"If I Had a Hammer, I'd Hammer . . " (Or, Ruger MKIII:Remove Barrel to Clean or Not?)

[marks]

Again, many thanks to all of you. I've found that by removing the bolt, using a variety of cleaning tools, it's possible to get all areas well (from different angles, etc). I'm not going to pound the hell out of it, trying to get it off (that's what she said).

BTW, found a nice tip in one of the YouTube videos I watched. When the bolt's out, cleaning the rear-most few inches of the barrel/receiver can be done easily using a 20 ga "mop" attachment with some solvent/cleaner on it. It fits perfectly.

[Steve_NEPhila]

Pennsy hit the nail on the head. I remove the upper assemble (which is the serial numbered item considered the actual firearm) every time I clean my Mk 3 Hunter. However, I only clean mine about every 3000 rounds or so and she gets mighty dirty.

The upper receiver should not be very hard to remove as it is held in place by friction once you remove the mainspring and slide assembly. I have never used tools to remove the upper from the lower receiver.

[marks]

Pennsy hit the nail on the head. I remove the upper assemble (which is the serial numbered item considered the actual firearm) every time I clean my Mk 3 Hunter. However, I only clean mine about every 3000 rounds or so and she gets mighty dirty.

The upper receiver should not be very hard to remove as it is held in place by friction once you remove the mainspring and slide assembly. I have never used tools to remove the upper from the lower receiver.

Mine, (and it seems others too, based on the reading/Googl'ing I've been doing) is especially difficult to remove. Gentle, and even less than gentle repeated taps with a nylon mallet haven't budged it yet. And, that's after removing the mainspring assy and bolt. I give it a tap every time I clean it, so I expect that eventually, it'll come off.

[Edit]: From another forum, this step (provided to the poster by Ruger Customer Service) is how they recommend separating the two components. I haven't tried this technique yet, but will:

Point the muzzle end of the barrel towards the sky. Hold barrel in left hand with the bottom of frame pointed toward your right. Set the rear of the barrel on a soft surface, such as a magazine or work mat. With a rubber mallet or a plastic hammer hit the front of the frame where it touches the barrel, hit it down towards the ground. This will remove the frame from barrel.

[Dave_n]

I have a 25 year old Mk II and a slightly younger one as well. Take the barrel/receiver off every time I clean (which is after every use) using the rubber mallet that Ikea used to sell to put their cabinets together. A gentle tap on the rear once the bolt has been removed takes it straight off. Dave_n