A Draft of instructions for takedown of Colt 22lr M4.......
I have yet to do a youtube video, but one is warranted for this. Here is how I would do it.
Clean off a table area so you have a nice space to work.
Have a small box lid or something to put the parts in
Try to have a clean floor area in case you drop something.
1. Using gentle tapping on a wooden dowel rod remove the two pins.
2. Set the fake bolt release and bumper in your box lid.
3. Now remove the flash hider. DONT push from the threads of the barrel, this will push the chamber out of the bolt carrier and your tiny adjustment pin and spring from the slide catch will go flying out. Only a total klutz would do that.
4. carefully remove the entire silver bolt carrier system from the upper receiver, pulling the barrel out of the shroud as you do so. You CAN use the charging handle to do this. You can also tap lightly on the loops that he back pin goes through (That is the pin that is so hard to remove).
X. set the charging handle to the side, DON'T forget to put it on when you reassemble the weapon. It is easy to forget.
X. Lay the barrel and bolt system down with the barrel to your right and the hex screws facing up. Having the barrel to the right is IMPORTANT as it will keep you from losing the adjustment pin and spring.
X. Make a note of the distance your bolt speed nut is inside the carrier system. This will make it easier for you to remember where to have it located during assembly.
X. Turn the bolt speed nut until it comes out of the receiver. WATCH OUT, if you are not careful the main spring and parts will come flying out at you. There is a lot of tension on this spring.
X. Set the spring, two caps, and bolt speed nut to the side in your box lid.
X. Now you can remove five hex screws. Note that the three identical longer ones are across the bottom and the two smaller screws are near the top of the bolt system.
X. Be sure you don't lose the nuts on the other side. As you remove the hex screws they should fall out.
X. put the hex screws and bolts in your box.
X. now you can take the two halves of the slide housing apart.
x. make a special note to see how the bolt sits, how the Ejector "sits" in place under the bolt. Slide it back and forth a few times so you can note the ejector arrangement.
x. now comes the tricky part. Do you see how the barrel/chamber "sit" in the housing nice and snug? The barrel chamber, while seated, HOLDS the tiny adjustment pin and spring in place.
x. I haven't quite mastered getting this part all back together in a smooth manner... so if you are a klutz I would suggest you NOT do the next step and clean the area with a Q-tip instead.
x. TRICKY STEP, watch how everything fits during this step. slowly remove the barrel out of the housing and look for this dastardly pin. You might want to push up on the Slide Catch (As the catch does to hold the bolt open) to take some of the pressure off of the spring when you do this. That way if you can't quite figure out where this pin and spring are at... a least it won't go flying far.
That is about as far as I would disassemble it.
Getting the pin and spring back under the barrel/chamber is tricky business. Personally I push up on the slide catch to take some tension off the spring and then kind of "rotate" the barrel/chamber into place. You have to be careful once you have it in there and seated properly not to bump everything as you assemble the rest of the bolt system. You also need to make sure you don't accidentally have a "push" motion from the barrel threads "rearward" thereby pushing the bolt backwards..... or there goes your spring and pin!
See why a Youtube video is necessary?
Assembly after that is in reverse. MAKE SURE YOU DON'T FORGET A PART. I bet I forgot the ejector two or three times thus-far during reassembly.
