I had problems with the bolt sticking after firing factory cartidges and handloads from maximum to minimum. I sent it back to Ruger. They replaced the barrel. I got it back and the problem is still there, but not nearly as bad. I can load up 270 gr TSX & 260gr Accubonds with RL15 to about 2650 fps. after that the bolt starts to stick. I can load 300 gr partitions to about 2400 fps with W760, H4350, 0r RL15 and then the bolt starts to stick. This is out of a 23" factory barrel.
I've done everything to try and fix it. trimming cases, down loading, loading COL to 3.340 and even 3.4, checking my scale,shooting from a perfectly clean barrel and chamber. All my primers look pretty normal and there is no signs of pressure(extractor marks or imprints) other than the bolt sticking. I've tryed different lots of brass, different reloading dies, I'm about to give up.
The first 375 ruger I bought wouldn't feed. I sent it back to Ruger and it came back and still wouldn't feed. I figured it was a lemon and was able to get my money back and went with a different african model. this one feeds, but the bolt stuck horrendously. it was sent back to ruger and it came back better, but still not working to my saticefaction. I mean the 375 ruger should be able to at least produce the velocity of the h&h, correct?
I sold my heavy 375 H&H to go with the lighter 375 ruger and I've gone through 2 rifles, both sent back to the factory at least once and still having problems. It's been nothing but a headache and I think I'm going to get rid of this 375 ruger for a new winchester 375h&h because I at least know the h&h works.
I've reloaded 270win, 30-06, 300win, 338win, 45-70, & 375h&h without ever experiencing such problems. I even talked to a gunsmith and we went over all the possabilities and they can't figure it out.
Is anyone else having pressure problems with their 375 rugers? I'm trying one more thing, which is loading the bullets deeper in the case to the cantilure because I've always loaded them to at least 3.34. I can't think of anything else to try. I can get them to about 3.43 before most bullets touch the lands, so I wouldn't think loading them to 3.34 or 3.4 would have caused a problem, but who knows. the 375 ruger is the most finicky cartridge I've ever worked with.

if your post isn't a lightning rod, I don't know what is...

yeah, sorry, I think I was venting a little in there. seriously though, is anyone else having problems with sticking bolts after firing rounds that are not supposed to be over pressure. I did some digging on google and someone else had a gun given to them for the same reason. they started investigating it and eventually figured out that there was manufacturing grease baked in the chamber and spent a lot of time trying to get it out. I'm thinking about buying a bore scope so I can inspect the chamber thoroughly and see if that might be the problem with mine.

I've owned a 338 win ruger hawkeye and 300 win ruger mrkII, neither of wich had any problems. but 2 out of 2 375 rugers bad is pushing it for me

This is why I shoot the original, .375 H&H, almost 100 years old and still going strong. Never been impressed with Ruger rifles especially in comparison to Winchesters. Good luck.

Fire a factory round over a chronograph. What was the velocity? Did the bolt stick?

If the velocity is to SAAMI spec, and the bolt doesn't stick, you should:

Measure headspace on the gun.

Measure the case on an unfired factory round.

Measure the bullet jump (distance of the bullet ogive to the lands.

Check die adjustment.

Take a chamber cast and compare to the SAAMI specifications.

George

Shootaway mention some grease inside his new Ruger bolt that screwed up/gummed up the firing pin. So; maybe there is something to that grease theory. Just in a different location. And, maybe a good spray solvent applied with the plastic tube directed in the chamber and where the bolt lugs engage. Maybe inside the bolt too? I suppose a really good solvent would call for removing the bbl action from the stock. Maybe a call too Ruger and talk specifically about this grease question might be of mutual benefit.

Ruger had a corrosion problem in the past, maybe this is their solution - as opposed to use of stainless, which Winchester is talking about. I think Browning may use stainless for some of thier internal parts. Dunno really....

send it back .. you have a defective rifle

GeorgeS
I've done all of them except the chamber cast. my headspace is right on.

jeffeosso
I'm done waiting for ruger to not fix things after waiting over 2 months each time I send something to them, only to have it come back not fixed. I can't wait years for ruger to fix my gun, I'd like to shoot it sometime. good advice, but been there done that. I'm at the point if it isn't fixed now, to sell my Marlin SBL to buy a winchester 375 h&h because i don't feel right selling this rifle to some other poor sole to waste 1/2-1 year to figure it out

OK, possibly good news now, the problem might be fixed.

