ok youve just cleaned your pistol's bore well to the hilt as far as it will get and you want something more for it thats good to benefit it for your shooting pleasure,well here is what i have done on my own and it works much better,feels great and its smoother overall and gets you a bit better group too..........
Materials
list:
fine
stones 600-1200 grit
emery
paper 600-1200 grit
a
dremel with felt buffing wheels,bullet tipped and a regular 1" wheel
fine
red and fine white jewelers rouge
hoppes
or outers gun oil,break free clp,a can of quick start ether spray to clean
all of it out when done,scrap leather to hold the parts or use as a backing
pad
a
good vise meduim sized bench mounted.
a
fine set of picks to dig out any crap in slots or parts with and q tips.
1st
take
a look at the bolt pic i have here.see how its been smoothed out and polished
to a shine? that was done with a piece of 600 grit wet or dry emery paper
and oil, then polished and cleaned well inside and out.reason for this
is to romove any rough surfaces and give the bolt a nice surface on which
to ride on.
see
the top 2 flats on either side of the reciol spring? those were also polished
up and the edges on the bolt bottom on the slot were slightly rounded and
they were pretty sharp as well and interfereing with a smooth traveling
bolt, the bottom inner rail on the bolt as well that rides on the hammer
face was smoothed out as well.the recoil spring can be lifted up and out
without fear of flying apart on you,its staked at both ends so that the
guide and holder wont fly off.now you can also remove the firing pin and
with a piece of paper mark how it went back in,just simply push the pin
in and thruand then lift up the firing pin ,see the stop and spring under
it? mark on the paper how it went in,this must be put back in the same
way so the pin does not fly off the chamber face when its shot or dryfired.do
not soak the 600 grit emery paper in oil !!!!! only a few drops to
keep from the bluing from clogging the papers pores is needed and wipe
the bolt off frequently.never ever never be putting the bolt body in a
vise without two leather pads on each side to protect it and never ever
never over tighten the vise!!!!!!!!.just enough to hold the bolt from moving
is fine.i used an old belt of leather with the emery paper under it using
a shoe shine method to polish it wiping frequently so no buildup or drip
from the emery got in any crevices etc making it a fairly clean job to
do.remember to use your quick start ether spray and q tips to finally clean
it out and inspect it all to make sure no crud is left in any part of it.
2nd
now that the bolts done,why not the inside of the reciever too? yep i did that as well but ! i had used a round ash dowel to hold the 600 grit emery paper doubled up to smooth the inner walls up with.again taking my time doing it as well to insure a nice smooth job, i had bought my ruger used so the inner area wear the takedown pin protrudes thru the top of the reciever had some galling and a raised lip around the holes.after the smoothing over taking these down the bolt feels like glass now as i pull it back to cock it.do not under any circumstances take that riveted guide in the reciever!!!!! this is as far as you need do for this smoothing up process.im sure with a dremel and jewelers rouge you could carefully reach in the front reciever port and do the area with a bullet felt tip mounted on it but i chose not too
3rd
if you care to you may as well do the top and sides of the hammer seeing how the bottom inner guide rail on the bolt that pushes the hammer down on charging it was done might as well make a matched set!!! take the grips off,this can be a bit of a trick to get back together as well too.also leave that safety in while the hammer is out! it has a ball detent that likes to go flying out when taken out of the frame.to reinsert the hammer with its bushing,the safety should be off position,the hammer + bushing installed on the disconnecter bar,now push the sear forward ,this will show a notch that the disconnecter tab can fit into on its right side as it and the hammer are pushed in place,then the pin be secured into it all holding it and the grips can be reinstalled on the frame.its tricky somewhat but can be done,for you first timers do this in a large see thru freezer bag in case the ball bearing goes flying you wont lose it.
4th
now is the time to polish the feed ramp with a dremel and felt bullet tip with rouge or some 600 grit emery wrapped on a thin thin dowel.this will help the bullet feed into the chamber much easier with a smooth surface to glide up on.go realllll easy here ,remember we want to polish the area not remove metal so go very light when polishing this!
