The Ruger Mark I/II/III and 22/45 series of pistols are awesome little guns. And like the 10/22 rifles, plenty of people count their first pistol experience as one that involves Ruger’s .22 plinker extraordinaire. One problem — some might say the only problem — with the pistols, though, is how damn difficult they are to disassemble and reassemble for cleaning. Enter this oddly shaped, but VERY functional tool from The Right Tool Company . . .
The All in One Tool is a single piece of Delrin shaped in such a way to assist with the takedown and reassembly of the aforementioned pistols. Before I go much further, let’s cut to the chase: if you own one of these guns, you should own this tool. Now, I love me some specialized tools, and this is 100% a very specialized tool. So specialized in fact, that I went to the trouble of creating an internet meme to perfectly (if I do say so myself) sum up how I felt about cleaning my 22/45 before I got the All in One Tool.
Oh yes, I do love a good meme. But sadly, my 22/45 stayed very, very, very dirty because I loathed cleaning it. Without fail, I’d scratch the finish trying to pry the action spring piece out. Then I’d do the same pulling the action spring assembly out. Finally, once everything was clean, I’d have a hell of a time getting the whole thing back together because there’s some precise alignment required to git ‘er done. So, the 22/45 would stay dirty. Every now and then, I’d clean it, but I’d always set aside a few hours to do it.
Now that I have the All in One Tool, teardown takes all of 30 seconds thanks to the purpose-built hook that pulls the action spring apart without scratching the finish on the frame. Before, I always used a paperclip which scratched the finish. Or a fingernail, which always ended up peeling away from my finger leading to much cursing of Bill Ruger’s ghost.
Reassembly still isn’t easy compared to say, a GLOCK or M&P, but thanks to the All in One tool, it goes a bit smoother thanks largely to the long shank that helps align the hammer properly. Assembly time is cut from maybe fifteen really frustrating, profanity-laced minutes, to five minutes capped with a hearty “HUZZAH!’
The tool itself can also be purchased with an optional gun holder made of cardboard and shaped in such a way to hold your Ruger pistol while you do work. I can take that or leave it, but if you don’t have a proper workbench area, this might be a handy little addition. Ready for the best part? You can get the holder and tool, shipped to your house on Amazon for less than $35. If you don’t want the holder, you can get the tool alone for $21.95 plus $3.89 in shipping.
Ratings (out of five stars):
Overall Rating * * * * *
This is an awesome little tool, and if you hate cursing, scratching your gun’s finish, and wasting time, it’s well worth the three Alexander Hamiltons it takes to put one in your toolbox.
UPDATE: Amazon is back up and running. You can purchase the tool by itself here or the package here. You can also contact Right Tool Company via the Facebook page.