Extractor fix? Ruger American 17 HMR

GetSquirrel · Nov 14, 2024

Purchased a new Ruger American 17 HMR last week. The problem withe extractor started immediately, first cartridge got stuck.

The bolt does not appear to completely close the chamber. Does this tell me there is excess gunk inside stopping it from closing, and thus disrupting the extractor? Are there fixes that don't require the gun to go back to Ruger?

Any tips on dealing with my local dealer and/or Ruger?

Thanks!

edzz · Nov 14, 2024

Will the bolt close and lock without ammo in rifle?
Are you attempting to single feed or are you feeding from magazine?

po18guy · Nov 14, 2024

Did you thoroughly clean the rifle before loading and shooting?

gmerkt · Nov 14, 2024

If this is a brand new rifle, don't mess around with it. Call Ruger customer service, they will send you a prepaid shipping label. Don't bother the retail dealer with it, they will just tell you to return it to Ruger. Take the time and trouble to let Ruger make it right, you will be happier in the long run. This is one of the perks of buying brand new, it comes with a warranty. Ruger is very good at taking care of warranty issues.

GetSquirrel · Nov 18, 2024

edzz said:
Will the bolt close and lock without ammo in rifle?
Are you attempting to single feed or are you feeding from magazine?

Yes, the bolt was closing and locking both with and without ammo. I'm using the stock 9 rd magazine.

GetSquirrel · Nov 18, 2024

po18guy said:
Did you thoroughly clean the rifle before loading and shooting?

No, I must admit there was not any pre-cleaning or oiling. Should that have helped?

po18guy · Nov 18, 2024

GetSquirrel said:
No, I must admit there was not any pre-cleaning or oiling. Should that have helped?

Guns are shipped with various types of grease or oil to prevent corrosion in shipment and storage. It is good to remove the stock and then give the action and trigger mechanism a good spritzing with a solvent spray, Cleaner-Lubricant-Preservative (CLP) or similar, to blast any small metal bits, test fire residue or oil from it.
Imagine if a new car was sprayed with grease to prevent corrosion. Would it drive OK without cleaning first?

GetSquirrel · Nov 18, 2024

gmerkt said:
If this is a brand new rifle, don't mess around with it. Call Ruger customer service, they will send you a prepaid shipping label. Don't bother the retail dealer with it, they will just tell you to return it to Ruger. Take the time and trouble to let Ruger make it right, you will be happier in the long run. This is one of the perks of buying brand new, it comes with a warranty. Ruger is very good at taking care of warranty issues.

Thank you, this is great to hear. I did end up swinging through my dealer to see what they recommended. They've sold several of these Americans and not had many issues. After test firing three different cartridges it appeared the issues could be resolved by using a different ammo.

I had been using CCI small game but the gun preferred Federal. Instead of sending the gun back, I decided to go with a couple boxes of Federal. The extraction is no longer an issue. Although a few rounds didn't load well... But if I slow down on the load side it seems to help.

All of which makes me believe that I'm just inexperienced and need to learn how to operate the gun smoothly and efficiently. As they say, it's the Archer, not the arrow.

GetSquirrel · Nov 18, 2024

po18guy said:
Guns are shipped with various types of grease or oil to prevent corrosion in shipment and storage. It is good to remove the stock and then give the action and trigger mechanism a good spritzing with a solvent spray, Cleaner-Lubricant-Preservative (CLP) or similar, to blast any small metal bits, test fire residue or oil from it.
Imagine if a new car was sprayed with grease to prevent corrosion. Would it drive OK without cleaning first?

Makes sense. In hindsight it would've been good to clean and oil prior to firing. l have a lot to learn about all aspects. Thanks!