1st: I bought a .375 brush for the throat and 50 cal brush for the chamber. I scrubbed the chamber and throat and did about 15 slow rotations with both brushes attached to a drill. (being careful not to engauge the rifling)

2nd: I tryed loading 3 different types of bullets, all down to the cantilure this time. i tryed medium loads, like the ones that were used with the sticky bolt, and a few grains higer.

I went to the range. started with the medium loads that were giving me problems before. no problem, moved up to the 300 partition which was givng me the most problems. no sticky bolt, tryed the next level up loads. no sticky bolt

I ended up firing all 90 rounds (over 3 hours)without even the hint of a sticky bolt. I tryed getting the chamber and barrel a little hot. still no sticky bolt.

Could it have been as simple as baked on grease in the chamber?
So far every thing looks like it never had a problem. I'll have to do some more testing with closer to max loads to see if it was a fluke. I'm extremely happy that the almost year long problem might be gone, but I know not to get my hopes up.
I'm would like to keep my Marlin SBL, so hopefully it is fixed

take $400 for it? I'll send it to ruger, have them fix it, then, and wait till its done .. I am stubburn like that!

Have your gunsmith polish the chamber.

I am definitely NOT a Ruger fan, but I find this tough to figure out. They do operate at a little higher pressure than the H&H, but factory shouldn't stick. How much case expansion are you getting VS the factory loaded rounds?

Rich

It would appear that cleaning the chamber of whatever was in there solved the problem. If there had been any quantity of grease in the chamber, your problems would have been more severe than a sticky case.

Set back and rechamber? Maybe the chamber wasn't cut completly round, I've heard of that problem with some factory rifles. It could be your rifle was cut with new tools so maybe its a bit tighter then standard? Just throwing ideas out there. Hopefully you fixed it with a chamber scrubbing.

Robert405 probably has the answer. As long as there are no over pressure signs like flat primers, polish the chamber. That is the first thing we do after a visual inspection for hard extraction problems when a gun comes in our shop. And it fixes about 98% of them if they pass the visual. But if your loads are simply too hot for the gun then your SOL though.

I'd like to offer a suggestion. Get some 440grit silicone particle abrasive grease. Put it on the bold lugs and open and close your action about 300 times.What your doing is lapping the bolt lugs and receiver locking recesses. I have encountered bolts with burrs/highspots on the lugs that will cause sticking bolts particularily if you dont have uniform bolt contact( each lug fully engaged). You can check this with some dyechem on the bolt lugs and look at the wear pattern. I doubt its your chamber and but while your at it just take a wooden dowel wrapped with some 400 grit emery cloth, stick it in a cordless drill and polish your chamber a little. Dont worry you wont hurt anything and while I doubt it, it will end any lingering issues you might have over the chamber being the culprit. I'll bet that combo ends your problems.-Rob

well, like i sad the bolt is opening without a hint of resistant. i will start working up some loads now that i know I'll be able to open the bolt past minimum loads

Problem solved - excellent news! Keep in mind another forum member had to clean inside his bolt. If you plan to hunt with this gun, a word to the wise should be sufficient

And, I also spoke of my friend who had his Ruger firing pin & spring rust. So; besides initial cleaning, there is also maintaince to keep oiled and clean the inside the ruger bolts. That maybe the reason for the grease. Who knows?

I just saw another USED 375 Ruger on the shelf this weekend. Thats a second one in as many weeks, for a not so popular gun around here. I wonder if other buyers have had this problem and end up just dumping them?

He didn't just clean the chamber, he also loaded his rounds to a shorter COAL by setting them at the cannelure (see #2 in his post above). When you change two things at once you can't know for sure which one was the fix.

I suspect the throat is a little short and the longer rounds were giving higher pressures. The fact that this occurred with factory loadings seems to indicate that the chamber may not be cut correctly.

Take a cast and compare it to specs to be sure.

Would it be easier to just fire a few more factory rounds, if not already done?

He had a problem with TWO Ruger rifles and THREE Ruger barrels including FACTORY ammo and HANDLOADS with different seating depths and bullets. He is the second member of AR to report a fixed Ruger bolt action problem by cleaning.

