Ruger Mark II Pistol

When shopping for a .22 caliber auto-loading handgun there are many to choose from but none of the current offerings can compare to the Ruger Mark I, II and III pistols. I’d love to have a pristine Colt Woodsman or one of the old High Standard autos but they are history. Browning makes a good one in the Buck Mark. Why they call it that since we are not hunting deer with it is a mystery.

There are many 1911 clones chambered for the venerable .22 long rifle and there are shorties, including Ruger’s own LCR, however, reasonably priced full-sized auto guns with barrels at least five inches long are rare in today’s market. What happened to the art of bull’s eye pistol shooting with only one hand? I guess it’s been relegated to old farts like me. The official explanation is it’s dead because it doesn’t play well on TV.

[Editor’s note: While participation has waned, conventional rifle and pistol competition is still highly contested and sup- 22 pistol. Photos courtesy Ruger. ported by the service teams. Camp Perry continues to host the largest national marksmanship championships in the United States.] Maybe that’s why we enjoy it. I like to get away from the squawk box and computer now and again. A competitive rig for this discipline can be a high dollar proposition but a Ruger Target model will get you in the game.

The specimen I have in the shop is stamped "Ruger .22 cal Long Rifle Mark II Target" on the left side of the gun’s tubular bolt housing and "Government Target Model" on the right. It sports a nice pair of wooden target grips with a thumb rest on the left side for right handed shooters. The grip appears to be Ruger factory, since it contains an escutcheon on the right side with the Ruger logo in black and silver.

It is a hefty gun for a .22, tipping the scales at two pounds, fourteen ounces unloaded and sans magazine. A substantial 5-½" barrel measuring 0.973" thick with no taper is installed. The adjustable, square notch rear sight is dovetailed in. The front sight is also square and hooked at the rear to aid against the glare of sunlight. In use it forms a Patridge sight picture. It is attached to the barrel with a single screw. As on all Mark II pistols, the magazine catch is at the bottom of the magazine well.

The trigger is pure target with a series of longitudinal grooves to aid control. This pistol "hangs well" and was shipped from the factory with a one-hole test target noting the serial number and tester’s initials. Range and ammunition was not specified. Disassembly Before starting, be careful when removing all these little pins and springs and such. Put them somewhere in order and together so you know what goes where and what goes with what. Also, it doesn’t need to be said the gun must be unloaded.

That being said, let’s go. Remove the magazine and pull the trigger to lower the hammer into firing position. This is best accomplished by holding the bolt open just enough so the firing pin can move forward without peening the chamber. Pull out the mainspring housing latch with a small screwdriver being careful not to mar the finish. With the hammer down it should not be under a lot of tension. Pull out and down on the mainspring housing until the bolt stop pin comes out.

A gentle tap with a plastic hammer may be required to loosen the stop pin on new guns. The mainspring housing and assembly are riveted together and should not be taken apart. Move the hammer strut up so the bolt can be pulled towards the rear and removed. The upper assembly with barrel moves forward and is released from its seat,

allowing the whole thing to be taken apart from the lower part of the gun. Sometimes it may be necessary to tap the rear of the upper to break it loose from its seat. At this point the gun is ready for cleaning by the home hobbyist. For the gunsmith, we will take the process further. As far as the upper part of the gun is concerned, there is very little to do to it. The ejector is riveted in place and should be removed only as a last resort. The sights are dovetailed in at the rear.

They can be taken apart from the base should the blade be damaged, otherwise there is no sense in removing them. The front sight is either pinned in or screwed on depending on the model. They can be removed if damaged but is an unnecessary job for general maintenance. At this point I get out the Gun Scrubber or similar with an old toothbrush and get to work on cleaning the upper. You will find a lot of crud in there, especially if your customer has been shooting the so-called promotional .22 ammo on the market.

Let’s place our upper part of this gun aside and move on to the bolt. The mainspring on the bolt is easily removed as a unit by simply prying it out of its seat. It shouldn’t be taken apart and the whole assembly is available as a replacement part from Ruger (KA-57). Next, the pin that holds the firing pin in the bolt. It usually comes out very easily with just pressure from a punch or dental pick.

The firing pin can then be slid out the back and the firing pin return spring (rebound spring support, A03900) can also be removed. These parts may be dirty and should be cleaned thoroughly for good function. One reason to take this pin out now is because it limits how far our extractor plunger may travel back to release the extractor. Place a pick or other small tool in front of the plunger and push it back far enough so the extractor can be pulled up and forward to be removed.

Remove the extractor plunger and spring. Again, all these little parts should be clean when they are replaced. Lower Disassembly Remove the grips which are held in place by two screws on either side. Push out the hammer pin, which usually isn’t too tight, and pull up on the hammer. You may have to pull the trigger to move the sear which will be in its seat on the disconnector assembly (KA011). The whole thing—disconnector, hammer, and bushing—will pivot up It "hangs" well. and forward.

The bar will still be held in the frame by the trigger pin. The hammer bushing on the right side will come out easily and the hammer can be removed from the bar. The hammer strut and its bushing are staked in. No sense in taking this apart unless you have to. The safety can be pushed out. There is a small detent plunger and spring in the back of the safety. Do not forget to replace these small parts during reassembly. On top of the trigger is a small plunger and trigger spring that can be taken out and set aside.

