T Bacus Posted August 13, 2014 Share Posted August 13, 2014 I won a Tandemkross slide racker at the Maryland State NSSF Championships. Up to that point I had never really considered adding a slide racker to a Ruger because most of the ones I had seen stuck out to the side and I don't like that. I liked the looks of the TK unit and the fact that it stuck out to the rear rather than the side. What I didn't like was the adapter that allowed you to attach it to the gun. Now the adapter is necessary to allow the racker to be installed without gunsmithing, but for me, I was much happier with the idea of just threading the back of the bolt and installing it directly, without the adapter. Now I have never done any work on a Ruger bolt but easy, right? Not! First hint of a problem, I located dead center on the back of the bolt and hit it with a sharp punch to mark the center. Result, a little shiny spot where the bluing rubbed off and a flattened punch. Ok, plan # 2. Take the bolt and mount it my milling machine, then use a High Speed Steel Center Drill to mark the center of the bolt. Result, slightly larger polish mark and a ruined center drill. The Ruger bolt is the hardest piece of steel I have ever tried to work on, so time to go to war! Plan # 3. I plunge cut the bolt with a 5/16 carbide end mill. After cutting to a depth of about .050 I finally hit soft steel and cut a hole through the back of the bolt. Since there was no way a drill bit or tap was going to make it through the hard outer skin of the bolt I then counter sunk the hole to a depth of .050 with a 3/8th carbide end mill. This the allowed me to then drill through the back of the bolt with a P drill and then tap the hole with a 3/8-24 tap. End result is this... I'm happy with both the looks and the function, but what a pain! Since I was in a hole drilling mood anyway I decided it was time to address the last issue I had with this gun, the fit of the upper. I have a black Tactical Solutions upper that is a very nice fit on this frame but the pink upper is very loose, loose to the point that I can feel it moving around as I present the gun from low ready. Because I had decided that this lower was now going to be a dedicated open steel gun I wanted to fit the top and bottom to a movement free fit. There are several ways to shim the fit but what I didn't like about them was that they fill the space between the upper and lower, creating a tight fit by forcing the top end up and away from the frame. I wanted to draw the upper down into the frame the way it's suppose to work. So rather than shimming I drilled a 6-48 hole down into the top of the lug on the frame to tighten the space under the lug. This way when the mainspring bolt is installed it pulls the upper back and into the lug, forcing the upper down against the lower. Fortunately the lug was very soft and drilled and tapped easily. The upper is now tight against the lower and as an added benefit the lack of wobble dropped my trigger pull another 1/4lb. So this project is done. Good thing I just picked up another 10-22. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danjordan78 Posted August 14, 2014 Share Posted August 14, 2014 Thanks! Was just thinking about drilling and tapping the bolt on my new one to put a racker on. A little harder than I thought! Should still be able to make it happen on the mill though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irishtarget Posted August 14, 2014 Share Posted August 14, 2014 Thanks for the info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IHMSA15151 Posted August 20, 2014 Share Posted August 20, 2014 (edited) FYI They now make one that screws into claw piece and attaches without any drilling & taping. Haven't tried one yet but it looks like a great idea. http://www.tandemkross.com/The-Challenger-Ruger-MK-III-and-2245-Charging-Handle_p_110.html Edited August 20, 2014 by IHMSA15151 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T Bacus Posted August 21, 2014 Author Share Posted August 21, 2014 FYI They now make one that screws into claw piece and attaches without any drilling & taping. Haven't tried one yet but it looks like a great idea. http://www.tandemkross.com/The-Challenger-Ruger-MK-III-and-2245-Charging-Handle_p_110.html If you re-read the first paragraph you'll see I mention this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigstick0000 Posted September 2, 2014 Share Posted September 2, 2014 very nice, but beyond my abilities My grandson would probably like that. we will see Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T Bacus Posted September 2, 2014 Author Share Posted September 2, 2014 very nice, but beyond my abilities My grandson would probably like that. we will see Madd Mac's offers a similar bolt handle with installation for a very reasonable price. http://www.maddmacsprecisiontactical.com/2245-parts--accessories.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tampa-XD45 Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 What don't you like about a side racker? Looks or function? I shoot this 22/45 in steel matches and find the side racker very fast to locate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IHMSA15151 Posted September 7, 2014 Share Posted September 7, 2014 FYI They now make one that screws into claw piece and attaches without any drilling & taping. Haven't tried one yet but it looks like a great idea. http://www.tandemkross.com/The-Challenger-Ruger-MK-III-and-2245-Charging-Handle_p_110.html If you re-read the first paragraph you'll see I mention this. Ooops, you are correct. Sorry, senior moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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