5th
grips! theyres many kinds out theyre to be had if one looks hard enough for them.i like the plastic stock factorys myself ,sometimes if its spring time out and im hunting in the rain alot and i want a nonslip grip i will get a piece of bycycle inner tube and slip this right over the grip on the mk1.i oil the tube first.it makes it very easy to slide up and the rubber absorbs the oil in ten minutes so it stays put without slipping. i did see tho over on the ajax web sight for grips all kinds, white and black pearl,ivroid,real ivory, exotic woods etc.i kinda like the ivroid polymer and white pearl myself.target grips that are full tilt adjustable in every way are out theyre as i now have on my mk1 with its herrets but keep in mind very expensive to get.i like them on mine and they fit like a glove
6th
magazines,
you can use a mk2 magazine in the mk1 if you ust simply take the follower
pin on the side out on the right and move it to the left.now you have a
ten shot mk1.dont buy that these wont work you need them instead if thats
what the gun shop is telling you.older mk 1 mags cost a bit more now as
the models discontinued and hes trying to make a buck on you.its also nice
having ten rounds in the mag as well,just poush down on the mag follower
with a dowel and hold it theyre and slide out the pin and swap sides.
7th
bore
cleaning, use a bronze bore guide when cleaning the barrel out,leading
will come out with some effort and repeat cleans if its very heavy.for
those who shoot the copper washed stuff and still cant get the streakes
out soak the bore for 30 minutes in outers or hoppes solvent.now get some
stainless chore boy kitchen scouring pad and take a small piece of it and
wrap it on an old worn brush and run ten strokes thru the bore,clean it
well again,run some dry patches and inspect it.it should be gone,if not
repeat the process,only use the stainless steel pad in the worst cases
tho , j.b's bore paste or rem cleaner will work just as good but take a
bit longer to do.some find that theyre pistol groups better after 100 shots
or a few mags have been fired.i suspect a bit of an oversized broach job
on the rifling from the factory causing that , i shoot with an absolute
clean bore and sight in from theyre and leave it at that.after 100 rounds
i just run some slightly damp patches thru to get the fouling out on the
lands and grooves and get back to shooting after a dry patch or 2,at 500
rounds i use a bore brush and clean again.
8th
Lapping
the bore
use
a bore guide always when cleaning or lapping!
I
lap my bores using the jb or rem bore cleaner as well with a tight fitting
patch and 500 strokes in and out changing the patch every 50 strokes with
a new one soaked in the cleaner untill they shine.years ago they used bon
ami kitchen cleanser powder in a paste form with water to do this and that
does still work as well also for lappping as back then we didnt have jb's
or the new rem bore cleaners etc.i feel a lapped bore gives better accuracy
on paper with a fresh muzzle crown as i proved on paper with these methods.
9th
for those used pistols that just seemed to be owned by mickey rat the mongol who used a mallet on the muzzle to tap the pistol reciever back, a muzzle crown can be done with a 3/8" steel ball bearing and a little 99 cent tube of valve grinding compound and some oil. first take a patch and put it in the bore about 1/4" down from the muzzle, now take the ball and coat it in the compound and by hand turn the ball in all directions for an even cut on the crown with a light pressure,when it feels smooth cutting stop,wipe the crown and look, the surface cut should be a smooth and even cut all the way around.this can be done in ten minutes or so.apply more compound if neccesary to finish the job.then push the patch out from the chamber end,never from the muzzle down.remember valve grinding compound cuts steel and we want the bore as mint as possible.
10th
Tightning up a sloppy frame/reciever fit
for side to side
for
a loose frame to reciever fit this can be tightend up this method only,for
a side to side sloppy fit what you want to do is put the frame in a vise
by the REAR
frame
rails at the top,now pinch it slowly a little bit at a time using 1/32
of a turn on the vises handle.after each little minute bit of turn
on the vise handle take the frame out and check the upper reciever's fit
to fit the lower.you want to go slow and take your time here,remember its
YOUR gun not mine and just cranking the handle on the vise down ala mikky
mouse will and trash the frame,hence forth 1/32 of a turn on the handle!
a little goes a long way in the process of doing this.dont worry they all
will twist a minute bit from side to side somewhat on all mk1/2 pistols
but we CAN help reduce that with this method.
11th
for
up and down up front in the takedown and or a sloppy takedown fit
for
a loose take down fit.if you can take your mk1/2 apart so easily it just
falls apart its too loose.this can be done using the above method but at
the FRONT of the frame rails.again go easy on the vise,just a little pinch
at a time goes a long ways here in forcing the rails closer together so
it pushes up on the barreled receiver so it takes up the sloppy fit you
have and tightens it up.you should be able to take your mk1 aprt with heavy
hand pressure,not a mallet on the trigger bow etc etc.
