Why won't Ruger make their .22 auto's easy to take down?

N

notbubba

New member
The biggest complaint I hear about the Ruger MarkII and 22/45 is that they are a big pain in the butt to put back together after cleaning.

Why doesn't Ruger change the design to make it easier?

Please don't post that you can put the gun back together blindfolded in under 4 seconds please;)
 
I have trouble reassembling mine also, no matter how many times I do it. However, Ruger designed that pistol in the 1940's (I think 1949). It has been an utterly reliable design since day one. Why fix what isn't broken? ;)
 
I think you may need to practice a bit. I can field strip my mk1 in less then 10 seconds. Far faster then I can write how to do it.

1) drop mag
2) rack action check empty
3) repeat 2
4) pull trigger
5) switch hands on gun
6) use mag lips to pry out latch pin
7) yank out latch pin with mag hand
8) pull reciever off barrel
9) take a breath
10) pull bolt out of barrel
11) try not to drop all of the parts.

Practice a bit and you will get good at it. (Or just keep cleaning for 25 years like mine and it will become second nature)
 
The real question is, "Why doesn't Ruger do a better job of explaining the reassembly process in their manual?" Seems to me that they could simply change their user manual and greatly improve customer satisfaction with their Mk II product. A simple, inexpensive thing that they've simply neglected to do.

Sounds like some of you guys haven't really learned how to reassemble the Ruger Mk II. (That sounds like a smart-a$$ comment, but I don't mean it that way.)

I had a Mk II Target Competition (Slabside) for a number of years, and once I finally learned how to reassemble it, I could do it in a minute or less, with no problems.

It all has to do with that little "dangle" hanging down inside the grip, where the mainspring slides in. (I think its called the hammer strut.) Get that lined up right, and its a piece of cake. And getting it lined up is more a matter of paying attention to what you're doing than anything else.

And, when you push the mainspring back in, if its flush with the grip, you've not positioned the strut properly, so pull the spring back out and try again.

The first couple of times I stripped it, before I learned the secret, getting it back together was a real hit-and-miss proposition.

Try this site for great instructions -- with pictures:

http://www.ontargetguns.com/rtips.html

(I've since traded the gun for a match-grade .45 -- but I found it MUCH easier to disassemble and reassemble than my custom 1911A1 with a full-length guide rod.)
 
That same site also sells the new take-down screw for easier cleaning. It replaces the pin that protrudes from behind the rear sight. You just unscrew it with an allen key, and the bolt removes easily for cleaning.
 
Once you learn to align the hammer strut, (not all that difficult), there is no reason to buy anything to reassemble the MK-II. It's not so much that it's difficult, it's just that you have to know about aligning the hammer strut. Anyone reading this thread now knows. :D
 
Walt Sherrill hit the nail on the head. A manual with a better explination would solve the problem for 90% of Mk II owners. That other 10% never read directions so a new manual won't do anything for them.
 
Ruger MK2 is easy to takedown and reassemble,just takes a few
times of doing it, and you'll be able to do it blind folded.;)
 
You know, ZOT, if you lived nearby, I'd be willing to bet you you couldn't do it blind folded the first time you tried. And I'd have witnesses. <grin>

Not because its all that hard to do -- it is very easy, as your message implies -- but because you've got to see whether that damned hammer strut is aligned properly or not.

Blindfolded, you may have to try it a few times...
 
The easiest way I have found to reassemble the mainspring assembly is to have the gun pointed muzzle up. The hammer strut will dangle downand will go onto the mainsrping easily with the funnel-like shape around it as the assembly is inserted. It's quite easy to know if you don't have it in right as the mainspring assembly will slide in without any resistance. There should be tension when it goes in.
 
Actualy I picked up a used MkII recently and I was worried about all the horror stories about this problem. It did not have its original manual so I had Ruger send me one. I had not trouble reassembling it following the instructions. I dont know if they changed the manual to make it easier or not, but following their instructions, I had no problems. Then I striped it and put it back together a few times without the manual and I had trouble. After memorizing the steps I can now strip it and put it back together in under 1min. And this with only about 1h of play.

If you are having troubles, call Ruger for a new manual on the off chance that they changed it and try following the steps a few times in a row. You'll get the hang of it.

Loch
 
Thanks folks!

Guys (and gals), I'm new to this site, having spent most of my waking hours over at GlockTalk. And what do you know! My first surf through TFL nets me this thread which has informed even an old fool like myself how to EASILY re-assemble my pistol. Granted it's an AMT Lightening, but it works just the same.

I've fought that blasted thing for years and I can now disassemble and reassemble with ease. Thanks again.:D
 
When I get back from shooting its time to relax and clean the guns. You do not have to clean the .22 every time. This gun keeps on shooting.

Take your time. Have a beer. plunker
 
Guys this is not exactly rocket science, sit down with someone who knows how to do this relatively simple task. Pay attention and you will be amazed at how easy it really is. But I agree the first time that I tried to get my Ruger Standard back together was a nightmare.

7th
 
:rolleyes:

So the reason that Ruger doesn't redesign is...

ONLY stoopid peepole have time hard putting guN thingie together:rolleyes:

I don't own a Ruger .22 pistol.
I keep hearing complaints about reassembly.
If this is a common complaint WHY NOT FIX IT?
 
I reassembled mine the first time.

Guess what I did????

I READ THE INSTRUCTIONS.

In the computer world, we have an answer to most questions: RTFM. Read the F** Manual.

Ditto on the advice here.

Albert
 
RTFM, and if that doesn't work, KMA

Gee Twoblink, I read the instructions, too -- the first time I tried to strip and reassemble my Mk II. And I still had trouble. (And I spent a decade or so as a technical writer, so I DO read the manual and pay attention to what is written.)

Not everybody can make sense out of the manual -- but that's probably because we don't all have your obvious intelligence.

And as for manuals for computer systems.... its a pretty rare system that even has a manual. And most of system manuals I've read end up setting unused on a shelf or on a hard drive, wasting space; most of them aren't worth the media they're stored on.

The folks who write manuals generally write them from a developer/designer's perspective, and not from a user's perspective. They write them so they can say, "Yeah, we have a user's manual -- get off my back."

It would probably take an extra half-page in the Ruger manual to make the point about the hammer strut very clear. And that would make more sense than advertising -- 'cause "word of mouth" about the difficulty of the Mk II reassembly has caused them a lot of lost sales.

With proper design, reading the manual shouldn't be necessary. But when it is necessary, it should be easier to read and understand than what we generally encounter.
 
FWIW, the manual on the P97 was also

a bit vague in detailing re-assembly. I called Custmer Service there and explained what I thought would be an appropriate additional line of instruction. The young lady seemed to know exactly what I meant, and that it was not a bad idea(toot-toot:D). I figure they probably order several thousand of them at a time, so they are not likely to rush any changes off to the printer.:)
 
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