Ruger Woes - I May Need A Gunsmith

[SA Shooter]

Howdy all. Spend part of the day up at Wolf Creek and ran into a problem...again...

The firearm in question is a Ruger SR556. It's been pretty much flawless until the last two times it's been fired.

The problem & actions taken:

After two or three rounds, sometimes more, I get a stovepipe. The spent casing doesn't eject but the next round in the magazine does come up and enters the chamber. The bolt moves forward and pins the spent case in the ejection port. The rimmed base is always inside the port.

The first time this happened I checked the gas piston setting and it was in Ruger's recommended position. So I changed magazines (Pmag to Hexmag) and had a second stovepipe after about 5 - 7 rounds. I changed ammo and went back to Pmag. Same result. I adjusted the gas piston setting and that seemed to do the trick.

After that session I cleaned the weapon, lubed it properly and made sure I had cleaned the piston system well and that it was reassembled properly.

Today was a repeat fail. After trying similar changes I couldn't get more than two rounds out of the firearm, with all magazine and ammo types and with various gas settings.

So I'm baffled. I'll tear it down again in the morning and look for obvious problems. Then I'll give it a good cleaning. Lastly, I'll check over the magazine feed lips for any issues.

But if nothing stands out, I may just turn it over to a gunsmith.

Your comments and/or gunsmith recommendations would be appreciated.

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[DirectDrive]

Could be one of several things.
But you left out one of the most important pieces of information....ammo.
What ammo are you using ?

 

[mmaton]

i've had the same problem with mine when it was new. I cleaned out the piston and stopped shooting steel cased ammo. Never had the problem again

 

[SA Shooter]

5.56x45

Amercian Eagle 62 gr Green Tip FMJ
Federal 62 gr Steel core Green Tip FMJ
ZQI 62 gr SS109 Green Tip FMJ

Come to think of it, I don't remember having this issue using the following:

PRVI Partizan 62 gr FMJ
PMC XTAC 62 gr FMJ

Maybe I should get more of one or the other and give it a try.

 

[SA Shooter]

Mine has almost 750 rounds through it and all I've ever used was brass cased ammo.

 

[Cerberus Group]

Where do the ejected cases land in relationship to where you are standing?

 

[SA Shooter]

When they eject, at about 110 - 120 degrees from the line of the bore, about 2.5 - 3 feet away.

 

[KKG]

With automatics the very first thing I check is the magazine. If you have any Factory magazines, I would start there. Next up would be ammunition. As stated above, make sure you are using a high quality ammo. I'd stay away from the the steel stuff, and the Wolfe stuff that tends to be very dirty. Be careful and don't over lube your gun. I can't make any recommendations for a good Gunsmith but I am sure there are 1 or two here that will speak up.

Good Luck.

 

[Velzey]

It shouldn't have this problem with all three green tip ammo you listed. That's all decent stuff.

And what @Cerberus Group asked...

And @ KKG there may be a couple smiths around qualified to diagnose an AR problem

 

[Cerberus Group]

To further clarify;

The bolt isn't going back far enough to properly eject the spent case and pick up the next round?

 

[SA Shooter]

It's going back far enough to chamber a new round off the top of the magazine so that should be far enough to move the spent casing back far enough to eject it.

Extractor issue?

 

[Kruel J]

Try a different BCG?

 

[Cerberus Group]

We are narrowing it down, I would look at the extractor and ejector, it appears they may be out of balance.

Ejector first...then extractor tension.

 

[DirectDrive]

Howdy all. Spend part of the day up at Wolf Creek and ran into a problem...again...

The firearm in question is a Ruger SR556. It's been pretty much flawless until the last two times it's been fired.

OK, so approx how many rounds has this rifle seen ?
This info will help with the troubleshoot.
BTW, your ammo is not the problem. It's good, full power ammo.

After two or three rounds, sometimes more, I get a stovepipe. The spent casing doesn't eject but the next round in the magazine does come up and enters the chamber. The bolt moves forward and pins the spent case in the ejection port. The rimmed base is always inside the port.

You're getting enough push on your BCG to strip a round but possibly not enough to flip out the spent case.
And it isn't getting kicked out a normal distance.
It's better to describe ejection pattern using the clock....from what you say I'll assume 4:00 and weak.
Did this rifle ever have a strong ejection pattern ?

