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mr surveyor wrote:paper clips for what procedure?

Only thing I can imagine is for initially pulling the latching lever?

Bingo!!

jimlongley wrote:...the only issue I have ever had in reassembling has been getting that latch on my .22/45 to line up right and close.

That, and getting it to close without pulling the post (or whatever you call it) on the latch out of the top of the slide and receiver every time you try to close it.

I have a 22/45 and it is a nifty little shooter. I really like it. Taking it apart is fairly easy; so is cleaning it... ...as long as you don't cut yourself on the sharp edges around the inside of the receiver and the slide. But putting it back together - even when you're familiar with how it works - is kind of a wooly booger.

On the other hand, it isn't likely to fly apart. My son's S&W 22A's extractor went on walkabout during a range session, never to be seen again.

I'm actually more concerned with cleaning the receiver area rather than the barrel most of the time, although I will give it a swabbing.

I was planning on buying a .22/45 today.

The local crack house (aka gun store) called around for me yesterday and all their usual suppliers are out.

I figure they can't be any harder to work on than GM products, so I'm not too worried about disassembly/reassembly.

after the first or second breakdown/re-assembly, there's nothing to it. The 22/45 is really a piece of cake to work with. Even the thing about needing a mallet to knock the barrel off can be easily remedied with a tiny bit of work with some 200 grit (followed my 400-600) wet/dry on the lock lug. I've probably dis-assembled 2 dozen MKII pistols in all configurations and only remember two that were so tight that I couldn't knock the barrel assembly forward with the heel of my hand. Fixed that

And, yes, getting the "little dangling hangie-thingie" to fall into the "notch thingie" is tricky at first, but once you get the feel for it you forget it was ever a hassle. And, they certainly don't fly apart when working on them.

Since 22 cal ammo is inherently "dirty", I would suggest that a MKII or MKIII (or any semi-auto 22) be field stripped occassionally to insure all the nasties are out of places like the extractor, the extractor receiving notches on each side of the chamber, the bolt face, the bolt itself (or slide). Bore snakes are fine for dragging through the barrel to loosen up and help remove copper/lead fouling, but it won't help with the main culprit of jammed actions.

Clean 'em right

I have a 22/45 and love it. Once you figure out what the "dangly thingy" is, where it goes and why, I've found it very easy to reassemble. If the release lever won't sit flat when I've put it back together I know I've done it right. It pops to flush after I drop the hammer.

I have bore snakes for every caliber I own but I'll do a full "scrub" every few range trips. The only time my Ruger has been less than reliable was because I cleaned everything regularly except the magazines. Lesson learned and that only happened once. My 22/45 is bomb proof reliable with anything I put in it.