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Ruger ejection

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15 April 2005, 04:02
Donato
Ruger ejection
I have a Ruger SM in 375 H&H. If the bolt is cycled fast it will not eject and empty case. It does not eject all the time when the bolt is work slowly either. Any ideas on what is wrong and can I fix it myself?
15 April 2005, 08:44
510wells
There was a discussion some time back that the ejector spring (the RSM uses a popup ejector) was too weak and if the ejector slot gets dirty, etc. the ejector won't come up fast enough when the bolt is cycled fast.

I live fairly close and could take a look at it if you like. But I'm no gunsmith...

Roi
16 April 2005, 01:34
Luckyducker
My cousins wife has an M77 Ruger that quit ejecting empty brass but would eject a loaded round and it was a too stout spring behind the ejector button. The extractor would drag the spent case out of the chamber but before it would clear the ejection port the button would put too much force on the case and knock it loose from the extractor claw. It took two smiths to figure out what was going on, and they said the wrong spring was installed from the factory. They must have been right cause it sure enough fixed it.


Dennis
Life member NRA
16 April 2005, 13:04
458RugerNo1
Lucky,

It sounds like your friend had the earlier push-feed M77? Interesting story, I'm not surprised it was tricky to find.

Now on the M77/MkII it does seem to me like the ejector is not popping up fast enough to catch the case and kick it out sometimes. A weak spring would be the culprit as mentioned. How is that spring accessed to change? Is it easily done at home?


.22 LR Ruger M77/22
30-06 Ruger M77/MkII
.375 H&H Ruger RSM
19 April 2005, 08:22
Pancho
Hummmmm - My 416 Rigby Ruger has the same problem but only when there are two rounds in the magazine. 3 rounds or one or none, no problem. I'm thinking that the spent brass is hanging up on the 2d round. In any event, need a fix for this problem. Sure hope somebody has a good answer for this one.


Pancho
LTC, USA, RET

"Participating in a gun buy-back program because you think that criminals have too many guns is like having yourself castrated because you think your neighbors have too many kids." Clint Eastwood

Give me Liberty or give me Corona.
19 April 2005, 08:56
JKS
Hope you find a solution for your problem quickly. On my Rigby and Lott RSMs the ejection is very authoritative! You could send it back to Ruger or have a good smith check it out. Roger Ferrell (sp?) is highly regarded on this forum. I really like the RSMs and think they are one heck of a rifle.

John


There are those that do, those that dream, and those that only read about it and then post their "expertise" on AR!
20 April 2005, 19:54
Donato
Thanks guys for the the info on the Ruger. I will see about replacing the ejector spring. Hopefully I can do it myself or get it done locally.
21 April 2005, 07:27
458RugerNo1
Donato,

Let us know how it is fixed... Do you do it yourself, etc?


.22 LR Ruger M77/22
30-06 Ruger M77/MkII
.375 H&H Ruger RSM
21 April 2005, 21:00
JJ_Miller
I have a Ruger RSM in 416 Rigby. When it was new I had the weak ejection problem also. I cleaned the bolt and lubed it and the more I shot it the better it ejected. Now after 180 rounds of factory equivelent reloads it throws the first brass as far as the last, no problems. Shoot it some first, it may just need shot in....................................JJ


" venator ferae bestiae et aquae vitae "
25 April 2005, 21:12
Donato
Thanks everyone for the feedback on the Ruger ejector. A gun smith here in WA fixed the problem by opening up the ejector groove in the bolt. I haven't got the rifle back yet but I hope this works.
26 May 2005, 07:10
Maineguide1
I had the same problem with my .375 RSM 77. The gun was new and it happened the first time at the range. I cleaned and lubricated the gun and could not get it to do it again no matter what or how fast I worked the bolt. I'll try again next week and keep you posted. Did that gunsmith fix your problem?
26 May 2005, 07:39
500grains
quote:
From African Hunter Magazine:

Most rifles work perfectly on range when zeroing a rifle or shooting off sticks in an accuracy test. A surprisingly large number fall apart as soon as the pressure is on and you have to shoot and reload in a hurry.

...

Then we come to one that surprises me. Ruger. The early Ruger M77's with the non rotating claw extractors but still a push feed mechanism, in .458 Win could be relied upon to jam if the bolt was worked quickly. In the 1980's the National Parks culling teams found this out the hard way and the new Rugers were quickly disposed of or issued to stations where a heavy rifle was seldom required. The new MkII Ruger with a proper controlled feed seemed to be a vast improvement and were reputed to work a whole lot better and of course come at a top dollar price.

I learned differently. All but one out of seven I’ve seen or handled this year (6 in .416 Rigby and one .458 Win) would not eject if the bolt was opened vigorously. Slow down just a fraction and they throw the empty case half way into the next province. For a client coming out to Africa this may be acceptable. Any really fast fancy shooting is going to be the PH’s.

For the Professional Hunter or Guide though, a rifle that is guaranteed not to eject when worked at speed is a death sentence waiting to happen. The fault lies with the sprung loaded ejector that springs into place as the bolt is withdrawn. Work the bolt at a moderate speed and the ejector is in place to cleanly throw the case clear. Work the bolt fast and the ejector is still on its way up when the case passes over it. A few will work provided the ejector is scrupulously clean and well oiled but many will not do even that (and how do you keep it clean AND oiled in the usual dusty conditions?). A much stronger spring and a little polishing of the raceway that it fits into may cure the problem, but they are not safe as they come from the factory. A local gun shop tells me that they have sent two new rifles back this year because of this problem, and our local top gunsmith tells me that while most can be made to work perfectly, some cannot. Ruger needs to wake up, their No.1, single shot rifle is a far safer and more dependable weapon than their bolt action.


http://www.african-hunter.com/lessons_learned.htm