Ruger PC 9 Carbine - Cleaning

[thegazelle]

After the range trip where I shot off another 200 rounds in my PC9, I figured it's probably time I cleaned it since I haven't since I got it a few months ago, and I've put about 900 rounds through it, including a couple of boxes of old Winchester white box (looking at the brass which looked charred, I knew the inside of the gun was probably fouled up).

So I have been watching some YouTube vides and all of them seem to deal with how to clean the regular PC Carbine with the traditional stock and no aluminum handguard. Some info on those don't apply to the one I have that has the aluminum handguard and the 6-position extended stock.

The key difference, really, in the initial takedown, is separating the upper and lower receiver. In the videos it shows two gold screws on the underside of the receiver. However in the PC 9, there is only one gold screw on the underside of the receiver. That one loosens but does not come out. The second screw that needs to be removed is on the top back of the gun, directly above the pistol grip. That screw is completely removed and that allows the pistol grip to be removed, thereby allow you to separate the upper and lower. I would imagine most people who opted to change to the Glock magwell would know this already anyways....but it's not quite the same as the videos online.

Cleaning it was pretty easy with my CLP, patches, the bore snake thing, and the tipton picks (they look like dental tartar removal picks).

The only thing I was careful about and I did not manipulate it in any way was the trigger pack. I just applied some CLP and toothbrushed the surface of the internals - what I could see and reach. Reason why I didn't go further I (aside from no experience) is some of the comments I read online with some people who started to move parts around, they then had springs and such pop out of the trigger pack and then they were screwed. I am not sure how critical it is to do a thorough cleaning on it. For fear of screwing something up, I pretty much cleaned it with a patch and tipton pick but didn't move the hammer or anything or manipulate the safety.

The gun was FILTHY dirty - several initial patches were completely black.

Got it cleaned up and even with my low technical skill, I managed to put it back together and did a function check on the bolt, bolt catch, safety, and did a dry fire and everything seemed to be normal. Overall, fairly easy to clean but I do have a question about that trigger pack...

Appreciate your thoughts, insights and experience with this and any further suggestions and advice. Thanks!

 

[5.45]

The trigger unit is very similar to that of 10/22. There’s nothing otherworldly complex in it. Hold the hammer with your thumb, pull the trigger. Ease the hammer forward, then take out the hammer strut and spring assembly. The rest is pretty straightforward.

A torque screwdriver is nice to have for final reassembly.

 

[thegazelle]

The trigger unit is very similar to that of 10/22. There’s nothing otherworldly complex in it. Hold the hammer with your thumb, pull the trigger. Ease the hammer forward, then take out the hammer strut and spring assembly. The rest is pretty straightforward.

A torque screwdriver is nice to have for final reassembly.

Yeah...I do have a FAT wrench torque screwdriver. It was instrumental for mounting the rings and scope on another rifle.

I guess my question for the trigger pack is - is it imperative to clean it? Compared to the bolt / bolt group / extractor, upper receiver and barrel?

 

[ted_dent]

You can clean a lot of the internals in guns like the PC9 without much disassembly by using automotive brake cleaner. It is under pressure so it sprays out a lot of the crud and dissolves grease and oils. It is also pretty volatile and evaporates quickly without leaving a residue behind. I will usually try to give the area to be cleaned a scrub with a toothbrush and some Hoppes #9, let it work for a minute or two and then spray in the brake cleaner. I would say it removes easily 95%+ of the debris that accumulates.

it will affect paint and certain plastics but most synthetic parts on modern guns are impervious to it. I usually stock up at Princess Auto or TSC (now Peavey Mart) when it goes on sale.

 

[rmsg0040]

Not really necessary to clean the trigger pack, it rarely gets dirty.

 

[thegazelle]

You can clean a lot of the internals in guns like the PC9 without much disassembly by using automotive brake cleaner. It is under pressure so it sprays out a lot of the crud and dissolves grease and oils. It is also pretty volatile and evaporates quickly without leaving a residue behind. I will usually try to give the area to be cleaned a scrub with a toothbrush and some Hoppes #9, let it work for a minute or two and then spray in the brake cleaner. I would say it removes easily 95%+ of the debris that accumulates.

it will affect paint and certain plastics but most synthetic parts on modern guns are impervious to it. I usually stock up at Princess Auto or TSC (now Peavey Mart) when it goes on sale.

Thanks for the recommendation. Will definitely try this.

 

[thegazelle]

I have one further question on this - in the MrGunsandGear on Youtube, the guy said he only takes the bolt assembly out and cleans it externally but he doesn't disassemble it beyond that (ie. removing retaining pins, cam pins, extractor, firing pin and spring). Do any of you go that extra level and disassemble the entire bolt assembly to clean?

