Ruger MK II teardown and trigger job

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_CY_

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Ruger MK II teardown and trigger job

finally found the Ruger MK II Target Stainless, I've been looking for...
came with a nice trigger at 2lb 8oz.

insides was really DIRTY, looked like bottom receiver had never been apart..... first up was a deep clean. taking apart was easy enough. found out quickly putting all the pieces back together was not so easy or straight forward.

did my usual deep cleaning using simple green, tooth brush and lots of water. put it all back together with tri-flow & moly on sear .... now trigger was over 3lbs and creepy. took it all back apart and clean off all lube.... re-assemble... now trigger went to slightly under 3lbs.

back apart it went .... then I stoned every part that rubbed against metal. including bolt, firing pin, trigger & linkage, inside of receiver, etc, etc.

then I took off sharp edges all over. polished sear surfaces to mirror at stock angles. put it all back together... finally got trigger back to the 2lb 8oz I started with.

bolt was really hard to cock... checked out main spring, which was binding badly. put a dab of moly grease, then worked grease inside by depressing spring with a pin punch. after a few minutes of working moly inside main spring. it smoothed out nicely.

put it all back together... bolt smoothed out along with rest of pistol.
could have stopped but really wanted a trigger under 2lbs.

next up was experimenting with the poorly designed trigger over-travel adjustment screw, provided on Target models.

I say badly designed because the only way to get at trigger adjustment is to take lower receiver almost entirely apart. then put it all back together... see if it works... take it apart...etc.. etc.

after spending an entire night taking it apart and back together... finally got trigger over-travel adjustment optimized. What a PITA to adjust!

the bad part was I was back to the 2lb 8oz.... the good part is... pistol was now working smooooth.... and I can take the Ruger down put it back together effortlessly.

Now I'm convinced the only way to change trigger pull is through changing sear angles. So back apart everything goes again.

after doing research on proper angles... carefully stone new sear angle on hammer and reassemble. purposely not including how to instructions on sear angles as everyone's skill level is different. most folks should take their Ruger MK II to a gun smith and/or install a trigger kit.

Success.... trigger is now 1lb 8 oz ... super smooth with zero creep.
tested sear for hold by slamming pistol HARD, several times at all different angles. No miss-fires... sear is holding solid. dead confident sear will not release until trigger is pulled.

here's a few pic's of Ruger MK II torn down for cleaning. was thinking of putting up additional detailed reassembly instructions past the excellent internal assembly instructions I used putting Ruger back together. http://www.1bad69.com/ruger/internals.htm

note pictures show trigger assembly still in receiver. found out in detailed instructions in above link, how to remove by depressing trigger pin locking spring.

ahome.tulsaconnect.com_toug_cpf_ruger.JPG


ahome.tulsaconnect.com_toug_cpf_ruger2.JPG


ahome.tulsaconnect.com_toug_cpf_ruger3.JPG


ahome.tulsaconnect.com_toug_cpf_ruger4.JPG
 

ldp4570

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My MKII and MKIII's, your braver than I. I've taken one apart once, that was enough. Carbon cleaner, toothbrush, high pressure air line, all clean, no need to tear down!!!!!
 

_CY_

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that was my exact thought after trying to put it back together the first time..... no wonder everyone avoids taking these apart. what a pita!

all the youtube video's about disassembly for Ruger MK II were for field strip... not a one on internals. at least that I could find

My MKII and MKIII's, your braver than I. I've taken one apart once, that was enough. Carbon cleaner, toothbrush, high pressure air line, all clean, no need to tear down!!!!!
 

Traxxis

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Ahh... I love a good clean pistol.

Next time you take it apart, try a little moly POWDER dri-lube on the sear and all internals.

It's pretty hard to find in stores, but you can find it online pretty easy. There is also a moly/teflon blend that's supposed to be pretty nice, but I haven't had a chance to pick any up.

Don't use graphite powder though, it retains moisture... which will put a damper on the whole smooth-operation thing. :) The dry powder also does not collect as much junk as the grease does, and is much "slicker" than the "dri-moly" in the areosol can.

Great write-up!
Stan
 

_CY_

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thanks... will have to dig up some moly powder and try it.

sounds ideal for smooth metal to metal contact and not attract powder residues...
which there will be plenty of firing dirty .22 LR.

Ahh... I love a good clean pistol.

Next time you take it apart, try a little moly POWDER dri-lube on the sear and all internals.

It's pretty hard to find in stores, but you can find it online pretty easy. There is also a moly/teflon blend that's supposed to be pretty nice, but I haven't had a chance to pick any up.

Don't use graphite powder though, it retains moisture... which will put a damper on the whole smooth-operation thing. :) The dry powder also does not collect as much junk as the grease does, and is much "slicker" than the "dri-moly" in the areosol can.

Great write-up!
Stan
 

dennishoddy

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I love the Rugers. Had a Mark II but it was stolen along with a lot of other guns, and the Mark III was out by then, so I purchased a Mark III hunter with the fluted barrel. I really like it.
 

mr ed

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Anybody thinking of using simple green on a "Blued" gun better watch out.
We used to use that to strip blue off guns before rebluing.
1 Gal. concentrate - 3 gal. water boiling in our cleanser tank would remove all blue in less than a minute.
 

_CY_

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first saw use of simple green, toothbrush and lots of water ... watching an AGI video. have never caught AGI wrong on any major point. http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=191136

used to work at a plating shop just out of high school... so pretty familiar with what different chemicals do to different types of metals.

we used to strip paint off steel in a heated vat filled with a caustic solution. strength was very similar to lye.

simple green is base or caustic ... base is opposite of acid, will not hurt steel, but will attack aluminum (certain types of acid will also attack aluminum). key is heat.. which makes caustic solutions much more active.

in other words... if simple green is heated up... it acquires different properties. used cold ... I've not had any problems with using simple green on firearms.

have only used simple green on my 337PD, 340PD, gold cup 1911 (stainless) and Ruger MK II (stainless)

Anybody thinking of using simple green on a "Blued" gun better watch out.
We used to use that to strip blue off guns before rebluing.
1 Gal. concentrate - 3 gal. water boiling in our cleanser tank would remove all blue in less than a minute.
 

_CY_

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finally had a chance to shoot this Ruger MK II...

shot 250+ rounds first outing... what a blast!!!
had no problems hitting clay pigeons on the ground at 50 yds.

trigger job felt great, very consistent. the 1lb 8oz trigger didn't feel too light at all.

was using remington golden bullets... what sorry ammo... 13 duds out of 250. tried out some sub sonic and hot hunting ammo too... Ruger MK II ate em all up with no problems.

now need to find more magazines... one is not enough
 

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