Hardest gun to fieldstrip and reassemble

[davidh5000]

I was just wondering out of curiosity, what do you guys think is the hardest guns to fieldsstip, clean, and reassemble?

[tjhands]

For me....Ruger Mark series! :)

[Mike Irwin]

I always found the Astra 400 to be a particular pain in the butt, primarily because it has a VERY strong recoil spring.

[jimbob86]

Of the guns I have disassembled/reassembled before the Ruger MarkIII gave me the most trouble. After some practice, it is not difficult at all.

[davidh5000]

I had a CZ 27 that always gave me fits when it came time to clean it. I liked the gun, but I sure don't miss it any.:mad:

[Wyosmith]

Try a Broomhandle Mauser.
If you know how, it's not bad. But you'd BETTER know how.

[Brian48]

The Ruger MK series is pretty easy once you do it a few times. For me, it's any gun that requires a specialized tool to take down (i.e. Walther PK380), only because you're screwed if you lose that tool. Otherwise, I haven't any handguns in recent memory that was too difficult to take down.

[sserdlihc]

ruger mark series

[Mannlicher]

Ortgies, hands down. :D

[rigby06]

The Walter P22 has proven to be a pain in the butt. :mad:

[G. Freeman]

A springfield armory longslide with the bull barrel. I know how to do it properly without leaving any scratches on it, but it is slower to reassemble.

[Double Naught Spy]

For me, it has been a Stoeger Luger .22lr pistol made around the 1970s. I have no plans to strip it down ever again. If it ever gets that dirty, I will just buy and ultrasonic and fill it with gun cleaner and drop the whole thing in the fluid and let is run for a few hours. The time and expense will be offset by the savings of time and use of foul language that will upset my household.

[hoytinak]

Ruger MK series for me as well.

[chasep255]

Well the hardest thing I regularly do is disassemble my Mauser bolt. Its not complicated or anything but the spring is so tight that it is painful holding it down and putting it back together.

[FoxtrotRomeo]

I think it would be my Desert Eagle. Gotta turn the bolt right if you tear down the slide, kinna like tearing down and reassembling my AR. If you're not used to it I could see it being tricky. However for the most part, both the Deagle and the AR are pretty easy to reassemble. Only thing easier would be an AK, glocks, XDs and 1911s (not necessarily in that order).

[mrt949]

SEECAMP

[Dwight55]

I was told you need a ball peen hammer, . . . a series of pin punches, . . . and a vise to do a High Point, . . . don't know for sure, . . . don't own one, . . . don't expect to.

May God bless,
Dwight

[RickB]

The toughest that I've actually both stripped and reassembled? Ruger .22.
The one that I've started to tear down a couple of times, then thought better of it? Colt Pocket Model M (.32/.380).

[redstategunnut]

I had a S&W .40 that was a pain. You had to depress several dohickies simultaneously to get the slide back onto the rail.

[Bamashooter]

Hi-Point is hard if you dont have 3 hands. The hardest one I have ever tried to get back together was an Ortgies until a gunsmith friend of mine showed me a trick.

[HawkeyeNRAlifer]

Ditto on the Ruger MK series. I'm on my second one and I go years between tearing them down. So I tend to forget the proper sequence to do it the correct way.

[Patriot86]

I have not gotten my hands on one yet but I would imagine any Desert Eagle just because of its design vs a traditional Beretta/Sig/Springfield

[wictd]

Mk II for me as well.

[gunorthopod]

The Sig P220 with the heavy duty recommended recoil spring and arthritic fingers:eek:

[Chinny33]

Colt Huntsman.

[spacecoast]

The one that I've started to tear down a couple of times, then thought better of it? Colt Pocket Model M (.32/.380).

RickB -

They're easy if you follow the instructions in the manuals available at coltautos.com. Great pistols, the workmanship is impressive.

[lee n. field]

I was just wondering out of curiosity, what do you guys think is the hardest guns to fieldsstip, clean, and reassemble?

Feldstrip, a 1911. Which isn't hard, it's just that everything else (that I have experience with) is easier.

