Ruger American Ranch Issues

[aHFo3]

I picked up a Ruger American Ranch rifle in 300 blackout to use as a suppressor host. I was shooting factory Nosler 110gr varmageddon ammo and wasn't able to chamber the next round from the magazine. I looked at the pile of empty cases and noticed one without a mech and two other cases with cracks along the circumference of the neck.

I've used this same ammo in an H&R Handi rifle with no issue, so I'm wondering if it could be a chamber issue. Should I just contact Ruger about the problem or Nosler too?


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[boom boom]

Yes on contacting both. Write down as much about the circumstances before you forget it. Nosler may want the brass and lot number as mistakes sometimes happen such as faulty brass or powder mixups. Ruger may want you to have a gunsmith look at it or simply ship it back to them. If the firearm was new and cleaned before shooting, either it is an ammo problem or as you said a chamber or throat issue. Glad that you were not hurt nor the rifle seriously damaged.

 

[mshootnit]

I mean, yes the obvious answer is to contact and send back, but the question is so vanilla I wondered if you were a bot for a moment.

 

[aHFo3]

Haha, I guess it seemed obvious to me too, but I wanted to make sure I wasn't missing anything.

 

[aHFo3]

UPS is coming to pick it up Monday and let Ruger deal with it. I'll contact Nosler about the ammo tomorrow.


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[Ibmikey]

AHfo3, i also have a Ranch in 300 Blackout, the first dozen rounds of my reloads that i use in a Handi as well as four AR's, were difficult to strip from the magazine the nose catching on the feed ramp. After that few rounds the bolt slicked up working as if riding on butter and no more feed issueś. I am shooting supersonic ammo out of reformed GI cases and have never had an issue in the Ranch, Handi Or AR's. My American Ranch is an absolute tack driver at 100 yds.

 

[boom boom]

Hope that you are not too inconvenienced but Ruger has done right by others that I knew. Nosler also has a top notch rep.

 

[aHFo3]

I appreciate your thoughts! I'm not inconvenienced at all. Ruger always treats me right! I just heard this morning that Nosler is going to replace the ammo.


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[dranrab]

I have been a Ruger fan for decades. Ruger has always had industry leading customer service. Used to be that few people needed it. I am afraid that with their explosive growth came quality control issues.

Over the past 2 years I have bought 6 new Rugers. An AR556 which had to go back because magazines wouldn't seat. An SR22 which needed a thorough stripping and cleaning then a long break in before it became reliable. A Charger which will probably have to go back. I have yet to make it through a 10 round mag without an issue. An SP101 stainless which has pronounced tooling marks and which is at the absolute limit of sight adjustment. My two new Hawkeyes have no issues. I have owned 2 Mini 14s, 3 P series pistols 3 10/22s and 3 MK2 pistols that needed nothing to function flawlessly out of the box.

Customer service remains an industry best with Ruger. They have shipped parts twice without charge and took care of the AR quickly.

 

[oldfortyfiveauto]

The Ruger Americans tend to be picky feeding 300BLK. Pointy bullets tend to work well, but cast bullets not so well. The magazine is oriented to the action by the stock. I ended up putting a shim on top of the rear bedding block. One layer of aluminum duct tape (the metal kind) was all it took to make it feed them reasonably well. Initially I sent it back to Ruger and they replaced the stock to help with the magazine alignment, but it wasn't any better until I shimmed it.

 

[Ibmikey]

Old forty five, thanks for the info, i am using FMJ so you cannot get ant pointier but in shooting yesterday I had the feed issue again. I will try your fix and see what happens.

 

[oldfortyfiveauto]

Probably will take a little experimenting, but mine now feeds most cast well. Those that don't only seem to have trouble with the last round. Usually that's the short carbine bullets.

 

[TIMC]

I would like my ranch rifle in .300 B/O a lot more if they had a conventional mag instead of the rotary mag.

 

[aHFo3]

I didn't have many rounds through min prior to the neck separation, but I found it chambered best if the bolt was closed when I inserted the magazine. The first round was the one that I struggled with if I inserted the mag with an open bolt. I'm anxious to get it back!


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[agtman]

Ruger's getting more like Springfield Armory every day ... Quality control issues out the door.

My suppressed .300BLK has run problem-free on an AR platform. Just sayin'

 

[aHFo3]

Agtman, did your AR run problem-free right off the bat or did it require any tweaking?

I decided on the bolt gun to keep it quieter and to give a wider range of loading options. If this Ruger keeps giving me problems I'll ditch it in favor of an Encore barrel.


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[agtman]

Agtman, did your AR run problem-free right off the bat or did it require any tweaking?

No tweaking. Mine runs with zero issues on LMT's MRP platform with either of two barrels - a 10" SBR or a non-NFA 16.1". But both tubes are set up for a can.

I decided on the bolt gun to keep it quieter and to give a wider range of loading options. If this Ruger keeps giving me problems I'll ditch it in favor of an Encore barrel.

A suppressed .300BLK is about as quiet as it gets on a suppressed AR platform chambered for a centerfire cartridge. Maybe a suppressed AR .22lr upper is quieter.

 

[oldfortyfiveauto]

I would like my ranch rifle in .300 B/O a lot more if they had a conventional mag instead of the rotary mag.

It would be an improvement.

 

[aHFo3]

I just spoke to Ruger CS this morning. My rifle is waiting on a replacement barrel. They didn't offer any other details. Who knows how long that'll take. I think I'll try to forget about it and be surprised later!

Also, Nosler supplied me with 4 boxes of replacement ammunition!

 

[LoonWulf]

very likely the cause wasnt passed on to the customer rep you spoke to. If your inclined you could ask them about it when they inform you your rifles ready to ship...i wouldnt think it would be much longer.

My ranch in .300 feeds 245mbcs fine as long as they are loaded out near the end of the mag. Im seriously considering having someone rechamber mine to 7.62x40WT just to get bullets closer to the front of the mag.....the extra 150-200fps wouldnt hurt either

 

[aHFo3]

Glad to hear your MBC info. I have their 245's ready to load up for testing. What powder do you use in yours?


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[LoonWulf]

Ive been running the mbcs infront of 4.5-5.5grns of old w231. have good accuracy over 5 grains, under it kinda goes to pot,, thats why i brought the bullet back to try reduce case capacity.
One other thing to note is those heavy bullets tend to cause the cases to nose down a bit... probably the reason people have issues with them, especially since the feed ramps on the mags are kinda abrupt.

 

[aHFo3]

I received the RAR in the mail. Ruger replaced the barrel and it looks like the should. I'll clean it and get out to the range ASAP. It's good to have it back!

 

[LoonWulf]

Glad to heqr you got your gun back, let us know how it goes...i forgot to mention my loads for the 245s are very slow, only about 800fps. I cant use a suppressor so droping the muzzle pressure is about the only way to reduce the sound. If suppressed id bet they end very very quiet.

 

[greyghost01]

Ive never had a problem with Ruger pistols at all, How ever I had the Ranch in 223 a number of years ago, Biggest POS I ever owned, Ruger finally admitted the barrel was bad, I never bought another Ruger rifle since, They do however seem to have a good customer service, Rifles just cost to much to get a poor one, But in todays world everyone has issues at one time or another, I have a Sig 716 DMR its perfect in every way others who have the 516 have had a lot of trouble with theirs, I'm sure ruger will fix it