Ruger Mark IV Hunter Pistol Review
Part 4 - Disassembly & Internal Features
April 10, 2017

Ruger Mark IV Hunter Pistol Review

I struggled on whether to even keep this part of the review separate since disassembly is so easy, but in the end I decided to go ahead and do it.  Disassembly is truly as simple as unloading the pistol, pushing the button, tilting the rear of the receiver up and off the frame and finally sliding the bolt out.  Even though it is this simple, one thing to keep in mind is that you should always follow the manufacturer's instructions for disassembly and reassembly of any firearm and that this part of the review is intended to only illustrate the basics with regard to disassembly.  Full details can be found in Ruger's Instruction Manual on page 20.

 

Step 1 - Safety

Ensure the pistol is unloaded.  Ruger's instruction manual states to remove the magazine and I feel this is a good idea, yet it is possible to remove the barrel/receiver assembly with the magazine installed.

Step 2 - Push Button

While holding the pistol with two hands, press the takedown button at the rear.

Figure 1
Ruger Mark IV Hunter Pistol Disassembly

Step 3 - Remove Barrel/Receiver Assembly

With the button pushed, rotate the barrel down as shown.

Figure 2
Ruger Mark IV Hunter Pistol Disassembly

Once rotated, you can lift the barrel/receiver assembly off the grip frame.

Figure 3
Ruger Mark IV Hunter Pistol Disassembly

Step 4 - Remove Bolt

You can then pull back on the bolt ears to remove it from the receiver.

Figure 4 
Ruger Mark IV Hunter Pistol Disassembly

Disassembly Complete for Cleaning

Yes... it is really that simple.  This entire process only takes seconds and your are ready to clean your pistol.  Removing the grip panels is also possible by removing the grip panel screws on each side.

Figure 5
Ruger Mark IV Hunter Pistol Disassembly


Internal Features

These photos are really just intended for your reference along with helping explaining a few details.  The first of which is the pivot slot at the front of the receiver and the lip towards the rear.  These are the two places where the receiver is held in place on top of the grip frame.  The cylindrical design of the receiver nests in the profile of the grip frame to provide side-to-side support.  I found there to be no perceivable freeplay when the receiver is installed on the frame.

Figure 6
Ruger Mark IV Hunter Pistol Receiver Right

Figure 7
Ruger Mark IV Hunter Pistol Receiver Bottom

This next photo makes it completely apparent that the barrel and receiver are two different parts and the barrel is threaded into the receiver.  After assembly, the pivot slot and other features are machined into the assembly.

Figure 8
Ruger Mark IV Hunter Pistol Pivot Slot

Doing a quick compare of the bolt assembly on this Mark IV versus my Mark III, I didn't see any significant differences.

Figure 9
Ruger Mark IV Hunter Pistol Bolt Top

Figure 10
Ruger Mark IV Hunter Pistol Bolt Bottom

Figure 11
Ruger Mark IV Hunter Pistol Bolt Front

The biggest visible difference in the grip frame assembly is the bolt stop pin and takedown latch which both have a black finish.  These next three photos show the magazine inside the grip.

Figure 12
Ruger Mark IV Hunter Pistol Grip Frame Assembly Top

Figure 13
Ruger Mark IV Hunter Pistol Grip Frame Assembly Top Right

Figure 14
Ruger Mark IV Hunter Pistol Grip Frame Assembly Right

These next two photos are with the magazine removed.  You can also see the frame lug (black part at the front of the grip frame where the barrel/receiver assembly pivots).  When the barrel/receiver assembly is locked in place, it is this lug that takes all of the forward and aft acting forces into the grip frame.  The takedown latch is just intended to lock the rear of the receiver down in place on the grip frame.

Figure 15
Ruger Mark IV Hunter Pistol Grip Frame Assembly Top

Figure 16
Ruger Mark IV Hunter Pistol Grip Frame Assembly Top Left


 

Thoughts

Takedown of the Ruger Mark IV Pistols couldn't be easier.  I wish all my hand guns were as simple as this one to disassemble.  It would have been nice for the consumer if Ruger would have serialized the grip frame instead of receiver  to allow dropping new uppers on this pistol because swapping one out is so easy I could see someone having more than one setup for whatever their special shooting needs may be.

For more detailed photos and commentary, make sure you check out the other parts of this review and feel free to leave comments below.  The following links are provided to help you see other parts of this review. 


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