I would tear down and clean the inside of the bolt - Becasue we have another AR member report a problem and fix due to grease inside the bolt. And if not, no skin off my shin.

I think K9 hit it on the head, sounds like he was seating the bullets bit too long.

As for grease in the bolt, I am pretty sure that is there to keep it from rusting. I owuld take shootaways comments with a grain of salt. It would have to be pretty cold for the grease to slow down the firing pin in a Ruger 77 Mk II.

John

Well, how far off the lands is considered safe, because I was seating the bullets at 3.34 COL mainly an tryed 3.4 once. The bullet touches the lands at a COL of 3.44 I would think the bullet being 1/10 of an inch off the lands would not cause pressure problems. I got to the range again today and guess what, sticky bolt. all the bullets were seated to the crimp groove. I cleaned the chamber really well before this trip, but it still stuck, even with the same loads. I had one mistery day when everything functioned fine. I think it's time to get rid of it. The air temp was the same, about 20 degrees F. I'll have to order a new Winchester and see if ruger might give me my money back. I doubt it though.

I am sorry to hear about your problems.
I have a 375 Ruger Alaskan. Works perfect, accuracy is great with all tried bullets, good vel (better that 375 H&H) in 20" barrel. I am very happy with it, in fact it might become my favorite rifle, its just so handy, light and accurate. And I own a lot of very nice, well shooting custom rifles - so it says a lot..
Really love the Ruger. I would get a new rifle from Ruger if I were you - you cant have so much bad luck to get another bad rifle from them..

It is certainly possible that your chamber is not correct, but as for the general opinions of the Ruger it ranges from just OK to great. I see mentioning of the OAL of your reloads, but how are you resizing your brass? Does a factory round chamber OK? How much are you setting back the shoulder of the case from the chamber dimensions? I thought the bolts of these Rugers were of stainless steel, but not sure of the internals/striker/spring,etc??

Not likely Ruger would re purchase your rifle, (money change hands) but it would be likely that they would swap out the rifle if it can be shown there is a mfg. problem. I admit being a fan of Ruger and never had a problem, but their service has a reputation of being fair and swift from what I have heard. Sometimes getting the dealer and his distributor involved will help in any swap out program. Good luck.

so;..... not a grease problem. There are some pretty nasty solvents out there if you still suspect grease. Like cancer in the can- carb cleaner. (remove stock first)

I wonder on this most recent bad day how did the factory ammo work?

And, this is your second problem Ruger and 3rd barrel? Did I understand that part? Both in 375Ruger? This seems odd. I assume, still no followup call to Ruger, talk is easy? I would be all over them.

Maybe that idea of lapping the bolt with compound is worth a try? That would beassumig the bolt is the problem. It would not hurt to disassemble the bolt and have a look see?

One more question and this maybe me just not reading. But would you say the problem is the bolt sticking or the case sticking. Or can you tell? perhaps looking at the extracted case.

I'm full length resizing. The round goes into the chamber no problem, I shoot, the bolt lifts partway then sticks at the last part of opening. once past that the brass pops out no problem.

The first rifle I sent into ruger through my dealer was the alaskan because it would not feed at all period from the magazine. It fired fine though. I got the rifle back 4 months later with a letter that they replaced the barrel. why they replaced the barrel, I'm not sure when it was the feed rails that were messed up. Anyway it was not fixed. So I took the alaskan back to cabelas and they offered my money back. I decided to try the african considering I had good luck with ruger rifles before this. The african would lock up the bolt on minimum loads even and factory loads. I sent it back to ruger, they got it back to me in about 2 1/2 months with a new barrel(they say). it' seemed better, but still a little sticky even with factory ammo.
I don't want to waste any more money on factory ammo because I've already sent about 4 boxes through this just trying to verify it's not only my hand loads. I'm going to try again, maybe get some different powder and bring my chronoghragh again and check velocities. I might as well.
I just don't get why I'm having such bad luck with the ruger round. I've reloaded for many other cartridges before and never ran into problems because I am extra carefull to pay attention to OAL, using the exact listed components, never starting at max loads, weighing every single charge, I checked my scale, and it's on. I stick to published data and it's just boggling my mind. I guess the one good thing is it shoots 1" groups with every bullet I've tryed and 1/2" or under groups with the accubond or TSX. but as of now I can only count on this rifle as a singleshot

Hmm, I am no exert, So just wonder, could there be a rough spot or machined bad spot as the lugs of the bolt rotate around in the action. Try pushing the bolt handle rearward and rotate the bolt slowly and feel anything funny?

