The Down Range Forum
Member Section => Tactical Rifle & Carbine => Topic started by: billt on January 06, 2013, 07:34:26 AM
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For those who own and shoot Ruger Mini 14 rifles, how often do you do a complete field strip and cleaning? I normally do it with all of my weapons each and every time I shoot them. The problem is with the Ruger Mini 14 that is a royal PITA. First off, you have to remove the scope to get the bolt out, (assuming you can even get the damn thing out). Then there is the fact the gun is a nightmare to reassemble afterward. I'm guessing they don't get stripped down that often because of that.
I know guys at our club who have fired literally thousands of rounds through their Mini's, and have NEVER taken them apart. What I've been doing after each shooting session is a wet cleaning, followed by a lot of compressed air. That seems to get most of the crap out of it. I just don't relish taking the thing apart because of all the problems associated with putting the damn thing back together. I think the only Ruger more difficult than the Mini is the Mark II and III, .22 semi auto pistols. I've known guys who ended up taking them to a gunsmith in a cigar box, and PAYING to have them reassembled!
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Full tear down and cleaning after every range trip. I don't have a scope on mine but I also don't find the tear down or reassembly all that difficult. I just always "dealt" with the process. I did remount the mini in a new Ruger composite stock I picked up as a takeoff on Ebay. This eliminates the stiffening plate and screw, and perhaps allows for more clearance. The stock works better for me with a slightly longer lop than an original wood stock and is much more reliable than the butler creek folder I picked up the mini in. I also had a Muzzelite bullpup stock that was fun to shoot but an even bigger pain to clean. I sold/traded both of the aftermarket stocks and replaced the missing blade peep sight. It's a joy to shoot now. I can sympathize with the reassembly of a MK1, but with practice the task becomes less of a pain. I have considered the aftermarket disassembly parts but haven't installed then myself yet.
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I have always cleaned the bore way more often (usually after each session of shooting) than the bolt and rotating assembly. I've owned mine for over 20 years and only done a detail strip once. Heck, mine never got that dirty on the mechanism end of things. All the crud ends up down at the gas block and the front of the op-rod.........and the things are made so loose that a good solvent and compressed air gets a lot done quickly.
I mainly just pop the scope off and pull the stock and soak it in solvent..... then high pressure air.
Built like a tank.
These things are the Energizer Bunny of rifles, though. ;)
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Thanks Peg Leg. I'll just stick with my "wet wash & blow dry", like I've been doing. I don't need to aggravate myself. I've been trying to hook my new TV up to a Tivo box. Believe me, that 's frustrating enough!
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Each time I clean my Ruger 22/45, I question the design, a lot.
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Each time I clean my Ruger 22/45, I question the design, a lot.
Through all my years in the shooting sports, I've learned not to even attempt to take a Ruger Mark II or III .22 pistol apart. I've known too many guys who have had nothing but trouble reassembling them. I just give them a good wet cleaning with clean Kerosene and a stiff bristled brush. Then blow them dry with compressed air. It gets them spotless without all the aggravation.
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The "soak-n-blow" method seems to work better and better for a wider range of guns these days. It really works well on guns with intricate operating mechanisms like the Marlin 60 (talk about a pain with all the little springs and pinned side panels).
It's not from being lazy either...... It just cleans the grit out better.
I have had guns that no matter how much brushing and rinsing and such I did, there seemed to always be a tad bit of grit in tight spots that couldn't be reached with a brush or pick. A good soak in some Simple Green, a good warm water rinse in the sink, followed by a thorough shot of compressed air and a good soaking in Kroil, then another shot of air and some oil and it looks like a new gun.
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I know Cylinder & Slide has been selling those "Dunk-It" cleaning pails for years. They have them for metal and Polymer guns like Glocks and the like. It's pretty much the same principal as what we're doing.
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I know Cylinder & Slide has been selling those "Dunk-It" cleaning pails for years. They have them for metal and Polymer guns like Glocks and the like. It's pretty much the same principal as what we're doing.
I'm just to cheap to buy the dunk-it.... ;D ;D ;D
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I'm just to cheap to buy the dunk-it.... ;D ;D ;D
And I get simple green free at work!
