Ok, I've got it, now how do I clean it???  BTW, its a Ruger Mark II Government Target SN 217-34***, any info about this model would be appreciated.

I would strongly advise having the manual onhand before taking apart a Ruger, but on the backstrap there is a lever that you pull down and then out.  This will allow the slide to be pulled forward and off.  It only moves a little bit and then is free.  I recommend looking up into the grove that the lever goes into to see how things in there are situated before pulling it out.  They can be tricky to put back together if you haven't ever done it before.

I think the hammer has to be forward before the pin will come out of the receiver.

When you put it back together, point the muzzle skyward while shoving that piece into the back of the pistolgrip and before pushing in the little lever you first pulled out.  The piece has to interlock with this strut thing that sticks down.

It's also usually a bitch to get the receiver off the grip frame, unless you have a 22/45.  I have had to whack it with a mallet.

Enjoy and have fun . . .

It's very difficult to describe with out the pictures that come in the manual.  The first time I did it I didn't have a manual and it took me 2 hours to figure out how to get it put back together correctly.

Any links to the web???

Your best bet is to clean it without disassembly whenever possible.  To take it apart leaves you with having to put it back together, which is a trick if you don't know how.  I have two Ruger Mark II's and one goes back together easily and the other one has a bolt stop pin so tight I scratched up the back of the grip trying to get the main spring housing back in.

I use Birchwood Casey's gunscrubber to blast crap out of them but it will eat your plastic handgrips so you need to remove them first.

If you just have to take the pistol apart, you need to know the tricks on putting it back together.

First, commit the manual to memory.

When taking the gun apart pay attention to how the mainspring comes out at the back of the pistol grip.

After the mainspring comes out, the bolt will slide out the back of the barrel.

Like someone said before, if the barrel/receiver is to come off you will most likely need a rubber or plastic mallet.  

You also have to know a couple of tricks to get the gun to function when reassembled.

After reinserting the bolt, the hammer must be in the Full, Forward Position toward the firing pin.  A small screwdriver, inserted through the backstrap opening, can be used to push the Hammer forward while pulling the trigger.

Insert the Bolt Stop Pin.  If the hammer is not fully forward, the Bolt Stop Pin will cam downward as the Mainspring Housing is pushed toward the backstrap opening.  After the Bolt Stop Pin and Mainspring Housing are in place, the Hammer Strut should be hanging free and visible through the Backstrap Opening.    

Hold the pistol at a 45 degree angle with barrel pointing upward.  Gravity and jiggling the gun slightly will ensure that the end of the Hammer Strut points toward and will go into its Hammer Strut Home.  Push the Mainspring Housing into the Backstrap Opening and snap, you've got it together.

Ok, I've got field stripping down, but does the receiver come off of the frame?  Its WAY dirty, and I can't seem to get all of the crud out.

It comes off, that's what you need the rubber mallet for.  You tap it on the back of the receiver and it should come apart.

Quoted: www.ontargetguns.com/apssk.html -Troy

troy, i'm at work and i can't use my email, can you use my email link on my reply and email this to me???
thanks dude.

Jeez, and I thought my Browning Buckmark was tougher to take apart and clean than a 1911. And I almost bought a Ruger! I think I might have to agree with the as-little-disassembly-as needed-to-clean viewpoint on this one. Try calling Ruger-I've been able to get owners manuals for all the guns I've bought used or from pawnshops by calling the manufacturer.

I've got one of these. Do yourself a favor, read the manual at least twice ,then take it appart. They are nice 22's for the money but it cant hold a candle to my Sig Trailside. I guess thats the difference in 40+ years of technology.

www.ontargetguns.com/striptip.html

On the link that Troy posted there are detailed instructions that show the field stripping and reassemble of the Ruger Mark II.  These may help but they are not the best that I have seen.  If you are still having trouble with reassemble, e-mail me.  I will arrange to send you a flier with detailed instructions and pictures which will show you exactly how to get the pistol back together.

Still, the best way short of the modification (which I have planned on doing but never got around to) is to clean the gun with gunscrubber and then spray down with lubricant and run a dry patch through the barrel to finish.  I have clean both of mine that way for years.

As for a good shooting .22 you can't get any better for the money.  I used a standard model for years in hunting rabbits and almost always took a limit.  I then upgraded to the target model.  I have passed many of these up at gun shows in all models that were being given away by people who were disgusted with them.  I kick myself now for not buying them.  

 

The Ruger MarkII has long needed a better stripping method.  Hopefully some of the new designs will suffice to improve a truly nasty procedure.

Also,  get yourself a collection of dental picks...those stainless steel sharp, pointy objects that the dentist tells you never to pick your teeth with.  They can sneak into all sorts of little crevices and corners to get bullet lube, lead shavings and other crud out.  The steel is relatively soft in these things and they wear out pretty quick if you subject them to excessive force. If the crud is on there so hard that you are wearing the tip down on the tool, you need to soak the thing in solvent.

Once you do it a couple of times, it's not that hard. I find it easy to do.

I have replaced the trigger, hammer and bolt stop myself and I am by no means a gunsmith.

It sounds harder than it really is.

OK,  a couple of days later, and I still can't get the receiver off of the frame.  I tried a rubber mallet, no go. I even tried a dead blow mallet.  Nothing. GRRRRRRR  

The first time getting the receiver off is a pain, it gets easier. I use a rubber mallet as well, but mine does come apart pretty easily now. If you think taking it apart is a pain, wait til you try to put it back together (correctly). I had problems when I first bought mine and and I also found a couple of my friends were liars. I had asked them if they had taken apart their rugers and they assured me that they had and it was no problem. When I ran into problems and called my friends they admitted that they have never taken theirs apart so could offer no help. I eventually figured it out and now do all the ruger work for my friends cause I'm the only one that can disassemble and reassemble them.