12th
rebluing
the beast
if
you choose to get it reblued ruger will do this for you,or you can see
a local gunsmith but make damn sure he is using an oxy7 bluing setup in
his hot tanks.
you
dont want a cold blue job either so ask and make sure of what hes using.
oxyphylate#7
will get you back that very dark deep blue you want,if they charge more
than 50$ walk out the door and find some one else to do the job.and make
sure to take a stripped frame and reciever too.ive seen 2 cases over the
years where **custom high $$$ parts were swapped with stock parts** in
the said customers guns causing a close kiliing to almost happen and 2
shops sleazeball reps ruined for life in the county till theyre buisness
failed and they moved out.yes people suck but not all of them.
13th use the break free clp after all youve done on a nice cleaned modified and polished pistol,never use this oil over any other oil as hoppes or outers etc .this way you know whats in theyre and insured the best theyre is for oiling properties
now if you havent done any of this before i suggest going very slowly,reading the whole thing 20 times and then try it and also make drawings of how your parts fit before taking them apart.
now if you doubt any of this works at all,take your gun to clarks or volqaurtsens and pay out till your wallet bleeds tears , i have been doing this for years on end to all of mine with a high success rate of accuracy,fit and finish proven on the paper as well.a good job will take you time to do but well worth the effort if you go slow and just go easy when using your tools to insure a nice job.this is why custom smiths make a mint as they use this method.
If you have done all as carefully described and done a nice job taking your time you will note a merkedly different feel in the gun when cycling,shooting and looking at your nice small group afterwords.
Now if you didnt pay close attention and do all as carefully said and done,remember ruger will sell you a new frame for about 56 dollars the last time i checked.
dating a ruger pistol
your wife may kill you or whack you with a fryiong pan but i wont if you do.you can call the ruger people up and tell them your serial bumber and she will tell you the year it was made and send you a nice manual for free if you ask as well.
Now
dont you feel good after buying that 135 dollar beat ta hell pistol and
turning it into a fifty foot tack driver with the feel of a ferrari?that
and saving yourself a hellava lot of dollars as that the bill for doing
this at a shop would run you over 200$ u.s. easily.especially with rates
at the way they are now and some guys charging by the hour like a mechanic
out theyre which i find a complete joke.i have seen some rugers with so
much leading in the chamber and bore i couldnt help but think they sold
this jammomatic because he just wasnt sure why it was failing,all it wouldve
taken was a simple cleaning of a bore full of lead to make it function
and shoot right ,lead does not rot a bore,rust and humidity does,usually
under all that leading is a mint set of grooves and lands on that rifling
just begging to show you a good group,alot of mk1/2's are sold this way
and most shops will not take the time to clean a used gun but just throw
it on the one way shelf till it gets sold and then gets brought back,why?
because said newbie owner hasnt cleaned it,face it a day of jammings will
do that to oneself who just hasnt been taught right to clean before and
after the shooting procesess,then comes back to the shop this gun sucks
and gets sold a brand new one or worse PAYS to have it gone over which
is usually a cleaning and break free clp oiling job.so many good guns for
a short buck out theyre....
the
ruger mk1 or mk2 will give any s&w k17,k22 or browning buckmark
or high standard a damn good fight in a match on paper at the range,ive
owned them all in various models and have shot under 3/8" groups at fifty
feet with them all proving no one pistol is best but proving that with
some good work on them inside and out they all will shoot the same
on paper provided you do your part and practice like a monk in a monastary
with it often as you possibly can at the range,so here its what you choose
to shoot with now,not how much or what kind or who did it etc etc etc for
a status symbol to be one of the boys but what YOU can do and what YOU
have done with it .the feeling of doing ones own work and seeing the groups
and the feel of it afterwards is priceless when your done for the day.
KNOW your sights,i shoot with a scope at various ranges but i do know at what ranges i will shoot high or low at with a certain round in the pistol.i can count my scopes adjustment elevation knobs kliks and know i will be dead on in say 8 kliks at a given distance from the standard fifty foot set range it always gets zeroed at.when i am done i will go back down the same number of klicks and be right back at fifty feet again.with ironsights that are non adjustable you can use your front sight by simply putting a white line on the face of the blade for any range you want to shoot at,just make sure you put the blade high in the rear notch and when you finally get on paper make your mark on the front blade and go from theyre.