Ruger Gunsite Scout Rifle - Failure to Eject

[springfield30-06]

I recently purchased a Ruger GSR in .308 Win. I have the metal 10-round magazine that came with it, a metal 5-round magazine, a polymer 10-round magazine, and two polymer 5-round magazines. I have noticed that with both metal magazines and the 10-round polymer I rutinely get a failure to eject with the first round. These magazines have more spring tension than the other polymer 5-rounders especially when fully loaded.

The first photo shows the ejector under the case instead of behind it (photo is looking from the magazine well with magazine removed). The second photo shows the position of the ejector apparently 'stuck' in the down position against the top round in the magazine (after the case was manually removed).

Does anyone know what is causing this to happen?

 

[chicharrones]

Hmmm. Discounting the problems with the 10 round mags versus the 5 rounds mags, it looks like the slot in the bolt isn't lined up above the ejector slot. If so, the bolt looks to be keeping the ejector down until the bolt clears the ejector. Which would mean the ejector comes up too late.

 

[springfield30-06]

Hmmm. Discounting the problems with the 10 round mags versus the 5 rounds mags, it looks like the slot in the bolt isn't lined up above the ejector slot. If so, the bolt looks to be keeping the ejector down until the bolt clears the ejector. Which would mean the ejector comes up too late.

It does look like the ejector doesn't line up with the slot in the picture, but it may just be the angle that it was taken at. I will have to double check. I cannot duplicate the problem though, except with the first round with the magazines mentioned. All of the other rounds function as normal in the same mags.

 

[chicharrones]

To further clarify, if the ejector stays down while the bolt is on top of it, the cartridge held to the bolt face would ride over the ejector.

The ejector has to come up into that bolt slot cleanly under it's own spring pressure to get in behind the cartridge held onto the bolt.

 

[Jackal]

Call Ruger. They will send you a prepaid label for return/repair.

 

[springfield30-06]

It does look like the ejector doesn't line up with the slot in the picture, but it may just be the angle that it was taken at. I will have to double check. I cannot duplicate the problem though, except with the first round with the magazines mentioned. All of the other rounds function as normal in the same mags.

I checked and it is the angle of the photo, the ejector still lines up with the slot when it is in the 'stuck' position.

 

[springfield30-06]

I contacted Ruger customer service and they are sending me three magazines (one of each type that I am having an issue with) to see if it resolves the problem. If not, they will want me to send it back so that they can take a look at the ejector. The representative said that she has never encountered my exact problem before. I will also be emailing her the photos that I posted here.

This is the first time that I have ever contacted Ruger customer service and it was one of the most pleasant calls to any customer service center that I have ever had. Also, I only had about a 2 minute wait time.

 

[springfield30-06]

Double post.

 

[chicharrones]

That's good Ruger is sending magazines to test.

It is possible that under full load the magazine feed lips are spreading too much. The may cause the ejector to bind against the top cartridge. Although, I'm trying to figure out how the bolt isn't holding down the top cartridge enough for the ejector to move freely.

Here's a photo of the two metal mags I own. A fully loaded 5 rounder next to a half loaded 10 rounder. You can see how the 5 rounder is letting the upper cartridge go a little higher. Right now, these mags feed well for me. At least the feed lips can be adjusted on these metal mags.

I also have three Ruger Polymer 10 rounders, but I keep the caps on them to not let the feed lips bow out. When out of the gun, of course.

Below is a photo of the 10 rounder loaded up full when it was new. It still doesn't see much use as I prefer the polymer mags for 10 round usage.

 

[chicharrones]

Another thought is maybe the ejector might need to be deburred and polished where it comes in contact with the side of a cartridge in the magazine while the bolt is forward.

Is the ejector leaving excess scratches on the cartridge in the top of the magazine which would indicate a burr on the ejector?

 

[rbernie]

The spring loaded ejector on the Ruger 77 has been one of the more controversial aspects of the design (other than the cast receiver) since I was a wee lad - it can stick and fail to rise in time to eject the spent brass. (This is why I've been told that many PH in DG territory won't use the R77, even tho it technically is a CRF design.) From what I've learned, the issue is most commonly resolved by removing the ejector and its spring/plunger and cleaning out whatever goombah has accumulated in the receiver recesses. If the parts still have rough machining finishes (which isn't uncommon), polishing and deburring is the next step.

In this case, it sounds as if the top round in the round stack is imparting a lateral load on the ejector and causing it to stick. You can address this via magazine feed lip geometry, or by fixing whatever manufacturing slop (machine work, loose tolerances) is allowing the ejector to bind up.

 

[springfield30-06]

I received the new magazines in the mail yesterday. The metal 5 round and the polymer 10 round both exhibit the same original issue. I also noticed that when the second round is stacked to the left side (ejector side) of the magazine is when the issue happens. When the third round is stacked to the left side of the magazine it also happens. So depending on whenever the second or third round is stacked to the left side while inside of the magazine is when the ejector gets stuck. Any following rounds eject as normal.

I was not able to test the new metal 10 rounder because once you load the first 5 rounds, the follower tilts and gets stuck. I have to remove the floor plate to correct it, but the next time I load it tilts and sticks again. As a side note, I noticed that 95% of the time the polymer 10 round magazines do not load the last round because the follower has slightly tilted and the bolt cannot strip it from the mag because the rear of the round is tilted downward.

 

[chicharrones]

I think you have eliminated the magazines as the problem, so it must be something with the rifle that is wrong.

 

[springfield30-06]

UPDATE:

I sent the rifle and the 10-round metal magazine with defective follower/spring to Ruger for repair on March 22 and received it back yesterday, March 30. The repair slip stated the following: New ejector, mag follower & spring assembly, repaired bolt, polished chamber.

I tested all of magazines that I have and they now all function correctly in my rifle. Although I would have liked to have had a perfectly functioning rifle out of the box, Ruger repaired the issue and did it in a timely manner. Over-all I am pleased.

 

[chicharrones]

That's good to hear.

 

[dh1633pm]

Good to hear that Ruger made good. They are an exceptional company.