The first time this happened I checked the gas piston setting and it was in Ruger's recommended position. So I changed magazines (Pmag to Hexmag) and had a second stovepipe after about 5 - 7 rounds. I changed ammo and went back to Pmag. Same result. I adjusted the gas piston setting and that seemed to do the trick.

I don't think you have a magazine problem.

After that session I cleaned the weapon, lubed it properly and made sure I had cleaned the piston system well and that it was reassembled properly.

Today was a repeat fail. After trying similar changes I couldn't get more than two rounds out of the firearm, with all magazine and ammo types and with various gas settings.

I would suspect this Ruger piston driven system as the possible culprit. I'm not familiar with it, but I know it needs to run DRY. You say you're cleaning it, but is it a thorough cleaning ? Every orifice ?
Are you oiling it ?

You haven't revealed round count up to the malfunctions.
So maybe you have carbon buildup in that piston system somewhere.
Pay attention to anywhere gas has to flow and where friction occurs.

Also, this is a modified AR and AR's like to run wet.
So I would hit the BCG with CLP along with the BCG tunnel.
Again, the Ruger AR crowd says to keep the piston system free of oil.

 

[Member 34319]

Place an empty in the chamber, manually yank the charging handle to the rear. See how this ejects and extracts. If it does well, chances are it's not the extractor or ejector.

Have someone watch the bolt while firing or film it. Take notice to the carrier travel and if it is in fact bottoming out at the rear of the buffer tube.

Sounds like short stroking in my opinion.

IE bolt is going back enough to start the ejection process and strip a new round, but not entirely full battery or at enough speed to successfully send the spent round away from the action.

If all your rounds are just dropping out of the gun vs properly flying 3-6 feet away from you, it's probably short stroking.

On a piston gun, just up the gas.

If it keeps having issues with more gas. Something is likely wrong inside the receiver or buffer tube. It could be the carrier, the buffer, the spring, lots of things.

 

[gunnails]

Ruger is generally good people who will warranty there firearms.

 

[AK0perator47]

Make sure that the gas block is lined up properly. The gas port from the barrel may not be lined up

 

[v0lcom13sn0w]

Howdy all. Spend part of the day up at Wolf Creek and ran into a problem...again...

The firearm in question is a Ruger SR556. It's been pretty much flawless until the last two times it's been fired.

The problem & actions taken:

After two or three rounds, sometimes more, I get a stovepipe. The spent casing doesn't eject but the next round in the magazine does come up and enters the chamber. The bolt moves forward and pins the spent case in the ejection port. The rimmed base is always inside the port.

The first time this happened I checked the gas piston setting and it was in Ruger's recommended position. So I changed magazines (Pmag to Hexmag) and had a second stovepipe after about 5 - 7 rounds. I changed ammo and went back to Pmag. Same result. I adjusted the gas piston setting and that seemed to do the trick.

After that session I cleaned the weapon, lubed it properly and made sure I had cleaned the piston system well and that it was reassembled properly.

Today was a repeat fail. After trying similar changes I couldn't get more than two rounds out of the firearm, with all magazine and ammo types and with various gas settings.

So I'm baffled. I'll tear it down again in the morning and look for obvious problems. Then I'll give it a good cleaning. Lastly, I'll check over the magazine feed lips for any issues.

But if nothing stands out, I may just turn it over to a gunsmith.

Your comments and/or gunsmith recommendations would be appreciated.

broken coil on buffer spring?

 

[SA Shooter]

Approx. 750 - ish

4:00 & weak.

Yes, it used to have a strong ejection pattern.

I'll be checking the piston system again tomorrow. I've never oiled that area as per instructions from Ruger. I've cleaned the piston and other parts with a dry rag. I'll see if there is some form of carbon build up inside the piston casing.

Very thorough cleaning in all areas. CLP primarily, then a light grease on the rails and oil where required. I'll oil it up more than usual, except for the piston area, and g

I haven't modified this AR's action in any way and it is as it was manufactured.

 

[osprey]

Does action lock back on last round? If it doesn't, check gas block for tightness to make sure it hasn't shifted. If it is tight keep giving it more gas with adjustable block to see if it corrects problem. The way I usually adjust my Fal gas for different ammo is start with it on the lower end and adjust it until action locks open on last round and then one more click open to assure reliability. If it ends up way further open than in the past for the same ammo, look for some kind of blockage of gas flow.