Ruger Speed Strip

Compared to his Yale classmates, the lifestyle of Alexander Mc- Cormick Sturm was an anachronism. He dined handsomely at the finest hotel in town while they chowed down in the student dining room. Alex’s father, a former Yale football star, was patriarch of one of Connecticut’s most prominent family. All the clothes Alex wore were tailor-made. While still enrolled, Alex became a successful writer, actor, artist, neophyte film producer and polo player.

Though much preferring dimly lit indoor after hour surroundings to the great outdoors, Alex had an enthusiastic interest in firearms, going so far as to add a large number of them to his sword, cane, and heraldry collection. On the other hand, William Bannerman Ruger was born in Brooklyn, NY. His father, Adolf, was the grandson of a drummer boy at Waterloo in 1815 and a fairly successful trial lawyer. His mother, May, was a daughter in a wealthy family of department store owners.

Unlike Alexander Sturm, William Ruger had an absolute passion for hunting that advanced his interest in guns by quantum leaps. While still in high school he read clear through the firearms stacks at the New York Public Library and made himself welcomed at a Flatbush machine shop before returning to the library to devour engineering texts.

By the time he graduated from Alexander Hamilton High he’d worked up designs for a light machine gun and the conversion of the Savage 99 from lever to gas operated, semi automatic action. I hope what you’ve read so far has whet your appetites to know more about "Mr. Bill" Ruger. Assuming it has I highly recommend reading Ruger and His Guns by R. L. Wilson. Published by Simon and Schuster you can probably purchase a copy via Amazon.com but give Brownells a try first.

At any rate, Alexander Sturm met with William Ruger at a low point in Ruger’s life. Savage had expressed no interest in the Model 99 conversion.

The Army had rejected his machine gun considering its rate of fire too high. (Army Ordnance Officers might have thought otherwise if aware of the developing German M42 design which hurled lead at American troops from Omaha Beach to the interior of the Third Reich.) Ruger designed and built a system for his LMG allowing the operator to select between two rates of fire, one higher than the other. The Army again rejected his gun, this time because the highest rate of fire was too low!

The bank account of the Ruger Corporation was close to zero when Alex Sturm learned that its owner had designed anew .22 caliber pistol having Luger overtones in appearance to compete with the Colt Woodsman and Hamden-made Hi Standards. It would cost $50,000.00 get the handgun into production. Alex had the money. He loaned it to Bill. The resulting partnership was christened Sturm-Ruger. The Standard and MK I models hit the shooting market like monster asteroids and the rest, as they say, is history.

I’ll add that Sturm’s interest in heraldry and artistic talents combined to create the stylized red eagle that adorned the MK I grip panels until his premature death. Since then, the eagle has been either black or silver against a black background on all Ruger firearms. The pistol pictured here began life as a pure Standard Model. It was

the first Ruger I owned. It doesn’t resemble a Luger anymore and no longer performs like one. A Clark barrel has replaced the original tapered tube and its trigger pull was reduced to a smooth pound and a half by yours truly. My old friend consistently prints inside the 10 ring at twenty five yards. It still competes successfully in local matches though it is held these days in a younger hand than mine. My "X-ring wobble" abandoned mealong time ago.

In all the years I fired my MK I only one thing about it bugged me. Specifically, the .22 rimfire cartridge. Even the best of it is fundamentally dirty. It could and did build up residue on the bolt housed within the receiver and, when sufficiently accumulated, created a hitch in the action. I have been handed MK I pistols so badly fouled the bolt was very close to being immovable. The resolution: Field strip the gun, clean the bolt plus the interior of the receiver, lightly lubricate and reassemble.

It isn’t as simple as it sounds and couldn’t be accomplished during a two to five minute prep period on the firing line. How so? It’s the way the pistol is built and tools, fundamental as they may be, are needed. The mainspring housing latch has to be pried fully open with a blade screwdriver. The housing has to be swung outward, pivoted upward, grasped firmly and pulled down hard to disengage the bolt stop pin from the receiver.

