JJ45 said:Massad Ayoob wrote in one of his books about a Ruger that I think was a Mark I, Standard, 6" that had over 10,000 rounds through her without ever being cleaned at all let alone field stripped! Hope someone can corroborate this.
That just means that the lower was never stripped to its pieces and cleaned. That's normal.
I was well more than 10,000 into my first MKII when I bought and installed a VQ sear. The problem with that is the trigger mechanism gets coated in a black sand. The volume of crud was impressive.
On a regular MKII, one can remove the grip panels and hose out the interior with solvent. Some recommend brake cleaner for this. On a 22/45, that isn't an option.
I don't recommend taking apart the lower unless one is very comfortable with working with small pieces in tight places. If an owner thinks that getting the barrel back on the lower and the mainspring back in is difficult, he shouldn't disassemble the lower.