I use Carb Cleaner or Brake Cleen to flush out Mk 2's and 3's. I then re-lube and keep shooting.
I use Carb Cleaner or Brake Cleen to flush out Mk 2's and 3's. I then re-lube and keep shooting.
What do you use to lube the gun? I'm wary of lubing most or all of my Ruger because I've read that oil attracts gun powder.
Randy
Oil. The same fear you mention is why so many people run AR15/Sig/Beretta guns dry, then wonder why they have problems. Oil keeps things working, keeps powder in suspension, and allows for easy cleanup.
But really, even at that point the Ruger 22's just don't much dirt in the action for the number of dirty ass rounds fired.
I would not overlook buying a high quality used .22 pistol.
I have had Buckmarks, and a few Rugers, and still have a bull barrel MK2 that has seen a ridiculous amount of rounds through it as a suppressor host.
That said, the old Colt Woodsman/Huntsman pistols are what I prefer to carry when not shooting suppressed. The difference, aside from some having adjustable target sights, is that the Woodsmen had a polished blue finish versus the less expensive fixed sight Huntsmen had a matte blue finish. I have a couple of Huntsmen, and they are quite slender, trim little guns with great balance. They are quite slim, and in a belt holster, you hardly notice they are there. My 6" Huntsman weighs around 1# 13 ounces. They are all steel, and very well manufactured handguns, and unless you abuse the crap out of it, it should last for many decades.
In fact this one was manufactured in 1955, according to Colt's serial # look up site:
60+ years later it still runs like a top.
The other one to take a serious look at, and they can be found at often bargain prices is the High Standard. I have a pair of Sport Kings, that are similar in profile to the Colts, but built a fair bit heavier. My scale shows the 6&5/8ths" version to weigh 2#s 4.5 ounces. They are incredible easy to shoot well, and I don't know of any .22 pistol, new or old that can be field stripped as fast or as easy as the High Standards. I am not exaggerating when I say that you can field strip an HS Sport King in 4 or 5 seconds tops.
They too are built to last decades. This one, based on their serial # look up site was made in 1951. 65 years later it is still rocking along, and I would imagine that barring any abuse, it will be shooting little tiny groups another 65 years from now.
I finally took some time to look at the MkII. The takedown lever was pretty tight and rough operating, as many are. I was able to open it with a thumbnail, but it was not easy. I used a Brownells small triangular ceramic stone to deburr all the edges of the lever and the mainspring housing, and deburred the notch in the pin that goes up into the frame and upper. The takedown lever pivots, and has a spring loaded plunger putting pressure on it, the plunger is on the lower end of the hammer spring in the housing. The surface it rode on on the lever was a raw die cut stamping, so looked like saw teeth, and operated about like one would expect. I aggressively deburred all the sides and cleaned up the rounded edge that the plunger rides on, removing most of the ragged stamping shear marks, the end result was the lever operates much easier, and the housing is easier to get in and out. The pin also is after cleaning up the edges of the cutout and polishing the cutout surfaces. The blue removal from the sharp edges was a reasonable tradeoff to me for an easier operating gun. I'll cold blue the edges when I get more Brownells cold blue.
While it was apart, I also cleaned up burrs and sharp edges on the firing pin, recoil spring front retainer, exposed edges of the extractor, and all the sharp and rough edges of the bolt. The flat underside also got some polishing. The bolt works noticeably smoother.
Last edited by Malamute; 10-25-2017 at 12:32 PM.
Make sure you use non-chlorinated. The chlorine stuff can cause metal cracking and weird, dramatic early failures.
This careful, thoughtful and thorough approach always seems to yield good results, even if it is done on a kitchen table. Too bad that much of the gun culture seems to believe the only things that actually exist are very expensive gunsmiths and know-nothings polishing everything round with a Dremel and felt.
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Not another dime.