Need Your Cleaning Advice on Ruger Mark II

[Jessica Wellman]

I recently purchased a .22 Ruger Mark II. I shot quite a few rounds through it before taking it to my brother-in-law for cleaning. Not until after he cleaned it did it begin to jam.

I think he may have used too much oil. Upon my trips back out to the range this week, it has jammed continuously. I've got it apart right now and have cleaned all the metal foulings out. I'm not going to oil it until I hear back from some of you.

Thanks for your help.
J


[This message has been edited by LadydeeJ (edited September 16, 1999).]

 

[Chuck B.]

Lady,

I recently purchased a Mark II, and I clean and lube it in pretty much the same way that I do my 1911 and Glock. I had a few miss-feeds in the first couple of hundred rounds. It has been working fine since then. I have read that there may be problems with a firearm during a "break-in" period. Maybe you should just procede and give it some time for the bugs to work out.

Maybe there is an issue with the magazine. Be sure to clean it out also.

Good luck
Chuck B

 

[Jessica Wellman]

Chuck,
I hope you are still hanging around! Tell me how much oil you use inside the gun once it is taken apart. This is my first gun so I have nothing to compare it to. It says in the manual to oil the barrel once and remove the excess twice. What about the rest of the gun?

Also tell me what type of ammo you think is best.

Thanks,
J

 

[Rich Lucibella]

LadydeeJ-
If you've disassembled that piece you're already a junior gunsmith!

Seriously, it's a great target piece and I've had no problems with mine. If my comments are too basic, please don't take offense as I don't know your level of experience.

Make certain that all fouling is removed from the chamber and the feed ramp. My rules for oiling:

- Barrell: Once clean, run an oiled patch down it followed by two passes with tight, clean, dry patches.
- All mating surfaces: one drop of oil on your finger, not directly on the gun. Run lightly over surfaces and swipe with a dry patch.
- All other surfaces: use a lightly oiled patch followed by a dry rag.

The point is, with newer lubricants like BreakFree, a lubricant coating will be left. If the gun runs oil from anywhere while shooting, it's been over lubricated.

If it continues to jam, take some notes for us:
- Is it the first last or middle rounds in the mag?
- Is it the same mag each time?
- What is the nature of the jam? eg: slide locks back; empty shell not completely ejecting; round hanging up on the feed ramp, etc.

Hope this helps.
Rich

 

[Ed Brunner]

(Just passing by...)
Use very little oil. All you want is a film remaining.If you can see liquid,you have too much. I cant really advise you on .22 ammo. I shoot anything in my Ruger. Obviously it would be better to use whatever performs well and leaves the least residue. Someone else can give you specifics.
Hope I have been of assistance.

------------------
Better days to be,

Ed

 

[Jessica Wellman]

Thanks so much Rich...and no it's not too basic!! I need to learn and I'll be the first to admit it when I don't know something.

Safety first...key rule.

I'm not having any trouble taking apart and putting back together now. It was a tricky little device, but I finally mastered it.

J

 

[Karanas]

FWIW, I found that when my MK.II jammed it was usually the mags. Being somewhat "open" in design, they have a tendency to accumulate residue easier and get fouled.
I routinely clean my mags whenever I clean the MK.II and don't have this problem anymore.

 

[James K]

What metal fouling? The .22 can leave some fouling, but it sounds like there is something wrong, possibly in the way the gun was reassembled.

The previous advice is all good, but the fact is the gun worked until it was taken apart, then it didn't work. That indicates improper reassembly somewhere.

Jim

 

[PeterM]

...or did you inadvertently start feeding it standard velocity ammo? Mine will not function with the standard and ends up stovepiping the spent shells.

Just a thought...
Pete

 

[Jessica Wellman]

You HAVE to re-assemble the Ruger exactly right or it will not work..period. I think it had WAY to much oil in it.

I've got it shining now and used very little oil. I'm anxious to see what she can do since she's been properly cleaned.

I'll let everyone know. I'm taking it back out tomorrow.

J

[This message has been edited by LadydeeJ (edited September 16, 1999).]

 

[Chuck B.]

Oops. I was away for a bit - not being standoffish.

It sounds like you've gotten much better advice than I could have given.

My Mark II has liked all of the ammo it has consumed, so far. I haven't been too critical yet about accuracy. I have noticed that those shooting pins (yeah, rimfire pin matches) mostly use Minimags.