I guess, Thats why Rob suggested the lapping compound.

It does kinda sound like just as the bolt starts to lever the ctg out, it meets resistance. Then it pops free. I guess that might suggest be a chamber issue, but how odd for that same problem on a 2nd barrel while the bolt and action (suspect) are the unchanged.

I know, I am just typing and not helping much. sorry.

Perhaps the best thing for you to do since you have had all these problems w/ Rugers irregardless of the cause, would be to select another brand and get on with shooting/hunting, enjoying a rifle that you are pleased with and feel confident in it's use.

After reading this thread, it confirms why I never bought a Ruger product. And probably never will. After all, other gunmakers make a better pistol, rifle or scattergun than Ruger. Ruger does make a wonderful, if pricey, tomato stake.

I agree with the last two posts.

I have had a great lifetime experience with Ruger. that dates back to the time period when Remington and Winchester were in a competition to see who could make the most cheeped out rifle and the only single action revolver was a over price colt. The No 1 single shot rifle is a class act. I have had two. can you imagine winchester, reintroducing the single shot - no browning had to offer that - made in Japan! My RSM in 416 never missed a beat and a joy to shoot. Redhawk, bearcat, blackhawks, single six - too many to list- all rugged and dependable. M77 in 30-06 and 250 savage good shooters both. They offer a class 22RF bolt, not tried that one, but it sure looks good.

I would say Bill Ruger has had a very great influence and a very positive force in the gun trade. Classic styling, quality, etc... He forced the competition to make a better gun.

If I was gohip, yea. I would probably be done with Ruger. Too bad.

They stood by me, when I stupidly messed up my gun - they fixed it for free - new parts and all.

gohip //
i have a dumb question .. what happens if you dry fire the gun? is the bolt sticky then, too?

fourbore,there was no grease in my bolt from the factory.I had not cleaned my bolt after shooting hundreds of molly coated bullets.The Ruger bolt is fine,IMO.I would just change the striker retaining pin,as it is cheap and it breaks.I don't know what is causing gohip2000's issues but I will say that both of my Rugers have really different chamber dimensions and one of the two,the one with the smaller chamber is much more sensitive to hot loads.Could it be that gohips chambers are cut really bad? That said,I have not experienced a stuck bolt on my Rugers but I do feel a slight resistance,especially on the one with the tight chamber,when shooting hot loads.I would send the rifle back again and ask them to check the chamber.

quote:

Originally posted by gohip2000:
The round goes into the chamber no problem, I shoot, the bolt lifts partway then sticks at the last part of opening. once past that the brass pops out no problem.

The bolt sticks just BEFORE it unlocks? Hmmm.

By "sticks" do you mean: the bolt handle stops going up and requires a little more pressure to go all the way up to unlock?
Is there an audible click when it sticks? Just before? Just after?

Since you are a reloader, would it be safe to say you are cycling the bolt slowly in order to remove the brass by hand from the open chamber? Does it also stick if you run it full speed? Do you feel a bump in the upstroke of the bolt when you go full speed?

Sorry for all the questions but I think your issue is somewhere in the answer to these questions.

Have you had a gunsmith cycle the bolt himself?

on the ruger hawkeye, there is two stages to my bolt opening and closing. when closing, i turn the bolt handle down just barely and it clicks and moves forward about 1 mm. then I push the handle down the rest of the way and the bolt moves forward about another 2-3mm. When opening, just the opposite. lift it most the way for the first click sound and the bolt moves about 2-3mm back. then move the bolt handle just slightly more for the second click and the bolt moves back a mm and is open.
I usually cycle the bolt slow after I get it past the two clicks so it's unlocked. After firing, there isn't resistance for the first part of the bolt lift, but when it gets to the second part, it is very difficult. i have to push the bolt handle back down and them slam it up with force to get it past the second part. fast isn't good enough, I have to use a lot of force.

You think it could be the bolt face not being perfectly level or perpendicular to the bolt travel?

