The picture hosting site I've been using made some changes that made pictures inaccessible to everyone - me included - when attempting to use the links. Additionally, several people asked about posting pictures so they wouldn't have to go back and forth between the RFC and picture sites. This AM I finally got around to addressing those problems. This is no longer "dialup friendly", but most of us have ditched the dialup anyway. Due to the limitations (10 images per post) this will be split into three separate posts with a "Click Me" at the end of each post so you can proceed in the right order.
From time to time, shooters have asked questions that could have been answered better with some pictures. So tonight I grabbed the camera and a few Buck Marks. Only one pistol is completely stripped down, a Contour I picked up a while back. I did partially disassemble a couple others to illustrate some differences, mostly the variations in Buck Mark slides and a newer pistol with a magazine disconnect. The "innards" are pretty much the same otherwise.
My plan is to plagiarize something I have already posted, but add some comments and pictures along the way.
Remove the barrel/rib assembly. All you need to do is make sure the gun is empty and lock the slide back, remove the mag, remove the rearmost screw of the rear sight (or rib if so equipped). Note the locations of the washers. Now loosen the screw in the front of the triggerguard. The barrel will lift off. Carefully release the slide to relieve most of the tension on the spring.
Looking at the top of the pistol with the sight removed, you will see something that looks like either the top pistol (a newer Buck Mark with the plastic firing pin guide) or the lower pistol (IIRC, a pre-2001 model) in the picture below:
Note on New Slides / Firing Pin Housing Removal
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Last night I became enlightened. Who says I'm too old to learn? Apparently I've been looking at something from a different perspective than some shooters without realizing it. Some here have commented that the plastic firing pin housing was very difficult to remove.
When I described removing the PFPH by lifting it with a dental pick, this was AFTER the slide was removed from the pistol. When I do any disassembly on Buck Marks, it starts with the removal of the barrel. Most of my pistols have optics on them. For that reason, my standard procedure is to mount the optic forward enough to clear the rearmost rib (or sight) mounting screw. That screw and the barrel screw are what I remove to take the barrel and rib off as one piece, after locking the slide back.
Last night I was checking the differences between the old and new slides so I could answer a question. The "old" gun was a pre-2000 with a Varmint barrel. I disassembled this in my normal fashion. The "new" pistol was one with a standard rear sight. Since I already had the allen wrench that fit the sight screw in my hand, I figured I'd depart from my standard procedure and just remove the rear sight leaving the barrel in place.
That's when the light went on. I finally found the reason some people have complained about removing the PFPH and probably why some shooters have a bent recoil spring guide rod.
On the older Buck Marks, the slides are made so the giude rod can pivot inside the slide. This allows the slide to simply be lifted off (whether or not the barrel is still on the frame). On the newer models, the guide rod can't pivot and there isn't enough space between the breech and recoil post for me to get the guide rod forward sufficiently to disengage from the hole in the recoil post in the rear. I had to remove the barrel in order to get the slide off so as not to damage the guide rod.
To remove a slide with the plastic firing pin guide, it's necessary to gently pry the buffer forward just far enough to disengage the recoil spring guide rod from the recoil lug as shown below. When the rod is clear of the hole, the slide will lift straight off:
Same for reassembly. On the older guns, the slide can be dropped on without the recoil assembly. Then the buffer can be slipped into place, and the recoil assembly can be put in by simply inserting the back end of the guide rod into the hole through the buffer and the little plastic "tombstone" at the front end can be slipped into the slot in the front. On the newer guns, it's a lot easier to get the slide, recoil assembly and buffer all together and drop it in as a complete unit - just a matter of helping the buffer slide over the recoil post by compressing the spring a tiny bit - again, without the barrel in place.
Didn't intend to take up so much space on the server, but I felt an explanation was in order because I now understand some of the comments regarding difficulty of disassembly..................chim
If it is an older one, the slide will pretty much just lift off at this point. Unless you're missing the "C" clip retainer for the slide return spring, no parts will fly off.
To remove the plastic firing pin guide, use a dental pick to get under it and pry it up and out. There's space between the plastic and the slide to work the hook of a dental pick in below the plastic housing. The housing needs to come straight up so it doesn't bind. So don't try to get it out without moving the pick to the front and rear to keep it even on the way out.) Here's a shot of that:
Place the pistol flat on a table and remove the right grip. Note where the parts are located. The "T"-shaped flat mag button spring is installed so it humps up in the middle. It and the button are only held in by gravity at this point. The disconnector is held in place (not securely with the grips off) with the "V" shaped spring. Here is a picture of a "pre-mag safety" Buck Mark. Nothing special, but for those of you with very recently built guns, here's what the previous ones look like:
For those of you with older Buck Marks, here's how the newer ones look. My mag disconnect "accidently" came off right after getting the pistol. I reinstalled it for the series of pictures.