More often than not, the pin is so tightly fit in the receiver a 1/4-inch brass, aluminum or nylon drift and a 2-4 ounce plastic-head hammer are needed to dislodge it downward. The housing assembly can then be completely removed from the grip frame, the bolt withdrawn and the receiver with barrel attached drifted forward off the frame. Attempts, mostly unsuccessful, were made by owners and some gunsmiths to make field stripping the MK I less problematic.

These included highly polishing the The MK III kit contains additional parts related to the magazine disconnect. bolt stop pin and chamfering the underside of the pin opening in the receiver. Frequently, these attempts had a negative effect on tolerances because excessive material was removed. A year ago, I was among those who discovered The Speed Strip Kit applicable to all Ruger .22 Auto pistols at the SHOT Show.

It includes anew, two piece stainless steel When fully reinstalled, the pin ends should be flush with both sides of the frame. bolt stop pin, anew hammer and a 5/32nd Allen key. That’s it for the MK I. The MK III kit contains additional instructions and components related to the pistol’s magazine disconnect. I suppose Brownells saw them too, spoke with its inventor who was manning the Majestic Arms Ltd. Booth, added the kits to their catalog and provided the MK I kit for this article. The Speed Strip A

is patented, #5,666,755. Here’s how to make it work. Everything goes the same up to and including removal of the receiver assembly from the frame. Now take off both grip panels. With a Both are on the left side of the hammer. 3/32" or 1/8" punch—pay attention, please—push the hammer pin (33) from right to left just enough to free up the existing hammer (30) and lift it out. Set the frame assembly aside. With your fingers, remove the ham- A American Gunsmithing Association

Ruger MK I (Speci ications subject to change without notice) 1 Frame 2 Disconnector 3 Trigger 4 Trigger Pin 5 Trigger Pin Lock Washer 6 Trigger Stop Screw (MK I) 7 Trigger Spring Plunger 8 Trigger Spring 9 Sear 10 Sear Spring 11 Sear Pivot Pin 12 Sear Spring Stop Pin 13 Magazine Catch Stop Pin 14 Magazine Catch Pivot Pin 15 Grip (2) 16 Grip Screws (4) 17 Mainspring Housing 18 Bolt Stop 19 Bolt Stop Pivot Pin 20 Magazine Catch Spring 21 Housing Latch Pivot Pin 22 Magazine Catch 23 Housing Latch 24 Mainspring Plunger 25 Mainspring 26 Detent Ball 27 Magazine Assembly 28 Safety Catch 29 Hammer Bushing 30 Hammer 31 Hammer Strut 32 Hammer Strut Pin 33 Hammer Pivot Pin 34 Recoil Spring Guide 35 Recoil Spring 36 Bolt 37 Firing Pin Stop 38 Rebound Spring 39 Rebound Spring Support 40 Recoil Spring Support 41 Firing Pin 42 Extractor 43 Extractor Plunger 44 Extractor Spring 45 Receiver 46 Rear Sight (Standard) 47 Micro Rear Sight (MK I) 48 Barrel (MK I) 49 Front Sight Blade (MK I) 50 Front Sight Pin (MK I) 51 Barrel Assembly (Standard)

mer pivot bushing (29) from the old hammer. Use a out the mainspring strut retaining pin (32). Install the bushing, strut and its retaining pin in the replacement hammer. The bushing goes in from right to left; the retaining pin from left to right. To replace the modified hammer assembly in the frame, hold the frame in one hand. Place the hammer bushing into the cut out in the disconnector (2). Push the hammer and disconnector down into the frame.

Look through the hammer pivot pin hole and align the hammer with the hole. Push the pin back through from the left side of the grip frame until the pin is flush with the right side of the frame. Remount the grip panels and the work to be done on the frame is a thing of the past. Reinstall the upper receiver (45) on the frame. With most pistols you’ll have to tap the muzzle to the rear with your plastic-head hammer to fully seat the receiver. Now ex- Complete your American Gunsmith collection.

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