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I broke my Ruger 22/45 today!

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1K views 4 replies 3 participants last post by  LDBennett 
#1 ·
Well, I broke down and cleaned my Ruger 22/45 this afternoon. I got it clean just fine BUT it seems that I have broken my pistol. I took it apart, cleaned it, and put it back together. The disassembly and cleaning were easy. Re-assembly took three hours (with MUCH trouble and three you-tube videos). When I did a function check the trigger would not pull after the initial one.

I tried to take it apart again and there is where I discovered that I have a broken pistol. I cannot get the main spring out of it now. One of the videos clearly says that if this happens, pull the trigger to get the hammer down and firing pin forward, and then pull the main spring again. It don't happen - the hammer won't fall and the firing pin will not go forward.

If anyone has any ideas on how I can get it "open" again, I would appreciate the help. It will be tomorrow before I have time to work on it again, SO any and all suggestions will be appreciated.
 
#3 ·
These plastic wonder guns are basically the same design as the all steel MK series guns. They are very hard to get back together correctly unless you dutifully follow the instruction in the manual to the letter.

The hammer will not fall because its strut may not be touching the hammer spring plunger in the mainspring housing, but caught up internally and force forward. The fix is usually to remove the mainspring housing. They want you to pull the trigger (in a normally assembled gun) to remove any tension to the mainspring to make to easy to remove. If the hammer is caught up in the gun it is already forward enough to remove the main spring assembly.

You have to get the main spring housing lever open to free everything up. It might take a bit of force.

The trick on re-assembly is the attitude of the gun as you attempt to close the lever to install the mainspring assembly. The instruction manual guides you in that respect.

This gun, and especially the all metal MK version, are good rugged guns but they are a bear to re-assemble. You can not get the bolt out without removing the mainspring housing. Then you have to fight to get the mainspring housing in right and the hammer strut in the mainspring plunger depression. It is almost better to not totally disassemble these guns and to clean from the muzzle end of the barrel and use spray solvents to flush out the rest of the mechanism that can not be reached from the open bolt using a tooth brush. The bolt face and barrel breech face are especially important to get clean.

There is a different after market mainspring housing that allows the bolt to be removed without removal of the mainspring housing. My 20 year old MK II 678G now has that device as I tired of fighting the gun every time I cleaned it. It is easy to forget the "correct" procedure if you don't shoot or clean the gun very often.

LDBennett
 
#4 ·
What a difference a day makes. When I got up this morning, I went and dug out the printed manual. When I picked the gun up and pulled that little spring retainer thing the main spring popped open like it should. I guess I was hot, tired, and frustrated with it last night (plus I had a little wine which is not a normal thing). This morning, I took it apart very easily, looked at the printed manual and had it back together in 5 minutes, did a function check and everything worked the way it is supposed to.

I appreciate the comments, the best thing that could have been said was "look at the manual dummy!" Thanks Mike, I think that is what you were basically saying!

LD, back when I had a Mark II, I had some kind of after market item that replaced the "thing" attached to main spring that goes up through the bolt and out the top. It has been so long ago, but I seem to remember using an allen wrench to unscrew it and being able to disassemble/reassemble the thing in minutes.

I don't think I will ever completely disassemble this thing again, but if I do, I guarantee you that I will have the written manual handy!!
 
#5 ·
gdmoody said:

"LD, back when I had a Mark II, I had some kind of after market item that replaced the "thing" attached to main spring that goes up through the bolt and out the top. It has been so long ago, but I seem to remember using an allen wrench to unscrew it and being able to disassemble/reassemble the thing in minutes. "

That's the device I was referring to! It helps. You don't have to remove the mainspring housing with that device which is the "problem" of re-assembly. But if you follow the manual it goes back together easily in original form most of the time. Mine somehow got tweaked and even the instruction failed most of the time. No problem with the device installed.

LDBennett
 
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