 

[5.45]

Once the bolt assy is out, taking it apart is an extra minute or two. Perhaps it is not necessary to clean it every time, I just do it out of habit.
The trigger pack guts receive a squirt of G96 and a Kimwipe.

 

[thegazelle]

Most of the foul up I suspect is from using up my old Winchester white box ammo. I primarily shoot mostly the Federal Syntech 124gr and 147gr loads - those have been known to shoot noticeably cleaner (and cooler) and worth the slightly (depending where you go) premium price.

 

[thegazelle]

Once the bolt assy is out, taking it apart is an extra minute or two. Perhaps it is not necessary to clean it every time, I just do it out of habit.
The trigger pack guts receive a squirt of G96 and a Kimwipe.

I managed to take the bolt apart. You are right - it's pretty easy. Just used my fingernails to get the bolt retaining screws out (the bolt didn't retract much to allow me to do this, so not sure what was up with that), and used fingernails to get the extractor pin out while holding extractor (and spring) in place. Glad I took everything apart. The bolt head and firing pin were filthy dirty.

 

[tobin]

You can clean a lot of the internals in guns like the PC9 without much disassembly by using automotive brake cleaner. It is under pressure so it sprays out a lot of the crud and dissolves grease and oils. It is also pretty volatile and evaporates quickly without leaving a residue behind. I will usually try to give the area to be cleaned a scrub with a toothbrush and some Hoppes #9, let it work for a minute or two and then spray in the brake cleaner. I would say it removes easily 95%+ of the debris that accumulates.

it will affect paint and certain plastics but most synthetic parts on modern guns are impervious to it. I usually stock up at Princess Auto or TSC (now Peavey Mart) when it goes on sale.

Can you use chlorinated brake cleaner or does it have to be non chlorinated?

 

[thegazelle]

Don't want to start a new thread on this, and since this may be related to cleaning...

I have noticed something with my PC Carbine / PC9. The last round bolt hold open has become more inconsistent over time. I have taken it apart and cleaned the thing thoroughly after every time I go to the range. It doesn't seem to help.

I seemed to have narrowed this down to the magazines. I basically have 3 new Glock 17 mags (G5) and 1 new x PMAG 10. When I say new, we're talking a couple of months. Anyways, 1 of the 3 Glock 17 mags will consistently hold the bolt open on last round - the other two will not. All Glock mags are original OEM Glock, identical and the same age. The PMAG Glock mag will not hold the last round bolt hold open as well. They all did consistently at first.

I can't figure out what's wrong. Do the mags need cleaning? I just wipe down the follower but haven't taken it apart - not sure if it helps. Is it a recommended practice to take apart the mags in these situations?

Is it something with the gun? Is this a known problem? I am thinking of swapping out the Glock magwell with the Ruger one and trying the SR9/S9 mag, but I only have one of those.

Yes, I can buy another new mag, but trying to figure out what is contributing to the last round bolt hold open not working and try to rectify that before throwing money at another new Glock 17 G5 mag, which may or may not help.

Any thoughts or ideas would be welcome. Thanks!

 

[stewbud]

Is it something with the gun? Is this a known problem?

Any thoughts or ideas would be welcome. Thanks!

This is from the Ruger forum. https://www.rugerforum.net/threads/pc-9-carbine-prob-question.334609/

. . . The last round bolt hold open..... doesn't. Am using Glock mags and haven't tried the SR mag . . .
Here's how to diagnose your situation. Remove the Glock insert from the PC Carbine. Then slide one of your Glock magazines into the insert and note how deeply the Last Round Plunger (part #36) contacts the detent/shelf on the left front of the follower. Repeat this procedure with the SR9 insert and the SR9 magazine that came with the PC Carbine.

You'll probably note that the tolerances are closer with the Ruger products. I have two Glock (brand) magazines and one ETS. On the Glock magazines the Last Round Plunger only projects about half-way into the detent/shelf on the follower. And one fits deeper than the other. The ETS magazine fits the well more snugly so the plunger/detent relationship is better. On the Ruger products the alignment is perfect.

The Ruger magazine is made in Italy and the "R" in the Ruger logo is in a script typeface. This suggests that it was made by Mec-Gar who make, I feel, the best magazines available anywhere. The Glock magazines aren't quite as nice. And, they cost less everywhere you look.

I prefer the way the Glock magazines lock into and release from their insert compared to how the SR9 system works. But I purchased my PC Carbine for shooting steel and IDPA. It will be shot a lot. If I start having the last shot hold open problem you've experienced, I'll take in a supply of the SR9 magazines and revert to the original insert. Time will tell.

 

[thegazelle]

This is from the Ruger forum. https://www.rugerforum.net/threads/pc-9-carbine-prob-question.334609/

. . . The last round bolt hold open..... doesn't. Am using Glock mags and haven't tried the SR mag . . .
Here's how to diagnose your situation. Remove the Glock insert from the PC Carbine. Then slide one of your Glock magazines into the insert and note how deeply the Last Round Plunger (part #36) contacts the detent/shelf on the left front of the follower. Repeat this procedure with the SR9 insert and the SR9 magazine that came with the PC Carbine.

