebay. Regardless of the vendor, there is demand for these frames, so they are not cheap. Also, if you buy one, make sure it comes with all the parts you need. Sometimes they are sold without the mainspring housing or the internal parts. Most of those parts are available, but the costs can add up quickly. If you want a frame that is complete with all parts required to build a working gun, then you should ask the vendor that question specifically. You should also be aware that sometimes there is fitting involved to get a new frame to fit a receiver correctly.

Good luck. I like the Ruger .22 pistols. They are fun to shoot and they are also reasonable to work on.
 
straightshooterjake said:
Regardless of the vendor, there is demand for these frames, so they are not cheap.
Click to expand...
The key factor is that aftermarket uppers are available but similar lowers are not. Consequently, there's a high inherent level of demand for the lowers.

You may find a better deal on a complete base-model MkII or MkII 22/45 with some finish wear than a MkIII 22/45 lower. Don't rule these options out unless you're determined to have the 22/45 grip with the nice removable grip panels. (The MkII version of the 22/45 has a one-piece slippery-plastic frame that I find nasty and cheap-feeling, and I'm not alone in this opinion.)
 
Just have to ask:
What criteria or method did you use to determine the accuracy (or lack of) for the frame and upper arrangements you've tried?
 
It does seem odd to me the lower is causing inaccuracy. Might be worth contacting ruger and seeing if they are willing to take a look at it.
Have you tried any changes to the grip?

I assume multiple people have shot the pistol and it has been less accurate across the board.
I guess you need another lower even if you figure out the first one, but it does seem a little odd to me.
 
it is odd, no doubt about it. and yes, john, that was how we tested. multiple ammo types, with multiple shooters all shooting multiple guns, and for all shooters and all ammo types, mine performed less accurately than the other guns tested. it is even weirder considering the fact that my frame fits my hand better than the smaller older style frames.
 
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