Lift the loose parts off of the gripframe, pull the disconnector spring out and lift the disconnector. Turning the pistol over will dump the mag button. Here's a shot of the disconnector being lifted off with a dental pick:
When the disconnector is raised a bit, it can be unhooked from the mag safety link. The link itself can be easily removed by using a mag to depress the spring plunger that the lower end of the mag link engages:
On the left side, the slide stop will be loose, and will be easy to lift out. Note how the small hook on the spring goes through the slide stop in the picture below. If the end of the spring misses the tiny hole in the slide release button, the slide may fail to lock open on the last round, or fail to drop out of the way after inserting a loaded mag:
Continue to Page 2 http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1702853#post1702853
From time to time, shooters have asked questions that could have been answered better with some pictures. So tonight I grabbed the camera and a few Buck Marks. Only one pistol is completely stripped down, a Contour I picked up a while back. I did partially disassemble a couple others to illustrate some differences, mostly the variations in Buck Mark slides and a newer pistol with a magazine disconnect. The "innards" are pretty much the same otherwise.
My plan is to plagiarize something I have already posted, but add some comments and pictures along the way.
Remove the barrel/rib assembly. All you need to do is make sure the gun is empty and lock the slide back, remove the mag, remove the rearmost screw of the rear sight (or rib if so equipped). Note the locations of the washers. Now loosen the screw in the front of the triggerguard. The barrel will lift off. Carefully release the slide to relieve most of the tension on the spring.
Looking at the top of the pistol with the sight removed, you will see something that looks like either the top pistol (a newer Buck Mark with the plastic firing pin guide) or the lower pistol (IIRC, a pre-2001 model) in the picture below:
Note on New Slides / Firing Pin Housing Removal
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Last night I became enlightened. Who says I'm too old to learn? Apparently I've been looking at something from a different perspective than some shooters without realizing it. Some here have commented that the plastic firing pin housing was very difficult to remove.
When I described removing the PFPH by lifting it with a dental pick, this was AFTER the slide was removed from the pistol. When I do any disassembly on Buck Marks, it starts with the removal of the barrel. Most of my pistols have optics on them. For that reason, my standard procedure is to mount the optic forward enough to clear the rearmost rib (or sight) mounting screw. That screw and the barrel screw are what I remove to take the barrel and rib off as one piece, after locking the slide back.
Last night I was checking the differences between the old and new slides so I could answer a question. The "old" gun was a pre-2000 with a Varmint barrel. I disassembled this in my normal fashion. The "new" pistol was one with a standard rear sight. Since I already had the allen wrench that fit the sight screw in my hand, I figured I'd depart from my standard procedure and just remove the rear sight leaving the barrel in place.
That's when the light went on. I finally found the reason some people have complained about removing the PFPH and probably why some shooters have a bent recoil spring guide rod.
On the older Buck Marks, the slides are made so the giude rod can pivot inside the slide. This allows the slide to simply be lifted off (whether or not the barrel is still on the frame). On the newer models, the guide rod can't pivot and there isn't enough space between the breech and recoil post for me to get the guide rod forward sufficiently to disengage from the hole in the recoil post in the rear. I had to remove the barrel in order to get the slide off so as not to damage the guide rod.
To remove a slide with the plastic firing pin guide, it's necessary to gently pry the buffer forward just far enough to disengage the recoil spring guide rod from the recoil lug as shown below. When the rod is clear of the hole, the slide will lift straight off:
Same for reassembly. On the older guns, the slide can be dropped on without the recoil assembly. Then the buffer can be slipped into place, and the recoil assembly can be put in by simply inserting the back end of the guide rod into the hole through the buffer and the little plastic "tombstone" at the front end can be slipped into the slot in the front. On the newer guns, it's a lot easier to get the slide, recoil assembly and buffer all together and drop it in as a complete unit - just a matter of helping the buffer slide over the recoil post by compressing the spring a tiny bit - again, without the barrel in place.
Didn't intend to take up so much space on the server, but I felt an explanation was in order because I now understand some of the comments regarding difficulty of disassembly..................chim
If it is an older one, the slide will pretty much just lift off at this point. Unless you're missing the "C" clip retainer for the slide return spring, no parts will fly off.
To remove the plastic firing pin guide, use a dental pick to get under it and pry it up and out. There's space between the plastic and the slide to work the hook of a dental pick in below the plastic housing. The housing needs to come straight up so it doesn't bind. So don't try to get it out without moving the pick to the front and rear to keep it even on the way out.) Here's a shot of that:
Place the pistol flat on a table and remove the right grip. Note where the parts are located. The "T"-shaped flat mag button spring is installed so it humps up in the middle. It and the button are only held in by gravity at this point. The disconnector is held in place (not securely with the grips off) with the "V" shaped spring. Here is a picture of a "pre-mag safety" Buck Mark. Nothing special, but for those of you with very recently built guns, here's what the previous ones look like:
For those of you with older Buck Marks, here's how the newer ones look. My mag disconnect "accidently" came off right after getting the pistol. I reinstalled it for the series of pictures.
Lift the loose parts off of the gripframe, pull the disconnector spring out and lift the disconnector. Turning the pistol over will dump the mag button. Here's a shot of the disconnector being lifted off with a dental pick:
When the disconnector is raised a bit, it can be unhooked from the mag safety link. The link itself can be easily removed by using a mag to depress the spring plunger that the lower end of the mag link engages:
On the left side, the slide stop will be loose, and will be easy to lift out. Note how the small hook on the spring goes through the slide stop in the picture below. If the end of the spring misses the tiny hole in the slide release button, the slide may fail to lock open on the last round, or fail to drop out of the way after inserting a loaded mag:
Continue to Page 2 http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1702853#post1702853