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I'm just to cheap to buy the dunk-it.... ;D ;D ;D
And I get simple green free at work!
Exactly. I buy a 1 gallon can of Kerosene from the paint dept. at Home Depot, dump enough into a coffee can to fill it about half way up, and I'm good to go. I like Kerosene because it won't hurt wood or plastic, and it will blow almost completely dry. After that I re oil, wipe down, and the gun is cleaner than the day I took it out of the box.
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I run thousands through my Mark III, and like you said, it is a PITA to strip and reassemble. I still can't get the slide lock to work after each strip job >:(
After my first real fiasco I learned the value of Brake Kleen! Every few hundred rounds I spray down the bolt, blow it with air, and lube it up. Biggest issue I have on the Mark III is the external lube on .22 rimfires gums up the bolt.
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One thing I did find with the Ruger Mark II's and III's that helps, is before you done shooting for the day oil the crap out of the thing, then run a magazine full of ammo through them. By the time you get home the added lube really helps to loosen up all the gunk that was accumulated. If you have a nice case, just be sure to have some paper toweling with you to wrap the gun in when you put it away. That way no crap gets on your case.
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Exactly. I buy a 1 gallon can of Kerosene from the paint dept. at Home Depot, dump enough into a coffee can to fill it about half way up, and I'm good to go. I like Kerosene because it won't hurt wood or plastic, and it will blow almost completely dry. After that I re oil, wipe down, and the gun is cleaner than the day I took it out of the box.
If I recall, kerosene or lamp oil was the primary cleaning agent of choice for many years. My great-grandfather said it was all he ever used because that's what his father taught him.
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I remember hearing stories of WW2 GIs soaking .45s in a helmet full of Kerosene. That worked well until one guy pulled the trigger while pointed at the helmet. The bullet followed the curve of the helmet, came back and tagged his ear. He ended up getting a medal as the cover story had him being wounded by enemy shrapnel.
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When I was a kid my dad was a pilot. He would use JP-4, (now called JET-A), to clean guns with. Today they won't put it into anything but aircraft. When I was a kid we would stop at the local airport on Sunday on our way out to the drag strip, and fill up with 130/160 AVGAS. Then we could advance the hell out of the timing without it knocking. It bought us a tenth or two in quarter mile times. Or at least so we thought. Today, same deal. They won't put it into anything but aircraft.
When I lived in Lake Havasu City there was a local Texaco that sold AVGAS. But they would only let you pump it directly into a boat, because there was no road use tax on it. That was back in the mid 90's. I don't know if they still have it. I know back when 87 grade regular was $1.00 a gallon, it was close to $2.00 a gallon.
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I've used tolulene, xylene, and MEK (methyl ethyl ketone). All are similar in usage as solvents. We used them in our paint department as thinner and cleaning agents for our epoxy and bake-on paints. It will dry your skin out quickly.
I used to get a couple of gallons of the tolulene, with permission from my boss, on race weekends to use as an octane booster (was also used as full racing fuel years ago, but they stopped due to fuel system problems and cylinder wear from lack of lubricity). As long as you mix it properly at the right ratio, it still works as an octane booster.
I had a separate ten gallon fuel tank in the bed of my S-10 (with a 327 SBC V-8 under the hood) that I used when racing. After I got to the track, I closed a valve on the regular tank and opened the valve to the race tank. It had a mix of 80% 97 octane pump gas and 20% tolulene which should run around 101-104 octane. I changed plugs, bumped the timing, and swapped jets in the carb and it was ready to roll. I came out cheaper than the $4.00 per gallon for 104 racing gas at the track (this was 1991-92).
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I don't find re assembling the Mini 14 all that difficult. That said, I still don't completely field strip it every time. Probably ever 3rd or 4th trip to the range, depending on how many rounds I shoot through it.
The MK2 is honestly a piece of cake, as long as you remember to get the hammer strut to where it falls into the mainspring. That is where everyone messes up.
The MK3 is harder because of the damn mag disconnect. You have to keep putting the mag in and out, and it, indeed, is a PITA!
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I clean mine every 500-600 rounds, but never found it hard to strip and clean. I think its much easier than my M1a or M1. Hell its harder to clean my AR's.