As for the Ruger I dismantled it today completely except for the firing pin assembly. I just removed that from the bolt.
I used a barrel cleaning paste to gently 'hone' the barrel. Really more of a good interior surface cleaning.
The safety mechanism was coated with light lapping compound, reinstalled and worked 100 times.
The rails scratching the brass were lightly worked with emery cloth to dull the sharp edges.
Using a green rotary tool tip on the Dremel and some polishing compound I polished the feed ramp.
The bolt assembly minus the firing pin assembly was worked about 150-200 times coated with lapping compound.
After that I removed the extractor claw and retaining band and throughly cleaned the parts, ditto for the rest of the action and barrel.
On reassembly the barrel retaining bolt was torqued to specs..95 ft lbs. This caused the magazine latch to settle in far better than when the gun had arrived.
(If your Ruger magazine floor plate is not closing nice and tight against the stock I suggest checking the torque of the retaining bolt. I had found the bolts retaining the barrel
and trigger guard to be loose)
I also slightly rounded the safety lever as the edges are a bit snarky for my dainty little fingers. A dab of cold blue will blend in the wear marks nicely.
Now the gun feeds from the magazine like a champ. No hanging and no marring the brass. I ran bullets through the mag nice and fast several times without a hitch and while not 'smooth as silk' the action is much more like a nicely worn rifle. Also, I rifle smells like Hoppes as a rifle should.
I love the smell of #9 in the morning.
Decided I will do this with my other Hawkeyes as well just because it made a very noticeable difference with the African. Now I know what I'm doing today ...... maybe after the dog park.....