Clean -- a revolver.

[michael t]

For me....Ruger Mark series! :barf: Never again !!!!

[dreamweaver]

as already mentioned. the mauser C 96 (broomhandle) .
not for the faint of heart!

[Miata Mike]

Ruger Mark I and Mark II.......before the Internet. Not a big deal now and I wouldn't hesitate to field strip after any range time.

[Hal]

Ruger Mark - - oddly - it's both hardest and easiest..

Once I got the hang of it I could strip my .22/45 down and put it back together almost 4 times in under a min.

The first time though is a three day affair......

Same for going back to it after a several year hiatus....:confused:

[PIGMAN]

LUGER P-08

[TacticalDefense1911]

The Ruger Mark series is one of my least favorite guns to fieldstrip. Once you do it a few times it gets better but still a lot of stuff you need to remember or it does not come apart/go back together easily.

I also do not care for field stripping officer sized 1911's.

[MYSTERT85]

the worst that i have owned is my old High Power. it was a real pain in the butt.

when i got my Colt Delta Elite home i stripped it down for the first time. then couldnt figure out how to get it back together. the twin recoil springs make it a pain in the ass to hold everything together while putting the slide on the frame. lol i was searching for the recoil spring plug that got launched across the room and cussing the gun to no end when my buddy called and walked me through it and told me some tips. now i have no problems :D

[XD Gunner]

I was just wondering out of curiosity, what do you guys think is the hardest guns to fieldsstip, clean, and reassemble?

Ruger Mk1/2

A 1911 if you don't know what your doing, you'll be searching for the spring plug for hours.

[pilpens]

Field strip --- Ruger MKII or 1911. Not difficult ... just has more steps compared to a Walther P99, HK USP or Sig Pxxx.

Consider field stripping a Browning Buckmark. Easy but requires a wrench and almost always requires readjustment of sights after assembly. So, Is the Buckmark easier than a Ruger MKII? I think the Buckmark requires more.

[Leejack]

As long as you have a paper clip, hammer, chizel and a bulldozer, the Marks are easy!:D j/k

[James K]

I think the worst was the Campo-Giro. And detail stripping was an exercise in insanity. That one should be at the top of anyone's "don't go there" list.

Other tricky ones are the Roth-Steyr, the Frommer Stop and Baby, and the Browning 1900. One that comes apart easy and goes together hard is the Colt Pocket Model hammerless.

The Buckmark is easier to take down and reassemble than the Rugers, but I went off the Buckmark when I figured out that they could give away the pistols and just sell screws. Almost every owner I encountered had lost one or both screws at one time or another. The Ruger can be a bit of a pain the first few times, but the parts are hard to lose.

(The Ortgies is no problem to reassemble once you know the trick of locking the firing pin spring guide into the notch in the slide.)

Jim

[hondauto]

My hardest to strip down is a S&W 4566TSW,not too bad to clean though.
My GP100 Stainless is a mother to get clean,but sure is purty when done right.
My carry weapon is the easiest(springfield XD9sc)
I have yet to strip the sig mosquito sport(barrel extension)

[Edward429451]

The Ruger MK series isn't particularly difficult except when new and very tight.

The sear spring in the Gold Cups was hard enough to put in that I seriously considered pitching it but did not.

Don't ever take the side plate off of one of those 22 mini revolvers because it will go boing.

[shafter]

Ruger Mark III

[micromontenegro]

It took me days to figure out how to strip a Galesi 503.
Internet has made everything easy.

[hhersh]

:eek:No doubt at all...Ruger Mark series...been doin it for 40 years still need instruction booklet !!!:barf:Are you listening Ruger ???:mad:

[Yung.gunr]

Don't ever buy a Ruger Mark series. By the looks of things they are the worst to field strip. My XD and Beretta 9000S are easy enough I could do it in my sleep.

[xtrarnds]

Ruger MKII 22lr....arrrgh!!!

