Ruger Mark 1 originals: Any good or not?

[XoXSciFiGuy]

A friend of mine asked about a Ruger Mark 1 his father left him. It has a habit of jamming on the eject. He wants to know whether it is worth it to have restored. Some of this is sentimental. I think it's 1951 model because it has the 6 7/8" barrel on it. He says it has too many springs (he thinks) and it will cost him a grand to restore. Opinions?

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[RVTECH]

When was it last given a COMPLETE tear down and cleaning?

Wouldn't be the first old gun that was improved dramatically due to this - and experienced myself by several I have cleaned.

Be a good first step IMHO.

 

[wired]

Not at all. Send it into Ruger and they'll do it for $300 or less. The Mark 1 could be had with either the 6 7/8" barrel or the 5 1/4" up through the 50's.

They arent that bad to disassemble and reassemble. You get used to them. And not that many springs either really.

My 1954 Standard has been modified slightly .

The SN will tell the year of manufacture. Figure the 100K mark was 1954 with 20K a year before and after each year.

 

[PORSCHE928S4]

I got one from my dad and it was defiantly antiquated and did not have the heart to get rid of it (sentimental ). I ordered and threaded upper from Tactical Solutions and gave it a second life adjustable sights etc etc . I put the original upper in a box and can be put back into the original configuration so no harm no foul. The thing runs like a champ I have a MK 22/45 and it wishes it could be as slick the beauty of it is that it is wayyyyyyyyyyy broken in. The downside is since it was threaded it made me dole out cash for the stamp a MK series suppressed is pretty cool and extremely quiet with the correct ammo.

 

[Certaindeaf]

I'd just jiggle the handle and save $1000.

 

[wired]

FWIW this is the Standard I send in to Ruger to get rebuilt . It was a while back but they did a fine job on it. I ve sent several guns into Ruger to get reworked. At the time they charged me $250 but it was was a while back. I paid $75 for it. It was someones tackle box gun and it looked like it had been dragged behind a truck. It was bad.
Ive since turned it into a 'Nam era MAC silencer clone. I am a butcher.

 

[bentoncity]

CLEAN IT! CLEAN IT! My original 1 owner..(me) has thousands & thousands of rnds thru it and still functions like new. Just as fast I can pull the trigger. 5.25" bull barrel
A grand to restore..? Not no but he** NO! Clean it, & take it out and shoot the snot out of it for lords sake.

Dan

 

[Robear]

If I had a Ruger Mark 1 that had failures to eject, the first thing I'd try would be to take it apart and clean it. That might be all it needs to fix it, and it wouldn't cost anything. If that didn't work, I'd consider replacing the extractor and the recoil spring.

 

[olythom]

I love my old Ruger Mark. It's worth cleaning up. If restoration (at $,1000) is too much and he is worried about taking it apart, have him take it to a local gunsmith for a thorough cleaning. That would be much cheaper and will probably result in better reliability.
And... has he tried different batches, or types (or ages) of ammo. I have found some old .22 that will not function well in any of my semi-auto pistols but it goes bang in all of my non-semi firearms.

 

[Pandaz3]

I have one that appears to be made the first half of 1950, Grandad's it will shoot, but I can't get it apart even with the 'Special tools' made for the task. I just call Ruger CS, they are not open till Jan 4

 

[wired]

The thing about early mark 1's and standards is the safety/sear block is a little different and you cant get it apart with the safety engaged. Clear the gun, put it on fire mode, drop the hammer and take that takedown lever contraption in the back out . Like any Mark Ruger at first its a traumatic event the first few times then you get to the point you can do it in your sleep. The front pin . Thats a bugger.

 

[orygun]

I have one that appears to be made the first half of 1950, Grandad's it will shoot, but I can't get it apart even with the 'Special tools' made for the task. I just call Ruger CS, they are not open till Jan 4

Like wired mentioned above, make sure to dry fire before attempting to take down. If not, it won't!

 

[Lesliet]

Looks like the extractor and rebound spring are the same between mk 1, 2, 3, 4, 22/45 and lite. I'm a big fan of the "eagle claw " extractor that Tandemkross sells. Brand new 22/45 out of the box, and even after 500 rounds, it would occasionally fte. Put that extractor in, and no more issue, ever.

Essential Maintenance Kit for Ruger® Mark™ Series | TANDEMKROSS

www.tandemkross.com

 

[Wombat of Doom]

I have an old standard. Its a good gun And Wired speaks the truth about the safety... and it really isn't that tricky once you know that trick. Not like Browning Buckmark tricky. I have one I bought in '96 or so. I do not ever want to take that all the way apart again

 

[orygun]

Guess I didn't actually answer the OP's question, "Are they any good or not?".
I sure think so. The one with wood grips (on right) was Grandpa's. First handgun I shot and I've shot it a lot since then. Easily 50 years. I bought the other one recently because I realized I had a few people I needed to have good stuff to hand down when I get old.

 

[Pandaz3]

Mine will go to Ruger.

 

[JustShoot]

You don't catch me pimping up, but few of my toys on the world wide internet .... but here is my ( 1961 ) Mk1, with original grips and still maintains a lot of the factory blueing .
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[Member 5605]

Keep it original as best you can. Send to Ruger, have it refurbed and be a proud owner.

That should answer your question if they are good.

 

[41mag]

My '53 model is plenty fine. It placed well in a speed steel match where me & the pistol were each 3x the average age of most of the rest of the squad.
Realize you likely are looking at repairs before restoration. Once you learn how to clean em, repairs aren't usually that much harder. Learning curve yes, then YOU are in control....

 

[Alexx1401]

First hand gun I ever had that was mine was one of the originals. Had been shot and carried a LOT when I got it. I put a train car load of ammo through it and a buddy talked me out of it. I would love to have it back. They were great. As mentioned it would most likely be very easy to get it working like a top. I have yet to ever see one someone managed to "wear out". Chances are you could get yours going like mad and it will outlive you