but, I thought you couldn't break a Ruger Mark II

[BigK]

I've had my current Ruger Mark II for going on 20 years and can only take a wild guess at how many rounds have gone thru this lil work horse of a pistol. All I know is that there were some summers where it saw a 550 round box of Federals EVERY single weekend. Conservatively I'd estimate it's about 5K rounds/yr, so I don't have a damn thing to complain about. You can't put that many rounds thru any gun without replacing a worb out spring here or there. I've also upgraded to a set of Hogue target grips, Volquartsen extended mag release, and FO front sight. Every other part is original.

Yesterday I was indoctrinating a co-worker from CA, err, introducing a first time shooter to the wonderful world of firearms and of course the Mark II comes out first. We put about 400 rounds thru the old gal with zero issues. However, when I got home to clean it, the mainspring was stuck. It took me about 30 minutes to take it apart (this was the normal reassembly time back when I first got the gun and there weren't such thing as a YouTube video to show you how to do it right).

I found that the bolt stop pin had broken just above the mainspring. The bottom part is still attached to the mainspring by the pivot pin. I'm guessing the love taps with a rubber mallet over the years to unjam the mainspring or align the bolt stop pin holes finally had their toll. I'm not whining, the replacement parts are $15 including shipping from Ruger. I just thought after all these years this thing was indestructible.

[xtriggerman]

I don't think you taking it apart with a mallet had anything to do with it. That pin takes a recoil hit from the bolt body on every shot. Being a hardened part, constant battering can over time make the metal crystalline. When that happens, you get what you have there, a clean snap. They are great pistols indeed. Back in the 80's I sold a 5.5 bull barrels one to a friend of mine who was an exceptionally good shot. We used to hang bulls eye targets on a single finishing nail. I had worked the trigger on that Ruger for him and once he got the hang of it, I watched him drop 3 targets off the board by taking the nail out with one shot, off hand, open sights, 30 feet! God, I wish I could have done that with my High Standard... or with anything for that matter. Some folks just got it like that!

Edited February 19, 2017 by xtriggerman

[Sidecarist]

I agree completely. Back in the day I worked on a mark II every week or so for the local bullseye shooters. Rarely had to fix one mostly upgrades & sights/red dots.

While your at it replace the recoil spring. I'll guess that yours is toast by now. It's a good idea to replace them every 5-10k rounds depending on ammo etc. Cheap insurance to keep it running and reduce battering of that pin too.

[BigK]

8 hours ago, xtriggerman said:

I don't think you taking it apart with a mallet had anything to do with it. That pin takes a recoil hit from the bolt body on every shot. Being a hardened part, constant battering can over time make the metal crystalline. When that happens, you get what you have there, a clean snap.

You're probably right about the failure. I didn't think about the abuse that part takes during operation. That makes more sense, especially since I only break it down like this a couple of times per year.

 

7 hours ago, Sidecarist said:

While your at it replace the recoil spring. I'll guess that yours is toast by now. It's a good idea to replace them every 5-10k rounds depending on ammo etc. Cheap insurance to keep it running and reduce battering of that pin too.

Last time I bought parts, I ordered extra springs. This recoil spring probably has 4k-5k rounds on it. It certainly wouldn't hurt to change it while I'm at it. Thanks for the advice.