[Stonefly_Soldier]

Try a walther sp22... 3 different allen wrenches, roll pins, an overly complex trigger mech assembly, little springs that love to fly everywhere... my first field strip, clean and assembly was 3 hours :eek: ... now i've cut it down to about an hour to an hour and a half for full strip down and assembly... but i rely on my bore snake and brushes rather than actually stripping it because of the headache

[Jimmy10mm]

When I first got my Delta Gold Cup it was brutal. The solid guide rod being the bone of contention. When a friend tipped me to leaving the slide intact, removing the slide stop and then, with the slide removed, disassembling the barrel and guide rod it became a lot easier.

[Thirties]

Ruger MK-II (.22lr)

[Champion5]

glock 23c.....

J/K my vote is for Ruger MKIII

Hondauto, that sig is a piece of cake!

[m_liebst]

who ever is complaing about the mklll hasn't field stripped too many other brand models. ruger has several youtube videos. yess, the first time takes a bit, but if you can't figure it out with unlimited resources, ya probably shouldn't own a pistol
:confused:

WHY HAS RUGER DONE it FOR 40 YEARs+? because it works fine. -ruger doesn't care to change function and design cause what they've made works perfectly and serves to the millions. lay off the doobie and i'm certain the simplicity of field stripping will come back to ya without needen the manual.

[Venom1956]

Mk series. Blued ones are a Nightmare. I have several nicks on mine after my first try. To be fair mine had some broken parts (used i didn't know) so it really didn't go back together right. I haven't dared to take it apart since then.

[Big Av]

Another Ruger MK hater... Damn hard to do.

[lefteye]

My Ruger MK II certainly wasn't easy. But after studying my Para Ordnance CCO and internet commentary on it's complexity, I'm afraid it will be extremely difficult to strip, clean and reassemble. (Any advice based on actual experience would be appreciated.)

[Dragline45]

As long as you have a paper clip, hammer, chizel and a bulldozer, the Marks are easy! j/k

haha man that made me laugh. My 22/45 is a pain to strip compared to any other gun I have handled but its really not all that hard. But its true even after field stripping the gun 10 times I still need a rubber mallet to whack the barrel off and on the frame each time, and a small wooden dowell to knock out the pin holding the bolt in, and the paper clip to pull out the hinge on the back of the grip. Guess I was lucky I didnt need the bulldozer

[Tactical Jackalope]

My old mans Phoenix Arms .22 I guess.....everything else is cake for me. Read the Siggy

[skoro]

Ruger MkIII

[mikejonestkd]

Colt woodsman,, closely followed by a ruger mark III.

Once you strip them a few times it becomes easy, but the learning curve is frustrating.

[Walter]

Double Naught Spy said For me, it has been a Stoeger Luger .22lr pistol made around the 1970s. I have no plans to strip it down ever again. If it ever gets that dirty, I will just buy and ultrasonic and fill it with gun cleaner and drop the whole thing in the fluid and let is run for a few hours. The time and expense will be offset by the savings of time and use of foul language that will upset my household.
__________________
AMEN, BROTHER!!! And if the sear ever breaks, don't even bother trying to find a new one, just find a GOOD machinist who owes you one. I speak from experience.

Walter

[Rufus T Firefly]

The gun you don't have while people rip on Hi Points. Then you have to clean your car keys after you threw them which may or may not have hit the BG. I hate that. Hi Points are all American made so send you bucks to other countries while we have employment problems here. Nuf said.

[orionengnr]

I have absolutely no idea what the dude in the post above mine was trying to say....but then again, neither does he. :rolleyes: Once he gets out of rehab, we'll ask him again. Probably be 60 days or so.


That said... Ruger MkII.
I do it, I just don't look forward to doing it.

[Walt Sherrill]

The RUGER MKII is hard until someone who knows how shows you once. Then, it becomes a piece of cake. It takes seconds, not hours. There used to be some good videos on the web, but I don't know if they're still there.

I had a compact 1911, that required you to use a paper clip to capture the guide rod, when disassembling. That was a pain, coupled to needing a bushing wrench, too, for other parts of the field strip.

