I have a Ruger M-77 Mk-II in 7X57 Mauser that will not feed Remington brass reliably. When the round is pushed into the chamber it takes more force than normal to get the bolt all the way forward. The downstroke of the bolt handle requires a lot more force to push the bolt handle down.

One handloaded round using Remington brass did not eject after firing. I tapped the casing out with a cleaning rod (it came out easily and there were no pressure signs) and the rim had a groove dug into it. It appears as though the claw is not getting a proper grip around the rim.

I have tried Remington factory ammo and have gotten the same results. Federal factory ammo is also hard to chamber but doesn't require as much force. Winchester factory ammo feeds like it is supposed to and will cycle without a problem as fast as I can work the bolt.

Has anybody seen this problem before? Any advice would be appreciated.

-Matt

You have probably a tight neck! Turn the necks or use win. brass.

Dutch4122- You are not the first to make this mistake, so don't feel bad, but your Ruger77 was not designed to "snap over" the rim of a cartridge. If you put the bullet in the mag and slowly work your bolt, the cartridge will feed up onto the boltface under the extractor claw and feed into the chamber with no problems. This will be independent of cartridge brand. Undoubtably, the winchester ammo you are using has a smaller base diameter than the federal and or Remington brass and the extractor is just managing to slip over it. My bet is you will find some Winchester barss that will also fail to snap over. Mausers and their derivatives were not designed on purpose for a "snap over" You can force it as you've done, but you run the risk of damaging the claw extractor. Often times the cartridge will chamber, but the extractor will be "riding" the rim and when you open the bolt it won't extract. This is what I bet happened to you. The extractor can be modified to allow for a snap over, but it is not a good thing to do IMHO. I build DGR's as a hobby and I can assure you none of my guns will do a "snap over unless I force it". At least once a month there is a post to this effect and a million guys will tell you that your gun should "snap over", however, thats just BS. Enjoy it the way it should be used and if you just have to have that last round in the mag,open the floorplate and drop one in.-Rob

[ 08-11-2002, 21:00: Message edited by: Robgunbuilder ]