My new ruger 7x57 did not want to let the bolt handle turn down on factory loads the other day.I had to force it super hard several times to get it to chamber a round,with factory winchester and remington ammo,145gr.& 140gr.,I also had a 338 do the same thing a year ago,i traded that rifle as fast as i could after that,if it had been a dg charge i would have been in a pickle.What is going on with these tight not fitting actions from ruger?Do they need polishing or something?Will the factory fix them?anyone else have a ruger do this stuff?two ruger rifles in a row is getting kinda ridiculas.Are a lot of other factory rifles this way,I also had a 338 winny supergrade do the same thing years ago.Thanks in advance.

Did you give Ruger an opportunity to fix the 338 before you pawned it off on someone?

Did you know that Ruger is well known for its excellent customer service? I know people who have sent shotguns back for minor adjustments, fully expecting to pay, only to have the gun returned almost completely overhauled, cleaned, and lubed free of charge.

Finally, how do you expect Ruger to fix a defect in their manufacturing process if no one sends a rifle back for them to see?

I personally like tight headspace to start with,
as I lap the lugs for perfect fit.So tight
fit isn't all bad, way better than sloppy.Ed.

You weren't by any chance loading the chamber directly, were you? I've seen smart gun folks who are used to push feeds like Sakos and Remingtons struggle with a CRF trying to load without pushing the round down into the magazine first. Then the extractor has to be forced over the head of the round.

Just a wild guess, since two in a row would be pretty bad luck. Ruger does have really good customer service.

Steve

Thanks for the help friends,no i didnt hand load the round in,matter iof fact i tried several times catching it from the floor plte as normal before she finally took.The ruger rifles and the winchester would not do it everytime,just sometimes.I didnt know about accrates forum back then with all this info and experiance help so i just traded the 338 because i got mad at it and didnt know anybetter.dido the winny.I guesss i could just try differnet bullets and cases to see if she feeds slicker with something else?I know i had a 7x57 mauser years ago that did not want to feed sellier and belliot 175gr.cutters at all.They were super tight in that rifle,no problems with hornadys though what so ever,slick feeding as can bee.I think i will try hornady next before i get to worried.I will for sure send the rifle to ruger if she keeps it up.The gun has not even been fired 2 boxs shells yet......Thanks!

I would send the rifle to Ruger now. You should not have to fish through different brands of ammo just to find something that works.

True story, and though it was probably 30 years ago goes to Ruger's support.

Stepfather showed one of his good friends how to reload, guy got some equipment of his own and the scale was different. Double charged I think 50 rounds of 45 colt. shot it in his single action Ruger. Of course was not a good idea, especially since after he fired the round and realized it was hot he fired the rest. Don't know the exact damage to it but he sent to Ruger explaining what happened and offering to pay whatever it took to fix. They sent back fixed for free saying they just wanted to keep the letter.

Red

Ruger is a class outfit to deal with, probably one of the best in the business.
You probably have a tight chamber. If you reload and the full length sizer lets the cases chamber ok, then I'd keep 'er. What you are more than likely experiencing is what we pay big bucks for in custom rifle barrels when their chambered, ie. A minimum factory chamber.
If you don't reload, I'd either sell it to someone who'd love to have such a tight chamber or send it to Ruger. They would no doubt take care of it.

If factory ammo doesn't fit, neither will full length resized brass.

I, for one, do NOT want a tight chamber in either my target or hunting rifles.

NRA Highpower is not benchrest. A tight chamber will destroy you over half the course of fire, which is rapid fire. The rifle must feed, chamber, extract, and eject flawlessly and effortlessly.

G'day BBH,
A friend of mine had the same thing with a M77 (the older Mark 1), it would feed, extract, and eject just fine, until he tried a different brand of factory loads. Then nothing but trouble. Rifle was sent to the local distributor for inspection/repair, when it came back they had ground 45 degree chamfers on the rear of the bolt lugs. not pretty, and it still didn't work.
The rifle then went back to Ruger, along with a letter explaining the butchery/gunsmithing, after about 8 weeks (including shipping0 it was back, new bolt, worked perfectly ever since.
I would have to agree with most of the advice here, send it back to Ruger and let them fix it properly. You will be without your rifle for a few weeks, but then it will work when you get it back!

Cheers, Dave.

Are you sure you are not leaving bits of cleaning patch in the chamber?
I have a rifle that I thought was way too tight the first time I loaded it. I checked the chamber and found a small bit of kraft paper in it. Then it chambered easily. Upon checking the headspace it was right at maximum.