You'll probably note that the tolerances are closer with the Ruger products. I have two Glock (brand) magazines and one ETS. On the Glock magazines the Last Round Plunger only projects about half-way into the detent/shelf on the follower. And one fits deeper than the other. The ETS magazine fits the well more snugly so the plunger/detent relationship is better. On the Ruger products the alignment is perfect.

The Ruger magazine is made in Italy and the "R" in the Ruger logo is in a script typeface. This suggests that it was made by Mec-Gar who make, I feel, the best magazines available anywhere. The Glock magazines aren't quite as nice. And, they cost less everywhere you look.

I prefer the way the Glock magazines lock into and release from their insert compared to how the SR9 system works. But I purchased my PC Carbine for shooting steel and IDPA. It will be shot a lot. If I start having the last shot hold open problem you've experienced, I'll take in a supply of the SR9 magazines and revert to the original insert. Time will tell.

Thanks for posting this.

I tried the above, and see exactly what the problem is. Yes, the Ruger plunger in the Ruger magwell has virtually direct contact with that left front side of the follower of the Ruger magazine. There is also very little vertical play in the magazine - it is fairly secured.

The Glock magwell, however, has quite a bit of vertical play with the Glock magazines. And left to its own devices, there is a noticeable gap between the plunger and the left side of that follower shelf, unless I push the magazine up and hold it (even though it is already locked in). Even so, there is still a gap there.

Here's some photos I just took of this:

First one is the Ruger magwell with the Ruger magazine. You can see almost see the contact (or almost contact) between the plunger and the left side of the following shelf. You will note I am not supporting the magazine or pushing it up in any way



Second one is the Glock magwell with the Glock and Magpul PMAG magazine (both exhibit the same behaviour, the photo shows the Magpul one though the Glock one has the same gap). You can see the fairly noticeable gap there. Even when I push it up (due to a lot of play), the gap is still very prominent.



Of course now the question is what to do about this? I remember at the outset when I was shooting the PC Carbine, this didn't appear to happen. The plunger is pretty thick metal so I can't imagine it got bent. Only thing I can think of is maybe I need to take apart the magazines, clean them and reinstall them (maybe reverse the spring direction or something in the magazine). I can buy more Glock magazines as well, but if it is, then these things wear out fast. Or I can abandon the Glock magazine and magwell altogether and just source out more Ruger magazines, but that to me would be a waste, since I don't have anything else in which Ruger magazines can go, and furthermore, I have other guns in which I can use the Glock magazines.

 

[Buck1950]

Have you checked on Rugerforum.net ? There may be a thread about this issue there.

 

[thegazelle]

Have you checked on Rugerforum.net ? There may be a thread about this issue there.

I checked the other forum and what is there matches what the poster put here. It is the plunger issue, but I took the gun out to the range tonight and tried something - when I shot, I rested the gun on the bench so that the bench is making contact with the magazine - technically I am resting the magazine in the gun on the bench. So net effect is that it keeps the magazine from moving or shifting vertically.

When I did this, all four (4) magazine that previously had issues all worked flawlessly on last round bolt hold open.

So ultimately, cause (at least for me) is that with any Glock mag, while it locks in the magwell, there is quite a bit of vertical player there, so gravity will just pull the mag down a bit - that is what is causing that gap you see in the photo above. If I hold the mag up while shooting or rest the mag on the bench (thereby pushing it up), the last round bolt hold open works every time. Almost seems to be the Glock magwell is not securing the magazine from shifting down even when engaged. So the issue is with the Glock magwell, as the Ruger magwell and the Ruger mag combo have zero play once the mag is inserted and engages.

 

[kjohn]

What!! You mean you have to clean these rifles??!! I like mine, and after my shooter buddy shot it, he bought one. The only mod we are doing is putting a McArdo buffer in them.

 

[Peter_koutz]

Posted a thread a while back with the same issue. Contacted Ruger regarding the issue and they blame the mags. The mags don't sit high enough when in the gun and won't hold the bolt open. I'm going to apply some PL glue to the adapter to give it more lift.

 

[thegazelle]

Posted a thread a while back with the same issue. Contacted Ruger regarding the issue and they blame the mags. The mags don't sit high enough when in the gun and won't hold the bolt open. I'm going to apply some PL glue to the adapter to give it more lift.

The problem is that it's various mags that are all doing the same thing. At one point I am thinking maybe it's the magwell, but don't want to order another just to find out it's the same issue. Sounds like if you have had it as well, it may be a design issue.

I will keep trying different 9mm mags Glock 17 compatible mags that I don't have yet to see if any of them perform any better. Not holding my breath though.