 

[Ala Dan]

Ladydee; I use a very small amount of Break
Free; instead of oil, on all my weapons.

------------------
Ala Dan

 

[Sierra]

Ladydee - I have had a Mk II bull barrel since 1982 or 1983 and it will shoot anything. However the most accurate I have found is Winchester T-22's. CCI Mini-Mags are also good. These are excellent .22's the Ruger is the one.

 

[Guy B. Meredith]

Hmm... Leafing through the owner's manual for correct terminology... Here they are A02101, bolt, and KA-57, recoil spring assembly. I find that putting a bit of Lubriplate (white lithium grease) on the recoil spring assembly which fits into the top of the bolt does wonders. Use an amount just enough to see the Lubriplate gooping between about 1/4 inch of the spring, placing it in the length of spring behind the little plate that sits above the face of the bolt. That plate travels back along the rod during recoil and provides some friction.

Don't forget to wipe down the magazines, but keep them DRY. Just pretend they have something resembling oil on them.

I can sit down and shoot a full box of 550 cheap Federal HP stuff without a misfeed. Maybe more, but that's all I usually do between cleanings.

Wouldn't trade my MK512 for anything, but the remainder of my guns will be revolvers as they are less temperamental with cleaning and feeding.

 

[hksigwalther]

Did you use different ammo? When I got my MKII years ago it went well past 5K rounds without a hitch on Federal Lightning (well, maybe 2 misfeeds). Then decided to give Remington a try and bought a couple of those 'milk carton' packs and proceded to get at least one jam per magazine full. Their Thunderbolts work OK though. I now stay away from loose ammo in a milk carton or decorative 'tin' box.

- Ron V.

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[BTR]

I just had the same problem with my Ruger. I bought a brick of Remingtons, and had the thing fail to feed properly three or four times in a hundred or so rounds. The new bullet would be pinched by to bolt, and badly dented, rather than fitting in the the barrel. I just cleaned it (as best I could) for the first time, and haven't had a chance to shoot again. Do you think it was the bullets, or a dirty gun that caused the problem? The gun is fairly new, and I probably hadn't run more than 300 bullets through it. What bullets are recommended?

 

[Jessica Wellman]

The problems I experienced on Wednesday were not nearly as severe today. As I said yesterday, we took the gun apart and tried to remove as much excess oil as possible. We cleaned, shined and reapplied a very light coat of oil.

I took it back out to the range today and fired 175 rounds. It jammed on me 5 times. I was able today to easily remove the shells that were not ejecting properly. Where as on Wednesday, I had to seek help. It was not only failing to eject Wednesday, but was wedging so serverely I couldn't budge them.

The ones that jammed today were merely failures to eject empty shells. I had no problem getting them to release on my own.

BUT still five times is too many!!

 

[Rich Lucibella]

Try a different type of ammuniton before doing anything else. Also, you might try some automotine brake cleaner to remove all the oil. Do this only with a clean firearm to avoid causing the grit getting washed into the action. Then reoil....LIGHTLY

Rich

ps: don't forget to use put some of your gun cleaner on a toothbruch and clean under the extractor....that's the little piece that rides under the bullet rim and pulls the casing out when the gun recoils.

[This message has been edited by Rich Lucibella (edited September 17, 1999).]

 

[Jessica Wellman]

Thanks again Rich...I'll do just that!

 

[Jessica Wellman]

UPDATE:

I want to thank everyone for their helpful suggestions. Last night my husband took the Ruger to the garage and used LPS Instant Super Cleaner/Degreaser on the entire gun. Then he used the air hose to blow off the oil, and grime that had accumulated. Rich also told us yesterday to pay close attention to the extractor.

Once the gun was degreased we used small amounts of Break Free. We wiped off the excess and let it dry over night.

I took it back out again today. I switched from Federal Lightning ammo to Winchester's. I shot 150 rounds WITHOUT ONE JAM.

Funny how well it performed once it was properly cleaned. Not to mention how well my groupings looked today. I was really getting discouraged the last few days because it was shooting so poorly. That was not the case today. Excellent groupings at both the 10 and 25 yard line.

There was a shooter there today who had quite a few guns. He noticed that I did not have a spotting scope so he set one up for me. I put 30 rounds in at 25 yards. I went back and looked through the scope and said,
"Aw shucks, missed the black dot twice."

Naïve Grin…

He just rolled his eyes…


[This message has been edited by LadydeeJ (edited September 18, 1999).]