A trigger pin holds the trigger and disconnector assembly in the frame. It has ahead that is larger on the right side than on the left, so it must come out that way. On the older models the pin is held in place by a C-clip that can be removed by working it out with a dental pick. With the clip removed the pin pushes out easily and the trigger and disconnector assembly can be pulled up and removed. The new models (Mark II and III) have a slightly different configuration which I will discuss later.

The sear pin is now pushed out and the sear can be removed as well as the small sear spring. Please remember how the spring is posi-

Make sure hammer is in the fired position to take off tension. tioned in the frame for reassembly. The last parts in the gun are the magazine catch and the magazine catch spring. They have separate pins. Remove the catch first, then the spring and the lower part of our Ruger is stripped. Reassembly Put everything back in the gun in reverse order. OK, I’m finished. See ya later. No, I wouldn’t do that to you. Wouldn’t you like to have a serious conversation with whomever writes instructions like that?

Start with the magazine catch. Slide the spring in the magazine well first in its proper position. The schematic will help you determine what that is if you don’t remember. Line it up with its pin and install it. Push the catch in on the spring, again in its proper position, depressing the spring slightly until the pin lines up and can be pushed in.

Sometimes, if you don’t have the catch lined up perfectly with the spring, it can take more than one try but persevere until the catch is under spring tension and installed properly. Next is the sear. Note the position of the sear spring in relation to the sear itself. The little leg goes on the sear and the longer leg goes under another pin through the frame which I didn’t remove. Slide the sear in from the top of the frame and start the sear pin in from the right side of the frame.

Do not put the pin in all the way as you want This assembly should not be taken apart. to insert the spring in the left side before seating the pin. It’s really not that difficult as long as the sear and spring are in proper relationship to each other and the frame. A small pair of tweezers may help. Install the pin that holds the long leg of the sear spring in position (if you have removed it) and that’s it. Make sure the sear is under spring tension.

Moving on to the trigger and disconnector assembly, put the trigger on its pin on the disconnector and slide it down into the top of the frame until the trigger pin can be installed. Remember on the Standard

model a little C-clip must be installed on the pin to hold it in place. On the Mark II the pin is held by along spring that should be installed before the pin itself. The spring has a hook on one end that goes on the right side of the frame and the other end fits in a small hole towards the front. The Mark II also has a bolt stop assembly that is captured by the trigger pin on the left side of the trigger next to the frame.

Its stud protrudes through the magazine well to hold open the bolt when the last shot is fired from the magazine. The bolt stop plunger and spring fit in a hole in the front of the frame. The spring goes in the hole and the plunger, which has a flat side, pushes on the bolt stop to hold it in position during function. The flat side of the plunger should be positioned towards the left side of the frame. I install the trigger and disconnector first then the bolt stop plunger.

The trigger pin will hold all of this in place and the long spring secures the trigger pin. Use the schematic if you’re not sure exactly how these parts interact but it’s pretty easy to put them back together. The safety and hammer can be installed next. Push the hammer bushing in on the right side of the hammer. Don’t forget the little spring and plunger that goes in the back of the safety. Install the safety and move it into position so the hammer pin can pass through.

You may have to push down on the sear to get it out of the way. The hammer bushing fits into the hole in the disconnector and the bolt stop thumb piece (I call it the slide release) can be positioned on the outside left of the frame with its small hook over the protruding pin from the bolt stop. The hammer pin goes through all this stuff and holds everything in place. Install the safety, the "slide release" and put the hammer pin through the left side just enough to hold these two parts in place before

putting the hammer itself in and installing the hammer pin completely. Move the safety to the fire position to free the sear and make sure the hammer can go to full cock and be released by pulling the trigger. That’s it for the lower assembly of the Standard model and Mark II. Now let’s start on the reassembly of the upper part of the gun and put the whole thing back together. Install the extractor spring and plunger flat side toward the middle of the bolt.

The extractor can sometimes be pushed into position with finger pressure until it snaps in place or use a pick to hold back the plunger if necessary. The firing pin spring has a bent plunger that is positioned downward and fits into a recess in front of the bolt with the spring behind. The firing pin is positioned so that the small corner will contact the spring when the pin is slid forward in its groove.

Push it in until the firing pin retaining pin can be inserted and check to make sure the firing pin is operable, meaning it has a little movement back and forth and is under spring pressure. Insert the recoil spring assembly with the flats in front down and into the groove in front of the bolt. It will snap into the bolt easily. The rear needs to be positioned so it doesn’t bind when being reinserted into the receiver. Make sure the hammer is in the ready-to-fire position and reinstall the bolt.

The bolt must go in straight and not slightly cocked. It should go in easily with no binding. The upper is then installed on the lower. A gentle tap (mine took more) on the barrel end may be needed using a padded part of your bench to seat it. If it is not seated properly the bolt stop pin will not fit in its hole. Now, pull the trigger and push the hammer forward in the fired position so there is no tension on it when the mainspring housing is replaced. Push the bolt stop pin up and through the hole intended.

