Ruger SR-22 Pistol Review
Part 5 - Internal Features
February 19, 2012

Ruger SR22 Pistol Review

At this point in my Ruger SR22 Pistol review I have covered many details in the other parts of the review so I'm going to try and focus on those internal features of the SR22 Pistol that you would see after disassembly.  Although I have tried to include photos showing these parts in great detail, I may not comment on all the photos; they are included for your own study.  Remember you can click on any photo to bring up a high resolution photo.

 


Slide Assembly

The slide assembly is made up of three main groups of components which are the slide, sights and breech block assembly.  The slide is made from an aluminum alloy (7075-T6).  The body portions of the sights are made from a polymer material and the breech block components are made from steel.

Figure 1
Ruger SR22 Pistol Review

Figure 2
Ruger SR22 Pistol Review

There is a single roll pin at the rear of the slide that holds the breech block assembly in position. 

Figure 3
Ruger SR22 Pistol Review

The breech block nests firmly against the aluminum slide at the rear which ensures that forces during blow back operations are transmitted to the slide through this bearing surface and not through the roll pin.  Therefore, the roll pins purpose is to prevent the breech block assembly from moving forward in the slide.

Figure 4
Ruger SR22 Pistol Review

In the photo below, you can see the breech block, the round end of the firing pin blocker and the stainless steel extractor.  When the firing pin blocker is in this position, the firing pin can not move forward past the breech face.  When you pull the trigger, the blocker lever pushes up on this pin allowing full travel of the firing pin.

Figure 5
Ruger SR22 Pistol Review

Figure 6
Ruger SR22 Pistol Review

Figure 7
Ruger SR22 Pistol Review

Figure 8
Ruger SR22 Pistol Review

In the photo below you can see the rear of the firing pin.

Figure 9
Ruger SR22 Pistol Review

Notice in the photo below that the breech block nests in a channel within the slide.  Also you can see the front end of the firing pin.

Figure 10
Ruger SR22 Pistol Review

Figure 11
Ruger SR22 Pistol Review

In the photo below, you can see a steel dowel pin that functions as the contact surface for the slide stop to prevent excessive wear on the aluminum slide and to reduce friction when releasing the stop.

Figure 12
Ruger SR22 Pistol Review


Barrel

The barrel is machined from 410 stainless steel bar stock and has a brushed finish at the rear chamber end.

Figure 13
Ruger SR22 Pistol Review

Figure 14
Ruger SR22 Pistol Review

Figure 15
Ruger SR22 Pistol Review

The barrel is held against the frame insert with a single screw.  There is a slot in the barrel that sits over the barrel location pin that secures the barrel in the forward and aft direction.

Figure 16
Ruger SR22 Pistol Review

Figure 17
Ruger SR22 Pistol Review

The barrel nest is a "V" block style slot in the frame insert which ensures side to side alignment of the barrel with the frame.  The rear end of the barrel has a ramp that feeds the rounds into the chamber.

Figure 18
Ruger SR22 Pistol Review


Guide Rod and Spring

The Ruger SR22 Pistol uses a polymer guide rod that measures 2.5" in length.

Figure 19
Ruger SR22 Pistol Review

The recoil spring uncompressed measures 3.0".  In the photo below, notice that the left side of the spring has a smaller diameter than the right side.  The left side is intended to slide over the guide rod first and this end snaps over the first ridge on the left side of the guide rod shown above.

Figure 20
Ruger SR22 Pistol Review


Frame Assembly

Ignoring the levers, pins and small parts that are assembled into the Ruger SR22 Pistol frame, the frame assembly is made up of three primary components.  The largest is the polymer grip frame.  The next largest is the left frame insert and then the right frame insert.  These inserts are made from steel and provide the durability, strength and wear resistance needed for the barrel, slide and other components.

Figure 21
Ruger SR22 Pistol Review

The figure below was taken from the instruction manual and then modified to show only those parts that are part of the frame assembly shown above.  You can get a basic idea about the frame inserts by looking at this figure.  Item 3 is the left frame insert and item 4 is the right frame insert.

Figure 22
Ruger SR22 Pistol Review

The left frame insert is dovetailed to the grip frame.

Figure 23
Ruger SR22 Pistol Review

Above the manual safety, you can see the head of one of the two screws holding the two steel frame inserts together.  Out of everything I have seen on the Ruger SR22 Pistol, the head of this screw is the only thing that I found to be lacking from a craftsmanship perspective.  It looks like the Phillips bit must have slipped when tightening to cause the head to be slightly stripped.  Above the screw, you can see the ejector sticking up and extending forward.  Below the manual safety is a roll pin that pins the frame insert assembly into the grip frame.

Figure 24
Ruger SR22 Pistol Review

Figure 25
Ruger SR22 Pistol Review

Just behind the barrel attachment screw hole is a stainless steel pin that sticks up in the slot of the barrel so that the forces acting along the axis of the barrel are transmitted into the frame through this pin and not the barrel attachment screw.

Figure 26
Ruger SR22 Pistol Review

In the photo below I have pointed out a couple of key features such as the magazine disconnect (A), magazine latch (B), blocker lever (C) and decock hammer stop (D).  When you pull the trigger, this action rotates the blocker lever (C) up to press on the firing pin block in the breech block and also rotates the decock hammer stop (D) down to allow the hammer to impact the firing pin.

Figure 27
Ruger SR22 Pistol Review

The photo below shows the hammer decocked with the protrusion on the hammer in contact with the decock hammer stop (D).  Note that the blocker lever (C) is rotated below the top of the frame insert.

Figure 28
Ruger SR22 Pistol Review

The photo below shows this configuration after pulling the trigger.  The decock hammer stop is below the protrusion on the hammer and the top of the blocker lever is now rotated above the side of the frame.  Since I put the pistol down for this photo, I released some of the trigger travel which allowed the blocker lever to rotate slightly down.  With the trigger held fully back, the lever sticks up much further and the decock stop is rotated further down.

Figure 29
Ruger SR22 Pistol Review

The best way to see the portion of the slide stop lever that holds the slide open after your last shot is by looking through the bottom of your grip.  This lever contacts the magazine button and will work with the button installed on the left or right side of your magazine.  Also note in this photo the protrusion and recess on the outside of the grip area.  These are located on both sides of the grip frame and are the features that secure the grip sleeve in place.

Figure 30
Ruger SR22 Pistol Review

In this next photo you can see the mating recess and protrusion on the inside of the grip sleeve.

Figure 31
Ruger SR22 Pistol Review

 

Thoughts

The SR22 Pistol seems to be well built and is packed with several safety features such as the magazine disconnect, last shot slide stop, firing pin block, hammer block (decock stop) and manual safety.  I prefer these safety features on a rimfire pistols because I consider rimfire pistols to be perfect for teaching new shooters.  These added safety features seem to give me a little more peace of mind.

For more detailed photos and commentary, make sure you check out the other parts of this review and feel free to leave comments on my Reader's Comments page.  The following links are provided to help you see other parts of this review. 


Please subscribe to be notified of future reviews

Or

If you would like to be notified about future Gunsumer Reports reviews via Facebook, make sure "You Like This" by clicking the Facebook "Like" button at the bottom or top of this page.  If it already says "You Like This" beside the button, clicking it again will uncheck the "Like" status and you will not be notified.

 
 
Share on Facebook

comments powered by Disqus

© 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 & 2024 Gunsumer Reports™, All rights reserved.
FTC Disclosure