It's a shame because it's accurate and feels nice in the hands and on the shoulder, but I did check a local gun shop, and they have a new winchester m70 on order for when they start sending them out. under $1200.

I'll take another shot at this problem with your Ruger. Does the rifle function fine w/ factory ammunition?? If not, send the rifle back to Ruger for inspection and repair as needed. If it does function fine with factory ammunition, then the problem is with your reloads, not the rifle. Do you have the tools to measure the dimensions of your fired cases, that is from rear of case to datum line on the shoulder??(half way up from the case shoulder and the neck itelf) Whatever that dimension is, resize your brass so that the case shoulder is some .003-.005" shorter. Keep adjusting your resize die until you reach that size range. By doing this you are simply bumping back the shoulder to insure the case body is not longer than it should be which would cause sticky cases upon firing. It will also cause sticky, stubborn case entry and extraction prior to firing as well.
Load a dummy round, w/ bullet only long enough to work in the magazine, specified length as given in manual, and cycle through the action. Don't worry about the throat at this time, that can be worked out in the future.
Load five live rounds and shoot and see what happens then. Still have the problem, send back to Ruger. If you indeed have a faulty rifle, Ruger will take care of it. They are not hard to get along with providing nothing out of the ordinary has taken place.

quote:

Originally posted by gohip2000:
on the ruger hawkeye, there is two stages to my bolt opening and closing. when closing, i turn the bolt handle down just barely and it clicks and moves forward about 1 mm. then I push the handle down the rest of the way and the bolt moves forward about another 2-3mm. When opening, just the opposite. lift it most the way for the first click sound and the bolt moves about 2-3mm back. then move the bolt handle just slightly more for the second click and the bolt moves back a mm and is open.
I usually cycle the bolt slow after I get it past the two clicks so it's unlocked. After firing, there isn't resistance for the first part of the bolt lift, but when it gets to the second part, it is very difficult. i have to push the bolt handle back down and them slam it up with force to get it past the second part. fast isn't good enough, I have to use a lot of force.

One more question: Is the force required to open the bolt the same with fired cases, unfired rounds, and an empty chamber?

Gohip,

Can you go handle another hawkeye and make sure that 2nd click is supposed to be there.

Is there a PM member with of these new alaskans or africans at home who can cycle his a bit?

I bet its a defect in the action. After you fire a round the brass expands. Then when the bolt rotates into that high spot it has to size (push forward) the brass back down to get over. Wild guess, but thats why we are here. If so; Ruger replace the bbl in error. The issue would be with the action. Not the bolt, a pimple inside the action.

well, I'll have to wait for my tax return to buy some factory ammo and test it again, now that I had that 1 fluke day of everything firing no problem, till then, it's just reloads. The bolt closes & opens easily on a non fired cartridge. sticks heavily after fired, and closes & opens on the fired case again with just very slight stickyness. The signs point to over pressure, but that is with middle of the road loads(& sometimes minimum loads) with everything as the manual says it, not much case growth, normal looking primers and no stamping of any kind on the case head.

Oh, I did forget to mention, I got out yesterday with my chronogagh. I fired 5 rounds each of 4 different loads with the 300 gr nosler partition and W760 powder.
each load had and extreme spread of about 100 fps, (pretty bad in my eyes, (I think because of different neck tension from case to case).
I tryed :
73gr / average velocity 2499
74gr / average velocity 2520
75gr / average velocity 2592
76gr / average velocity 2570
It started to stick slightly at 75gr and a little more at 76gr. all these loads listed will cause the bolt to stick most of the time, but some days it doesn't and when chronograghed before would only give about 2450fps max. I always weigh every load and trickle till it balances. I am going to start weighing the first load and setting it aside so I can reweigh it halfway through to eliminate the possibility of the scale changing it's balance point. I'll try the loads that didn't stick this last time an re chronograph them.

Oh, I'd like to thank everyone for their suggestions and the time you all put into your responses trying to help me. I do appreciate it.

MY ONLY INPUT ON THIS THREAD IS IN REGARD TO RUGERS CUSTOMER SERVICE / WARRENTY REPAIR POL
ICY. They will generally service and repair any of their firearms in a reasonable amount of time as long as they don't feel it has been worked on / modified / gunsmithed by anyone else. Once that happens you are sh!& out of luck.