The hammer strut should be to the rear where it can seat itself when the mainspring latch is closed. You should have just a tiny bit of spring pressure on the latch as it is finally closed. This means the strut has seated. Pull back the bolt, release it and make sure the firing pin falls after pulling the trigger, again, holding the bolt open slightly so as not to do any damage. If all is well, repeat the process, keeping the trigger pulled when the bolt is released.

The firing pin should not go forward in this manner. Release the trigger to reset it and depress it again. If everything functions normally, the disconnector is working as it should and your customer will not spray a lot of lead over the range master’s head. Mark III Variations The first difference with the Mark III is the magazine release is located on the left side of the frame similar to the 1911 instead of the magazine well.

Releasing the hammer to the fired position, which is what we need to do now, requires that the magazine be inserted because the gun has a magazine safety and won’t fire without one in place. The mainspring latch is opened as usual. On the upper part of the gun there is a loaded chamber indicator. It has a blind pin holding it in that is removed from the left side by using a pick or knife blade to pull it out enough so it can be grasped with fingers or pliers.

Once this pin is removed the loaded chamber indicator comes out as an assembly. This assembly has a few springs and can be taken down easily, but no sense in taking this apart unless you really need to. A small screw retains the magazine release. Take it out and the catch can be removed. It does have a little plunger and spring, so don’t lose them.

Pushing out the hammer pin will free the hammer, of course, but also the new part the magazine disconnector and its spring which will not allow the gun to fire unless a magazine is inserted. I never understood this as a safety feature but I guess the government knows better than I do. Please remember (or take a picture to help you) the relationship of the spring and the magazine disconnector.

Of course we have the long spring that as with the Mark II retains the trigger pivot pin. 22/45 Variations The first difference is the sear spring. The sear is in the same position but the spring has a different relationship than does the Standard, Mark II or III models. It is easily seen when removed and should be returned the same way. There, I did it. Reinstall in reverse order. Just to be nice, the sear pin has a groove in it that retains part of this spring.

Anew wrinkle is the long spring that retains the trigger pivot pin. On this model it also retains the magazine catch. Push down on the front of this spring so the disconnector can be removed. This will release the tension on the spring for its removal. There is a small groove in the frame to house it. Hold the magazine catch when this spring is removed because it is under some spring pressure. For those of you that want to disassemble the magazines for cleaning, there are two types.

The standard is easily taken apart using a non-marring plastic or wood pusher to hold down the follower until the hold-down button on the side of the magazine can be pulled out. This will release the spring and the follower can then be taken out. For the Mark II and others, there is a small plunger on the bottom of the magazine. When pushed in with a 3/32" punch the plastic piece of the magazine can slide forward, releasing the coil spring.

The follower can be removed from the bottom after the little button used to hold it down for loading is removed. Not much left to say about the different models of this wonderful Ruger firearm. Was there genius involved here? I think so. AG

XR07600 Front Sight Screw A03 602 Front Sight A01501 Mk2 Tgt. Front Sight A01500 Mk2 Std.

Front Sight A02606 Front Sight Pin MR05902 Rear Sight Elevation Screw A06100 Rear Sight Base MR05907 Rear Sight Windage Spring E05903 Rear Sight Windage Adjustment Screw MR05600 Rear Sight Pivot Pin MR05901 Rear Sight Blade MR05906 Rear Sight Elevation Spring A15901-100 Rear Sight Complete A06000 Rear Sight (fixed) KA57 Recoil Spring Assembly KA0220 Extractor KA02510 Extractor Plunger KA20300 Extractor Spring KA01300 Firing Pin A03500 Firing Pin Stop A03900 Rebound Spring Support A02101 Bolt Only Ruger Mark II-series Pistol (Specifications subject to change without notice) Schematic and promotional pictures courtesy of Sturm, Ruger & Co.

Inc.

A2000 Rebound Spring A03400 Trigger Pivot Pin A01800 Hammer Only A02505 Hammer Bushing A01000 Hammer Strut A04900 Hammer Strut Pin AN53-100 Safety Assembly Complete KA011 Disconnector Assembly AN37 Bolt Stop Assembly A02508 Trigger Spring Plunger A20400 Trigger Spring A01200 Trigger A04700 Bolt Stop Thumb piece A02601 Sear Pivot Pin* A01901 Sear A03100 Sear Spring A02603 Sear Spring Stop Pin A00900 Mainspring Housing only A00100 Bolt Stop Pin A02602 Bolt Stop Pivot Pin* A00700 Mainspring housing Latch A03000 Mainspring Latch Spring A02602 Mainspring Housing Latch Pin* KA02509 Mainspring Plunger KA20100 Mainspring A04100 Mainspring Detent Ball A00501 Magazine Latch A02601 Magazine Latch Pin (2) M10 Magazine Assembly Complete A00800 Grip A02503 Grip Screws A01201 Trigger KA05800 Trigger Stop Screw KA04600 Bolt Stop Plunger Spring KA04200 Trigger Pivot Retainer A04300 Bolt Stop Plunger *Apparently same dimensional part