Ruger Forum

B.Roberts · May 19th, 2008, 05:08 PM

Help Iowegan. I was going through the IBOK for the ruger Mk II and when I got to the part about safety check, I realized mine does not work properly. I bought this Mk II in 1989 when I was fourteen. I did not realize you were supposed to be able to put it on safe before a round was chambered. For nearly twenty years I have shot this gun by the tens of thousands and always inserted a magazine, pulled back the bolt ears, let it slam forward and chamber a round, and then put the safety on. When checking the safety operation, I realized mine is not capable of being put into safe until the bolt has been cycled. However, the safety does keep the gun from firing. Should I be concerned? Or should I keep shooting it for another twenty years the way it is?

Iowegan · May 19th, 2008, 07:56 PM

B.Roberts, The MK II must be cocked before the safety catch can be placed in the SAFE position. If your pistol is functioning properly, the bolt should lock back after the last round fires. That's when you are supposed to place the safety catch in the SAFE position. At that point, you remove the magazine, insert a fresh one, then pull the bolt back and let go. This should safely charge the pistol with a live round in the chamber. You must switch the safety catch to the FIRE position before firing again.

If you fire until the gun is empty and the bolt doesn't lock back, the internal hammer has been tripped which prevents the safety catch from being moved. If this is your issue, the pistol is unsafe and should be repaired.

I'm not sure if your comment and question is sarcastic or serious ... You should indeed be concerned if the pistol is not working properly but my bet is you are trying to put the safety on without having the hammer cocked. Try locking the bolt back then see if you can snap the safety catch in the SAFE position. Betcha it works! If not, you have a problem or ... your pistol is a MK I (or Standard) and not a MK II ???? The MK I was designed where the safety catch was also the manual latch for locking the bolt back. It would not allow the pistol to be loaded with the safety in the SAFE position.

B.Roberts · May 19th, 2008, 08:10 PM

Thanks Iowegan. I was being serious. I must have misread your IBOK. I thought you wrote that the mark II was different from the Mk I in that the safety could be engaged before the gun was cocked. My bolt does lock back when the magazine is empty. Thanks for your quick reply. I feel better. This is my most shot pistol and definitely one of my favorites.

Iowegan · May 19th, 2008, 09:06 PM

B.Roberts, Yes indeed ... the MK II bolt and safety catch is different from the MK I. Neither pistol will allow the safety catch to be set in the SAFE position without the hammer being cocked. That's about where the similarities end.

Did you try to put your safety in the SAFE position with the bolt locked back?

Glad you were serious ... I didn't want to reply with something nasty like ... "doing something wrong for 20 years doesn't make it right".

B.Roberts · May 20th, 2008, 05:19 AM

Yes, I did. All is well and it works just as it should. Do you have any idea when I should change the recoil spring. The gun still works great, but I have probably run twenty thousand rounds through it. I would hate to have parts get battered unnecessarily.

Iowegan · May 20th, 2008, 07:45 AM

B.Roberts, Keep an eye on your spent brass. When your recoil spring gets too weak, your brass will puff up from being extracted premature. You will also get hot powder residue blown on your right arm .... stings too.

Brownell's sells the recoil spring assembly for $6.80. I keep one in my range box along with a spare extractor ($2.16) that I reshaped for more positive extraction. You are much more likely to break the "horse shoe" on the recoil spring assembly from field stripping than to wear the spring out.

B.Roberts · May 20th, 2008, 08:00 AM

Thanks for all the info Iowegan. The "horseshoe" does look worn and is bent a little wider at the open end than it used to. I will go ahead and order another, along with a spring. Thanks again and have a great week.