[orionengnr]

MkII videos are still there.
http://www.1bad69.com/ruger/field_strip_quick.htm
http://www.1bad69.com/ruger/internals.htm
http://www.guntalk-online.com/detailstrip.htm

And it's still a pain, especially if you only do it once a year or so...:)

[RdKill]

LOL Ruger Tech Support has asked me to please not field strip my 22/45 MkIII again.

I don't shoot it much anyway :)

Easiest to fieldstrip and reassemble by far = Sig P6...I assume for obvious reasons the P225 is just as easy.

[p99guy]

the Ruger MKII difficulty is surpassed only by the Ruger MKIII...the III is far worse!

[2ndamd]

the Ruger MKII difficulty is surpassed only by the Ruger MKIII...the III is far worse!

+1

I love Ruger as a company but, their little .22 MKIII is the hardest to breakdown.:mad: Just run a boresnake through it and don't take it down.:D

[Silverbullit]

Ruger Mark Series, Harder to figure out than our new health bill.:eek:

[jmstr]

Since I had the slide and small parts [including slide stop] hard chromed, my Kahr K9 is the hardest. I have to use something to hit the slide stop to tap it out. Even before the hard chroming it was a PITA to get that pin to move.

Other than that pin though, it is a breeze.

I'm concerned about my Walther P1/P38 that comes out of jail in a week. We'll see.

I also hate having to use that recoil rod tool/pin to disassemble the Kimber Compact I have.

I prefer to be able to field strip my handguns in the ,well, field... without any special tools. I can do that with all but the Kimber and the Kahr.

[RdKill]

2ndAmd? Do you answer the phones at Ruger? That's what they told me to do lol. I pushed the wrong pin out and all my trigger group went flying everywhere. That's one of things I like to see how it was to begin with before trying to put it back together. One little bushing that went AWOL caused me A LOT of grief

[Bigdave24]

Rohrbaugh R9. I had to customize some tools to make it easier.

[IMTHDUKE]

Rohrbaugh R9. I had to customize some tools to make it easier.

I have those customized tools also. But without a doubt...SEECAMP

[HKFan9]

Ruger Mk series, put a nice gash in my hand the other day with one when cleaning my girlfriends!:mad:

[fredneck]

Swedish Lahti back in the day. Bar none the biggest PITA is an HK MP5 with the Navy trigger group. Gotta have about 5 hands for that.

[Ed4032]

Lugar P-08. Absolutely the most difficult I've ever tried. I will never do that again. I got it apart and couldn't get it back together. My Dad walked me thru it over the phone. I miss Dad helping me with that.

[longlane]

Followed by Ruger.22/.45.

[44 AMP]

From some of the replies, it is clear that a lot of people just don't understand the term "field strip". Some are even confusing it with "detail stripping", which is a different thing entirely.

And then there is the fact that many gun designs do not require even field stripping for sufficient cleaning to give years, or decades of good service.

First, get over the fact that not every pistol is designed to completely come apart on a regular basis. They aren't. And that is on purpose. I know we love to tinker and play with the parts, see how they work, how they fit together, clean, etc., but the fact is if your pistol wasn't designed for military use and in the last half century, it is going to be more complex to take down than something newer.

It may take tools. So what? You can't change a flat tire without a wrench and a jack. Don't hear many folks whining about that.

If you detail strip a Ruger Mark series pistol, and don't have experience, its a real bear to get it back together correctly. If you just field strip it, its just a pain. But there's normally no reason to ever have to do it. Ok, if the gun gets submerged, or something similar, but for normal cleaning, you don't need to take the thing apart, at all. If you do, its just to make yourself happy.

Some whine about how "complicated" the 1911 is, compared to newer pistols. OK, fine, I don't have a lot of experience with the newest ones, but I do have a Sig P220. It field strips much easier than the 1911. But I can detail strip my 1911A1 with complete confidence, while I will not detail strip my P220, at all!

If you are driving out pins, and little springs and screws are flying out, you are way past "field stripping".